Sweet Loretta Fart

The final song on the Apple LP/CD "Let It Be" is an original composition by Lennon/McCartney mainly written by Paul entitled "Get Back".

The single version of the song has been discussed in a previous post of September 19 2010 and this post will deal with the LP version (both versions are different).

The LP version of the song was recorded on Monday January 27 1969 at Apple Studios. There were countless takes of "Get Back" played over and over on that day and when it was re-started after a lunch break both the beginning dialogue "Sweet Loretta Fart", "Rosetta" and the count-in. This take would be used on the "Let It Be" LP.

The "Get Back" unreleased LP used an edit piece from a recording made the next day on January 28 1969 at Apple Studios. This piece was simply faded in and faded out with an improvisation from Paul (Ho-ho-ho ing and all that).

The end "audition" comment by John Lennon was cross-faded onto the January 27 1969 take by Phil Spector for the "Let It Be" LP version. The comment was made on the rooftop of the Apple building during the impromptu lunch break concert. The concert took place on January 30 1969. The "Let It Be" film uses an edit of the first two concert takes of "Get Back" as well as the final takes along with the comments.

Five re-mixes of this LP version was completed by Phil Spector on March 26 1970 from room 4 at EMI Studios London.

This version of "Get Back" can be found on the Apple LP/CD "Let It Be". Most of the Beatles' greatest hits compilations would use the single version of "Get Back". ( See entry for this discography history).

Because You're Sweet And Lovely Girl

The second last song on the Apple LP/CD "Let It Be" is an original George Harrison composition entitled "For You Blue". It's exactly that. A fast blues number with George playing acoustic, John playing the slide, Paul on piano and Ringo on drums.

The song starts off with a bit of dialogue taken from the January 08 1969 rehearsal session at Twickenham Studios with John mentioning: "Queen says 'No' to pot smoking FBI member".

The basic track for the song was recorded on January 25 1969 at Apple Studios. Take one of the song can be heard on the Apple/EMI 3-LP/2-CD "Anthology 3". Once again, there is confusion in the sources available to me as of which take was used as the backing track for the commercial version. Winn states it is take seven while Lewisohn states that it is take six. Regardless, the basic track with a George guide vocal was used for the unreleased "Get Back" LP. The film performance of "For You Blue" - originally entitled "George's Blues (Because You're Sweet And Lovely)" is an edit of six and nine.

"For You Blue" was mixed for stereo on Monday March 10 1969 for the "Get Back" LP using the guide vocal from January 25 of the same year. This was completed at Olympic Sound Studios in London by Glyn Johns.

Upon listening to the "Get Back" LP line up at the time, George Harrison went into Olympic Sound Studios on January 08 1970 in order to overdub his vocal. This was completed and the song was then mixed in stereo by Glyn Johns. This mix was never used.

On Saturday February 08 1970, Apple engineer Malcolm Davies also attempted to remix the song with eight attempts in stereo, although once again these mixes were not used. The attempts were completed in Room 4 of EMI studios.

Finally, the song was mixed in stereo by Phil Spector in Room 4 of EMI studios with seven attempts. The final mix included the intro from mix five and the rest of the song from mix one.

"For You Blue" is available on the Apple LP/CD "Let It Be" as well as the Capitol/Parlophone LP/CD "The Best Of George Harrison". The song was the B-side to the North American single "The Long And Winding Road/For You Blue" on Apple 2832.

"For You Blue" was performed live by George Harrison on his November-December 1974 "Dark Horse" tour. The song was also included in the Genesis Publication as "Songs by George Harrison" CD released in 1987.

"For You Blue" was also performed live at the Concert for George which took place at the Royal Albert Hall on November 29 2002. The performance has vocals by Paul McCartney. This version can be heard on the Warner 2 CD "Concert For George".

Lead Me To Your Door

The next song on the Apple LP/CD "Let It Be" is an original Lennon/McCartney composition written mainly by Paul entitled "The Long and Winding Road". This piano ballad is considered one of Paul's favourites as he has been playing this song live in concert throughout most of his touring career.

A rehearsal run-through of the song with Paul solo on piano can first be heard during the Twickenham Studios rehearsals of January 09 1969.

The first proper recording of "The Long And Winding Road" took place on Sunday January 26 1969 at Apple Studios whereby the band ran through the song several times in order to teach Billy Preston the chords. After about an hour or so or rehearsal, a take of the song was recorded and used on the Glyn Johns version of the "Get Back" LP. It would also stand that the bases for this version would be overdubbed later and used on the official Apple LP/CD "Let It Be"; but more on that later. This particular version can also be heard on the Apple 3-LP/2-CD "Anthology 3".

