The 3 Musicians Rick Rubin Thinks Are at the Top of Their Game: “Their Ability To Play Is on Another Planet”

Legendary producer Rick Rubin has named the three musicians he considers to be “on another planet” in terms of skill, and they’re all in the same band. In a recent interview, Rubin named Red Hot Chili Peppers’ John Frusciante, Flea, and Chad Smith as his top artists.

“You also have to keep in mind [Red Hot Chili Peppers is] a really good band. It’s why I say I’m not a musician. They’re some of the best musicians in the world — Chad, Flea and John, those three musicians, I don’t know if you can find better musicians than those three,” said Rubin, per a report from Ultimate Guitar.

Rubin has had a bit of a love affair with the Chili Peppers since 1991. Then, he helped the band create a new sound and image with Blood Sugar Sex Magik. From there, Rubin worked on all the next Chili Peppers albums, besides The Getaway from 2016. He even won a Producer of the Year GRAMMY for his work on Stadium Arcadium in 2006.

Continuing his praise of Frusciante, Flea, and Smith, Rubin said, “It’s [the] peak. Whether you like their music or not, their ability to play is on another planet.”

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Producer Rick Rubin Still Loves Red Hot Chili Peppers Even After Decades of Working Together

After decades of working together on chart-topping albums and singles, Rick Rubin still seems to hold genuine awe for the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ abilities. The shine hasn’t worn off, so to speak.

“So, what you’re hearing is, yeah, it sounds good, but it sounds good because it’s them playing it,” Rubin continued. “If three other people were playing those instruments, it would not sound good, with the same setup. It’s in the touch. It’s them, the way they attack their instruments. Obviously, some good choices were made in mic placement, but you could have the exact same mic placement with someone else playing, and it would not be that.”

Specifically, Rubin spoke about how the Chili Peppers still affect people’s lives even after being in the business for so long. “I don’t know, but I think there’s a spirit and energy in the music. It’s free,” he said. “They’re really rooted in this thing, and it’s not an intellectual process. They’re feeling something, and it comes through them. And we’re lucky enough to see it come through them, because it really does come through them. And we get to a section where John plays a solo, and it feels like the sky opens up. It’s insane!”

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