This is a very special album that documents history. There are not very many albums that document history.
This album documents the rich and all-influential history of the "Sound City recording studio" located in a shabby Los Angeles neighborhood.
About the studio...
The studio was set up in 1969 in a building that once belonged to Vox, a British musical instrument maker whose amp you probably know.
It was founded by Joe Gottfried and Tom Skeeter who wanted to enter the music industry and establish a record company and artist management.
After opening the studio, the two faced many challenges as they were unable to recruit enough artists and their income was stagnant. For the purpose of creating uniqueness and attracting artists to record in their new studio, they purchased the analog recording console "Neve 8028". The console was purchased from a British electronics engineer named "Rupert Neve" at a cost of $ 75,175. There were 28 input channels, 16 bus outputs, and 24 monitor outputs, and let's not forget the 1,008 equalizer buttons!
There is no computerized or automatic operation on the console; you simply need to be a nuclear engineer to build and operate one.
Only 4 consoles of this model were created!
(Photo: Michael J. Cinema)
About the console...
The console of course attracted many artists to the studio, resulting in five decades of music creation that have yielded many masterpiece albums. Notable artists who have recorded in the studio: Johnny Cash, Neil Young, Fleetwood Mac, Elton John, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Guns N 'Roses, Rage Against The Machine, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Metallica and many others. It was famous for the special sound of the live recordings and the rough and thick sound of the drum recordings made at the studio, which was split into three separate rooms.
With the introduction of the Pro Tools system, a computerized system that can be used to record music more easily. The music world has undergone a revolution and analog consoles have slowly become irrelevant. So too the studio whose crown diamond became charcoal, began to slowly lose its value and only a few artists continued to visit it. In 2011 the studio was finally shut down and most of the equipment in it was dismantled and sold. This is where our album comes into the picture...
In 1991, Nirvana's breakthrough album and one of the great albums 'Nevermind' was recorded in this studio and 20 years later when Dave Grohl heard that the studio was closing and immediately decided to purchase the console. He felt it was going to be a groundbreaking event and since he had a lot of respect and appreciation for the studio he decided to make a documentary about the studio.
(Photo: GearNews.com)
About the film...
Inspired by the console, Dave Grohl decided to create a documentary movie, documenting the life of the mythological studio from 1969 to 2011.
The film, directed by Dave, describes the historical events that took place in and out of the studio and the effects it had on the world of music. How were the big albums created that were a milestone especially in the rock world like: Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers' "Damn the Torpedoes" (1979), Tool's "Undertow" (1993), Neil Young's "After the Gold Rush" (1970), Johnny Cash's "Unchained" (1996), "Rage Against the Machine's" "Rage Against The Machine" (1992), Dio's "Holy Diver" (1983), Guns N 'Roses' "Appetite for Destruction" and one of "Fleetwood Mac's" most famous albums - "Fleetwood Mac" created from the studio.
The film also documents the process of disassembling the console from the studio and reassembling it in the "Studio 606" studio that Dave Grohl set up at his home. In the process he conducts an interview with Rupert Neve the engineer who designed and created the console with his own hands.
Throughout the film he conducts interviews with various artists who recorded in the same studio or were influenced by what happened in it. In the same interviews he conducted in Studio 606, he came up with the idea of having a jam session with the same artists. The idea quickly became a reality ...
About the album...
Dave Grohl decided to create together with the interviewees (some of them, of course, not all) a new song from scratch and record it within 24 hours in parallel with the interview. Each of the songs was written and recorded especially for the film from which the soundtrack came out and the one who of course wins the recordings is the famous producer Busch Vig. After the release of the album, Dave Grohl formed the temporary band "Sound City Players" which together with various artists who recorded the album also appeared at several festivals and entertainment programs for a period of about a year.
(Photo: Sound City Trailer)
1. "Heaven and All" - Participants: Robert Levon Been Creator and singer of the band "Black Rebel Motorcycle Club" and also the son of Michael Been from "The Call" and together with guitarist Peter Hayes who is also from the same band.
2. "Time Slowing Down" - Participants: Chris Goss Musician, producer and friend of Dave Grohl from the band "Queens of the Stone Age" and also singer and guitarist in the band "Masters Of Reality". "Rage Against The machine" bassist Tim Commerford and angry drummer Brad Wilk with him.
3. "You Can't Fix This" - Cast: The stunning Stevie Nicks from the band Fleetwood Mac and Dave's two friends from The "Foo Fighters" - Taylor Hawkins, Rami Jaffee.
4. "The Man That Never Was" - Cast: Rick Springfield An Australian singer and actor who was part of the band "Zoot" in the early 70's and here Dave Grohl also joins his friends from the "Foo Fighters" - Taylor Hawkins, Chris Shiflett, Pat Smear.
5. "Your Wife Is Calling" - Cast: Lee Ving The actor, singer and lead of the hardcore band Punk "Fear". He is joined by the multi-instrumentalist Alain Johannes who is known as the founder of the alternative rock band Eleven and a member of the band "Queens of the Stone Age". Here, too, members of the Foo's support.
6. "From Can to Can't" - Participants: Corey Taylor the singer of "Slipknot" and "Stone Sour" with one of the most beautiful songs on the album. Rick Nielsen is a lead guitarist and lead writer from "Cheap Trick". Bassist Scott Reeder from "Kyuss" and "The Obsessed".
7. "Centipede" - Cast: Josh Homme Dave's best friend from "Queens of the Stone Age" and Chris Goss and Alain Johannes.
8. "A Trick With No Sleeve" - Participants: Alain Johannes, Josh Homme.
9. "Cut Me Some Slack" - Participants: The Man, the Legend and the multi-instrumentalist Paul McCartney, joined by "Nirvana" band member Krist Novoselic and their longtime friend Pat Smear.
10. "If I Were Me" - Cast: String Musician Jessy Greene. Drummer Jim Keltner who was defined by Bob Dylan as the leading recording drummer in America.
11. "Mantra" - Participants: Josh Homme and his friend The producer, creator and founder of the band "Nine Inch Nails", Trent Reznor.
The album was a huge success and starred in the charts in the US and Europe and even picked up two Grammy Awards in the categories: "Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media" and "Best Rock Song" with the song "Cut Me Some Slack".
Listen to the album at: Spotify, Apple Music