Whatever happens in the studio, or surrounding the recording and release of any given album should stay behind the scenes. Or should it?
Only those involved, from artists and producers to janitors know how protracted and arduous that process can be, so it is no wonder strange and wild things can happen. Artists and PR people often want these to remain within the studio and other walls, yet in some cases, they just might use them to attract the attention of the audience, often hungry for intriguing details.
And it is often some of the greatest albums that have quite a few strange and intriguing details connected to them, like the 11 great ones bellow.
Some odd things surrounded the making of these fantastic 11 albums
Blonde On Blonde (1966)—Bob Dylan
With his gears switched from folk and acoustic sound, Bob Dylan was in full stride with this album, most of it recorded with Nashville session musicians and it turned out to be one of his all-time best.
At one point though, while recording “Rainy Day Women Nos 12 And 35,” the opening track of this album, Dylan was not pleased with what the musicians were doing. So, he supplied them with some ‘strange brews’ and made them switch instruments. That seems to have worked.
Smile/Smiley Smile (1967) - The Beach Boys
Smile album is probably the most famous botched album in rock history. Throughout the recording, with Brian Wilson on the verge of a nervous breakdown( which eventually happened), Brian brought a bundle of weirdness to the recording sessions, from making musicians wear fire helmets to eventually burning some of the finalized recording tapes.
Smiley Smile, the replacement album, included some of the finished songs, including “Good Vibrations,” while the rest of the album was mostly impromptu sessions recorded with Wilson’s piano in a sandbox and vocals recorded in a tent set up in Brian’s bedroom. Possibly the first authentic lo-fi/bedroom pop album recorded.
Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967)—The Beatles
The great ones were not devoid of strange studio occurrences themselves. This one had pretty much everything itself - from splicing up tapes, throwing them up in the air, and then piecing them up together randomly to create a song (part of “A Day In The Life”) to handing out festive hats and big red clown noses to the symphonic orchestra involved in the recording.
Trout Mask Replica (1969)—Captain Beefheart And His Magic Band
Before taking them into the studio to record this avant-garde rock classic, Don van Vliet, aka Captain Beefheart, locked his Magic Band in a remote communal house for eight months, making them practice for 14 hours a day before he decided they were ready. They were ready alright, as was he.
Exile On Main St (1972)—The Rolling Stones
At one point, The Rolling Stones fled Britain to avoid taxes and located themselves in a house on a French Riviera, where, during the three-year-long recording sessions for this album, they had a series of strange occurrences involving a cast of thousands and drug-induced excesses that produced this, one of rock music classics.
Burnin’ (1973)—Bob Marley And The Wailers
Ganja, weed, or whatever you call it, was an essential element present in all of Bob Marley’s recording sessions, as it was when this brilliant album was recorded. At one point, while recording the classic “I Shot The Sheriff,” the bass player’s roll-up fell on the only tape recording of this song. It is unknown whether the tape was eventually salvaged or they had to re-record the song (with or without changes), but the result was a classic.
Wish You Were Here (1975)—Pink Floyd
Even though Syd Barrett was ousted from the band a while back and several albums ago, his spirit flew over Pink Floyd practically forever, as even the title of this album and song point out, but it turns out that while the band was recording “Shine On You Crazy Diamond,” another song devoted to Barrett, Barrett himself turned up in the studio uninvited, creating (possibly necessary) tension, creating one of the band’s best songs.
Station To Station (1976)—David Bowie
While recording the album in Berlin, within a studio that had a good view of the infamous Berlin Wall, Bowie was constantly losing weight, as his death only comprised peppers, milk, and various substances. The results were no less than astounding, nevertheless.
Rumours (1977)—Fleetwood Mac
Another album where personal chaos ensued, with personal love partnerships breaking up, switched partners, and then back and forth, as rumors went on at the time, with the resulting music turning out to be as smooth as silk.
OK Computer (1997)—Radiohead
In search of a perfect sound for their dystopian theme, the band went into a shed fitted with recording equipment to record this one, not really enamored with all the results, and while working on a song for the movie Romeo + Juliet (1996) something changed, and they recorded the rest of the album in a mansion.
American Idiot (2004)—Green Day
While searching to create a sound for this album that would take them to the top again, the band came to the studio one day to find out that the master tapes that they made up to that day had been stolen. Instead of searching for them, Green Day decided simply to start over. That worked.