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Author Topic: First recording songs of different studios  (Read 6306 times)
PickupExcitations
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« on: March 28, 2020, 09:04:11 AM »

The Beach Boys recorded their songs in several studios during their career, and my question is how did they find these studios and what's their first songs recorded there?

World Pacific Studio: Oct. 1961 for "Surfin'"? (Some sources said that it was recorded in Hite Morgan Studios. Don't know which one is correct...) Was it the only studio they could book at that time???

Hite Morgan Studios: Someime in 1961 for some demos?

Capitol Studios: 1962 for some songs from Surfin' Safari album? Why did they seldom use the studio afterwards?

Western Recorders: April 1962 for "Surfin' Safari" single? How did they find the place? Did this studio have the best equipment in LA and why did Brian love it that much?

Sunset Sound: When? Pet Sounds era?

CBS Columbia Square: Maybe around 1965?

Gold Star Studios: 1966 for "Wouldn't It Be Nice"?

Brian Wilson's home recording: The end of '66 for The Smile Sessions?

Brother Studios: Sorry, don't know that much...
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c-man
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« Reply #1 on: March 28, 2020, 09:58:08 AM »

See answers in caps below (caps used just so the answers stand out, not 'cause I'm shouting Wink  ) -

World Pacific Studio: Oct. 1961 for "Surfin'"? (Some sources said that it was recorded in Hite Morgan Studios. Don't know which one is correct...) Was it the only studio they could book at that time???  THEIR PRODUCER, HITE MORGAN, CHOSE THE STUDIO - I BELIEVE HE'D USED IT BEFORE.

Hite Morgan Studios: Someime in 1961 for some demos?  LIKEWISE

Capitol Studios: 1962 for some songs from Surfin' Safari album? Why did they seldom use the studio afterwards?  WHEN THEY SIGNED TO CAPITOL, THEY WERE INITIALLY REQUIRED TO USE THEIR IN-HOUSE STUDIO (AS WELL AS THE IN-HOUSE PRODUCER, NIK VENET, WHO SIGNED THEM TO THE LABEL). AS FOR WHY THEY NEVER USED IT AGAIN:  CARL LATER SAID THAT WHILE CAPITOL WAS GREAT FOR RECORDING ARTISTS LIKE NAT KING COLE, AND COULD ACHIEVE A FABULOUS STRING SOUND, IT WAS "CRAPPY" FOR RECORDING ROCK 'N' ROLL GUITARS.

Western Recorders: April 1962 for "Surfin' Safari" single? How did they find the place? Did this studio have the best equipment in LA and why did Brian love it that much?  BEFORE SIGNING TO CAPITOL, THEY REPORTEDLY VISITED A FEW OF THE SMALLER, INDEPENDENT STUDIOS SUCH AS WESTERN, AND USED THIS ONE TO CUT THE DEMO THAT LANDED THEM THEIR DEAL. "SURFIN' SAFARI", AS RELEASED, IS FROM THAT ORIGINAL DEMO REEL (AS ARE "409" AND "LONELY SEA").

Sunset Sound: When? Pet Sounds era?  ACTUALLY TWO YEARS EARLIER - THEY RECORDED "THE MONKEY'S UNCLE" MOVIE THEME SONG WITH ANNETTE THERE, UNDER THE DIRECTION OF PRODUCER TUTI CAMARATA, WHO WORKED FOR DISNEY, THE FILM'S DISTRIBUTOR. SUNSET SOUND WAS HIS STUDIO. BY '66, IT WAS BECOMING POPULAR AMONG YOUNG ROCK BANDS AND YOUNGER PRODUCERS, SO BRIAN USED IT FOR THE "HERE TODAY" TRACKING SESSION, AS WELL AS ONE OF THE "GOOD VIBRATIONS" TRACKING SESSIONS AND A "GOOD VIBRATIONS" EDITING SESSION. FROM '69-'72, THE OTHER BEACH BOYS USED SUNSET EXTENSIVELY FOR THEIR SESSIONS.

