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| Highwire Rob |
I've been looking more closely at the liner notes in my '70s Rock music collection and I'm interested to know more about the Rolling Stones Mobile Studio--what was its genesis? Does it refer to all the equipment that could be moved on a lorry (truck)? Is it gone? Or are parts of it still used or preserved for fan posterity to see in a rock museum somewhere?
Led Zeppelin, for example, I note recorded much of their brilliant work at RS Mobile in Headley Grange, Hampshire and some at Stargroves. And I also see there's the R. Lane Mobile.
Please recommend any good books (Stones or other) that cover or include the history of the RS Mobile Studio.
Thanks mates! |
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| steel driving hammer |
Just a guess, wanna say it was mobile cause they didn't wanna stay in one area too long to pay the fucking taxes.
http://search.yahoo.com/search?ei=UTF-8&fr=fp-top&p=+history+on+the+Rolling+Stones+Mobile+Studio
Mobile Alabma........................... |
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| VoodooChileInWOnderl |
The song "Smoke on the Water" was originally written about a true life recording experience. Deep Purple was making an album with the Rolling Stones Mobile Unit in Montreux, Switzerland. Coincidentally, Frank Zappa's Mothers Of Invention were playing in town, and members of Deep Purple witnessed the burning down of the casino. The lyrics chronicle these events.
[Edited by VoodooChileInWOnderl] |
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| VoodooChileInWOnderl |
Smoke on the Water
We all came out to Montreux
On the Lake Geneva shoreline
To make records with a mobile
We didn't have much time
Frank Zappa and the Mothers
Were at the best place around
But some stupid with a flare gun
Burned the place to the ground
Smoke on the water, fire in the sky
They burned down the gambling house
It died with an awful sound
Funky Claude was running in and out
Pulling kids out the ground
When it all was over
We had to find another place
But Swiss time was running out
It seemed that we would lose the race
Smoke on the water, fire in the sky
We ended up at the Grand Hotel
It was empty cold and bare
But with the Rolling truck Stones thing just outside
Making our music there
With a few red lights and a few old beds
We made a place to sweat
No matter what we get out of this
I know we'll never forget
Smoke on the water, fire in the sky
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| VoodooChileInWOnderl |
More stories from the Led Zeppelin studio sessions, from our space dedicated to Stu
Rock and Roll (LZ IV) came out of a jam with The Stones’ mentor Ian Stewart on Piano. Bonzo played the intro of “Good Golly Miss Molly/Keep a Knokin’”, and Page added a riff. Fifteen minutes later the nucleus of R&R was done on a tape – displaying the full benefits of recording on location with the tapes ever running” From “Led Zeppelin – A Celebration” by Dave Lewis. The whole album and outtakes were recorded in the Headley Grange Studios with The Rolling Stone Mobile and Stu present.
"Boogie With Stu" from Physical Graffiti: Stu plays piano and co-writes "Boogie with Stu" which is also dedicated to him. A loose jam recorded at the same sessions that produced Rock & Roll for the 4th album. This has Ian Stewart, the Rolling Stones’ tour manager and resident boogie-woogie specialist, playing barrel-house piano. Heavily based on Richie Valens’ 50s hit “Ooh My Head” (check “La Bamba” movie), hence the credits to his widow. Credits for the song includes Page, Plant, Bonham, Jones, Ian Stewart and Mrs. Valens
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| glencar |
When I was in Nassau, I went in search of Compass Point studios but couldn't find any such animal. |
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| Maxlugar |
The Rolling Stones moblile itself was auctioned off I'd say around 1997. It was quite "lived in" by then. It had gone through three engines.
Not sure who bought it.
Maybe Josh.
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| mac_daddy |
what a great question (and thread)..!
any pics?
lists of recordings?
more tech specifics?
thanks! |
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| J.J.Flash |
Ohhhhhhh Motherfuckers, this gonna be the most interesting thread, I am with you MacDaddy.
Well, I am saying because some time ago I was tempted to know more about the line "...But with the Rolling truck Stones thing just outside
Making our music there...."
Stones is always Stones, the best ever, without them, probably the World would never know Rock'n'Roll as it should be........but I always loved great and classic bands like Deep Purple....
I think that when Deep Purple was begining to happen, they were known as Roundabout or something like that..... and Art Wood, brother of our beloved Ronnie was there, with Jon Lord and Blackmore.
That story presented on "Smoke on the Water" has always been fascinating me among another reasons, by the fact that the relationship of our Stones with someone else has always amazed me.
I really would like to have more info about it.
By the way, I'm going to watch Deep Purple next Saturday. YEAH!  They played in another 4 cities, including Rio de Janeiro and now, they will play in São Paulo on Pacaembú Stadium, the place where our fave band (the Stones of course) played in 1995. I think only the Stones could beat this number here, anyway I think it's going to be almost 50K people watching this great show of this classic band.
I am thrilled.......
