10 Classic Songs That Were Recorded Incredibly Fast

9. Sledgehammer - Peter Gabriel

For all of the wait times in between records, Peter Gabriel's fanbase are probably known as a fairly patient bunch. Though his first post-Genesis work on his self-titled albums were pretty consistent, it would often take years before an initial idea actually was in good enough shape to put on a record. Or in the case of Sledgehammer, just a few hours.

After running through the basic tracks for what turned into the album So, the band were packing up their instruments when Gabriel had another idea. When actually laying down the track, Gabriel made it clear that it was just going to be a rough demo of the song, so there was no need to belabor the track that much. Influenced by the funkier style of Otis Redding, the groove of the song quickly blossomed into one of the biggest earworms of Gabriel's career, complete with just the right amount of cartoony horns to give it an added sense of charm.

Even some of the backing musicians were shocked to hear that it made the record, with bassist Tony Levin being convinced that it would be years before anyone would ever the track. When you're that close to perfection though, it's probably best to keep hammering away at it until you actually get somewhere.

 
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