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Is Rick Rubin’s “book on how to be a creative” awesome, patronising or both?

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As a (failed) musician, few names conjure respect quite like Rick Rubin. Despite being a self-trained producer with little in the way of technical prowess (legend has it his engineers do all the dirty work) the man has managed to become that rare commodity - a producer that’s arguably just as revered as the acts he produces.

He has also, however, been incredibly rich and famous now for the best part of 30 years. So, when he announced his new book “The Creative Act: A Way of Being,” I was in two minds about reserving my copy. I mean, I’m a music nerd so I’m definitely the target audience here, but the man himself describes the book thusly: “I set out to write a book about what to do to make a great work of art but instead, it revealed itself to be a book on how to be.

I don’t know about you, but there’s more than a hint of the “live laugh love” about that sentence that doesn’t quite sit right with me.

A way of being

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The book’s UK publisher Canongate, makes a more compelling case for the book. It says that The Creative Act will outline “the principles of creativity for creators of all kinds, including people in their everyday lives,” as well as offering “revelatory insight into the mysterious process of making stuff great.That sounds interesting, of course, but it’s also a sentence that sounds pretty familiar.

Anyone that’s ever read one of those “how to be a creative” books will tell you (unless they’re writing one themselves) the information contained within is largely empty. White noise. Like the contents of a throwaway blog stretched beyond reason. Without such an audacious name attached to it, there’s not a chance in hell I’d even give it a second glance.

The man behind the sun

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Widely regarded as one of the greatest record producers of all time, Rubin has worked across a diverse list of genres; from thrash metal to hip-hop, country to pop and just about everything in between. His first recordings as a producer were for his own punk band, Hose, after which he moved into working with hip-hop artists after growing tired of hearing early hip-hop recordings that bore little resemblance to the live MC/DJ sets he was experiencing while at college in New York. 

Fast forward to the 90’s and his work with bands like the Red Hot Chilli Peppers and later Johnny Cash cemented him as the godfather of eccentric production. He’s produced everyone from Slayer to Adele. He also recently made headlines by collaborating with Paul McCartney on McCartney 3,2,1, a documentary series in which the former Beatle talks Rubin through some of his greatest recordings.

Do we care?

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So, he’s a big deal. But does that necessarily mean we want to hear him wax lyrical about “how to be” from the comfort of his gilded pedestal? His charges regularly refer to him as more of a “guru” figure; a man who is more about getting a great performance out of someone than “fixing it in post.” In that regard, maybe he might have some sage words of advice for creatives of all stripes.

Having watched McCartney 3,2,1 recently, I have to admit he’s an engaging man to spend some downtime with. But can his words be so profound as to offer us a “way to be” as creatives and human beings? Probably not but either way you can judge for yourself when The Creative Act: A Way of Being is released in early 2023.

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