There are slight differences in my sources for this blog as to the next recording date for "The Long And Winding Road". This is specific to the performances of the song from January 31 1969 at Apple Studios, a day after the rooftop concert. Seven takes (13 to 19) of "The Long And Winding Road" were recorded. Take 19 can be seen and heard in the "Let It Be" film. The J.C. Winn source tells us that none of these takes were used for the Apple "Let It Be" LP/CD while Lewisohn suggests that take 19 was also used for the Apple "Let It Be" LP/CD.

Upon listening to both takes, it is clear that the January 26 1969 recording was more likely used for both the "Get Back" unreleased LP and the Apple LP/CD "Let It Be" commercial release. The liner notes of "Anthology 3" also tell us that the version heard on the Anthology and the commercial version are the same with the difference being the later overdubs.

And so the massacre began on April 01 1970 with Phil Spector in the producer's chair: Both EMI studio one and studio three were used to overdub strings, brass and choir onto "The Long And Winding Road".

The next day on April 02 1970, the stereo mix for "The Long and Winding Road" was a combination of two take edited together from a previous three attempts at the stereo mix. This mix was issued on the Apple LP/CD "Let It Be".

"The Long And Winding Road" was also issued as a single in North America on May 11 1970 with the catalogue number (Apple 2832). The B-side was "For You Blue".

"The Long And Winding Road" can be found on the following : Apple LP/CD "Let It Be", the Apple 2-LP/2-CD "The Beatles 1967-1970", the Capitol/EMI 2-LP compilation "Love Songs", the Parlophone/EMI Capitol of Canada LP "The Beatles' Ballads", the Capitol/EMI compilation LP "Reel Music", the Capitol LP "The Beatles: 20 Greatest Hits" (north american issue only), the Apple/EMI compilation 2-LP/CD "1". The version heard on the Apple/EMI LP/CD "Let It Be...naked" is the version recorded on January 31 1969 (the same as heard in the movie).

Live performances by Paul McCartney include the 1975/1976 tours and a version of the song from this tour can be heard on the Capitol/EMI 3-LP/2-CD "Wings Over America". The version of "The Long And Winding Road" that appears on the movie soundtrack for "Give My Regards To Broad Street" was recorded at AIR studios in London in November 1983. This soundtrack version appears on the Columbia LP/CD "Give My Regards To Broad Street". Another live version came from a pre-tour rehearsal in April 1989 at Hog Hill in England. This is avialable on the Odeon/EMI (Japan only) CD "Flowers In The Dirt - Special Package". The song was also performed on the 1989-1990 tour resulting in it's inclusion on the EMI 3-LP/2-CD "Tripping The Live Fantastic" as well as the EMI LP/CD "Tripping The Live Fantastic - Highlights". The song was also performed at the 1993 "New World" tour. It was also performed during the 2002 tour and a version can be heard on the Capitol 2-CD "Back In the US" as well as on the EMI 2-CD "Back in The World". The song has also been performed at the 2005, 2008 and 2010 tours.

Come On, Baby, Don't Be Cold As Ice

The next song on the Apple LP/CD "Let It Be" was an oldie that was written jointly by Lennon/McCartney entitled "One After 909". This was actually a second attempt at recording and performing this song for commercial release. The first attempt was back in March 1963 when "One After 909" was recorded but abandoned and not released until much later after the band had split up ( see my blog entry on October 07 2009 for details).

This new attempt for the "Get Back/Let It Be" project had the Beatles playing thier usual instruments (with the addition of Billy Preston on electric piano for the recording). The song was a little faster and more upbeat than the previous attempt.

The song was rehearsed at Twickenham Studios on January 03 1969 and was the most complete song at this time due to the fact that it was an older composition. The suggestion that the song be added to the live show for the conclusion of the movie was undertaken on January 07 1969 also at Twickenham Studios. The Beatles continued to rehearse the song on January 08 and 09 1969 ( an excerpt of the rehearsal from the 9th can be seen in the "Let It Be" film).

On January 28 1969 at Apple Studios in London, The Beatles recorded three takes of "One After 909" which remained unissued. The Beatles also rehearsed the song once again the following day on January 29 1969 once again at the same location: Apple Studios.

On January 30 1969, The Beatles performed "One After 909" live recorded on the roof of the Apple headquarters building (3 Savile Row). This performance (1 take) was included in not only the "Let It Be" film, but also the "Get Back" LP and the Apple LP/CD "Let It Be". John Lennon sang a line from "Danny Boy" at the end of the track.

