79-507: Basing Street Studios was a recording studio in a former 17th century chapel at 8–10 Basing Street, in Notting Hill , London , England . Originally established in 1969 as Island Studios by Chris Blackwell , the founder of Island Records , the studio's location also housed the offices for Island Records from 1969 until 1973, and was renamed Basing Street Studios in 1975. Island/Basing Street Studios produced many notable recordings in
158-498: A telephone hybrid for putting telephone calls on the air, a POTS codec for receiving remote broadcasts , a dead air alarm for detecting unexpected silence , and a broadcast delay for dropping anything from coughs to profanity . In the U.S., stations licensed by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) also must have an Emergency Alert System decoder (typically in the studio), and in
237-498: A "quiet gem" that "hits all the right emotional notes." Classic Rock critic Rob Hughes rated it Badfinger's 6th-best song, saying it is "less saccharine and more understated [than the Nilsson and Carey versions], delivered with a genuine sense of anguish." Paul McCartney called it "the killer song of all time." The two writers of the song, Ham and Evans, later died by suicide due to legal and financial issues. In Evans' case, it
316-532: A Fire and Burnin' were completed, as well as the Bob Marley and the Wailers album Exodus . 51°31′03″N 0°12′18″W / 51.517612°N 0.204961°W / 51.517612; -0.204961 Recording studio A recording studio is a specialized facility for recording and mixing of instrumental or vocal musical performances, spoken words, and other sounds. They range in size from
395-554: A deconsecrated 17th century church building at 8-10 Basing Street, in the Ladbroke Grove area of Notting Hill in West London and established new offices for Island Records. Two recording studios were constructed within the building to establish Island Studios . The construction of the studios utilized a concrete inner room design to prevent the transmission of sound within the building's structure. Studio One's live room
474-401: A different machine, which records the combined signals (called printing ) to a 1 ⁄ 2 -inch two-track stereo tape, called a master . Before digital recording, the total number of available tracks onto which one could record was measured in multiples of 24, based on the number of 24-track tape machines being used. Most recording studios now use digital recording equipment, which limits
553-750: A home studio is challenging because they are usually the loudest instruments. Acoustic drums require sound isolation in this scenario, unlike electronic or sampled drums. Getting an authentic electric guitar amp sound including power-tube distortion requires a power attenuator or an isolation cabinet , or booth. A convenient compromise is amplifier modeling , whether a modeling amp, preamp/processor, or software-based guitar amp simulator. Sometimes, musicians replace loud, inconvenient instruments such as drums, with keyboards, which today often provide somewhat realistic sampling . The capability of digital recording introduced by ADAT and its comparatively low cost, originally introduced at $ 3995, were largely responsible for
632-706: A home studio via the Internet. Additional outside audio connections are required for the studio/transmitter link for over-the-air stations, satellite dishes for sending and receiving shows, and for webcasting or podcasting . Without You (Badfinger song)#Harry Nilsson version " Without You " is a song written by Pete Ham and Tom Evans of British rock group Badfinger , and first released on their 1970 album No Dice . The power ballad has been recorded by over 180 artists, and versions released as singles by Harry Nilsson (1971) and Mariah Carey (1994) became international number one hits. The Nilsson version
711-413: A large role in the recording process. With software, a powerful, good quality computer with a fast processor can replace the mixing consoles , multitrack recording equipment, synthesizers, samplers and effects unit (reverb, echo, compression, etc.) that a recording studio required in the 1980s and 1990s. A computer thus outfitted is called a digital audio workstation , or DAW. While Apple Macintosh
790-444: A lesser amount of diffused reflections from walls to make a good-sounding room. A drummer, vocalist, or guitar speaker cabinet, along with microphones, is acoustically isolated in the isolation booth. A typical professional recording studio today has a control room , a large live room , and one or more small isolation booths . All rooms are soundproofed by varying methods, including but not limited to, double-layer 5/8" sheetrock with
869-602: A melancholic piano that perfectly complement the song’s mournful tone." The single, Grammy-nominated for Record of the Year , was produced by Richard Perry , who later explained, "It was a different record for its time. It was a big ballad with a heavy backbeat, and although many artists have cut songs like it since, no one was doing it then." In 1973, the single won Nilsson the Grammy award for Best Pop Vocal Performance, Male . While Nilsson rarely gave live concerts, he did perform
