[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ah3jw6bkbvI[/youtube]
Chances are you’ve already seen video of Taylor sharing his experience working with producer Rick Rubin while in Dallas, TX for the An Evening With Corey Taylor tour (the same night where he revealed that “there will be another Slipknot album”). In case you haven’t, though, the main thing to take away from it is that Taylor isn’t a fan of the legendary producer.
You can watch Taylor recalling his experience working with Rubin on Slipknot’s 2004 Vol. 3 (The Subliminal Verses) in the video above. However, here’s a highlight of what Taylor had to say:
“Let me give you the fucking truth of it. Rick Rubin showed up for 45 minutes a week. Yeah. Rick Rubin would then, during that 45 minutes, lay on a couch, have a mic brought in next to his face so he wouldn’t have to fucking move. I swear to God. And then he would be, like, ‘Play it for me.’ The engineer would play it. And he had shades on the whole time. Never mind the fact that there is no sun in the room — it’s all dark. You just look like an asshole at that point. And he would just stroke his huge beard and try and get as much food out of it as he could.”
Taylor went on to say that though he respects what Rubin has done in the past, “He is overrated, he is overpaid, and I will never work with him again as long as I fucking live.” As colorful as Taylor’s description was in Dallas, TX, his distaste for Rubin wasn’t exactly a secret. While most musicians who’ve worked with the producer have praised him (including Taylor’s band mate’s in Slipknot), Taylor shared the following with Revolver Magazine back in 2008:
“I wouldn’t know what it’s like to work with Rick Rubin. I only saw him about four times. Rick Rubin is a nice man. He’s done a lot of good for a lot of people. He didn’t do anything for me. I’m not happy with the vocals on that record. There were a lot of takes that I thought were much better than the ones they fuckin’ used and I wasn’t asked about a lot of shit. It sounds amazing; the songs are great. But we were being charged horrendous amounts of money. And for me, if you’re going to produce something, you’re fucking there. I don’t care who you are.”
Taylor’s criticism towards Rubin may come as somewhat of a surprise considering the success that came with Vol. 3 (The Subliminal Verses). At the same time, though, it isn’t too shocking to believe that Rubin has become more “hands off” with albums over the years. One thing is for sure: we may not know when Slipknot will return to the studio, but it won’t be with Rubin. Watch Taylor sharing his experience with the producer in Dallas, TX in the video above.
