Rick Beato continues to set a new standard in interviews. A privilege to watch. Thank You.

Superunknown is a once in a lifetime example of serendipity. Right musicians with the right producer at the right time. Best record of the era IMO.

I have seen Michael interviewed a few different times now by a few different people, but I have never seen him be this open and comfortable. You got him to offer more opinion, insight, and knowledge than any of the other interviewers I have seen so far. He has an incredible wealth of information, but you helped us see the genius and artistry behind his work.

The musical history that Michael Beinhorn just dropped on the world is remarkable. This guy needs to write a book with all of his stories.

What a great interview.

I could listen to these two for another couple of hours. Brilliant interview.

Incredible interview. I remember hearing that Beinhorn had essentially forced Fruciante to add more distortion to his sound, but Chad joining the band--a harder hitter and driving the band in a way that they hadn't been driven before--really kind of forced them to play faster and harder. You can hear it all over Mother's Milk, and that's one of the reasons that album is my favorite by them. The other thing that Beinhorn did with bands, was to take them to the next level. The Chili Peppers were considered a liability by EMI due to the drug usage and general unreliability, Soul Asylum were perennially stuck as heirs to the Minneapolis school of Replacements/ Huskers rock, but even by the late 80's, both of those bands either lost their way or broke up and didn't know how to translate underground acclaim to wider audiences, and neither did the major labels. Soundgarden also were the last of the big four Seattle bands to not have their definitive album, as mentioned in this interview, but I feel that this is not mentioned enough. Badmotorfinger is an incredible album, but its heaviness and odd time signatures were not going to break them to a wider audience. What Beinhorn did with Superunknown was make it more accessible and keep the weird time signatures, but in a more palatable way. One of the things that I love about that album is that Chris was finally using his lower, natural speaking register. It can't be a coincidence......Beinhorn must have mentioned that all the high register screamy vocals were just to be used to make a point or as coloration, but not a place to stay for a whole song as Chris often did in the past. Beinhorn dialed back the metal, and as a result, other things (psychedelia, more songwriter/ song oriented things) came to the forefront. As Beinhorn mentions, the Beatles/ Cream thing comes through, but through Chris' filter and style. There is definitely a bluesier thing going on with some of the record. Instead of making Badmotorfinger part 2, Soundgarden made the next step in their career, and I've long felt that Chris' work in both singing and songwriting really came to the forefront, actually, on the Temple Of The Dog album, which I always wanted to hear more of. You hear far more of his lower singing register on that record, and "Say Hello 2 Heaven" just totally nails everything that it is supposed to do. Superunknown, for me (with Dirt being a very close second) wins the award from me for the best album of the four bands. It was as if they waited for the other bands to make their definitive statements, and then gave everything they had. And I'm a huge Nevermind fan. The three dimensionalism, experimentation and sonics are unparalleled on Superunknown. The production is my template of how a rock record should sound, and it is a dream team of Beinhorn, Brendan O Brien and Jason Corsaro (of the Power Station behind all those big 80's albums). I remember buying Superunknown on cassette in 1994, and being shocked that it was on CrO2 tape, which is a higher fidelity and more expensive tape. For the customer! A 70 minute CrO2 tape must have cost the label and therefore the band a massive amount of money. The downside for bands, of course, is that working with Beinhorn was often not their favorite thing. Michael mentioned this deterioration of the relationship between him and the Chili Peppers, and I also remember Chris Cornell, when asked why the band produced Down On The Upside themselves, was because they "got tired of telling the producer no". Beinhorn obviously challenged the bands that he works with, and for me, for the better. But I can understand that the artists feel that their creativity and personality is being stifled and changed by someone. For the listener, I feel that the best possible record is being made.

What makes Rick special is the depth of his familiarity with the technical aspects of production plus his awesome attitude.

The dude is so chill. Same tone as if you asked "Did you feed the cat?" "I did" as "Did you produce Soundgaden's Superunknown "I did", like he had tp pause for a moment to think about it!

This is a mindblowing interview, full of key historical information,,

As a drummer who played in a hip hop band this was astounding to know this dude made the “FRESH” scratch. 🤯

Herbie Hancock is one of my absolute fav musicians bar none. Admittedly, I'm way more into the Headhunters era records, but I had ZERO idea that the same guy who produced Future Shock also did Mother's Milk and Superunknown (among others).

I love how they both started head bobbing when Black Hole Sun hit. I was right there with them

To this day, Soundgarden super unknown is one of the greatest sounding albums ever !

This interview needs to go on for another 10 episodes

I hadn’t heard of this guy before. This is my favorite interview of all of them that Rick has done. Absolutely fascinating.

Rick is "THE" History Channel for generations to come. So diverse and interesting.