A stereo mix of "One After 909" was attempted on February 05 1969 at Olympic Studios by Glyn Johns for the "Get Back" LP. This mix was added to the two versions for the latter.

Almost a year later on March 23 1970, Phil Spector remixed "One After 909" for stereo in three attempts with the last mix being used for the commercial release on the Apple LP/CD "Let It Be".

"One After 909" is available on the Apple LP/CD "Let It Be". The same take with a slightly different stereo mix is available on "Let It Be....Naked" without the "Danny Boy" line at the end of the track.

"One After 909" was performed live by Paul McCartney and Elvis Costello in April 1995 from St. James Palace in London. The song was also performed live on December 13 2010 by Paul once again from the Apollo Theater in New York City.

Everybody Pulled Their Socks Up

The first song on side two of the Apple LP "Let it Be" or track 08 of the CD equivalent is an original Lennon/McCartney composition entitled "I've Got A Feeling" with the first part written mainly by Paul and the "Everybody Had A Hard Year" section written mainly by John.

"I've Got a Feeling" was first rehearsed at Twickenham Film Studios starting on January 02 1969. There is also a filmed performance of the rehearsal for "I've Got A Feeling" in the "Let It Be" film from January 08 and 09 1969 once again at Twickenham Studios.

"I've Got A Feeling" was first properly recorded on January 22 1969 from Apple Studios in London, whereby this specific take (?) was used not only for the first two line-ups of the Glyn Johns produced "Get Back" LP acetates, but can also be heard on the Apple/EMI 3-LP/2-CD "Anthology 3". (There is some confusion on my part as the source from Winn says January 22 1969 consisted of the "Get Back" takes for the song, but Lewisohn states it as being from two days later on January 24 1969.)

There was another take of "I've Got a Feeling" from a few days later on January 27 1969 once again from Apple Studios and is only available on the bootleg "Singing the Blues" in mono. The following day the song was performed again but the tape ran out and it has not been released.

On Thursday January 30 1969, The Beatles played live on the rooftop of 3 Savile Row in London (the building was Apple headquarters in those days). There were two versions of "I've Got a Feeling" recorded. The first version was used on the commercial Apple LP/CD "Let It Be" and footage from this take also appears in the film. The second take was not used.

On Wednesday February 05 1969, "I've Got A Feeling" was given a stereo mix with two attempts at Apple Studios.

Another stereo mix for "I've Got a Feeling" was conducted at Olympic Sound Studios for the "Get Back" project by Glyn Johns on March 10 1969.

Finally on Monday March 23 1970, Phil Spector remixed two takes of "I've Got A Feeling" from Room 4 of EMI studios. The first mix was from a take on January 28 1969 (although sources used for this blog include the statement that the tape ran out befor the ending of the song) as well as the live rooftop take from January 30 1969. The rooftop take was used for the commercial LP/CD.

"I've Got A Feeling" is available on the Apple LP/CD "Let It Be". A combination of the first and second take performances from the rooftop concert of January 30 1969 and with a remix including bringing up the electric piano played by Billy Preston can be heard on the Apple/EMI LP/CD "Let It Be...Naked".

She'll Never Walk Down Lime Street Anymore

The last song on side one of the Apple LP "Let It Be" and track 07 of the CD "Let It Be" is a traditional song not written by the Beatles but arranged Skiffle-like by them. The song is entitled "Maggie Mae".

This track was recorded on Friday January 24 1969 live at Apple Studios during the "Get Back" project. The tune was kept and added to both the unreleased "Get Back" LP and the Apple LP/CD "Let It Be".

The song was first mixed in stereo by Glyn Johns for the "Get Back" LP on Thursday March 13 1969. This mixing took place at Olympic Studios, London.

Finally, on Thursday March 26 1970, Phil Spector remixed "Maggie Mae" in two attempts with the second attempt being used for the commercial release. This mixing took place in Room 4 of EMI studios.

The Apple label on the original Apple LP versions contain various credits for this song. In the UK, the label reads the credit as "Trad. arr. Lennon/McCartney/Harrison/Starkey". First issue labels in North America give the credit as "P.D." (Public domain). Later US labels denote the credit as "P.D. arr. Lennon;McCartney;Harrison;Starkey".

B.B. King....And Doris Day

The next song on the "Let It Be" Apple LP/CD is credited as an original composition written by all four Beatles Lennon/McCartney/Starkey/Harrison and it is basically an improvisation on four chords repeated over and over with both John and Paul adding vocals made up as the song goes along. The name of the song is "Dig It".

