"Blood & Chocolate" was recorded in a single large room at high volume, with the band listening to each other on monitor speakers and playing at stage volume, an unusual practice in the studio for its time. As Costello recalled, "Nick Lowe was producing us for the first time in five years and, together with engineer Colin Fairley, agreed to an approach that would get the music recorded before the band and I fell out completely. Olympic's control room still contained some of the Bakelite switches and other arcane features left over from the days when it had hosted sessions by Jimi Hendrix and The Rolling Stones. The live room was big enough for a full orchestra, so we filled it with our live monitor system and played at something approaching stage volume. Although it is commonly thought that high volume in the studio creates an uncontrollable sonic picture, this approach seemed to suit the material entirely."