Michael's got such beautiful energy, gonna enjoy this, thank you! And PLEASE get Billy Gibbons, he's not only one of the most remarkable musicians of all time, but also the most enthusiastic and eloquent storyteller imaginable.

I love that when Rick brought up Love Battery, Michael perked up. That's why people love to be interviewed by Rick.

Listening to how well constructed and developed the Black Hole Sun demo that Chris Cornell wrote and created and brought to the studio is mind blowing. Hes playing everything on it really well and hes captured all the key elements of the song. Its such an acomplished composition, so much more than most demos you'd hear from other well known bands and musicians . SG were a complete sum.of their parts, all brilliant musicians and songwriters. If you've not heard the original Black Hole Sun demo by Chris Cornell, search it up on KZfaq. Has to be heard.

I was lucky enough to have Michael do the pre-production and “remote production” on my band’s last record. I learned so much from him, it was an experience that I’ll never forget. He brought out the very best in us and I cannot thank him enough. Rick, thank you for asking all the right questions!

This episode is a perfect example of what I love about your videos. I clicked on it because I saw Korn and RHCP in the title, but I was drawn in and captivated by how you drew Michael in to a conversation with you. That caused me to become totally engrossed in the video and I was very entertained by Michael’s personality, his quirky impressions, and by the stories he has to tell. This is another A+ video Rick!! 🤘🏻👍🏻

I think Superunknown is the most important album of the last 35 years... A true masterpiece. Immediately fell in love with the mood, the sound, the heaviness, and Chris voice... OMG !! Everything was perfect !!

Superb interview! Bienhorn fully understands what's happened to music and has articulated it perfectly here.

Michael’s a fascinating guy, I could listen to him for hours… oh, I just did 😅 Definitely one of my favorite Beato interviews 🎙️ 🔥

Michael produced two of my favorite records of all time: Soundgarden's Superunknown, and Ozzy's Ozzmosis 👏👏👏👏👏

Rick, I’ve listened to every one of your interviews and they are an incredible gift. But this is one of my absolute favorites. There’s some deep sh!t in this one.. I never even knew this guy, and he’s so interesting and thoughtful. Thank you so much

The origins of of the iconic "Aaaaahhh....this stuff is really fresh" sound clip is worth the watch alone. It pretty much defined early 80s hip hop!!! Starting at 14:00!! I had no idea.... These interviews are PRICELESS!!

Didnt know anything about Michael prior to this interview but I didn’t want it to end! So informative how you put your guests at ease and let them just talk, Rick. So refreshing.

This is an absolute pleasure to hear this interview with Mike. He's so insightful and interesting. He summed up the state of music presently better than anyone ive ever heard. Also ,what a fabulous producer and story teller. Thanks Rick and Mike.

That was a great interview, thanks Rick and Michael. Nearly 30 years later Superunkown is still one of my favourite albums and still sounds incredible, so hearing those anecdotes was amazing. I'm glad you all drove each other crazy making that album because it will go down as one of the best albums of the 90's, if not the best.

What a treat. Just listening to Michael talk about Black Hole Sun was so inspiring and moving. Superunknown is of the best sounding albums, imo.

Amazing! Now you only have to interview Brendan ‘O’Brien !!!! Bravo

These interviews are making history!

I remember the band I was playing bass in at the time of “Superunknown” in rehearsal waiting for the drummer to show up. When he finally did he told us, “Listen to this,” and played Black Hole Sun. It was so fresh, unique, and different that it was almost tough process on the first listen, from the cracking drums to the scorching guitar solo to Chris doubling his vocal track with a low whisper on the third chorus. Brilliant! Rest In Peace, CC. 🙏🏻

Rick is so good about just letting his guests talk. You can tell they love being there and letting the stories just flow.

Such an important role in so many important 90s songs. Amazing.

Beinhorn's way of telling a story is so fantastic. Really great interview. You've gotta snag Steve Miller for a couple hours, Rick. He's got some stories...Texas, Chicago, San Francisco, NYC....

Another amazing Beato interview . Michael is amazing and his laugh is terrific.

In my honest opinion, of all the producers you have interviewed this was the best. And I will admit that the content plays a huge role in my opinion (me being born in '82 so I was a child of 90's music and huge Soundgarden fan)! But the stories and his detailed memory of events, along with his views, which he brilliantly described and made easy for the listener to relate, were all excellent! Of course your lead and questions throughout really drove the interview Rick. Brilliant man! AWESOME interview!

This was great. I'd love to see Rick talk to more legendary producers. Brendan O Brien next perhaps?

Great interview! Loved how they took more time on Soundgarden. How can you not?! When I hear Chris back then he to me was like a George Jones or Gregg Allman ……..you ponder , “ how did he do it ?” Irreplaceable.

The chills and yes tear in my eye I got when rick played Fell On Black Days. ❤

I enjoyed this interview so much! What a blessing to have access to such brilliant insights it literally felt like 20mins. More power to you both!

