As any artist will tell you, studios have a kind of singular magic to them–magic that varies from space to space. Artists have flocked to particular studios in hopes to achieve the sound most associated with them. As chance would have it, there have been times when major albums were recorded just a few doors down from one another. Find two examples of that happening, below.
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Classic Albums That Were Recorded at the Same Studio, At the Same Time
Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (Beatles) and The Piper at the Gates of Dawn (Pink Floyd) – Abbey Road
The Beatles were in the heyday of their career when they recorded Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. Conversely, Pink Floyd was just beginning their career around the same time. Coincidently, both bands were recording at Abbey Road in the mid-’60s. The Beatles produced that seminal album while Pink Floyd was kicking things off with The Piper at the Gates of Dawn, their debut album. Though the latter album is perhaps less instantly recognizable, both works did wonders for their respective bands’ careers.
I used to get mad at my school
The teachers who taught me weren’t cool
You’re holding me down
Turning me ’round
Filling me up with your rules
//////
The black and green scarecrow as everyone knows
Stood with a bird on his hat and straw everywhere
He didn’t care
He stood in a field where barley grows
His head did no thinking
His arms didn’t move except when the wind cut up
Rough and mice ran around on the ground
He stood in a field where barley grows
Tapestry (Carole King), Blue (Joni Mitchell), and The Carpenters (The Carpenters) – A&M Studios
On the softer end of the rock spectrum, we have a triple billing that is sure to excite. In the early ’70s, Carole King was gearing up for her second studio album, Tapestry. She took to A&M Studios in California to record the work, which consisted of many King hits. A few studios down, Joni Mitchell was gearing up to record perhaps her most effective work, Blue. Instruments were shared amongst the two artists, intertwining their albums.
While that coincidence would be enough to dumbfound fans, The Carpenters were also at A&M studios in the early ’70s recording their self-titled album. That album would go on to be one of the duo’s most recognizable works. There must have been something in the water at A&M…
He moved with some uncertainty
As if he didn’t know
Just what he was there for
Or where he ought to go
Once he reached for something
Golden hanging from a tree
And his hand came down empty
//////
Blue
Songs are like tattoos
You know I’ve been to sea before
Crown and anchor me
Or let me sail away
Hey Blue
And there is a song for you
//////
Talkin’ to myself and feelin’ old
Sometimes I’d like to quit
Nothin’ ever seems to fit
Hangin’ around
Nothin’ to do but frown
Rainy days and Mondays always get me down
(Photo by REPORTERS ASSOCIES/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images)
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