CBS Columbia Square: Maybe around 1965?  PRIOR TO JOINING THE BEACH BOYS, BRUCE JOHNSTON WAS SIGNED TO COLUMBIA RECORDS, BOTH AS AN ARTIST (SOLO AND AS PART OF BRUCE & TERRY) AND AS A PRODUCER. IN THAT ROLE, HE WORKED ALMOST EXCLUSIVELY AT THE COLUMBIA STUDIO. BY THE TIME HE JOINED THE BEACH BOYS, COLUMBIA HAD BECOME THE FIRST LOS ANGELES STUDIO TO ACQUIRE AN 8-TRACK RECORDER. HE SUGGESTED TO BRIAN THAT THEY TAKE THEIR INSTRUMENTAL TRACKS TO COLUMBIA, BOUNCE THEM DOWN TO ONE TRACK, AND THEREFORE HAVE UP TO SEVEN TRACKS ON WHICH TO RECORD VOCALS - HENCE THEY DID. CONVIENTLY, COLUMBIA WAS JUST ACROSS THE STREET FROM WESTERN!

Gold Star Studios: 1966 for "Wouldn't It Be Nice"? - BRIAN USED GOLD STAR AS EARLY AS JUNE OF '63 (FOR THE VERSION OF "BACK HOME" THAT APPEARS ON THE MADE IN CALIFORNIA BOX SET), BUT ACCORDING TO THE STUDIO'S CO-OWNER STAN ROSS, GOLD STAR WAS ONE OF THE STUDIOS THE WILSON FAMILY VISITED PRIOR TO SIGNING WITH CAPITOL. WHEN BRIAN DISCOVERED THAT HIS IDOL, PHIL SPECTOR, USED GOLD STAR FOR HIS "WALL OF SOUND" PRODUCTIONS, HE BEGAN TO USE IT FREQUENTLY FOR SUCH RECORDINGS AS "BE TRUE TO YOUR SCHOOL" (SINGLE VERSION) AND "WHY DO FOOLS FALL IN LOVE" (IN FACT, THE BEACH BOYS ALSO RECORDED THEIR VOCALS FOR THESE CUTS THERE), AS WELL AS THE INSTRUMENTAL TRACKS FOR "DO YOU WANNA DANCE", "WOULDN'T IT BE NICE", "I JUST WASN'T MADE FOR THESE TIMES", "GOOD VIBRATIONS", AND A LOT OF SMiLE.

Brian Wilson's home recording: The end of '66 for The Smile Sessions? ACTUALLY, JUNE OF '67 - THE STORY GOES THAT WITH THE COLLAPSE OF SMiLE, BRIAN BECAME RELUCTANT TO TRAVEL TO THE BIG STUDIOS TO RECORD, SO THE BOYS AND THEIR ENGINEER, JIM LOCKERT, HAD A STUDIO INSTALLED IN HIS HOME IN ORDER TO MEET THEIR RECORDING COMITIMENTS. THEY STILL USED WALLY HEIDER'S NEW STUDIO 3 IN L.A., WHICH INTERESTINGLY ENOUGH WAS DESIGNED AS A REPLICA OF WESTERN STUDIO 3 (HENCE ITS NAME), MOSTLY FOR MIXDOWNS AND SOMETIMES VOCALS, AND EVENTUALLY OTHER LOCAL STUDIOS, AS WELL.

