Little Mountain Sound Studios

'''Little Mountain Sound Studios''' was a music recording facility in [[Vancouver]], [[British Columbia]], Canada. From the 1970s through the 1990s, it was the most successful recording studio in Western Canada and the home for many years to producers [[Bruce Fairbairn]] and [[Bob Rock]]. Albums by [[Aerosmith]], [[Bon Jovi]], [[AC/DC]], [[Metallica]], [[Bryan Adams]], [[Mötley Crüe]], [[David Lee Roth]], [[Loverboy]], [[Dan Reed Network]], and [[the Cult]], among many others, were recorded there. The studio closed in April 1993.

==History== Little Mountain Sound Studios was started in 1972 as a 50/50 partnership between Western Broadcasting (CKNW radio) and Griffiths, Gibson Productions (GGP).

Bob Brooks was hired to manage Little Mountain. Brooks was an independent producer working out of an office at CKWX after having left Homer Street Studios. In 1977, Western Broadcasting bought out GGP to become sole owner. In 1982, Western Broadcasting sold the studio to Bob Brooks.

[[Bruce Fairbairn]] started recording at Little Mountain Sound Studios with [[Prism (band)|Prism]], a band in which he played trumpet. Fairbairn would go on to do the bulk of his work there as an independent producer. [[Bob Rock]] & [[Mike Fraser (record producer)|Mike Fraser]] were house engineers at Little Mountain. They engineered many albums for Fairbairn before becoming a producers themselves. Brooks turned over the running of the studio to a manager in the late 1980s. Brooks then replaced the manager with Bruce Levens, who purchased Little Mountain after managing for six months. The studio was sold and closed in April 1993.

==Clients== '''[[The Goose Creek Symphony]]''' * ''Head foe the Hills'' (1976)

'''[[Olivia Newton-John]]''' * "[[Making a Good Thing Better|Don't Cry for Me Argentina]]" (1977) – engineered by Armin Steiner

'''[[Loverboy]]''' * ''[[Loverboy (Loverboy album)|Loverboy]]'' (1980) – produced by Fairbairn, engineered by Fraser * ''[[Get Lucky (Loverboy album)|Get Lucky]]'' (1981) – mixing; co-produced by Fairbairn, assistant engineered by Fraser * ''[[Keep It Up]]'' (1983) – mixing; co-produced by Fairbairn, assistant engineered by Fraser * ''[[Lovin' Every Minute of It]]'' (1985) - Assistant Engineer Ron Obvious * ''[[Wildside (album)|Wildside]]'' (1987) – produced by Fairbairn

'''[[Bryan Adams]]''' * ''[[Reckless (Bryan Adams album)|Reckless]]'' (1984) – partial; assistant engineered by [[Mike Fraser (record producer)|Mike Fraser]]

'''The Cheer''' * "Shot with Our Own Guns" (1986) – produced by [[Bob Rock]], engineered by Fraser

'''[[Bon Jovi]]''' * ''[[Slippery When Wet]]'' (1986) – produced by Fairbairn, engineered by Rock * ''[[New Jersey (album)|New Jersey]]'' (1988) – produced by Fairbairn, engineered by Rock * ''[[Keep the Faith]]'' (1992) – produced by Rock

'''[[Aerosmith]]''' (produced by Fairbairn) * ''[[Permanent Vacation (Aerosmith album)|Permanent Vacation]]'' (1987) * ''[[Pump (album)|Pump]]'' (1989) * ''[[Get a Grip]]'' (1993) * The studio figures prominently in the Aerosmith documentary ''[[The Making of Pump]]'' (1990).

'''[[Mötley Crüe]]''' * ''[[Dr. Feelgood (album)|Dr. Feelgood]]'' (1989) – produced by Rock * ''[[Decade of Decadence]]'' (1991)

'''[[The Cult]]''' * ''[[Sonic Temple]]'' (1989) – produced by Rock

'''[[Poison (band)|Poison]]''' * ''[[Flesh & Blood (Poison album)|Flesh & Blood]]'' (1990) – co-produced by Fairbairn and Fraser

'''[[Metallica]]''' * ''[[Metallica (album)|Metallica]]'' (1991) – partial; co-produced by Rock

'''[[David Coverdale]] and [[Jimmy Page]]''' * ''[[Coverdale–Page]]'' (1993) – initial recording; co-produced by Fraser

'''[[Van Halen]]''' * ''[[Balance (Van Halen album)|Balance]]'' (1995) – vocals; produced by Fairbairn

Additionally, the British Columbia Rapid Transit Company (now part of [[TransLink (British Columbia)|Translink]]) recorded the chimes for the [[SkyTrain (Vancouver)|Skytrain]] system in 1984–1985.<ref>{{cite web |date=2008-12-01 |title=Podcast: the story of the SkyTrain chime |url=https://buzzer.translink.ca/2008/12/podcast-the-story-of-the-skytrain-chime/ |publisher=The Buzzer Blog (TransLink)}}</ref>

==References== {{Reflist}} {{Authority control}} [[Category:Recording studios in Canada]] [[Category:Music of Vancouver]] [[Category:Entertainment companies established in 1972]]

==External links== * {{YouTube|MlnsoSmSmPQ|''From AC/DC to Aerosmith...'' (2023) documentary}}