Rubinations |
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Playlist
One of the nicer things in the last 20 years of pop music are rubinations, after Rick Rubin, an early innovator in it:
- an over-the-hill musician
- is renewed, accrues critical acclaim
- from working with a young svengali producer,
- on an album containing covers (especially surprising ones).
- The festival circuit
- or very large sales follow.
May-September music.
- Johnny Cash (& Rick Rubin) - American Recordings (1994-2003).
Satisfies #1, 2, 3, 4, 6.
- Loretta Lynn (& Jack White) - on 2004’s Van Lear Rose.
Satisfies 1, 2, 3, 4.
- Mavis Staples (& Jeff Tweedy) - 2010’s You Are Not Alone (and others). 1, 3, 4.
- Wanda Jackson (& Jack White) - on 2011’s The Party Ain’t Over.
Satisfies 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 & perhaps soon 6.
- Shirley Bassey (& the world) - on 2008’s The Performance. Satisfies 1,2,3,4,5, and of course 6.
- Neil Diamond (& Rick Rubin)- on 2005’s 12 Songs.
Satisfies 1,3,4,5 & 6.
- Vashti Bunyan (& Max Richter & Animal Collective!) - on 2005’s Lookaftering.
1, 2, 3, 4, 6.
- Bettye Lavette (& Joe Henry) - on 2005’s I’ve Got My Own Hell To Raise.
1,2,3,4,5.
- Willie Nelson (& Daniel Lanois) - on 1998’s Teatro.
Satisfies 1,4,6.
- Willie Nelson (& Ryan Adams) - on 2004’s Songbird.
Satisfies 1,2,4,5,6.
- Howlin Wolf (& Norman Dayron) - on 1971’s The London Sessions.
Satisfies 1,2,3,4.
- Muddy Waters (& Johnny Winter) - on 1977’s Hard Again.
1,2,3.
Embedding forbidden, but click here. The best single blues session?
- Leonard Cohen (& Sharon Robinson) - on 2001’s Ten New Songs.
2,3,6.
- RL Burnside (& Jon Spencer) - on 1996’s A Ass Pocket of Whiskey and others.
1,3,4.
- John Fahey (& Jim O’Rourke) - on 1997’s Womblife.
1,3,4.
- Glen Campbell - 2008’s Meet Glen Campbell, cover dreck.
1,3,5.
- Gil Scott-Heron (& Richard Russell) - on 2010’s I’m New Here.
1,2,3,4.
- Roky Erikson (& Will Sheff) - on 2010’s True Love Will Cast Out All Evil.
Satisfies 1 and 3.
- Candi Staton (& Mark Nevers) - 2006’s His Hands.
1,3,4,5.
- Robert Plant (& T-Bone Burnett) - on 2006’s Raising Sand.
1,2,3,4,6.
- Jimmy Cliff (with Tim Armstrong!) on Rebirth (2012)
1, 2, 3, 4
- The Stooges (& Steve Albini) on The Weirdness.
1,3,6.
[No.]
Tom Jones continues to try, but he didn’t rise anywhere in the first place, and so did not fall, and so cannot be renewed.

Alt-washing
A less exalted mirror image of these albums, though: pop stars having one album produced by a high-cred cult figure. While it's easy to interpret rubinations - producers are music nerds, rebirth is a deep and appealing trope everywhere and always - I do not pretend to know what these mean.
Tim Armstrong (P!nk)
Howe Gelb (KT Tunstall)
Bill Laswell (Motorhead, Ramones)
Odd choice, I grant you: but the point is that, however revered they are, these are two of the least experimental rock bands.
Jon Brion (Sky Ferreira)
Steve Albini (The Cribs)
Glyn Johns (Linda Ronstadt)
I could've made this list easier by just doing "surprising producers" - John Darnielle and Erik Rutan,
Tim Armstrong (P!nk)
Howe Gelb (KT Tunstall)
Bill Laswell (Motorhead, Ramones)
Odd choice, I grant you: but the point is that, however revered they are, these are two of the least experimental rock bands.
Jon Brion (Sky Ferreira)
Steve Albini (The Cribs)
Glyn Johns (Linda Ronstadt)
I could've made this list easier by just doing "surprising producers" - John Darnielle and Erik Rutan,
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Tags: music, criticism, lists