Brother Studios: Sorry, don't know that much... BY THE TIME OF THE SUNFLOWER SESSIONS, THIS WAS THE NAME USED FOR THE STUDIO IN BRIAN'S BEL AIR HOME (NAMED AFTER THEIR OWN LABEL, BROTHER RECORDS), BUT ONCE THAT STUDIO WAS DISASSEMBLED, AND AFTER THE BOY'S RETURN FROM HOLLAND, THEY OPENED A NEW "BROTHER STUDIO" IN SANTA MONICA. SOON AFTER, MIKE AND AL OPTED OUT, AS DID BRIAN, SO CARL AND DENNIS BECOME THE SOLE OWNERS. BESIDES HOSTING SESSIONS FOR ELTON JOHN AND A FEW OTHER ARTISTS, THE GROUP RECORDED ALMOST OF ALL OF THEIR 1973-EARLY 1978 OUTPUT THERE (EXCEPTING A FEW TRIPS TO WESTERN, AND THE M.I.U. SESSIONS), UNTIL IT WAS SOLD IN MID-'78.
« Last Edit: March 29, 2020, 12:36:18 AM by c-man » Logged
juggler
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« Reply #2 on: March 28, 2020, 11:44:53 AM »

The late, great Hal Blaine said it best: "I think the main period of hitmaking for The Beach Boys ended when they put that studio in the home, because the other guys were around making decisions and getting in the way, whereas before, Brian was in control. In a regular studio, it was a more professional situation."
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c-man
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« Reply #3 on: March 29, 2020, 12:33:06 AM »

I've added a couple of modifications to the the above, and to answer the question about what made Western so special - yes, it was stocked with an impressive array of tube-powered microphones and recording gear, including special mixing consoles designed by the studio's founder, Bill Putnam. That, plus the "closeness" present in the smallest of its three recording rooms (Studio 3) meant it was able to capture a natural, "warm" sound. Brian has said he preferred Western for its nice, balanced echo, while David Marks has said that Western was "funky" and "told it like it was." Smiley

Really, I think that except for Brian's occasional use of Gold Star when he specifically wanted to emulate the "Wall Of Sound" and Columbia when he needed an 8-track, his use of other studios through 1966 (RCA, Radio Recorders, Sunset) was likely a matter of Western not being available at the time, and Brian not wanting to wait to record.


« Last Edit: March 29, 2020, 12:36:55 AM by c-man » Logged
Needleinthehay
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« Reply #4 on: March 29, 2020, 01:11:42 AM »

I didn’t know Dennis ended up as the sole owner of brother studios I assumed it was always him and Carl
Did Dennis lose a lot of money on the studio? Did that contribute to him being broke when he died? Or was that mostly his reckless spending/cocaine buying/divorces?
« Last Edit: March 29, 2020, 01:12:30 AM by Needleinthehay » Logged
CenturyDeprived
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« Reply #5 on: March 29, 2020, 08:42:07 AM »

I didn’t know Dennis ended up as the sole owner of brother studios I assumed it was always him and Carl
Did Dennis lose a lot of money on the studio? Did that contribute to him being broke when he died? Or was that mostly his reckless spending/cocaine buying/divorces?

Good question, that's all news to me as well.

Do we know roughly when Mike, Al, and Brian opted out of being part owners of the studio?

I assume when it happened, Carl and Dennis had to shoulder the studio's entire financial burden themselves for several years?
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Joshilyn Hoisington
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« Reply #6 on: March 29, 2020, 08:56:05 AM »

I've added a couple of modifications to the the above, and to answer the question about what made Western so special - yes, it was stocked with an impressive array of tube-powered microphones and recording gear, including special mixing consoles designed by the studio's founder, Bill Putnam. That, plus the "closeness" present in the smallest of its three recording rooms (Studio 3) meant it was able to capture a natural, "warm" sound. Brian has said he preferred Western for its nice, balanced echo, while David Marks has said that Western was "funky" and "told it like it was." Smiley

Really, I think that except for Brian's occasional use of Gold Star when he specifically wanted to emulate the "Wall Of Sound" and Columbia when he needed an 8-track, his use of other studios through 1966 (RCA, Radio Recorders, Sunset) was likely a matter of Western not being available at the time, and Brian not wanting to wait to record.





