Behind the music with Bob Rock: Gord Downie, Metallica, Mötley Crüe

so this is a cool space it's called The Warehouse owned by Brian Adams one of the iconic recording studios in Vancouver and we're here to talk to one of the iconic record producers from the city Bob Rock but first a look at his career in 30 seconds [Music] in the early 1980s Winnipeg born Bob rock found his greatest success behind the console as an engineer he worked a soundboard for some classic 80s albums and as a producer he helped create top selling records by the cult Motley Crew and Metallica [Music] Rock's most recent release is a collaboration with Gord Downey the two friends had been working on songs together on and off before Downey passed away in 2017. it's an album years in the making and very close to rock [Music] Bob Rock it's such a pleasure to to sit down with you thanks for doing this my pleasure it's great to meet you you're quite famous here yeah in Canada yeah like barely but that's okay let's um let's talk about Lester parfait and sure working with Gord Downey how did that project come about I had done two tragically hip albums World container and we are the same I had a great experience with them but Gordon I just became friends uh and talked talked about our families being Canadian loving hockey music and stuff so at the end of uh the project of we are the same uh he said do you have any music that I could maybe write some lyrics to and uh so I started sending them tracks so I sent sent a couple to him um and he sent something back and it was amazing it was like I was floored to be quite honest Adam your engineer is here and we're going to listen to uh one of the tracks on that album you chose North Shore why I think that was the first one that I sent him it was fully realized and he sent it back so Adam fired him [Music] this would have been kind of what Gord would have written about you know he would have gotten that and started writing the lyrics to that that nothing fancy just the basic song structure [Music] eyes heavenward we don't care we held hands between our bodies you were saying you don't usually listen to his vocal isolated so as you listen to it now what were you thinking well what I hear is all the beautiful nuances that that he brought to the vocal the performance but just as a note one line that sticks out to me is real to hand between our bikes you know that and this is what was the so great about him he paid it a picture like I can see the North Shore when you hear the whole song you know where it is no matter where it is I'm just saying you see the picture of what's happening it's a man and a woman that connect what's the process been like over the last few years after he passed away I really couldn't look at this I couldn't listen to it and um but someone became interested and maybe wanted to hear it and uh arts and crafts the label and so finally I took a look at it again and I finished it and when he passed away and not the last time I talked to him he said make sure everybody hears this so I had to I had to do it [Music] now I feel like I'm in a winery talking to an expert and I'm not and then I say something about wine when I listen to luster parfait I was thinking David Bowie like I don't know like it just sounded kind of like like bully I'm getting nothing from you so I guess I'm alone in this no you're not alone uh I mean uh Bowie and Mick runs in particular his guitar player is a huge influence he produced two of the parallels albums and we became very close friends so there's a lot of uh Bowie the stones Leicester parfait there's definitely a stone's feel uh there's horns on there which is strange but um yeah like I said all the influences that's why the album's so eclectic in terms of all the different songs so let's talk about the payolas for a moment and and for me my age I I was on the East Coast buying a lot of Records working at a radio station and uh I love eyes of a stranger I mean 40 it's been 40 years 40 years later I can it's one of those songs really isn't it I think so yeah no it is yeah I I can still listen to that song though and and it doesn't sound like I just I still I love it down [Music] a quick story this song came from uh Bob Marley album Natty Dread and I noticed that they were playing along to a drum machine so I ended up finding that drum machine and I was fiddling with it and uh I recorded a demo uh at Little Mountain when I finished the commercial I think it was Hudson's Bay we had a bit of tape so I recorded that with the assistant ninja the drummer that played on it so the whole track was pretty much done and when Mick Ronson came to hear a demo all her demos he said that you know I think we can't get better than that which is really surprising most producers would want to re-record it and put their stamp on it he just heard that it was great as it is so it's it's really just a demo so as a producer you've worked on a lot of big albums including what turned out to be Metallica's greatest selling album to tell me about that you know when you make a record you really don't know how it's going to turn out I think what made it different for me is that they were very opinionated and it was really hard to do the record but they challenged me and I challenged them and I think we ended up that it wasn't all just happy we were not fighting but there was just that that edge through the whole project that ended up being something special and the thing about the Metallica that Metallica album in particular was um James started singing rather than yelling and he was I think it's his most personal lyric any record he's made and you guys became like not only colleagues but friends right eventually it took a while yeah yeah yeah it took a while I had to prove myself constantly in that album did it sound like Metallica no it didn't it didn't even sound close the guitars aren't loud enough I'll let you guys do get out on this one tired of arguing and then I they're not tired when I walked in here today it was everything I hoped it would be in terms of the way it looks and it just it seems like an exciting place to be and I think in the history of music you hear what people talk about Muscle Shoals or honky Chateau or you know just just how how records sometimes reflect the sound of the studio they came from but now now we live in this era where you know Billy eilish can put together beautiful records that from what I understand she just does at home [Music] what do you think of that Trend the fact that people can just you know not have to come into a room like this and put out a song I just believe music wherever it comes from you know can be live drummer it can be a drum machine I've used that but the point being is whatever you got to do to make a record just do it whatever inspiration you draw from that's it's it's about inspiration hard work and just doing what you do so she can record it in a living room which that works for her she makes a great record that way not everybody should do that but it works for her and so you know Metallica's similar to a lot of the records that you worked on kind of a certain style yeah um but a little bit of Bob rock trivia and not a trivial point the two biggest selling albums he worked on are as I said Metallica that won't surprise anybody but the other one Michael Buble's well the Christmas album yeah but I've done worked on four albums with Michael so what's up with that Bob well what that is is the love of making records like I said it's I liked all kinds of Records people say what kind of music do you like let's just say good music you're very much still in the creative stage of of your career I get that you're still very active you clearly love what you're doing uh but what do you hope your legacy is in music I don't know I just never really thought about it I just you know hey it'd be great if somebody like the records that I made I'm fine with that that's it that sounds like a good Legacy yeah you know they I I'm really blessed that I've made a living support my family and I make music I mean I couldn't have asked for a better life to be quite honest well you are widely regarded as one of the best at what you do and it really has been very cool to sit down and chat with you a little bit thank you very much it's been a pleasure yeah