Two versions of the song were recorded: the first version of the song was probably more suited to the title "Can You Dig It" as this was supposedly the lyric repeated over and over on January 24 1969 at Apple Studios. Although the music from this first version is currently unreleased, the quote from John Lennon at the end of the song made it onto both the "Get Back" LP and the "Let It Be" LP : "That was 'Can You Dig It' by George Wood, now we'd like to do 'Hark The Angels Come'". This saying was crossfaded just before the beginning of the title song for "Let It Be".

The second version of the song was recorded two days later on January 26 1969 also at Apple Studios: This consisted of John on bass, Paul on grand piano, George on guitar, Ringo on drums, Heather Eastman on occasional vocal (not on the commercial version) and George Martin on shaker for percussion. Over 12 minutes of the improvisation was recorded on tape and the longest version is available (over 8 minutes) on the vinyl LP bootleg "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da" and "Dig It" (original bootleg titles for sure...LOL !!). Unfortunately, this long version is only available in mono.

Glyn Jones would later edit this recording and present 4 minutes of the song on his future "Get Back" LP line ups. This recording would once again be edited down under one minute for inclusion by Phil Spector on the Apple LP/CD "Let It Be" and tagged with the above quote.

On January 28 1969 at Apple Studios, a third jam on the "Dig it" theme continued but this version was not to be released.

A rough stereo mix ( from version two) was conducted at Olympic Studios by Glyn Jones on the evening of January 30 1969 for acetate purposes. These were unreleased and probably cut for the Beatles to listen to.

A proper stereo mix (once again version two) was conducted at Olympic Studios by Glyn Jones for inclusion on the "Get Back" LP which was eventually scrapped and remains unreleased to date.

The master banding and the compiling of the songs for the "Get Back" LP including version two of "Dig It" was completed on Wednesday May 28 1969 at Olympic Studios by both George Martin and Glyn Jones. This LP remains unreleased.

On Monday August 11 1969, a mono tape copy of "Dig It" was made of the March 13 1969 stereo mix for acetate purposes. This took place in the control room of EMI studio three and was taken away by Mal Evans for Apple.

A second version of the "Get Back" LP was once again banded and compiled by Glyn Jones at Olympic Studios and containing the "Dig It" track. This was completed on January 05 1970 and contained additional material not available on the first version.

Finally, on March 27 1969, "Dig It" was edited down to less than one minute and mixed for stereo by Phil Spector at EMI studios, room 4 in one attempt. Quite a long history for one little improvised song.

"Dig It" is available on the Apple LP/CD "Let It Be" and was not released on it's subsequent future companion Apple/EMI LP/CD "Let It Be...Naked".

A performance of "Dig It" can be seen in the movie "Let It Be".

A proper stereo mix

Flowing More Freely Than Wine

The first of two original George Harrison compositions to appear on the Apple LP/CD "Let it Be" was entitled "I Me Mine". The fourth song on side one of the LP (the third song being "Across The Universe" previously discussed in an earlier post) was written in five minutes by George and first demonstrated to Ringo the next morning on January 08 1969 at Twickenham Studios. This segment can be seen in the "Let It Be" film. Another segment of the song being rehearsed later in the afternoon from the "Let It Be" film features Paul, George and Ringo working on the tune while John and Yoko waltz throughout. This segment was also filmed on January 08 1969 at Twickenham Studios.

During the "Get Back" project and through the recording of the songs at Apple Studios during the month of January 1969, "I Me Mine" was not recorded.

During the editing of the film at some point, it was decided that the segment featuring the song was going to be left in the film and therefore the recording of the song needed to be released on it's soundtrack. "I Me Mine" (and "Across The Universe") are therefore the two songs that are featured on the Apple "Let It Be" LP/CD that were not recorded during the January 1969 "Get Back" sessions at the Apple building.

The multi track recording of the song took place on January 03 1970 at EMI studio two. Only three Beatles were present as John was away in Denmark at the time. "I Me Mine" has the distinction of being the last Beatles recording session as a group. The session started with the recording of 16 basic tracks. Take 16 was deemed best and used on the commercial versions of both the "Let It Be" Apple LP/CD as well as the "Get Back" LP . Once the basic track was completed, overdubs included the vocals ( George lead and George/Paul backing), electric and second acoustic guitar (played by George), electric piano and organ (played by Paul). At this point the song was only 1 minute 34 seconds in duration. There was only one middle eight.

Since the Beatles were dissatisfied with the first version of the unreleased "Get Back" LP in January 1970, Glyn Johns (producer) was asked to return to the studio in order to re-compile the song line-up for a new master tape. This was done at Olympic studios on Monday January 05 1970. One of the tasks was to drop "Teddy Boy" ( a song not shown in the film and re-recorded by Paul for this first solo LP) and add "I Me Mine". Take 16 was used and mixed into stereo with an edit of some dialogue flown in from a previous take. The length of the song was still under 2 minutes. This version can be heard on the second attempt of the "Get Back" bootlegged LP. Another version of take 16 with the original count-in and take announcement can be heard on the bootleg LP "File Under: Beatles".