Let's not discount also, the sort of fatherly presence of Chuck Britz, who genuinely seemed to like Brian, to understand implicitly how Brian wanted things to sound, and who could provide feedback in a more constructive way than Murry.  Not that Larry or Bruce or other engineers didn't have a good working relationship with Brian, but Chuck was a really positive figure in Brian's life (In my admittedly distant opinion.)
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c-man
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« Reply #7 on: March 29, 2020, 09:46:57 AM »

I didn’t know Dennis ended up as the sole owner of brother studios I assumed it was always him and Carl
Did Dennis lose a lot of money on the studio? Did that contribute to him being broke when he died? Or was that mostly his reckless spending/cocaine buying/divorces?

Good question, that's all news to me as well.

Do we know roughly when Mike, Al, and Brian opted out of being part owners of the studio?

I assume when it happened, Carl and Dennis had to shoulder the studio's entire financial burden themselves for several years?

Dennis was never the sole owner - perhaps I should rephrase what I wrote above. Initially, all five Beach Boys owned Brother Studios jointly, but Mike and Al sold out their share to the others, after which it was owned by the three Wilson brothers. Not sure exactly sure of the timeline, or when Brian sold his share, but my impression is that for the last couple of years at least, it was owned JOINTLY by just Carl and Dennis.

By August of '78, it was sold to a group of investors which included jazz saxophonist Tom Scott and recording engineer Hank Cicalo. Reportedly, Carl felt it was the only choice in light of the spiraling business debt incurred there over the past couple of years. Also reportedly, it had become something of a hangout for drug users and/or dealers, and Carl (newly clean) wished to avoid such company.
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CenturyDeprived
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« Reply #8 on: March 29, 2020, 11:40:34 AM »

I didn’t know Dennis ended up as the sole owner of brother studios I assumed it was always him and Carl
Did Dennis lose a lot of money on the studio? Did that contribute to him being broke when he died? Or was that mostly his reckless spending/cocaine buying/divorces?

Good question, that's all news to me as well.

Do we know roughly when Mike, Al, and Brian opted out of being part owners of the studio?

I assume when it happened, Carl and Dennis had to shoulder the studio's entire financial burden themselves for several years?

Dennis was never the sole owner - perhaps I should rephrase what I wrote above. Initially, all five Beach Boys owned Brother Studios jointly, but Mike and Al sold out their share to the others, after which it was owned by the three Wilson brothers. Not sure exactly sure of the timeline, or when Brian sold his share, but my impression is that for the last couple of years at least, it was owned JOINTLY by just Carl and Dennis.

By August of '78, it was sold to a group of investors which included jazz saxophonist Tom Scott and recording engineer Hank Cicalo. Reportedly, Carl felt it was the only choice in light of the spiraling business debt incurred there over the past couple of years. Also reportedly, it had become something of a hangout for drug users and/or dealers, and Carl (newly clean) wished to avoid such company.

Thanks for the info, c-man
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c-man
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« Reply #9 on: March 29, 2020, 11:50:06 AM »

Speaking of Western - I think it's really interesting, and telling, that Brian seems to have purposely avoided using Western from right after the collapse of SMiLE in '67 until just before the 15 Big Ones era, a good 7 or 8 years later. It's as if he couldn't take being at the site of his former glories, yet he was willing to work at other commercial studios - for instance, he used Wally Heider Studio 3 extensively, in spite of (or maybe because of) it being an exact replica of Western 3. I just ran the addresses of Western, Gold Star, Heider's, Valentine, and even Brother in Santa Monica, against 10452 Bellagio Rd through mapquest.com.directions, and I see that they were ALL roughly the same distance from Brian's home at the time (Valentine and Brother being no more than an extra 2 or 3 miles away, depending on if one is driving via West Sunset Blvd or the 405).

