Hey, at the bottom of the interview there's a link to another interview - which may have been posted already - and there was one sentence by Scott that caught my attention:

"People will be quick to say they like the record or don’t like the record. But to do a record and learn and move on to the next stage—sometimes that’s the sacrifice you need to make."
http://www.out-and-about.com/Default.aspx?DN=fbaa51e8-e9e8-48fd-9904-456...

What does he really mean by that?

Is he admitting that making this album was an artistic "sacrifice", or maybe just the work process was?
I didn't quite understand that. He's also saying how there's a bunch of songs that they couldn't all (Rick and the brothers) agree on so they left them out. I hope those songs will be released fairly soon one day.

I don't know, I just have this feeling that the Avetts maybe didn't enjoy the experience with Rubin that much. Instead of saying how amazing he is, and giving him much praise, it seems like the answers about him are a bit dodgy and missing the point.

I think the album is going to be really good because I liked all the songs I heard so far (even though it was only live versions), but I don't think it's going to be the pinacle of their career or anything. Which is good, cause we will have more to look forward to..

this is from today - august 5
http://blogs.delawareonline.com/pulpculture/?p=4658

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- Jane

i'm the guy who interviewed Scott for the O&A article, so maybe i can clarify or elaborate on some of his answers.

i think by 'sacrifice,' Scott was referring to the way the band has changed thru the yrs; how they start doing one thing & morph into something else that might alienate the die-hards. this record might do that, too, but in a different way -- this could be the album that attracts a lot more people to the Avett Brothers & what they do, and that might be (naturally) weird for the folks who've been loyal from the beginning.

so the sacrifice, the way i took it, comes with trying to take your art to a better place & risking losing the support you already have.

i asked Scott a bunch of questions about working w/Rick Rubin, and he had nothing but positive things to say about the experience. what struck me most is that they more or less had the songs done, then brought them to Rubin, who helped with some of the arrangements & the weeding-out process. so there wasn't much, if any, discussion beforehand about how to approach the songs. the piano-&-drum foundation that backs most of "I and Love and You" was all Scott & Seth.

i got the impression that more than anything, Rick was an outsider listening in, a fan w/a really well-worn ear. he knew what to keep & what to leave behind, in order to end up w/the record that makes the strongest statement. he's not in the producer-as-collaborator role.

it wouldn't surprise me if they work together many times again (think of Rubin's relationships w/the Chili Peppers & Tom Petty). but i wouldn't be surprised if they didn't work together again, either, and that might have more to do w/the Avetts -- i think they'd be hesitant to keep doing something that felt too familiar.

i've heard the album, Madhat. it's not really good. it's incredible.

Hey Mason thanks for the reply.

I'm a very new fan, so for me all their songs are new and refreshing and it's even quite a lot to handle all at once! I'm glad to hear you say the album is incredible. I read the other thread on this forum which talks about how they changed through the years. Maybe they have, but I'm liking the variety right now. And I certainly think that they were losing a little (for example - Four Thieves Gone) on the greatness of their songs with the producing issue.

I was just hoping Rubin won't interfere with the "atmosphere" of the new record. I'm glad to hear you say it's not true.

The more I think about it the more it makes sense. Rubin might have prestige working with the likes of Petty, Johnny Cash, etc. but he also worked with Justin Timberlake and Red Hot (I think they're very stupid - musically of course), so Scott is just probably staying cool about the whole thing realizing that Rubin is not of the same degree of let's say, Leonard Chess...

Colombia Records is huge, but the Avett's are bigger.