The Stones...Exile On Sticky Fingers....whaddaya know?

[heylow]

So, lately I've been spending more and more time with some older discs...it's what I do when I get uptight about anything recording related and need to get back to all the grunge, the imperfection and real rock and roll....y'know...when it was actually played.

Anyways....lately I've been very transfixed on the Stones' Exile on Main Street and Sticky Fingers and it's almost as if I'm hearing them again new and fresh.

Does anybody have any insight on the techniques, mics, stories or what have you from those sessions?

I'd REALLY be interested in drum/guitar amp mics and techniques....those drums sound great....what were they using for kicks and overheads around that time?

You know what else? Sometimes I swear the kick/snare/OHs are in mono (sometimes even panned a "bit" towards on side) and then in the same song, there'll be some tom fill obviously in stereo. Can that be correct...mono drums, panned toms? Hmmm........


I know someone knows SOMETHING! Dave? (heh heh...and no...not even Charlie's notoriously shaky meter can deter me from my enjoyment right about now!)


heylow

[Al]

There's nothing wrong with Charlie Watt's drumming.
Exile on main st. sm57's on acoustics at times, that much i do know!

[bobbydj]

There's nothing wrong with Charlie Watt's drumming.
Exile on main st. sm57's on acoustics at times, that much i do know!

He is a bit of a 'bum-tit' merchant though, ain't he?

[Al]

There's nothing wrong with Charlie Watt's drumming.
Exile on main st. sm57's on acoustics at times, that much i do know!

He is a bit of a 'bum-tit' merchant though, ain't he?

The Stones music doesn't require anymore than bum tit though does it?.
He's also a jazz drummer remember,and what he plays there is a different kettle of fish....poor old charlie always gets it tight...at the end of the day he's still the Rolling Stones drummer though!

Ringo, he gets a lot of bashings too, dont know why?

[Al]

As another point of reference, i always think watts looks odd drumming, the way he lifts his sticks of his high hats, that always struck me as being a bit bizarre.

[A.David.MacKinnon]

There was a good story on the recording of Exile on Main Street last year in one of the other recording mags. Home Recording I think. I don't remeber much of the details.....It was recorded in Keiths basement (in a castle in France) and the horns we're recorded in the US. I think they just sent the tapes to the horn players and let them do whatever they wanted.
There's a great quote from one of the engineers about how the band would sound realy bad for most of the day and then something would happen and they'd be "the Rolling Stones" for one take and then go back to sounding like shit.

[Al]

There was a good story on the recording of Exile on Main Street last year in one of the other recording mags. Home Recording I think. I don't remeber much of the details.....It was recorded in Keiths basement (in a castle in France) and the horns we're recorded in the US. I think they just sent the tapes to the horn players and let them do whatever they wanted.
There's a great quote from one of the engineers about how the band would sound realy bad for most of the day and then something would happen and they'd be "the Rolling Stones" for one take and then go back to sounding like shit.

Maybe that's when the drugs n' booze wore off

[bigtoe]

there's a whole book on the recording of exile...saw it in a used book shop....looked great...bought pizza instead.

i sat in on a mastering session with gene paul...he did some of BB...if i remember correctly he said mick would come in and beat on the drums for a day getting sounds...those records sound odd at times...the good shit is the music...i mean 'sway' - what a mess! but it's perfect.

andy johns did exile...no? i think he's got an interview in TO coming up.

later...........

Mike

[todd]

there's an article in tapeop #26 about the stones recordings for sticky fingers done at muscle shoals in alabama. the drums for brown sugar were recorded with a u47 over top, ev666 on the kick and either a re-15 or a sm 57 on hi-hats. guitars with sm57's and rca 77, and bass with rca 44. all of this mind you into a universal audio tube console. order the back issue and read the article!

thanks,
todd

[Catoogie]

Charlie Watts is da King!! He grooves like a motherfucker!! Plus I LOVE the way he looks when he plays. He lifts his right hand to make the backbeat stand out! Mission accomplished!

[frankenslade]

Exile was engineered/loosely produced by Andy Johns. After realizing that Television's Marquee Moon album has about my favorite natural drum sound and doing some research on producer Andy John, I spent a few slow days searching for articles on him and discovered that he was also the man twiddling knobs on tons of great recordings by the Stones, Mott the Hoople, Led Zeppelin, Rod Stewart, and more. Check around the Web, and you'll find some interviews with him. I find his philosophies inspiring. There's some magazine called Home Recording (?) that a friend picked up that recently featured techniques for capturing the low end of recording. In it was an interview with Glyn Johns, big brother and teacher of Andy, and his simple drum mic'ing setup. We've been working at a modified version of this setup. I'll try to dig out the article and summarize his old technique.

Jim

[bigtoe]

In it was an interview with Glyn Johns, big brother and teacher of Andy, and his simple drum mic'ing setup. We've been working at a modified version of this setup. I'll try to dig out the article and summarize his old technique.

man you if have an issue # available i'd love to know it and buy that rag...glyn johns is the flippin' man...

Mike

[frankenslade]

I'll check for sure when I get home, but I believe it was an issue from July.

Jim

[bigtoe]

oh thanks man....owe ya a beer. BIG glyn johns freak here. i can't find that mag online...i'll check at my borders...

signin' off to study,

Mike

[Randall]

"Brown Sugar" and "Angie" from the album were recorded and mixed at the 3614 Jackson Highway studio in Muscle Shoals Alabama by Jimmy Johnson, I've never understood why they never returned there as those were a couple of their biggest singles
http://mixonline.com/ar/audio_rolling_s ... /index.htm