Another version of take 16 (with dialogue from previous take 15) at it's original length can be heard on the Apple/EMI 3-LP/2-CD "Anthology 3".

On Monday March 23 1970, Phil Spector extended "I Me Mine" by adding a second middle eight and then repeated a verse in order to bring the song to it's current length of 2 minutes 25 seconds. There were also three stereo mix attempts at this session with the third mix being used for orchestral overdubs at a later session. I assume that this is the same mix heard on "Anthology 3".

On Wednesday April 01 1970, an orchestra was brought into EMI studio one (the board used was in studio three) and brass, strings and drums were overdubbed onto "I Me Mine" after two tape reductions were attempted and completed.

The next day on April 02 1970, Phil Spector mixed "I Me Mine" into stereo once again. Three attempts were completed with the third one being used for the Apple LP/CD "Let It Be".

"I Me Mine" is available on the Apple LP/CD "Let It Be". It can also be heard as take 16 without the orchestral overdub and with the extended length with a new mix on the Apple/EMI LP/CD "Let It Be...Naked".

I Pick A Moondog

The second song on side one of the fab "Let It Be" LP is an original Lennon/McCartney composition written mainly by John entitled "Dig A Pony" or is it "I Dig A Pony". Upon observation, I've noticed that the UK LP pressings show the song on the back cover and on the Apple label as "Dig A Pony". The CDs from 1987 and the remasters from 2010 also show the song as "Dig A Pony". The vinyl LP releases in their original form from the Candian Box set and the USA gatefold both have the title as "I Dig A Pony" on the back covers as well as on the Apple labels.

During the "Let It Be" film, there is a sequence of John playing the song to the other Beatles. This clip comes form the rehearsal sessions for the "Get Back" project at Twickenham Studios on January 07 1969. At this point the working title for the song was "All I want Is You".

The Beatles' first proper recording session for the "Get Back/Let It Be" fiasco was on Wednesday January 22 1969 at Apple Studios, 3 Savile Row, London. It is at this first session that "Dig A Pony" was recorded in several unknown takes. One of the "run-through" takes can be heard from this date on the Apple/EMI 3-LP/2-CD "Anthology 3". Another version (take) from this session can be heard on the vinyl bootleg "File Under".

Two days later on Friday January 24 1969 again at Apple Studios, a take of "Dig A Pony" was used by Glyn Johns for his version of the "Get Back" LP.

The song was rehearsed once again on Tuesday January 28 1969 at Apple Studios but no takes form this day have been released.

On Thursday January 30 1969, The Beatles performed on the roof of the Apple Headquarters building at 3 Savile Row, London for a lunch time session. The live rendition of "Dig A Pony" was recorded at this performance (only played once) and this version can be seen in the "Let It Be" film as well as being the performance used for the Apple "Let It Be" LP/CD. Both the movie and the recording have the false start included as part of the performance. Dialogue from the movie both before and after the song as also included on the LP/CD. (For the LP/CD recording, Phil Spector edited out the "All I Want Is..." words just before the first verse and at the end of the song as seen in the movie).

On Wednesday February 05 1969, "Dig A Pony" ( from the rooftop performance of January 30 1969) was given a reference stereo mix at Apple Studios, London.

On Monday March 10 1969, "Dig A Pony" (from the January 24 1969 Apple Studio performance) was given a stereo mix by Glyn Johns for the unreleased "Get Back" LP compilation. This mix was also used for the January 05 1970 second attempt at the "Get Back" unreleased LP.

On Monday March 23 1970, Phil Spector remixed "Dig A Pony" for stereo in two attempts at EMI studios, Room 4. The second attempt (along with the edits previously mentioned) was released as the commercial product we all know and love.

"Dig A Pony" is a great little deep track number. It is available on the Apple/EMI LP/CD "Let It Be". The version found on the Apple/EMI LP/CD "Let It Be...Naked" is practically the same mix as the "Let It Be" version with the electric piano played by Billy Preston brought up a bit in the mix. The same Phil Spector edits are also used.

You And I Have Memories

The first track on the Apple LP/CD "Let It Be" is an original Lennon/McCartney composition written mainly by Paul entitled "Two Of Us". This song was inspired by his association with Linda Eastman as well as a reflection of his partnership with John Lennon. The original title for the song was "On Our Way Home".