So he produced all drums on herbie hancock's rock it !! Amazing.

I can't believe hes so pivotal in my favorite RHCP album

Time well spent...yet again. Thank you both.

Thank you again Rick for another stellar interview that can be viewed again and again for reference. I wish it was even longer which basically goes for all of your interviews. Thank You!

Fascinating interview and I truly deeply appreciate being able to see it. Keep it up Rick. You are killing the game.

Rick is an excellent interviewer because he’s a great listener-well, of course he is! He built his entire career on LISTENING!!

One of the most compelling interviews ever. Thank you both!

The amazing conversation I didn't know I needed to hear... Two great minds and music lovers putting it all out there... Thank you both!

Rick - I always learn a lot from your interviews about music and business. Thanks again to you and Michael!

I love listening to you guys talking about this art. It's like talking about any art and the process of exploration and the importance of pushing it beyond the comfortable and not letting what you come up with become so precious that you stop creating way too soon. And then you are careful about pushing it too far that you loose the sweet spot. The whole time trying to weigh a ton of input and factors to figure out when you trust yourself to say it's done.

This is the best interview yet in my opinion. I really loved hearing Michael Beinhorn speak about his incredible career. Great work Rick Beato!

That was one of the best interviews I have seen so far (I probably say this always when Rick interviews someone). I would really enjoy another one with Michael continuing with information from his catalogue up to his latest work. Beautiful. Thank you, Rick!

Phenomenal interview, thank you to both you and Michael! There are some old concert recordings of Soundgarden on youtube, audience recordings, not professional, where you can actually hear what Michael is talking about when talks about how loud Chris' vocals were. You can literally feel and hear (even more so in these rudimentary recordings than in the professional ones, because they recorded more of the room than off of the sound equipment itself) the walls and the ceilings of the venues trembling and shaking, like they are about to crumble. Sheer power!

I don't know if it's nostalgia or not, but that's what our band is trying to recapture, basically what Michael and Rick talks about at the end of this video. Writing and recording music that can transmit emotions and to take their audience on a trip and create their own story with our work as a soundtrack. It's what I used to love listening to groups like Yes, ELP and so many others! It's why we named our band Old School- The Band and named our debut album "Willoughby", a nod to returning to a more perfect world, a simpler time, when music took us on a journey. With a producer like Michael, you've got to trust beyond those moments of personal creative frustrations. Great interview as always, Rick!

Only got round to watching this now. I knew it would be good but this was superb, great mix of in depth technical questions, unique stories/insights and big picture perspectives. Most captivating is the enthusiasm and love for all things music that runs through it all. If this was a regular podcast with just the two of you, I'd listen to every episode, great energy between you two.

So grateful for the fact that Michael was not shy when it comes to talking about budgets or different receptions of records within different stages of the production etc. The kind of information that is very hard to find, and puts things in perspective.

Thank you so much Michael and Rick. This was a very compelling interview. I was completely engrossed start to finish. I would absolutely love to see a part 2.

Soul Asylum is an underrated rock and roll band. Their four album run from 1988-1995 is pure gold.

Fascinating interview, Rick. This is the first time I get to meet Michael Beinhorn's face. Your interviews are interesting but it's the details and technicalities you talk about what makes them so special and enjoyable. They're also educational. Bravo.

another awesome interview ... thank you again for sharing ... love the insights of all these awesome albums and bands !!!

This was an amazing interview. I don't know how Rick continues to raise his own bar but this channel is becoming something that needs to be archived and shared for the ages once he's finished with it. I guess being on youtube it is those things but I'm thinking something even bigger.

Rick, you somehow manage to get these guys to talk about the stuff we are really interested in ! I feel like I actually understand what was in Micheal's head when doing the Soundgarden record... the sonics of it. Great interview !

I've listened to just about all these interviews--can't say enough about how much I appreciate hearing and learning about the industry, sound, creativity, and production from real people. Absolutely spectacular conversations especially this one! What brilliant and honest observations, notes, and deep dive into the industry, time, and artistry. Thank you so much.

I watch this like 20 minute at a time over 2 weeks, it was so pack full of gems. I think the best interview so far!

I really loved this interview. So much music history in Beinhorn's career. Fascinating.

You had me from the unison head nods. This guy's a legend, thx RB!

Great interview. Michael's commentary about the current state of the music business was incredibly well stated. Hoping for a part two down the road.

WOW! So much great material touching on all aspects of the industry. The whole time, I felt like I'm sitting right there at the table, too. Thank you, Rick, for taking us along on your adventures.

