Rubin Rescues Diamond From Rootkit Depression
by Andrew Tijs – December 5 2006
Rick Rubin has again teamed up with Neil Diamond following his ’12 Songs’ comeback.
According to Billboard, Diamond is recovering from a bout of depression following Sony BMG using rootkit software on his 2005 album ’12 Songs’.
His first all-original album since 2001 was a huge renaissance, hitting number four on the Billboard charts and was widely critically praised. But controversy over the copy-protect rootkit software, which installs itself on users computers and transmits information back to Sony (essentially a corporate computer virus), scared buyers off. Sony had to re-release it and other albums as standard CDs.
Now Diamond is in the clear and again working with super-producer Rick Rubin (who is reportedly producing new albums for U2, Linkin Park, Metallica, and another Johnny Cash release).
They haven’t confirmed whether it will be an album of originals or covers, Rubin telling Billboard “To kind of get warmed up, we started recording a couple of cover songs and Neil has been writing, but I haven’t heard any of the new stuff he’s been writing yet. But we still had a bunch of songs from the last sessions we did, so some of those might work their way into the next one.”