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#1732779624323948-1159: A number one hit, "Without You" made its UK chart debut at number one where it remained for four weeks in total, and later ended as the 7th best-selling single of 1994 in the United Kingdom. It topped the European Hot 100 Singles chart for two weeks and reached number one for ten weeks in Switzerland; eight weeks in Austria and Sweden; seven weeks in Belgium; five weeks in Ireland and the Netherlands; four weeks in Germany and Iceland; and two weeks in Scotland. On 15 May 1995, at ASCAP 's twelfth annual Pop Music Awards in Beverly Hills, California, "Without You"
1027-460: A party, and mistook it for a Beatles song. After realising it was not, he decided to cover the song for his 1971 album Nilsson Schmilsson . According to Breihan, "He wanted his version of the song to be a stark, heavy solo-piano thing, but [producer Richard] Perry convinced him to turn it into a grand, crashing, theatrical monster-ballad, complete with orchestra." Gary Wright , who worked with Badfinger on George Harrison's projects, played
1106-508: A regular stage or film set. In the era of acoustical recordings (prior to the introduction of microphones, electrical recording and amplification), the earliest recording studios were very basic facilities, being essentially soundproof rooms that isolated the performers from outside noise. During this era it was not uncommon for recordings to be made in any available location, such as a local ballroom, using portable acoustic recording equipment. In this period, master recordings were made by cutting
1185-410: A rotating cylinder (later disc) made from wax. Performers were typically grouped around a large acoustic horn (an enlarged version of the familiar gramophone horn). The acoustic energy from the voices or instruments was channeled through the horn to a diaphragm to a mechanical cutting lathe , which inscribed the signal as a modulated groove directly onto the surface of the master. Electrical recording
1264-497: A selection of instruments in their live room, typically instruments, amplifiers and speaker cabinets that are large, heavy, and difficult to transport (e.g., a Hammond organ ) or infeasible (as in the case of a grand piano ) to hire for a single recording session. Having musical instruments and equipment in the studio creates additional costs for a studio, as pianos have to be tuned and instruments and associated equipment needs to be maintained. General-purpose computers rapidly assumed
1343-402: A signal from one or more of the microphones in the studio could be routed to the loudspeaker in the echo chamber; the sound from the speaker reverberated through the chamber and the enhanced signal was picked up by the microphone at the other end. This echo-enhanced signal, which was often used to sweeten the sound of vocals, could then be blended in with the primary signal from the microphone in
1422-414: A single take. In the 1970s the large recording companies began to adopt multi-track recording and the emphasis shifted to isolation and sound-proofing, with treatments like echo and reverberation added separately during the mixing process, rather than being blended in during the recording. Generally, after an audio mix is set up on a 24-track tape machine, the tracks are played back together, mixed and sent to
1501-455: A small in-home project studio large enough to record a single singer-guitarist, to a large building with space for a full orchestra of 100 or more musicians. Ideally, both the recording and monitoring (listening and mixing) spaces are specially designed by an acoustician or audio engineer to achieve optimum acoustic properties (acoustic isolation or diffusion or absorption of reflected sound reverberation that could otherwise interfere with
1580-626: A strong chorus. At the time of writing, the band shared residence with the Mojos at 7 Park Avenue in Golders Green . One evening, in the midst of the parties, songwriting, touring, in Golders Green, Ham and his girlfriend Beverly Tucker were about to go out for the evening. But just as they were leaving Tom Evans said he had an idea for a song – Ham said, "Not tonight, I've promised Bev." But she thought he would be wondering if he had done
1659-408: A vibrant acoustic signature as the natural reverb enhanced the sound of the recording. In this period large, acoustically live halls were favored, rather than the acoustically dead booths and studio rooms that became common after the 1960s. Because of the limits of the recording technology, which did not allow for multitrack recording techniques, studios of the mid-20th century were designed around
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#17327796243231738-428: Is a key goal, the musicians, singers, audio engineers and record producers still need to be able to see each other, to see cue gestures and conducting by a bandleader. As such, the live room, isolation booths, vocal booths and control room typically have windows. Amplified instruments, like electric guitars and digital keyboards, may be connected directly to the recording console using DI units and performance recorded in
1817-409: Is essential to preserving the ability to fine-tune lines up to the last minute. Sometimes, if the rapport between the lead actors is strong enough and the animation studio can afford it, the producers may use a recording studio configured with multiple isolation booths in which the actors can see each another and the director. This enables the actors to react to one another in real time as if they were on
