Rubin ruined CSN recording

Moving on: Graham Nash

Graham Nash says producer Rick Rubin was responsible for Crosby, Stills and Nash abandoning their last album.

He describes working with the controversial deskman as “not a great experience” – but he insists they’ll finish the job, despite bandmate Stephen Stills’ claims that they won’t.

Nash tells Music Radar: “Two things are happening. One, Stephen doesn’t know the big picture. Two, Stephen is very deaf. He may have misheard or he may have been answering the question he thought you asked.

“Crosby, Stills and Nash will do another record. We’re right in the middle of one, Songs We Wish We’d Written.”

The covers album was the project they initially hired Rubin to assist with, but soon abandoned the idea and started again without him.

Nash says: “After almost 50 years of making records, we think we know what we’re doing, so it’s very hard to tell Crosby, Stills and Nash what to do. You can suggest anything you want, but you can’t tell us what to do.

“First of all, he pissed off David Crosby. David said we wanted to do Blackbird and another Beatles song. Rick said, ‘There will only be one Beatles song.’ Crosby said, ‘There will only be one Beatles song if we decide there will only be one Beatles song.’ You know, like, ‘Who the fuck are you to tell me?’

“You can’t tell us what to do. Rick is a brilliant man – but we rubbed each other the wrong way. Where’s the heart? It wasn’t there. I mean, who the fuck is Rick Rubin? I know he’s sold millions of records, but who the fuck is he to tell Crosby, Stills and Nash what to do?

“Guide us, yes. Make suggestions, fantastic. ‘Try it this way,’ no problem. But don’t tell us what to do. You can’t.”

ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons recently suggested Rubin was responsible for delays to the release of their long-awaited next album, while Slipknot and Stone Sour frontman Corey Taylor last year stated he’d never work with the producer again in his life. Muse once thanked him for “teaching us how not to produce.” He’s currently working with Black Sabbath, and plans to return to the Metallica fold later.

Nash says his band have recorded versions of Close Your Eyes, Behind Blue Eyes and Ruby Tuesday, amongst others – but he can’t say when the work will be completed.

“We’re on tour until October,” he explains. “It’s hard to get three people into the studio if they’re doing different things and have different schedules.

“So it comes off that Stephen thinks there’ll be no new recordings – which couldn’t be further from the truth.”