9 Iconic Albums Made Within The Shortest Time Spans
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Music making is not a marathon or a sprint, many a times it’s a delicate process that needs nurturing only providable through the passage of time and acquisition of worldly wisdom. Upon closer inspection however you’ll see that even the most influential albums in history were recorded in amazingly limited periods. If you ever find yourself in such an exhilarating challenge, here are 9 albums that prove pressure from a ticking clock to be something magical.
1. Bob Dylan - "Another Side of Bob Dylan" (1964)
Recording Time: 1 day
Recorded in just three-hour sitting at Columbia Studio one, the "other side" of Bob Dylan mentioned in the title likely refers to his romantic, whimsical, and absurdist aspects—essentially, anything not present in the staunchly folk and protest-oriented "The Times They Are a-Changin'."
As a result, "Another Side of Bob Dylan" is a more diverse album and achieves greater success by showcasing Dylan's musical expansion through imaginative and poetic renditions of both love songs and protest anthems.
2. Black Sabbath - "Black Sabbath" (1970)
Recording Time: 1 day
Black Sabbath's debut album marks the inception of heavy metal. Even after decades of the genre's evolution, their sound is still unmistakably recognisable. According to Tony Iommi, it was recorded under a 12 hour-session, they took one day to make all the genre defining music and another for mixing.
3. Miles Davis - "Kind of Blue" (1959)
Recording Time: 2 sessions over 9 hours
Kind of Blue is not just a pinnacle in Miles Davis's career; it stands head and shoulders above its peers. The quintessential jazz record.
According to session pianist Bill Evans, Davis’s usual method of almost no-rehearsal prior to recording left a lot of improvable space to create the tracks on the album.
However only one mastering was done through the first session and only in the later second session did the 5 tracks get approved by Davis after mastering.
4. The Beatles - "Please Please Me" (1963)
Recording Time: 13 hours
After "Please Please Me" soared to the top of the charts, the Beatles quickly set out to produce their debut album, recording it in a single day. Even decades later, the album still sounds fresh - precisely because of its intense origins.
According to Ringo Starr, the album felt more like playing ‘live’ rather than actually sitting down for a rehearsal prior. Arguably the most productive 585 minutes in music recording history.
Recording Time: 7 days
The Ramones is all about speed, hooks, and simplicity. Their songs distil early rock & roll, and surf rock into imaginative, stripped-down forms. Beyond just the music, the Ramones present a quirky, humorous interpretation of pop culture.
Tracks like ‘Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue’ may make you say Ramones kind of just threw stuff at the wall and see what stuck, but then again that is what propels so many feet to tap insistently as this was one of the most un-traditionally paced songs made throughout that generation giving birth to American Punk.
6. The White Stripes - “Elephant” (2003)
Recording Time: 2 Weeks
At its core, "Elephant" depicts love as a battle for dominance, where chivalry and innocence often succumb to the allure of seduction. The White Stripes understand the difference between fame and success; despite their unease with fame, they've triumphantly blended blues, punk, and garage rock in a distinctive and electrifying manner since their early days as a Detroit sensation.
Using an 8-Track Tape machine and no-computers whatsoever, the raw guitar licks of Jack White come in whole (plus the use of equipment dating to latest as 1963, the fuzziness of the tracks with that info are now even more palpable).
7. Led Zeppelin - “Led Zeppelin” (1969)
Recording Time: 36 Hours
On September 7, 1968, the four musicians debuted as The New Yardbirds, touring Scandinavia. Legend has it that jibes from The Who about the band sinking like a "Lead Zeppelin" inspired the name change to "Led Zeppelin." In just 36 hours spanned over a few weeks after their tour, Led Zeppelin recorded their eponymous debut album; and the rest is history.
8. Metallica - “Kill ‘Em All” (1983)
Recording Time: 17 Days
Metallica met producer Paul Curcio at Music America Studios in Rochester, and recorded the album in two weeks. Due to financial constraints, the band members couldn't afford hotel accommodations and instead stayed in various people's houses in Rochester and at the Music Factory in Jamaica, Queens, where Anthrax rehearsed. Curcio had arranged the studio equipment as if he were recording an ordinary rock band.
9. Nick Drake- “Pink Moon” (1971)
Recording Time: 2 Days
One of the most tortured artists of the 20th century who artists like Elliot Smith would look up to for inspiration, Drake wanted his third album that would turn out to be his most intimate & powerful as plain as possible. He wanted to record this with as less an amount of people as possibly, with it ending up as a two day recording session where the first 5 tracks were recorded in the 1st and the rest in the most stripped back manner, on the second sitting.
It’s just him and his guitar quite frankly looking at that, given the trench-deep lyricism, really shows Nick’s strength.
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