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Rick Rubin Talks New Records from Metallica, Chili Peppers, ZZ Top, and More
He’s been one of the most sought-after producers in rock for 25 years — and now that he’s also co-chairman of Columbia Records, Rick Rubin is also one of the busiest, with his hands in a dizzying list of current and upcoming projects.
Rubin discussed a number of those albums during a recent Billboard interview, conducted to celebrate the huge success of Columbia artist Adele’s new album, ’21′ (which, yes, Rubin co-produced). Up next on the schedule is the latest Red Hot Chili Peppers release, which he describes as a “Red Hot Chili Peppers that you’ve never heard before.”
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Mountain Guitarist Leslie West Recuperating Following Emergency Surgery
Guitar legend Leslie West, whose work with the band Mountain has been part of rock history since their unforgettable performance at Woodstock, is recovering after doctors were forced to amputate part of one leg over the weekend.
West, who was in Mississippi for a Mountain performance, was rushed to a Biloxi emergency room after noticing swelling in his leg — a condition made more serious by West’s 30-year struggle with diabetes. In order to save his life, doctors removed his leg up to the knee.
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Soundgarden Promises ‘Very Heavy’ New Album
They don’t have a release date, a title, or even a record company waiting to get it onto the shelves, but Soundgarden is in the studio working on its first new album in 15 years – and during a pair of recent interviews, frontman Chris Cornell and guitarist Kim Thayil hinted at what fans can expect to hear.
“We’re kind of doing it in stages,” says Thayil, adding, “We have about 14 songs in various stages of completion. Previously, we’d just block out a bunch of time and go and track everything at once, but we can’t really do that right now.”
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Lou Reed and Metallica to Release New Album Together
Aside from their shared love of the color black, Lou Reed and Metallica don’t have much in common – Metallica are heavy metal heroes, and Reed is the unofficial poet laureate of New York. Despite the differences, the band and Reed have announced yesterday they’ve recorded an album together.
Reed told Ultimate Classic Rock all it took was one concert to bring them together.
A 25th anniversary Rock and Roll Hall of Fame performance in 2009 found Metallica backing up Reed for a couple of songs. “We knew from then,” Reed told David Fricke of Rolling Stone, who broke the news, “that we were made for each other.”