Brian's final work at Western for many years appears to have been the June 5-7, 1967 sessions for "With Me Tonight" (logged as part of "Vegetables"). Four days later, the studio at Bellagio was up and running. Bruce returned to Western on September 29th of that year to record the basic tracks for "Bluebirds Over The Mountain", Dennis returned there on November 28th to record "Tune L", and Al (with Carl and Bruce) returned there in March of '69 to begin production of "Loop-de-Loop". But Brian did not record there again until 1974 at the earliest. I'm sure I read a quote somewhere - I believe it was either Chuck or Marilyn - in which that person suspected as much.
« Last Edit: March 29, 2020, 11:54:15 AM by c-man » Logged
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« Reply #10 on: March 29, 2020, 01:40:36 PM »

Speaking of Western - I think it's really interesting, and telling, that Brian seems to have purposely avoided using Western from right after the collapse of SMiLE in '67 until just before the 15 Big Ones era, a good 7 or 8 years later. It's as if he couldn't take being at the site of his former glories, yet he was willing to work at other commercial studios - for instance, he used Wally Heider Studio 3 extensively, in spite of (or maybe because of) it being an exact replica of Western 3. I just ran the addresses of Western, Gold Star, Heider's, Valentine, and even Brother in Santa Monica, against 10452 Bellagio Rd through mapquest.com.directions, and I see that they were ALL roughly the same distance from Brian's home at the time (Valentine and Brother being no more than an extra 2 or 3 miles away, depending on if one is driving via West Sunset Blvd or the 405).

That's interesting about Brian staying away from Western, the site of his former glory, for so long.  It was likely a conscious decision on his part rather than some kind of coincidence. I'm reminded of the Jamake Highwater interview from 1968 where Brian says, "We pulled out of that production pace merely because I was about ready to die. You know, I was trying so hard. All of a sudden, I decided not to try anymore. You know, I decided not to try to do such great things, such big musical things."
« Last Edit: March 29, 2020, 01:41:32 PM by juggler » Logged
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« Reply #11 on: March 29, 2020, 02:53:10 PM »

One more studio - I.D. Sound, used by Brian, Murry and The Boys during the Friends and 20/20 eras - was the closest of the bunch, at a mere 6.4 miles from Brian's via W Sunset Blvd. (and a short distance from the Nightmare On Elm Street house!).
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« Reply #12 on: March 29, 2020, 06:47:06 PM »

Hi C-Man, what about Al's Red Barn studio? or Daryl Dragon's Rumbo Recorder? or Wally Heider? or Valentine?, could you please give us more info about those studios?
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« Reply #13 on: March 29, 2020, 07:26:56 PM »

Valentine was essentially mothballed for decades, and when it reopened in 2015 looks pretty much the same as ever.  Check out the UA console.


http://www.valentinerecordingstudios.com/new-page-1
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« Reply #14 on: March 30, 2020, 09:44:23 AM »

Speaking of Western - I think it's really interesting, and telling, that Brian seems to have purposely avoided using Western from right after the collapse of SMiLE in '67 until just before the 15 Big Ones era, a good 7 or 8 years later. It's as if he couldn't take being at the site of his former glories, yet he was willing to work at other commercial studios - for instance, he used Wally Heider Studio 3 extensively, in spite of (or maybe because of) it being an exact replica of Western 3. I just ran the addresses of Western, Gold Star, Heider's, Valentine, and even Brother in Santa Monica, against 10452 Bellagio Rd through mapquest.com.directions, and I see that they were ALL roughly the same distance from Brian's home at the time (Valentine and Brother being no more than an extra 2 or 3 miles away, depending on if one is driving via West Sunset Blvd or the 405).

That's interesting about Brian staying away from Western, the site of his former glory, for so long.  It was likely a conscious decision on his part rather than some kind of coincidence. I'm reminded of the Jamake Highwater interview from 1968 where Brian says, "We pulled out of that production pace merely because I was about ready to die. You know, I was trying so hard. All of a sudden, I decided not to try anymore. You know, I decided not to try to do such great things, such big musical things."



One of the main factors in Brian not booking Western 3 during this time was that Western 3 was being overrun with bookings from other artists after the hits coming out of that room started to appear all over the charts. Increased demand equaled less availability - And if you read through any of the more prominent sources about Smile from the era you'll also see how Brian's inability to book his studios of choice on demand as he had previously was one of the frustrations he encountered.