1896-480: Is more brusque than its successors' versions, was not released as a single in Europe or North America. Stereogum reviewer Tom Breihan said of Badfinger's version that it "is strummy and direct, but it also sounds like a blueprint, not a final version. They could’ve turned it into a showstopping ballad, but they didn’t." Ultimate Classic Rock critic Michael Gallucci rated it as Badfinger's 4th-best song, calling it
1975-490: Is used for most studio work, there is a breadth of software available for Microsoft Windows and Linux . If no mixing console is used and all mixing is done using only a keyboard and mouse, this is referred to as mixing in the box (ITB). OTB describes mixing with other hardware and not just the PC software. A small, personal recording studio is sometimes called a project studio or home studio . Such studios often cater to
2054-558: The Band Aid 30 charity single . SPZ Group closed Sarm West Studios on Basing Street in 2013. In 2018, the former church building was converted into nine luxury flats . In October 2019, a commemorative blue plaque dedicated by the Nubian Jak Community Trust honoring Bob Marley, Peter Tosh , and Bunny Wailer was placed at the site of the former Island/Basing Street Studios where The Wailers' albums Catch
2133-514: The RCA company in the 1930s were crucial to the crooning style perfected by Bing Crosby , and the famous Neumann U 47 condenser microphone was one of the most widely used from the 1950s. This model is still widely regarded by audio professionals as one of the best microphones of its type ever made. Learning the correct placement of microphones is a major part of the training of young engineers, and many became extremely skilled in this craft. Well into
2212-407: The "studio" or "live room" equipped with microphones and mic stands, where instrumentalists and vocalists perform; and the " control room ", where audio engineers, sometimes with record producers, as well, operate professional audio mixing consoles , effects units , or computers with specialized software suites to mix , manipulate (e.g., by adjusting the equalization and adding effects) and route
2291-577: The 1950s and 1960s, the sound of pop recordings was further defined by the introduction of proprietary sound processing devices such as equalizers and compressors, which were manufactured by specialist electronics companies. One of the best known of these was the Pultec equalizer which was used by almost all the major commercial studios of the time. With the introduction of multi-track recording , it became possible to record instruments and singers separately and at different times on different tracks on tape. In
2370-513: The 1960s, in the classical field it was not uncommon for engineers to make high-quality orchestral recordings using only one or two microphones suspended above the orchestra. In the 1960s, engineers began experimenting with placing microphones much closer to instruments than had previously been the norm. The distinctive rasping tone of the horn sections on the Beatles recordings " Good Morning Good Morning " and " Lady Madonna " were achieved by having
2449-402: The 1970s from artists including Bob Marley and the Wailers , Led Zeppelin , Roxy Music , Jethro Tull , Traffic , and Dire Straits . In 1982, the studios were acquired by Sarm Studio owners Jill Sinclair and her husband, producer Trevor Horn in 1982, and renamed Sarm West . In 1969, Island Records co-founder Chris Blackwell and company directors David Belleridge and John Leftly acquired
Basing Street Studios - Misplaced Pages Continue
2528-504: The 1971 LP credits: American singer and songwriter Mariah Carey 's version, based on Harry Nilsson's version rather than the Badfinger original, was released as the third single off Music Box in the first quarter of 1994, its US release date of 21 January 1994 by Columbia Records , falling a week after Nilsson had died following a heart attack on 15 January 1994. In the US "Without You"
2607-478: The 30th Street Studio at 207 East 30th Street, the CBS Studio Building at 49 East 52nd Street, Liederkranz Hall at 111 East 58th Street between Park and Lexington Avenues (a building built by and formerly belonging to a German cultural and musical society, The Liederkranz Club and Society), and one of their earliest recording studios, Studio A at 799 Seventh Avenue. Electric recording studios in
2686-455: The 30th Street Studios in the late 1940s and A&R manager Mitch Miller had tweaked it to perfection, Miller issued a standing order that the drapes and other fittings were not to be touched, and the cleaners had specific orders never to mop the bare wooden floor for fear it might alter the acoustic properties of the hall. There were several other features of studios in this period that contributed to their unique sonic signatures. As well as
2765-591: The Basing Street location for ZTT Records and Stiff Records labels, as well as Perfect Songs and Unforgettable Songs publishing companies. In November 1984, the former Island Studio building was the venue for the recording of " Do They Know It's Christmas " by the members of Band Aid in support of relief efforts for the 1984–1985 famine in Ethiopia , and in November 2014, the studios were used to record