An early version of the song can be seen in the "Let It Be" movie where John and Paul are sharing a microphone and the tune has a quicker tempo. This fragment was filmed during the rehearsal for the "Get Back" project on January 09 1969 at Twickenham Studios in London.

The first proper recording for the song happened on January 24 1969 at Apple Studios in the basement of 3 Savile Row, London. The first take from this session can be heard on the Apple 3-LP/2-CD "Anthology 3" complete with feedback. Another take from this session (take unknown) was used for the Glyn Jones produced early unreleased "Get Back" LP for consideration.

On January 31 1969, The Beatles performed various songs acoustically that could not be reproduced from the rooftop concert/performance which had taken place the previous day. Three takes of "Two Of Us" were performed live at Apple Studios on this day and various books credit either take 11 or take 12 as the version heard on the Apple LP/CD "Let It Be". The performance from the film is an edit of two takes and once again it is either 11 and 12 or 12 and 11. Take 10 was a false start.

On March 10 and March 11 1969 at Olympic Sound Studios in London, stereo mixing for the "Get Back" LP ensued. There are unknown stereo mix numbers, but it is known that the "Get Back" version of "Two Of Us" was mixed for stereo on these two days by Glyn Johns.

On Friday April 25 1969, a rough mono mix of the January 31 1969 performance of "Two Of Us" was made in order to cut an acetate of the song. This acetate was given to Paul McCartney who presented it to a New York trio with the name "Mortimer" destined to release the song on an Apple Records single. This single never materialized. The mix took place in Room 4 of EMI studios.

On Wednesday March 25 1970, "Two of Us" received two stereo mix attempts with the second attempt being used for release. This stereo mix was completed by Phil Spector for the "Let It Be" Apple LP/CD. The opening phrase by John Lennon "I Dig A Pygmy by Charles Hawtrey and the Deaf Aids ! Phase one in which Doris gets her oats !" was edited in by Phil Spector from a recording session at Apple Studios on January 21 1969. This phrase is also seen in the movie "Let It Be".

"Two Of Us" is available on the Apple LP/CD "Let It Be" as well as a cleaned-up remix for the Apple/EMI LP/CD "Let It Be....Naked".

Let It Be

The thirteenth and last Beatles LP before they eventually broke up was entitled "Let It Be". This LP was released in the UK on May 08 1970 (Apple PXS 1). The UK LP was originally housed as a box set which included the outer box, a slipcase to hold an 8.5 x 11 paperback glossy book entitled "The Beatles Get Back" plus the LP and cover. The book and the box were eventually discarded and the LP was re-issued on November 06 1970 as Apple PCS 7096. The black cover features four separate photos of the individual members. The back cover of the LP also features the members of the band in smaller individual photos that are black and white surrounded by thin white lines framing the photos. The back cover states a bit of hype at the top eluding to the fact that this was a "new phase" Beatles album...mainly meaning that most of the songs were performed live with minimal overdubs (which is true in most cases). The back cover of the LP also credits Phil Spector as producer although under the photos a "Thanks" is given to George Martin and Glyn Jones. Original British copies feature the Apple logo at the bottom of the cover. The apple is coloured red. Side one features a whole apple while side 2 features a cut half apple. The labels mention the artist/title/tracklist/publishing credits but no producer credits.

The North American versions of "Let It Be" were released in different formats for Canada and the Unites States. In Canada, "Let It Be" came in the form of the box set with the difference that the outer boxes in the UK were laminated and the outer boxes in Canada were not. Both featured the same book (imports from the UK were housed in Canadian copies). The Canadian box set's catalogue number was Apple SOAL-6351 which was featured on the cover and label of the LP. The cover was the same as the UK with the exception being that the cover was not laminated (as it was in the UK) and that the Apple logo at the bottom of the back cover was green and the blurb underneath related to a Canadian distribution rather than the EMI blurb. The Canadian Apple labels on the disc credit Phil Spector as producer. The box set was discontinued in Canada after six months (the same as the UK) and the catalogue number was changed to Apple SW-6386. Another difference this time: the tracklist of the songs now included publishing credits and timings; the Apple logo was still green but moved to the lower right corner of the back cover.

In the Unites States, "Let it Be" was released on May 18 1970 as Apple AR-34001. This version was never released as a box set but was released as a gate fold LP. The front and back of the LP cover was similar to the others with the exception that there are no white frames around the back cover black and white photos of the individual members, the Apple logo at the bottom of the back cover is red; underneath the logo is the New York address for Apple as well as the "ABKCO" logo (I'll betcha Paul loved that !!). The inner gatefold features photographs by Ethan Russell on either side with one large photo of the Beatles at work in Twickenham Studios on the left and the Beatles at Apple in front of the mixing desk, on the 3 Savile Row rooftop, at Twickenham again and four individual photos on the right. All in colour. The labels for side 1 and side 2 on the record are tinted red apples. This tint indicates the affiliation with United Artist whereby this LP is regarded as an official soundtrack to the Beatles fourth movie for UA. The labels mention the credit for Phil Spector.

