The Carpenters & A & M Recording Studio

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Rick-An Ordinary Fool

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Since I don't know much about the recording business. How did it actually work with regard to the last few years like 1980-1983.

The Carpenters were a well established, well-known name at this point in 1980-1983.

So during these times when there career's were sorta in a holding pattern, they were not in the #1 charts anymore, how did it work with regard to A & M.

Did Richard & Karen always have a place at A & M? What I mean is could they just always pop in there & they had a designated studio room? Did they have to book in advance? Or could they just wake up one day & say hey were going in the recording studio today?

I guess it was different when they were actually going to record an ablum cause there were alot of different people involved so I would think that had to be planned event to get everyone at the studio at the same time.

BUT, like toward the end of there career, if Richard just wanted to take Karen in for some reading of music they were thinking of & track some rough cuts of stuff, WOULD something like this have to be planned & OK'D by A & M? Or could they just show up on there own & just play around with their own recordings? And if the latter was done how was unreleased cuts kept? At A & M on tapes or would Richard take the tape home with him?

Any thought about this would be cool to hear, since I've never been to an actual recording studio, I really have no idea about what really goes on & "how" it all happens.

All I know is the video of Richard & Karen singing in the studio on some of there older video's.
 
Chris:
A&M had rehearsal studio space. That's where you'd work out your arrangements. I doubt if anybody (Herb included) ever just walked into a recording studio to play around....especially as A&M became busier with its own and outside labels' projects.
When I visited in 1973, Paul Williams was actually in a common space in the artists & repertoire and promotion building noodling around on an upright piano.


---Michael Hagerty
 
Hey Chris; Being in the recording business myself, I can tell you that even the Carpenters had to book their time with studio management. Generally what happens is you have what's known as a "lock-out" which simply means that when the producer plans to go in and cut different phases of a project, the studio is made available ONLY to that particular artist for whatever period of time, usually 2 to 4 weeks and longer if necessary. The musicians are all given their dates and times, and the album is cut accordingly. That is why it is so important to have your material rehearsed ahead of time so that when the downbeat of a session starts, all of the musicians etc are ready to start cutting takes. In essence, the track is generally cut first in the studio that is better sonically fit for what is being recorded (i.e. bass, piano, drums...). Then as the sweetening and vocals are overdubbed, it's usually over to another room that appropriately suits whatever is being tracked, etc...

Having recorded at A&M myself, I can tell you that place is very interesting. Mind you, when Richard and Karen recorded there (sources tell me), it was more of a "mom & pop" shop than it is nowadays. Back then, if an artist was signed to a label, they would generally record at that label's recording facilities and it was typical to have holes in the schedule where an artist could slip in to one of the rooms and fix something up, or track a few pre-production ideas or whatever. These days there are so many artists from various labels in and out that it is very time specific as far as who, what, where and when.

A&M's (or Henson Studios now) rooms are very specific as far as their capabilities. For instance, Studio "A" is a tracking, overdub, AND mix room. It is the largest on the lot. Then "B" is a tracking room more geared for a live sound. That room is made up strictly of concrete. Very reverbrated. I was told that the Carpenters tracked in there quite a bit. Studio "C" is simply an overdub room, very small. And then "D" which the Carpenters frequented as well was a tracking and overdub room. Then you have Herb's studio which was upstairs (recently they turned it into a mix/remix facility), and so on. It sounds complicated, but very interesting nonetheless. -Chris
 
Here is a photo that a Japanese took.

http://www.bekkoame.ne.jp/~akichi/pic/c_chapstud.gif

(
http://www.bekkoame.ne.jp/~akichi/html/tour.html

If you scroll down, you will see a photo of music room of the Newville Avenue House and Richard's photo [just after swimming]. )

There are photos and equipment of A&M studios on the website that I posted on 'Carpenters JukeBox 45's'.
(Top
http://www.amcorner.com/home.html
)
http://www.amcorner.com/Studio_A.html

http://www.amcorner.com/Studio_B.html

http://www.amcorner.com/Studio_C.html

http://www.amcorner.com/Studio_D.html

http://www.amcorner.com/Studio_Equipment.html

Michael posted archive website on 'Pictures of the old "A&M"?' of 'A Small Circle of Friends: The A&M Forum'.

http://www.amcorner.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2135

Richard at console
http://f1.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/ma...ce+More/8_Only+Yesterday&.dnm=OY2.jpg&.view=t

Karen at studio
http://f1.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/ma...ce+More/8_Only+Yesterday&.dnm=OY3.jpg&.view=t
Sakura
 
Early on c1969 > 1975 , Carpenters Had Frequent Access to All A&M Studios , Rehearsals Studios and Soundstage For Recordings , Demos , Group Rehearsals With Only Minimum Notice Given , Richard Often Refers to Sessions Arranged at Short Notice , Slotted In Between Concert Tours and TV / Radio Shows :wink:

Later on With More A&M Artists , Studio Time Required More Planning , But as Major Label Artists Carpenters and In Early 1980 Karen Carpenter Solo Sessions Still Ensured Priority .....One Problem Being Too Many Guests , A&M Staffers etc Intruding on Key Carpenters Sessions ......Bless The Beasts Door Sounds Come To Mind.... !

Richard and Karen Had their Own A&M Office , Used for Internal Meetings, Business Meetings and Interviews. Carpenters 1982 BBC Radio Interview With Karen 's Brief Snippets of This One's For You and Laughter In The Rain Being Recorded at A&M Office Summer 1981 as One Example :)

Peter
 
Michael Hagerty said:
Chris:
A&M had rehearsal studio space. That's where you'd work out your arrangements. I doubt if anybody (Herb included) ever just walked into a recording studio to play around....especially as A&M became busier with its own and outside labels' projects.
When I visited in 1973, Paul Williams was actually in a common space in the artists & repertoire and promotion building noodling around on an upright piano.

---Michael Hagerty

Hmmm...I picked up an biography on The Carpenters and read that they COULD come into the Studio on La Brea ANYTIME. :o

Must'a been neat booking a lot of the sessions--quite a lot of A&M Artists had to go to Sunset Sound or The Record Plant on 3rd Street, when their Label's Studios weren't available--yet I have Johnny Mathis, Ray Conniff and even Andy Williams recording at A&M, though they are on Columbia Records.

Dave

...who really should'a gone into The Music Biz 'N' BOUGHT A&M when he had the chance... :goofygrin:
 
Dave said:
Must'a been neat booking a lot of the sessions--quite a lot of A&M Artists had to go to Sunset Sound or The Record Plant on 3rd Street, when their Label's Studios weren't available--yet I have Johnny Mathis, Ray Conniff and even Andy Williams recording at A&M, though they are on Columbia Records.

But it wasn't just A&M's studios where certain Columbia, Epic and associated artists went to in that area (post-1972, when Columbia's own Hollywood studio was shut down); a few artists from that label also recorded at studios owned by Elektra, MGM and RCA Records. (In fact, I once saw a Conniff single -- I think it was his version of the theme from "Walking Tall" -- which bore markers on the wax indicating the lacquer was cut at Elektra's Hollywood studios.)

And while A&M-cut lacquers (some if not most bearing the etchings of Bernie Grundman) made their way onto releases on Columbia and its affiliated and distributed labels after '72, I also point out that between 1963 and '68, many Columbia-pressed albums and singles on A&M had lacquers cut at Columbia's Hollywood studios. (One of the last in that category was Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass's "My Favorite Things" / "She Touched Me," #1015; both sides on my copy boasted Columbia-made lacquers.)
 
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