Remember Brian and the Boys were one of the first to be actively booking and using Western at all after Putnam got them up and running. Once the hits started to flow from other artists and producers who liked to book there, the availability to Brian (and others) started to be less and less, and I'm sure the rates went up too. Is it any coincidence both Brian and Papa John Phillips - two of Western's biggest selling clients in 1966 - had both installed home studio gear in 1967-68? They couldn't get in to Western 3 when inspiration struck! So they did it at home - Phillips buying up Western's old Putnam gear after a renovation no less.

Wally Heider's studio in LA in 1967 was at the time Brian started booking it literally a brand new, newly opened room. Wally decided to branch out from being an engineer-for-hire with Putnam, to being an equipment rental and mobile recording service, to opening a brick-and-mortar recording studio in LA. It was modeled very precisely after Western 3 - Wally and his designers would book Western 3 to take measurements and get dimensions instead of recording, from what I heard. Then of course Wally opened another one in San Francisco which became even more legendary than the LA location.

So Brian booking there when Wally did open it up was again more of supply and demand than some other reason, psychological or whatever. Wally was opening a room that was modeled after Brian's favorite studio room, of course they'd seek out Brian to book there when Western was booked full, and that's what he proceeded to do in '67 as soon as Wally got it operational.

It's more a simple issue of supply/demand and availability versus any psychological reasons. The rooms Brian used to be able to access almost on-demand were so busy with other producers cutting gold records there in 1967-1970 that he simply couldn't get in them to cut records. By 1970 the home studio was already up and running at a high cost...so the demand to book outside studios wasn't there anymore.
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« Reply #15 on: March 30, 2020, 10:01:12 AM »



Wally Heider's studio in LA in 1967 was at the time Brian started booking it literally a brand new, newly opened room. Wally decided to branch out from being an engineer-for-hire with Putnam, to being an equipment rental and mobile recording service, to opening a brick-and-mortar recording studio in LA. It was modeled very precisely after Western 3 - Wally and his designers would book Western 3 to take measurements and get dimensions instead of recording, from what I heard. Then of course Wally opened another one in San Francisco which became even more legendary than the LA location.

So Brian booking there when Wally did open it up was again more of supply and demand than some other reason, psychological or whatever. Wally was opening a room that was modeled after Brian's favorite studio room, of course they'd seek out Brian to book there when Western was booked full, and that's what he proceeded to do in '67 as soon as Wally got it operational.


Question: When did Wally Heider's open for business? Was it operational as of the time of the Smiley Smile recordings (which I understand to have taken place at Brian's home)? My question is basically whether or not the Smiley Smile stuff would have been recorded at Heider, if only Heider's was operational.
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« Reply #16 on: March 30, 2020, 10:04:44 AM »



Wally Heider's studio in LA in 1967 was at the time Brian started booking it literally a brand new, newly opened room. Wally decided to branch out from being an engineer-for-hire with Putnam, to being an equipment rental and mobile recording service, to opening a brick-and-mortar recording studio in LA. It was modeled very precisely after Western 3 - Wally and his designers would book Western 3 to take measurements and get dimensions instead of recording, from what I heard. Then of course Wally opened another one in San Francisco which became even more legendary than the LA location.

So Brian booking there when Wally did open it up was again more of supply and demand than some other reason, psychological or whatever. Wally was opening a room that was modeled after Brian's favorite studio room, of course they'd seek out Brian to book there when Western was booked full, and that's what he proceeded to do in '67 as soon as Wally got it operational.


Question: When did Wally Heider's open for business? Was it operational as of the time of the Smiley Smile recordings (which I understand to have taken place at Brian's home)? My question is basically whether or not the Smiley Smile stuff would have been recorded at Heider, if only Heider's was operational.