I'm so grateful for these stories and knowledge being shared. Thank you, Rick! 🎉🎉🎉

rick these interviews are getting better and better, fabulous questions, serious recording/mixing geek out, but then also 30k view context on the industry, budgets, business practices... the ending I didn't want it to end, like the Andy Summer's interview, Micael has blueprinted some amazing pieces of music, so influential, and your interview style and question depth makes my experience as a viewer, amazingly appreciative and most reverent.. I just wish Hendrix was still alive so you could interview him. thank you and blessings to you and your family over the holidays

Another great interview. I’m already ready for part two.

Incredible interview. These Beato interviews are creating an unparalleled catalog of knowledge. Thank you both.

Michael is a super interesting, talented dude with some really interesting takes. Rick, you really dug into so much of what I’ve wanted to hear him talk about and as usual gave him the space to do so. Well done.

In my opinion, your best interview. That's saying something, considering the great interviews that you've conducted and posted. But, to me, it's not even close. The quintessential interview of the 90s music scene, with the perfect balance of production tech, personal stories, and music. Thank you for sharing!

This interview is just absolute top shelf, Rick you just have a way with interviews where everyone just pours out their best work with you.

What an absolutely wonderful interview. That's the first time I've heard him, but he's the sort of person you could listen for hours on his experience and his opinions. Bravo Rick!

Truly captivating from beginning to end. My favourite Beinhorn interview so far! Great job, Rick!

Another indispensable interview! Material was one of my favorite groups at the time. I ran out and bought Future Shock. Michael influenced me to employ radio and shortwave in my own music.

Great interview…. I wanted so much more time with him. His relationship with music and capturing it is so amazing. He was able to express so many of the things I’ve wondered and felt about music. Truly amazing. His recordings are some of the best.

Fantastic interview. Gold! Thank you Rick and Michael.

This was an amazing interview. Love how Michael lives completely in the analog world. It’s like a lost art.

Excellent episode - Superunknown is to me the peak of that whole era and the best collection of recordings Soundgarden ever did. And that's high praise considering their repertoire.

Superunknown is a great example of “lightning in a bottle”. I always wonder about how they did it, and it was great to hear this interview. It’s one of my favourite albums for sure. Great interview cheers

This is a gem of an interview. Michael seems to be at a place in his life to look back and share, with a twinkle in his eye, his path in what was a crazy industry. A genuine, seemingly humble human, resourceful artist, and perhaps, a pioneer. ❤ . Thank you both🎉.

Unreal. This... is one of the best conversations I've heard on either channel. I learned a ton, and Michael is incredible at describing his experiences. Well done, both of you. Thank you!!🤘🎶💪🍻

I have to admit I have never really listened to SG until now and have a whole new level appreciation of them. Please schedule 2 days of 10hrs each over Xmas with interviews like this so we can loxk the door and put the headphones on for entertainment and disappear in the void! Fantastic work and see if you can get him to come back!

Incredible! Michael produced RHCP, Soundgarden, and Fuel records all of which had and still have a massive effect on me to this day. Always grateful to hear his thoughts and experiences. The world is a better place for his contributions to music.

one of your finest interviews. I could watch over and over to catch all the wisdom and the gems. Superunknown has always been one of my favorited albums of all time and id argue Soundgarden's best overall record. that drum sound is unmatched. Chris Cornell was able to shine as a songwriter. I love Michaels commitment to his craft, even fighting with the band to achieve the best possible sound. it worked. superunkown is a triumph. I remember being 15 yrs with my discman listening to it on my bus ride to school and getting lost in that ocean of sound. not really understanding what I heard but absolutely worshipping it. I saw Chris on his last tour here at red rocks in colorado. it was them , the mars Volta and NIN headlining. what a fucking show! RIP Chris Cornell.

I would do anything to work for Michael. I'd work for free, clean his house, food runs, clean bathrooms. To learn 1 percent of his studio knowledge. After this interview he has replace Rick Rubin on my bucket list. Greatest interview ever..... well done Rick.

Brilliant interview yet again Rick. Michael is such a legend....dude is the Clark Kent and Superman of producing!

omg i love this. michael is always a delight; i've never heard him so at ease simply put, you're the expert of interviewing people in your industry, Rick :)

Huge interview Sir Beato, Michael Beinhorm is one of the best and most interesting and rarely interviewed producers when you simply think that he produced Rock It by herbie Hancock, revolutionizing Electro-Funk and Hip Hop , and producing Superunknown by Soundgarden. What a range! What beautiful ears and taste this guy has!!! Thank you, thank you, thank you! (and yes, we are waiting for a part 2, talking about the music industry, and changes needed)

Terrific interview with Michael Beinhorn, full of valuable information and great stories.

one of your best videos. I mix sound for film and I find it fascinating to hear how he used different gear to achieve the feel he was after. You music guys are a whole different level.

The depth and pace of these interviews make you feel like you're right in there. Just amazing.

So much enjoyment from this video. Thank you Rick and Michael for sharing your time with us.