2844-819: The Hoople recorded Wildlife at the studio, returning the following year to record Brain Capers . In 1973, the Eagles recorded Desperado at the studio. Island Studios added a mobile recording truck in 1972, with Genesis using it to record their 1974 album The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway . Songs recorded at Island Studios include " Without You " by Harry Nilsson , " After Midnight " by Eric Clapton , " All Right Now " by Free , " Peace Train " by Cat Stevens , and " Many Rivers to Cross " by Jimmy Cliff . Other artists who recorded at Island Studios include Paul McCartney , Go , John Martyn , and Brian Eno . In 1975,
2923-519: The case of full-power stations, an encoder that can interrupt programming on all channels which a station transmits to broadcast urgent warnings. Computers are used for playing ads , jingles , bumpers , soundbites , phone calls, sound effects , traffic and weather reports , and now are able to perform full broadcast automation when no staff are present. Digital mixing consoles can be interconnected via audio over Ethernet . Network connections allow remote access , so that DJs can do shows from
3002-605: The chart dated 19 February 1972, started its four-week run at number one, as his only song to peak at that position. Billboard ranked it as the number-four single of 1972. The record topped Billboard ' s Easy Listening chart for five weeks. The record spent five weeks at number one on the UK Singles Chart , beginning on 11 March, eventually selling almost 800,000 copies. It went to number one in several other countries, including Australia (for five weeks), Ireland (two weeks) and New Zealand (two weeks). The single
3081-404: The chorus. Evans' relationship with his future wife Marianne influenced his lyrics: One evening he [Evans] went to her [Marianne's] friend Karen and told Karen, "She's left me. I need her back. I can't live without her." He flew to Bonn to find her – he wrote a song called "I Can't Live". Its chorus included "I can't live, if living is without you, I can't live, I can't give any more." And so
3160-489: The concept of grouping musicians (e.g., the rhythm section or a horn section ) and singers (e.g., a group of backup singers ), rather than separating them, and placing the performers and the microphones strategically to capture the complex acoustic and harmonic interplay that emerged during the performance. In the 2000s, modern sound stages still sometimes use this approach for large film scoring projects that use large orchestras. Because of their superb acoustics, many of
3239-480: The consideration of the physical dimensions of the room itself to make the room respond to sound in the desired way. Acoustical treatment includes and the use of absorption and diffusion materials on the surfaces inside the room. To control the amount of reverberation, rooms in a recording studio may have a reconfigurable combination of reflective and non-reflective surfaces. Soundproofing provides sonic isolation between rooms and prevents sound from entering or leaving
Basing Street Studios - Misplaced Pages Continue
3318-436: The control room. This greatly enhances the communication between the producer and engineer with the player, as studio mics, headphones and talkback are unnecessary. Recording studios are carefully designed around the principles of room acoustics to create a set of spaces with the acoustical properties required for recording sound with accuracy. Architectural acoustics includes acoustical treatment and soundproofing and also
3397-412: The inherent sound of the large recording rooms, many of the best studios incorporated specially-designed echo chambers , purpose-built rooms which were often built beneath the main studio. These were typically long, low rectangular spaces constructed from hard, sound-reflective materials like concrete, fitted with a loudspeaker at one end and one or more microphones at the other. During a recording session,
3476-664: The larger studios were converted churches. Examples include George Martin 's AIR Studios in London, Columbia Records 30th Street Studio in New York City, and Pythian Temple studio in New York. Facilities like the Columbia Records 30th Street Studio in New York and Abbey Road Studios in London were renowned for their identifiable sound—which was (and still is) easily identifiable by audio professionals—and for
3555-400: The merging of the two songs, Ham and Evans created the hit [with] Ham's verse, "warm, sweet, sentimental" and Evans' chorus, "intense, dramatic, heartbreaking." Both Ham and Evans said they did not consider the song to have much potential at the time Badfinger recorded it, and the track was slotted to close the first side of their 1970 album No Dice . Badfinger's recording of the song, which
3634-584: The mid-20th century often lacked isolation booths, sound baffles , and sometimes even speakers. A major reason that isolation was not used was that recordings in this period were typically made as live ensemble takes and all the performers needed to be able to see each other and the ensemble leader while playing. The recording engineers who trained in this period learned to take advantage of the complex acoustic effects that could be created through leakage between different microphones and groups of instruments, and these technicians became extremely skilled at capturing
