Rubin Makes Diamond Shine

A week ago, Hot 103 listeners heard me make a confession. It was a hard thing to do. It required a lot of thought and consideration before the choice was made to go public. I was afraid of what the listeners would think. Would they turn their back on me? Wash their hands of me? Surely they would understand.

Last Thursday at 6:40 p.m., I turned to Danny G in the Hot 103 studio and—with everyone listening—said, “I have a confession to make. I was on MySpace today, and you know how they have the ‘featured artist?’ Well, it was Neil Diamond. And. I. Checked. It. Out.”
“Uh, really?” said Danny.
“Yeah. And his new stuff…It’s not, uh…It’s not that bad.”
“REALLY?” said Danny.
Stuttering, fumbling, justifying: “Yeah. But, but, but It’s not like I’m a Neil Diamond fan or anything. It was produced by Rick Rubin. So that makes it okay…Right?”

I’m a fan of Bob Dylan’s. I’m not ashamed of it. I also like Frank Sinatra, Neil Young, Counting Crows, Willie Nelson and Johnny Cash. I’m not ashamed of those, either. It’s just that I’ve never seen myself as the Neil Diamond type. He’s typically a little too Barry Manilow-Wayne Newton-Tom Jones for my taste. But let me tell you friends: this past Tuesday marked the second coming of Neil Diamond. On Tuesday, Neil became cool.

On Tuesday, his latest CD, “12 Songs,” hit shelves to rave reviews. Rolling Stone magazine has given it four stars (out of five). Esquire is calling it his best album in forty years, and “Rubin’s best work ever.” The Billboard/SoundScan charts won’t be out until early next week, but you should expect to see it near the top.

For those who don’t know, Rick Rubin is the legendary, genre-jumping uberproducer responsible for more hit records than Suge Knight has felony convictions. He has racked up more production credits than Angelina Jolie has frequent-flyer miles. His career has almost spanned the entire history of hip-hop, as co-founder of Def Jam Records with Russell Simmons in 1984. He has produced tracks for the Beastie Boys, LL Cool J, Public Enemy and Jay-Z, to name but a few. In fact, it was Rubin who, in 1985, produced LL Cool J’s classic album “Radio,” one of the first hip-hop CDs by a solo artist.

In the late 1980s, Rubin broke away from Simmons and Def Jam to create his own label, Def American. He would later drop the “Def,” and the label would be known simply as “American Recordings.” It was under this label and Rubin’s production and tutelage that Johnny Cash launched his comeback in 1994. And, mark my words, Rick’s about to do the same thing for Neil Diamond.

Though his role in the evolution in hip-hop is indelible, the same could be said of his production of rock music. He has helmed efforts from Mick Jagger to Slayer, from the Red Hot Chili Peppers to Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers. He also—almost single-handedly—created the genre of rap-rock.

If it’s still posted, you can preview the entire album, “12 Songs” at www.myspace.com/neildiamond. If not, run out and grab a few copies. You won’t be disappointed.

-From Pulse
November 10, 2005