Van Halen "Beautiful Girls" Isolated Bass And Drums

There's noting like listening to a great rhythm section and the original Van Halen duo of drummer Alex Van Halen and bassist Michael Anthony has proven to be one of the best in rock. Listen to them do their thing in isolation on "Beautiful Girls" from 1979's Van Halen II.

The song, which was originally titled "Bring On The Girls" on the band's 25 song demo, was produced by the great Ted Templeman, engineered by Don Landee, and recorded at the famous Sunset Sound in Hollywood. Like most albums from that era, it was completed in only 3 weeks. Here are some things to listen for.

1. Listen to how forward the snare drum is compared to the rest of the kit. Pretty beefy sound too, as well as a touch of some very smooth reverb.

2. The cymbals are very prominent in the mix to mostly fill in those upper frequencies since the band was a power trio. Their early albums were mostly guitar, bass and drums plus a guitar solo overdub with not much sweetening.

3. Michael Anthony's playing is a little behind the drums, rather than the other way around. This gives the band a sense of urgency.

4. Anthony's playing is far from perfect, not that you ever heard any of the very slight mistakes in the track. There is a pretty big one at 1:47 that wouldn't be left in today.

5. Alex VH has a couple of slow fills as well, like the ones at 3:28 and 3:40. In those days of analog tape and relatively quick recording, perfection was something that was rarely attained (except perhaps for Steely Dan albums, but they also cost a lot more to make and took much more time).

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10 Must-See Studios Before You Die

The garden surrounding Conway Recording

I was talking to a friend about the studio business in Los Angeles the other day when the conversation drifted to a very famous studio that was slowly being phased out (guess which one below). That got me thinking about some of the great studios that I've worked in over my career as well as some others that are on my bucket list. I decided to make a list of the 10 studios that I believe everyone connected with recording should visit at least once.

Actually there were many more than 10, but these are what I consider the top 10 that come to mind.

1. Abbey Road (London) - The center of the recording universe for decades, the studio that everyone most wants to visit, and what many feel has always represented the epitome of recording excellence.

2. Capitol Records (Los Angeles) - All you have to do is walk down the hallway and see the huge pictures of Frank and Dean and the realization of the studio's history hits you. Great sounding rooms, not to mention the famous echo chambers. Major construction in the area might seriously affect the studio in the near future.

3. Sunset Sound (Los Angeles) - One of the first independent studios anywhere, it's been the home to hit makers since the early 60s. I went to the 25th anniversary party a number of years ago and they played the hits that were made there in the background for four hours and never repeated one.

4. East West (Los Angeles) - Once part of Bill Putnam's United Western (also one of the first indie studios), the studios have remained basically the same since Bill designed them.

5. Oceanway (Los Angeles) - The other part of United Western and until recently, owned by Allan Sides, the studio is now owned by Gower film studios and its future is in doubt. See it while you can.

6. Electric Lady (New York) - Jimi Hendrix's personal studio. His vibe is still there. Enough said.

7. The Record Plant (Los Angeles) - It's not at the original location anymore, but it's still a legend just for the who's-who list of clients.

8. Henson (Los Angeles) - The former A&M Studios located on the old Charlie Chaplin film lot, Henson is one of the few large facilities left. Once again, the home of legends.

9. Conway (Los Angeles) - Mostly under the radar, Conway has been the home to music celebs for decades. You can't beat the beauty of the tropically themed grounds around the studio, which makes it one of a kind.

10. Avatar (New York) - Formerly the Power Station, Avatar has been the home to East Coast hit makers for decades, as well as the place where many of today's most influential engineers got their start.

That was an easy 10, and we didn't even get to Nashville, Memphis and the rest of London, as well as some of the famous studios that are now museums like Motown, Sun and RCA Studio B. Plus it was very LA-centric. Forgive me, my studio friends, if I left your favorite off the list. If you guys like this one, I'll post a second one soon.

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Prince And Tavis Smiley

While respecting his music and musicianship, I've always thought Prince to be both pompous and arrogant, so I almost didn't watch when the great Tavis Smiley interviewed the Purple One on his PBS talk show last night.

I don't know what made me give this a chance, but I'm glad I did. Prince turned out to be a lot more normal and down-to-earth than I ever thought he could be and I actually enjoyed the interview a great deal (I must admit that I enjoy most interviews that Tavis conducts though).

Perhaps my attitude comes from my only live encounter with Prince at Hollywood's famous Sunset Sound studios (where so many huge hits were cut in the last 40 years) in the mid-80's. I was recording in Studio A while Prince was camped out in Studio C. Sunset Sound has a nice enclosed basketball court, and during a break I noticed Prince out there shooting baskets by himself. I decided I go challenge him to a game, or at least shoot some hoops with him, when out of nowhere, a huge bodyguard jumped in the way just as I hit the court's entrance. "Prince don't want no company," he stated with a conviction that let me know there was no way I was getting in there, so I backed away and went back to work.

Anyway, I have a way different view of the guy now, thanks to Mr. Smiley. Here's a short 2 minute portion of the show to judge for yourself.