3713-422: The mid-20th century, recordings were analog , made on 1 ⁄ 4 -inch or 1 ⁄ 2 -inch magnetic tape , or, more rarely, on 35 mm magnetic film , with multitrack recording reaching 8 tracks in the 1950s, 16 in 1968, and 32 in the 1970s. The commonest such tape is the 2-inch analog, capable of containing up to 24 individual tracks. Throughout the 1960s many pop classics were still recorded live in
3792-628: The new studios, resulting in the formation of Helios Electronics and its first console, Island Studio 2, a 20-input, 8-buss console with 16-channel monitoring. Stephen Stills recorded most of his self-titled debut solo album at the new studios in 1970, with contributions from Eric Clapton , Jimi Hendrix , Mama Cass , and Ringo Starr . In December of the same year, Led Zeppelin recorded portions of Led Zeppelin IV in Island Studio Two, including " Black Dog " and " Stairway to Heaven ", At
3871-524: The number of available tracks only on the basis of the mixing console 's or computer hardware interface's capacity and the ability of the hardware to cope with processing demands. Analog tape machines are still used in some cases for their unique sonic characteristics. Radio studios are very similar to recording studios, particularly in the case of production studios which are not normally used on-air , such as studios where interviews are taped for later broadcast. This type of studio would normally have all of
3950-470: The piano. Also featured are Klaus Voormann (bass), Jim Keltner (drums) and John Uribe (acoustic guitar). The string and horn arrangements are by Paul Buckmaster . The single was released by RCA in the autumn of 1971, and it first charted on radio stations across the US in early December. "Without You" debuted at number 99 on the Billboard Hot 100 on 18 December 1971, and on its tenth week, in
4029-502: The property. A Recording studio in an urban environment must be soundproofed on its outer shell to prevent noises from the surrounding streets and roads from being picked up by microphones inside. Equipment found in a recording studio commonly includes: Not all music studios are equipped with musical instruments. Some smaller studios do not have instruments, and bands and artists are expected to bring their own instruments, amplifiers, and speakers. However, major recording studios often have
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#17327796243234108-440: The right thing later, if he went out. She told him, "Go into the studio, I'm fine about it..." He replied, "Your mouth is smiling, but your eyes are sad." The song Ham wrote that night was called "If it's Love" and has the verse "Well I can't forget tomorrow, when I think of all my sorrow, I had you there but then I let you go, and now it's only fair that I should let you know ... if it's love". But Ham wasn't happy with
4187-459: The rise of project studios in the 1990s. Today's project studios are built around software-based DAWs running on standard PC hardware. An isolation booth is either a partially enclosed area in the live room or a completely separate small room built adjacent to the live room that is both soundproofed to keep out external sounds and keep in the internal sounds. Like all the other recording rooms in sound industry, isolation booths designed for having
4266-444: The same equipment that any other audio recording studio would have, particularly if it is at a large station, or at a combined facility that houses a station group, but is also designed for groups of people to work collaboratively in a live-to-air situation. Broadcast studios also use many of the same principles such as sound isolation, with adaptations suited to the live on-air nature of their use. Such equipment would commonly include
4345-619: The same time, Jethro Tull recorded their album Aqualung upstairs in Island Studio One. Black Sabbath completed their 1970 album Paranoid , including the recording of its title track , at Island, and returned to the studio the following year to record its follow-up, Master of Reality . Traffic recorded portions of John Barleycorn Must Die at Island in 1970, returning the following year to record The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys . The Jeff Beck Group recorded Rough and Ready at Island in 1971. The same year, Mott
4424-401: The saxophone players position their instruments so that microphones were virtually inside the mouth of the horn. The unique sonic characteristics of the major studios imparted a special character to many of the most famous popular recordings of the 1950s and 1960s, and the recording companies jealously guarded these facilities. According to sound historian David Simons, after Columbia took over
4503-508: The seams offset from layer to layer on both sides of the wall that is filled with foam, batten insulation, a double wall, which is an insulated wall built next to another insulated wall with an air gap in-between, by adding foam to the interior walls and corners, and by using two panes of thick glass with an air gap between them. The surface densities of common building materials determines the transmission loss of various frequencies through materials. Thomas A. Watson invented, but did not patent,
