shut up and listen

Simple plucked acoustic guitar intro on two guitars, one left and one right, for four bars. Vocal comes in right in the centre, closed mic intimate. After the first four lines of the verse a piano chord joins in on the 2 count.

First chorus features heavy low piano chords on the changes. A sustained (organ?) fills in the latter part of the chorus. The guitar playing becomes more strident.

Second verse intro goes back to acoustic guitars, slightly more piano than the first verse, this time on the 1 counts. Latter half of verse features a flute sound (harmonium?).

Second chorus is backed by sustained woodwind/strings, second half features a big bass sound underpinning the chords. At this point the track starts to really push the limits, getting more and more distorted as it progresses, especially the vocal.

The music stops for the delivery of the final vocal line, which is no longer distorted.

Overall a simple but powerful production. There is nothing that sounds processed or treated, no overt reverbs or effects, keeping it sounding raw and natural. Therefore the distortion is quite a bold move, because if you are producing with a view to creating a totally natural sound you wouldn’t dream of going near distortion, especially on the vocal. But it makes perfect sense in the context of the song – the lyric being about self-harm and Cash singing it at a time when he was so old and frail. Plus it being originally a Nine Inch Nails song, famed for processed, heavy distortion, makes this production move all the more inspired.

Rubin shows that production doesn’t have to be about bells and whistles but it does have to be appropriate to the song and the artist.