Quote:
Originally Posted by Thinny
The difference is Bob Rock is not a Yes Man. He will challenge Jon's choices and push him. If you seen any of the Metallica footage with Bob, they were the biggest metal band in the world and Bob would challenge them all the time. That, in my opinion is what a good producer does. Your job as a producer is pointless if you just agree with your boss all the time, which is, in my opinion, exactly what Shanks does. I guess that's what Jon needs/wants right now. Fair enough, but it leads to the same old stuff time and time again. If Jon's voice wasn't an issue, I can't help but think that he would have moved on from Shanks a long time ago. At this point it's just comfortable for Jon.
In some ways I think it was the same thing with Richie, he would push Jon and question his decisions. Jon got to the point where he prefers to have Phil and Shanks who are basically paid to do what he wants them to do instead.
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When Bob Rock went to war with Metallica, they were not the biggest metal band in the world. But yes, he pushed them hard and helped them to commercial success. It is worth remembering that there is a massive chunk of the Metallica fanbase that rues the direction the band went in when driven by Bob Rock.
Another important point is that Metallica were the ones balancing the relationship they had with Bob Rock. That antagonism was both ways and is just not something Jon would engage at this stage or I doubt even back then. Of all the major records Rock has produced, the least known about is KTF. If Rock was hired he would be as a yes man or not be hired at all.
It is also interesting that as you follow Metallica through the 90s and into SKOM and St Anger, Rock increasingly did become a yes man. St Anger shows this because there are decisions on that album that could only be be undertaken by a producer bowing to the band.
That said, Rock has a cleaner sound and knows how to maximize rock music even when little is there. I would take him over Shanks any day, even as a yes man. There is also no doubt in my mind that Metallica has only sounded really good on record when Bob Rock was producer. Even so, I push back that he is an uncompromising visionary. I think he will turn yes man pretty easily and indeed has done in the past.