There were a lot of negative reviews for the LP at the time and in hindsight I can understand how some people probably thought it was a step back for the Beatles after listening to the very shiny, glossy production of "Abbey Road" which had been released about seven months earlier. One must remember that the tracks for "Let It Be" were recorded before the tracks for "Abbey Road". One must also remember that "Let It Be" contains not only the amazing title track via an Apple single, but another major hit and Apple single "Get Back" as well as a third Apple single that was to be released in North America "The Long and Winding Road". All three song still performed by Paul McCartney with his band on his tours around the world. The LP also contains Lennon's "Across the Universe" and other fantastic classic rock songs.

In the next few posts we will look at the track list.

Let's Hear It For Dennis...

The B side of the "Let It Be" single (Apple R 5833 in the UK and Apple 2764 in North America) contains on original Lennon/McCartney composition written jointly by John and Paul entitled "You Know My Name (Look Up The Number)". This was an example of the zaniness prevailing during the Beatles' recording career and it remains one of Paul McCartney favourite Beatles songs !! It has a nice night-club feel to it and contains some wonderful "in-jokes" and humour.

The recording for the song began on May 17 1967 at EMI studio two with 14 takes of a basic track including drums, bass, guitars, percussion and vocals. Take ten was maked as best for the moment.

On Wednesday June 07 1967 at EMI studio two , there was an overdub onto the song (probably piano) but rather than use take 10, take 09 recieved the overdub instead. The rest of the session comprised of several unorthodoxed jams and improvisations.

The next day on Thursday June 08 1967 once again at EMI studio two, part two of the song was recorded in 12 takes, part three of the song was recorded in four takes, part four of the song was recorded in six takes and the final part of the song (part five) was recorded in one take. The instrumentation consisted of piano, bass and drums, guitar and vibes. Brian Jones of the Rolling Stones also contributed some sax playing at this session.

All of the above recordings were edited together the next day on Friday June 09 1967 from the control room of EMI studio two as follows: named "take 30", the editing consisted of take 09 from part one, take 12 from part 2, take 4 from part three, take 6 from part four and take 1 from part five. The song at this point lasted over six minutes and was basically instrumental. A rough mono mix was attempted and completed at this session while acetates were cut for the Beatles to take away.

Fast forward to Wednesday April 30 1969 and the four track instrumental tape of "You Know My Name (Look Up The Number) " is taken out of the vault. At EMI studio three, John Lennon and Paul McCartney added vocals and spoken nonsense to this track as well as overdubbing audience noise, applause, etc. Also at this session - once the vocals and effects were completed - three mono mixes were attempted with the third one being kept for the moment.

Finally, on Wednesday November 26 1969 at EMI studio two the original idea was to have "You Know My Name (Look Up The Number)" paired together as a single with the Beatles recording "What's The New Mary Jane" under the Plastic Ono Band moniker. At this session, in fact, "You Know My Name" was copyed from the third mono mix of April 30 1969 - bringing the mono mix to remix 4 and then being edited from over six minutes to over four minutes. The idea to release this single was eventually rejected and "You Know My Name (Look Up The Number)" appeared as the B side to the Beatles single "Let It Be" instead.

Original copies of the "Let It Be" single have the matrix numbers APPLES 1002 written in the run out groove of the B side and then crossed out.

"You Know My Name (Look Up The Number)" remained in mono up to the Anthology project where is was presented for the first time in stereo although it was once again edited in different places. The original length of the song in stereo and/or mono has never been officially released. The stereo version with different edits can be heard on the Apple/EMI 3-LP/2-CD "Anthology 2".

As well as being found on the B side of the "Let it Be" single, this song is available on the EMI LP "Rarities" (UK version) as well as well as the Capitol promotional LP included in "The Beatles Box" from 1978 entitled "Rarities" and the Capitol LP "Rarities". The song can also be found on the Capitol /EMI 2-LP/ CD "Past Masters Volume two" and on the remastered Apple/EMI 2-CD "Mono Masters" and "Past Masters" (both latter versions presented in mono).

Whisper Words Of Wisdom

The next appearance of a "new" Beatles song was a single released in the UK on Apple R 5833 on March 06 1970 and in North America on Apple 2764 on March 11 1970. The single consisted of "Let It Be/ You Know My Name (Look Up The Number)". This post will deal with the A side. This was the last single released in the UK while the group were still together.