According to the late Jim Lockert, he and Brian did the Smiley Smile editing and final mixdown at Heider's studio in a marathon session, so it can be plugged in to that timeline for one reference. I believe - and am pretty sure but could be wrong - that Heider's LA studio was just getting up and running when Brian and Lockert would have gone in there to mix Smiley. I think Brian may have been one of the first clients booked there, but I may have just heard that in passing.
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« Reply #17 on: March 30, 2020, 10:15:32 AM »



Wally Heider's studio in LA in 1967 was at the time Brian started booking it literally a brand new, newly opened room. Wally decided to branch out from being an engineer-for-hire with Putnam, to being an equipment rental and mobile recording service, to opening a brick-and-mortar recording studio in LA. It was modeled very precisely after Western 3 - Wally and his designers would book Western 3 to take measurements and get dimensions instead of recording, from what I heard. Then of course Wally opened another one in San Francisco which became even more legendary than the LA location.

So Brian booking there when Wally did open it up was again more of supply and demand than some other reason, psychological or whatever. Wally was opening a room that was modeled after Brian's favorite studio room, of course they'd seek out Brian to book there when Western was booked full, and that's what he proceeded to do in '67 as soon as Wally got it operational.


Question: When did Wally Heider's open for business? Was it operational as of the time of the Smiley Smile recordings (which I understand to have taken place at Brian's home)? My question is basically whether or not the Smiley Smile stuff would have been recorded at Heider, if only Heider's was operational.

According to the late Jim Lockert, he and Brian did the Smiley Smile editing and final mixdown at Heider's studio in a marathon session, so it can be plugged in to that timeline for one reference. I believe - and am pretty sure but could be wrong - that Heider's LA studio was just getting up and running when Brian and Lockert would have gone in there to mix Smiley. I think Brian may have been one of the first clients booked there, but I may have just heard that in passing.

Ok, thanks.  Interesting.
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« Reply #18 on: March 30, 2020, 07:09:08 PM »

Valentine was essentially mothballed for decades, and when it reopened in 2015 looks pretty much the same as ever.  Check out the UA console.


http://www.valentinerecordingstudios.com/new-page-1
wow, it's a nice and beautiful studio! so sad to know that it remained mothballed for years; the BB's recorded All I Want to Do there, right?
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« Reply #19 on: March 30, 2020, 10:57:42 PM »

Valentine was essentially mothballed for decades, and when it reopened in 2015 looks pretty much the same as ever.  Check out the UA console.


http://www.valentinerecordingstudios.com/new-page-1
wow, it's a nice and beautiful studio! so sad to know that it remained mothballed for years; the BB's recorded All I Want to Do there, right?

Yep, as well as "Rendezvous" (which became "Do It Again"), "We're Together Again" and others.
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« Reply #20 on: March 31, 2020, 04:27:52 AM »



Wally Heider's studio in LA in 1967 was at the time Brian started booking it literally a brand new, newly opened room. Wally decided to branch out from being an engineer-for-hire with Putnam, to being an equipment rental and mobile recording service, to opening a brick-and-mortar recording studio in LA. It was modeled very precisely after Western 3 - Wally and his designers would book Western 3 to take measurements and get dimensions instead of recording, from what I heard. Then of course Wally opened another one in San Francisco which became even more legendary than the LA location.

So Brian booking there when Wally did open it up was again more of supply and demand than some other reason, psychological or whatever. Wally was opening a room that was modeled after Brian's favorite studio room, of course they'd seek out Brian to book there when Western was booked full, and that's what he proceeded to do in '67 as soon as Wally got it operational.


Question: When did Wally Heider's open for business? Was it operational as of the time of the Smiley Smile recordings (which I understand to have taken place at Brian's home)? My question is basically whether or not the Smiley Smile stuff would have been recorded at Heider, if only Heider's was operational.

From my SMiLE Sessions sessionography: "Verse lead vocals also recorded in part at Wally Heider Studio 3, circa late June/early July 1967"
That's as specific as I can get as to the Boys' first session there. EDIT: this was for "Heroes And Villains" (the released version), BTW.

