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Tuesday, June 4, 2013

The Rolling Stones Mixing "Little Queenie"

Here's a great piece of history in a behind the scenes look at Mick Jagger and Keith Richards of the Rolling Stone's (along with piano player Ian Stewart) mixing "Little Queenie," a single they released from their 1969 live album Get Your Ya Ya's Out.

You'll see a good example of the way mixing was done before automation, with multiple hands on the board, each with a different move to do. The engineer is the esteemed Glyn Johns, but you also see his brother Andy at the console (which looks like a Helios) as well.

Check out the sound that the tape made as it rewinds, something that was later fixed on next generation machines. It's 8 track, of course.


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8 comments:

Anonymous said...

One thing that stands out in this clip (and one I recently watched of Sonny & Cher at Gold Star) is how unglamorous studios were then! They look like a buyout warehouse salesman's office. Now the expensive places are like palaces, and super clean.

Nichole said...

Well, you raise a good point. If the intent is to capture the best feeling possible mobile- or at an one of those unglamorous warehouses-- as long as the room acoustics are satisfactory or adjustable with minimal expense.. why focus on other unece$$ary amenities?

Anonymous said...

I just wanted to point out how much it has changed. Studios were much more utilitarian at that time, and somewhere between then and now, things changed RADICALLY. A hugely popular band would likely NEVER work in a place that looked like that (Toe Rag Studio has recorded the white Stripes, but that place is almost a "museum" type replica of an old studio).

Anonymous said...

The thing that stands out to me the most is the fact that they are mixing with their ears and not with their eyes buried in a screen! And truly an "interactive" mixing process with the artist involved.

Nichole said...

Ears... Yes.

Anonymous said...

Excellent clip, given the info I think that is the legendary Olympic Studios down the road from me, soon to reopen as a cinema and members bar
Steve M

Rand Bliss said...

Ouch! Steve! Wish I hadn't read that.

"Olympic Studios...soon to reopen as a cinema and members bar."

Sacrilege! No respect for musical history in that. So many legendary groups and artists recorded there, this just doesn't make sense.

Anonymous said...

where can i found this clip now?
It´s removed.

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