3 Rock Albums Recorded in Places They Had No Business Being Recorded

The venue in which an album is made is very important. Sometimes, certain studios become just as iconic as the works made within them. Some artists take the idea of place becoming inspiration very seriously. Because of this, they choose odd locations to record in, ones no one would have predicted. The three rock albums below were made in locations that don’t fit the regular mold of album-making.

[RELATED: 4 Songs From 1968 That Every Baby Boomer Knows by Heart]

‘Exile On Main St.’ — The Rolling Stones

In order to avoid taxes in England in 1971, The Rolling Stones set up camp in a sweltering basement in France. The Villa Nellcôte became the venue for Exile On Main St. The un-air-conditioned basement wouldn’t be many artists’ first choice for a recording environment, but it somehow helped them produce this era-defining rock album.

According to first-hand accounts, the basement was tight, barely big enough to fit all the instruments in. The power was unreliable, and the sound was murky. They eventually moved to studios in Los Angeles and England to finish up this record. Mhhh, wonder why…

‘The Downward Spiral’ — Nine Inch Nails

Nine Inch Nails’ The Downward Spiral was recorded in the most ominous of locations: 10050 Cielo Drive, a.k.a the home of the famous Manson Family murders of Sharon Tate. When you hear that, you think, “Well, yeah, such an artist would choose to record in such a dark place.” But, according to Trent Reznor, he didn’t know where he was setting up shop until after he rented the house.

According to the Nine Inch Nails frontman, he chose the house for the views and seclusion. After beginning the album process, he connected the dots. He chose to stay despite the grim history because he felt it matched the vibe of his music. It wasn’t until after he met Tate’s sister that he realized the insensitivity of recording a rock album at a crime scene.

‘Nebraska’ — Bruce Springsteen

Seldom does a famous rock star scale down once they’ve achieved fame. Bruce Springsteen, however, decided to do that while recording his beloved, stripped-down album, Nebraska. He recorded this rock album in the bedroom of a rented house in Colts Neck, New Jersey.

He released the raw demos as is, after trying to record them with the E-Street Band. He felt a bigger production ruined their intimacy. Springsteen was an established talent when he decided to record this album in humble seclusion.

(Jane Tyska/Digital First Media/East Bay Times via Getty Images)

The post 3 Rock Albums Recorded in Places They Had No Business Being Recorded appeared first on American Songwriter.