Hola Gerardo, como estas cabron? Hey man, are you gonna see them in Mexico (after Brasil, they've scheduled more dates for Mexico and after that, I think they will keep this tour going on to Europe)???
Cheers! |
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| prism |
Mick and Jimmy Rip recorded in the Stones mobile unit in 1996 for Jimmy Rip's blues album Way Past Blue. Mick sings and plays harmonica on it. |
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| J.J.Flash |
Knock knock! Voodoo....are you there?
[Edited by J.J.Flash] |
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| marko |
It might be a suprise,but even Heavy metal band,IRON MAIDEN
used it!
Also i think,Dire Straits used it too.ALCHEMY was mixed
there i think? |
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| Nellcote |
Jimmy Ripp's "Way Past Blue" is a must have.
It is wicked pissa! |
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| scully |
I think the Ronnie Lane mobile was built on an Airstream motor home type vehicle.
There are some photos of the first Rolling Stones Mobile (I think there may have been more than one through the years) in the Dominique Tarle Exile Book. Looks like a big BMC type van (us older UK peeps know what I mean).
Dominque Tarle states that it arrived at Nellcote on 7th June 1971, and that they had to cut down some tress to get it near the house.
I don't have a scanner, but here's some text that accompanies the pics, words by Mick Mckenna (who worked at Olympic, and then managed the mobile from 1973 onwards):
"I was working at Olympic when the idea for the mobile studio was conceived. Essentially the Stones gave it to Ian Stewart as his project.
...
The Stones knew for a while that they would have to become tax exiles down in France. They also knew thay had to make an album, and that there were virtually no studios in that part of the world. So the need to build a mobile studio came about.
...
When it came to building the mobile there was the option of a Mercedes chassis, costing about £5000 or a very basic British Leyland Laird one costing about £2000. They said "well it's only got yo do about 10,000 miles so let's put it on the cheap one" And of course it finished up doing about 100,000 miles. The studio itself was specifically designed on the system used at Olympic. It had a Helios console. These were highly regarded becasue the electronics were simple and everyone loved the clean sound that came from the desk. The monitors were four whopping great Tannoy speakers, each about four and a half foot tall, situated in the very narrow width of the truck. The console had 20 channels as oppsoed to more than 100 used now for top level live recording. A special type of tape recorder, a Unitrack was being built and had been sold to the Stones, but it never appeared and so they put in a 3M machine instead. The sixteen track machine was used for Exile, along with an 8 track Ampex. This was later upgraded to a dual 24 track system.
...
When it was finished the mobile was a brand new product and some of Sticky Fingers was recorded on it. There was nothing like it in Europe. It was acoustically treated, had a custom buit console, air conditioning and all the bits and bobs. My personal view is that the sound that came out on Exile on Main Street was in part due to the setup of the mobile, to the brilliant engineering of Andy Johns and of course to the ambient sound that came up from the basement in Nellcote."
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| VoodooChileInWOnderl |
quote:
J.J.Flash wrote:
Knock knock! Voodoo....are you there?
[Edited by J.J.Flash]
I'm gonna be backstage with Deep Purple next Tuesday! |
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| Highwire Rob |
Man! This place is educational! Sort of like "Open University of The Stones." 
Thanks for all this info! Don't you agree that this history on the Mobile Unit would make for a wild movie perspective on the band?! The custom Mobile parked outside Nellcote and then on it's Rock 'n Roll odysseys
Somebody get Johnny Depp on the horn... there's a script here... we only need to convince the lads to lend their music... |
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| Child of the Moon |
The Who also used it, for a couple of things during the Who's Next period... Won't Get Fooled Again and Pure and Easy, I think. |
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| scully |
Martin Elliot's sessions book has details of the March 1970 sessions at Stargroves being taped with the mobile - these were the Sticky Fingers (though some songs did not appear until much later) sessions. I guess it was starting to be more effective to bring the studio to the band rather than the other way round - they could then work in relaxed and familiar surroundings rather than travelling in to Olympic or Trident. I guess this was before the time of the 'residential' studio.
Anyone know if Sunset Sound in LA is still a working studio? |
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| mac_daddy |
scully - thanks for the info - that is great. I'm off tod do a web search on "helios"
quote:
scully wrote:
Anyone know if Sunset Sound in LA is still a working studio?
as far as I know, yes.
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| scully |
No Problem Mac_Daddy - The helios console had me thinking as well, I have never heard of such a thing (though I'm not a sound engineer or whatever). Olympic amd Helios are both 'similar' words (of greek origin I suppose) so maybe it was a hand crafted type of thing, by the Olympic engineers.
Might be worth a look here:
http://www.classicelectronics.com/home.html
[Edited by scully] |
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| Honky Tonker |
I read somewhere that Ronnie Lane ended up with it and that it was stripped down by vandals and/or posters on this board. |
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| stonedinaustralia |
it's licence plate registration No. is fmk438j - a number many will recognize from this board |
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