There are many musicians who like and have worked with producer Rick Rubin, but Pete Townshend is not one of them.
Discussing creativity on Gary Kemp and Guy Pratt’s Rockonteurs podcast, he criticized Rubin, saying, “You see a lot of stuff on YouTube and Instagram, people nagging you about the way that you have to be creative.
“Somebody needs to occasionally slap Rick Rubin, because, one minute he’s telling us that we need to do whatever we like, and then, on the other hand, he’s telling us that we mustn’t do this, and we mustn’t do that.
“The book of rules for me is… I’ve dabbled with all of those methods. I’ve carried complete big, recording studios on the road with me sometimes, and then sometimes I’ve used little cassette machines. I’ve recorded in all kinds of different ways. And if I fancy going into a studio with a huge orchestra, I’ve done that too. But what’s most interesting is the paper. The paper, the photograph, the writing.”
He went onto say that creativity is “not just about rock stars, pop stars, singers, musicians, artists, or whatever. It’s about everybody.”
But, he wasn’t all down on Rubin, saying, “As Rick Rubin so rightly says, and many other pundits about creativity, it has to be fun. It has to be enjoyable. It has to be something that you love to do, and it also has to be something that you like what you do. But it doesn’t necessarily mean that anybody else will like it.”
Among the artists Rubin has produced are Metallica, Adele, Lady Gaga, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Johnny Cash and Aerosmith.
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