4582-523: The skill of their staff engineers. As the need to transfer audio material between different studios grew, there was an increasing demand for standardization in studio design across the recording industry, and Westlake Recording Studios in West Hollywood was highly influential in the 1970s in the development of standardized acoustic design. In New York City, Columbia Records had some of the most highly respected sound recording studios, including
4661-501: The smaller independent studios were often owned by skilled electronics engineers who designed and built their own desks and other equipment. A good example of this is Gold Star Studios in Los Angeles, the site of many famous American pop recordings of the 1960s. Co-owner David S. Gold built the studio's main mixing desk and many additional pieces of equipment and he also designed the studio's unique trapezoidal echo chambers. During
4740-523: The song with Ringo Starr and his All-Starr Band at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas in September 1992. In 1972 Evans said of finding out that Nilsson had recorded the song as a single: We were in our studios in London. We'd gone through one of those periods where things weren't going too well. This guy came in and said "Are you Badfinger? I'm Harry Nilsson. I've got this song to play for you." It
4819-474: The sound and keep it from bleeding into the other microphones, allowing better independent control of each instrument channel at the mixing console . In animation, vocal performances are normally recorded in individual sessions, and the actors have to imagine (with the help of the director or a reader) they are involved in dialogue. Animated films often evolve rapidly during both development and production, so keeping vocal tracks from bleeding into each other
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#17327796243234898-408: The sound for analog or digital recording . The engineers and producers listen to the live music and the recorded "tracks" on high-quality monitor speakers or headphones . Often, there will be smaller rooms called isolation booths to accommodate loud instruments such as drums or electric guitar amplifiers and speakers, to keep these sounds from being audible to the microphones that are capturing
4977-401: The sound heard by the listener). Recording studios may be used to record singers, instrumental musicians (e.g., electric guitar, piano, saxophone, or ensembles such as orchestras), voice-over artists for advertisements or dialogue replacement in film, television, or animation, Foley , or to record their accompanying musical soundtracks. The typical recording studio consists of a room called
5056-445: The soundproof booth for use in demonstrating the telephone with Alexander Graham Bell in 1877. There are variations of the same concept, including a portable standalone isolation booth and a guitar speaker isolation cabinet. A gobo panel achieves the same effect to a much more moderate extent; for example, a drum kit that is too loud in the live room or on stage can have acrylic glass see-through gobo panels placed around it to deflect
5135-474: The sounds from other instruments or voices, or to provide "drier" rooms for recording vocals or quieter acoustic instruments such as an acoustic guitar or a fiddle . Major recording studios typically have a range of large, heavy, and hard-to-transport instruments and music equipment in the studio, such as a grand piano , Hammond organ , electric piano , harp , and drums . Recording studios generally consist of three or more rooms: Even though sound isolation
5214-444: The specific needs of an individual artist or are used as a non-commercial hobby. The first modern project studios came into being during the mid-1980s, with the advent of affordable multitrack recording devices, synthesizers and microphones. The phenomenon has flourished with falling prices of MIDI equipment and accessories, as well as inexpensive direct to disk recording products. Recording drums and amplified electric guitar in
5293-435: The studio and mixed into the track as the master recording was being made. Special equipment was another notable feature of the classic recording studio. The biggest studios were owned and operated by large media companies like RCA, Columbia and EMI, who typically had their own electronics research and development divisions that designed and built custom-made recording equipment and mixing consoles for their studios. Likewise,
5372-847: The studios were officially renamed Basing Street Studios and put under the direction of producer Muff Winwood . In 1977, during his 14-month self-imposed exile from Jamaica, Bob Marley lived in an apartment upstairs from the studio where The Wailers' albums Catch a Fire and Burnin' had been completed years earlier, recording the album Exodus . In 1978, Dire Straits recorded their eponymous debut studio album at Basing Street Studios. Other artists who recorded at Basing Street Studios included Fairport Convention , Roxy Music , Sparks , and Joan Armatrading . Jill Sinclair and Trevor Horn , owners of East London's SARM studios, bought Island's Basing Street Studios in 1982, renaming them Sarm West Studios to complement their existing East London studio. Horn and Sinclair also established offices at