« Last Edit: March 31, 2020, 08:23:42 AM by c-man » Logged
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« Reply #21 on: March 31, 2020, 08:50:00 AM »

Speaking of Western - I think it's really interesting, and telling, that Brian seems to have purposely avoided using Western from right after the collapse of SMiLE in '67 until just before the 15 Big Ones era, a good 7 or 8 years later. It's as if he couldn't take being at the site of his former glories, yet he was willing to work at other commercial studios - for instance, he used Wally Heider Studio 3 extensively, in spite of (or maybe because of) it being an exact replica of Western 3. I just ran the addresses of Western, Gold Star, Heider's, Valentine, and even Brother in Santa Monica, against 10452 Bellagio Rd through mapquest.com.directions, and I see that they were ALL roughly the same distance from Brian's home at the time (Valentine and Brother being no more than an extra 2 or 3 miles away, depending on if one is driving via West Sunset Blvd or the 405).

Brian's final work at Western for many years appears to have been the June 5-7, 1967 sessions for "With Me Tonight" (logged as part of "Vegetables"). Four days later, the studio at Bellagio was up and running. Bruce returned to Western on September 29th of that year to record the basic tracks for "Bluebirds Over The Mountain", Dennis returned there on November 28th to record "Tune L", and Al (with Carl and Bruce) returned there in March of '69 to begin production of "Loop-de-Loop". But Brian did not record there again until 1974 at the earliest. I'm sure I read a quote somewhere - I believe it was either Chuck or Marilyn - in which that person suspected as much.

Speaking of Western and former glories, Peter Amis Carlin's book states that the 1979 Western sessions with members of the Wrecking Crew were filmed (due to -uh- the believe that they could be Brian's last sessions). Is there any footage of that circulating amongst collectors?
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« Reply #22 on: March 31, 2020, 09:51:39 AM »

Speaking of Western - I think it's really interesting, and telling, that Brian seems to have purposely avoided using Western from right after the collapse of SMiLE in '67 until just before the 15 Big Ones era, a good 7 or 8 years later. It's as if he couldn't take being at the site of his former glories, yet he was willing to work at other commercial studios - for instance, he used Wally Heider Studio 3 extensively, in spite of (or maybe because of) it being an exact replica of Western 3. I just ran the addresses of Western, Gold Star, Heider's, Valentine, and even Brother in Santa Monica, against 10452 Bellagio Rd through mapquest.com.directions, and I see that they were ALL roughly the same distance from Brian's home at the time (Valentine and Brother being no more than an extra 2 or 3 miles away, depending on if one is driving via West Sunset Blvd or the 405).

Brian's final work at Western for many years appears to have been the June 5-7, 1967 sessions for "With Me Tonight" (logged as part of "Vegetables"). Four days later, the studio at Bellagio was up and running. Bruce returned to Western on September 29th of that year to record the basic tracks for "Bluebirds Over The Mountain", Dennis returned there on November 28th to record "Tune L", and Al (with Carl and Bruce) returned there in March of '69 to begin production of "Loop-de-Loop". But Brian did not record there again until 1974 at the earliest. I'm sure I read a quote somewhere - I believe it was either Chuck or Marilyn - in which that person suspected as much.

Speaking of Western and former glories, Peter Amis Carlin's book states that the 1979 Western sessions with members of the Wrecking Crew were filmed (due to -uh- the believe that they could be Brian's last sessions). Is there any footage of that circulating amongst collectors?

Wow...never heard THAT. These sessions were, however, recorded on audio tape. Never circulated, but I'm told these tapes still exist.
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« Reply #23 on: March 31, 2020, 11:08:20 AM »

C-Man, I'm sorry for the confusion. You're right (as usual), and I'm wrong. The audio for the entire sessions were recorded, yes, but it wasn't filmed. I've just checked with the book
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« Reply #24 on: April 02, 2020, 06:15:09 PM »

When did the Boys started to record in Al's Red Barn studio? (It was during the KTSA-sessions, right?)
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