5451-491: The stuff of which hits are made." Breihan described the song as "going-for-it schmaltz," compared with Badfinger's "vaguely embarrassed schmaltz", but basically considered it a "big and silly and down-the-middle breakup ballad." SingersRoom critic Erica Henderson rated it as Nilsson's best song, saying that "the song's haunting melody and heartbreaking lyrics about lost love have made it a timeless classic" and that "Nilsson’s rendition features soaring vocals, soaring strings, and
5530-571: The unique acoustic properties of their studios and the musicians in performance. It was not until the 1960s, with the introduction of the high-fidelity headphones that it became common practice for performers to use these to monitor their performance during recording and listen to playbacks. The use of different kinds of microphones and their placement around the studio is a crucial part of the recording process, and particular brands of microphones are used by engineers for their specific audio characteristics. The smooth-toned ribbon microphones developed by
5609-406: Was 60 by 40 feet, with 25 foot ceilings, and was large enough to accommodate 80 musicians. The smaller Studio Two, in the building's basement, was 30 by 20 feet, with 10 foot ceilings. The Basing Street studio was one of the first in London to have a 16-track recorder , and Blackwell commissioned former Olympic Studios Technical Director Richard "Dick" Swettenham to build a recording console for
5688-493: Was a dispute over songwriting royalties for "Without You" that precipitated his action. Songwriting royalties had become the subject of constant legal wrangling for Evans, and in 1983, following an acrimonious argument with his bandmate Joey Molland over the royalties for the song, Evans hanged himself. Harry Nilsson , at the time best known for his hit " Everybody's Talkin' " and for composing " One ", recorded by Three Dog Night , heard Badfinger's recording of "Without You" at
5767-442: Was common by the early 1930s, and mastering lathes were electrically powered, but master recordings still had to be cut into a disc, by now a lacquer, also known as an Acetate disc . In line with the prevailing musical trends, studios in this period were primarily designed for the live recording of symphony orchestras and other large instrumental ensembles. Engineers soon found that large, reverberant spaces like concert halls created
5846-579: Was his version of "Without You." He said he was going to use it as a single. We're thinking about other songs we can lay on him. No one had recorded any of our songs until then. It had been our ambition to write songs other people would record. It's one of the most exciting things that has happened. In 2021, this version was ranked 496th on Rolling Stone ' s 500 Greatest Songs of All Time . Worldwide Single EP (Portugal) Shipments figures based on certification alone. Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. According to
5925-512: Was included in 2021's Rolling Stone ' s 500 Greatest Songs of All Time . Paul McCartney once described it as "the killer song of all time". In 1972, writers Ham and Evans received the British Academy's Ivor Novello Award for Best Song Musically and Lyrically . First recorded by the rock group Badfinger , the song was composed by two of its members. Pete Ham wrote a song originally titled "If It's Love", but it had lacked
6004-494: Was later included on some non-US pressings of her compilation albums #1's (1998) and #1 to Infinity (2015), and her 2001 compilation, Greatest Hits . "Without You" was also included on her 2008 compilation The Ballads . "Without You" reached number three on the US Billboard Hot 100 for six weeks. "Without You" remains Carey's biggest hit across Europe. In the United Kingdom, where Carey had yet to score
6083-414: Was promoted as a double A-side with " Never Forget You ". While she had heard Nilsson's version as a very young girl, Carey's decision to remake his hit was based on a chance hearing during the time she was recording Music Box : "I heard that song in a restaurant and just knew it would be a huge international hit" recalls Carey. Carey's version has been considered very popular on talent shows. "Without You"
6162-557: Was re-released in 1976 where it went back to number one in Ireland for two weeks and peaked at #22 in the UK. Billboard said it was "by far [Nilsson's] most commercial driving rock ballad in some time." Cash Box said of the single "Couple a winning Badfinger tune with Gary Wright's piano and Nilsson's wideranging voice, and you've got Harry's biggest hit since ' Everybody's Talkin' .'" Record World said that "Nilsson's brilliant rendition of this Badfinger song has more than enough of
6241-529: Was recognised as one of the 50 most-played songs of 1994 (due largely to Mariah Carey's recording). Discrepancies in ASCAP's books, resulting from a lawsuit against the Ham and Evans estates by their former manager, incorrectly attributed the song as being composed not only by Ham and Evans, but also by Badfinger's other bandmembers, Mike Gibbins and Joey Molland, and their former manager, Bill Collins. This designation and
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