"Let It be" is an original Lennon/McCartney composition written mainly by Paul. The song title came to Paul during a dream in which his mother appeared and re-assured him. This piano based hymn like song was also the title of the next LP as well as the last Beatles film to be made while the group were still together.

A run through of the song with just Paul sitting at the piano was performed on January 09 1969 during the documentary filming of the "Get Back" project at Twickhan Film studios in London.

The first true official recording of the song took place at Apple Studios in London on Janaury 25 1969 whereby "Let It Be" starting with just piano and vocal and the other instruments drifting in. This version is made available on the Apple 3-LP/2-CD "Anthology 3".

The next day on January 26 1969 once again from Apple Studios, another version of "Let It Be" was performed but it remains incomplete and was not released.

On Friday January 31 1969 at Apple Studios, take 27 of "Let It Be" is used for the commercial basic track. The instrumentation at this point is Paul on piano and vocal, John on bass, George Harrison on guitar, Ringo on drums and Billy Preston on organ. (An edit of takes 27 - second attempt - and the earlier take 24 were used for the film version). The "Get Back" LP also uses take 27 for it's track line-up.

Stereo mixing for the "Get Back" LP version of "Let it Be" was completed on March 10 1969 by Glyn Johns at Olympic Sound Studios in Barnes, London. (mix take unknown). This mix would not be used in the end.

On April 30 1969, George Harrison was dissatisfied with his original guitar solo on "Let It Be" and decided to overdub a new one onto take 27 using his leslie based sound. The overdub took place at EMI studio three. This version with the new solo was released on the "Get Back" LP (both versions).

A new stereo mix for the "Get Back" LP was attempted and completed on Wednesday May 29 1969 by George Martin and Glyn Johns at Olympic Sound Studios Barnes, London. The LP was banded and compiled and presented to the Beatles. It was rejected. Although this particular LP was never officially released, there are tons of bootlegs that contain the music and the early take 27 version of "Let It Be".

On Sunday January 04 1970, an overdub of some backing vocals by George Harrison and Paul McCartney were overdubbed onto take 27. A reduction take was then attempted three times bringing the song to take 30. While the reduction was taking place, brass instruments were overdubbed at the same time. Once completed and reduced, another more distorted guitar solo by George Harrison was added as well as some drums by Ringo and percussion (maracas) by Paul. Finally, cellos were added to the end of the song. Two stereo mixes were made: one with the original guitar solo using a leslie by George Harrison and with the brass mixed down; and one with the distorted lead guitar solo with the brass brought up in the mix. These two stereo mixes can be identified mainly by the guitar solos.

"Let It Be" is available (mix one) on the Apple worldwide single. The song is also available on the Apple LP/CD "Let It Be" (mix two). It can also be heard on the Apple 2-LP/2-CD "The Beatles 1967-1970"(mix one), the EMI/ Capitol of Canada LP "The Beatles Ballads" (mix one), the EMI/Capitol LP "Reel Music" (mix two), the North American version of the Capitol LP "20 Greatest Hits" (mix one), the Apple/EMI 2-LP/CD "1", the EMI 2-LP/CD "Past Masters Volume two" as well as the EMI 2-CD "Past Masters" (both using mix one). Finally , a version with take 27 using additional vocals from the film version has been introduced on the Apple/EMI LP/CD "Let It Be...Naked".

"Let It Be" has been performed live by Paul McCartney several times during his solo career including the Wings tour of 1979, and is available on the Atlantic 2-LP "Concerts For The People Of Kampuchea". The song was also performed on July 13 1985 for "Live Aid". The song was also performed during Paul's 1989-1990 tour and was included on the EMI 3-LP/2-CD "Tripping the Live Fantastic" and it's EMI LP/CD companion: "Tripping the Live Fantastic: Highlights", the song was also performed during Paul's 1991 surprise live gigs and on the 1993 New World Tour. The song has also been performed by Paul and his band through the 2000s including versions on EMI's 2-CD "Back in the World" and the DVD/CD "Back in the US" and all subsequent tours including his 2010 "Up and Coming" tour.

Nothin's Gonna Change My World

The next release of Beatles music during their career and after the "Abbey Road" LP is the appearance of an original Lennon/McCartney composition written mainly by John entitled "Across The Universe". In this instance, the song was used on a charity UK LP for the World Wildlife Fund. This version of "Across the Universe" became somewhat rare in the 1970s due to the fact that the charity LP was deleted after a couple of years and the song (in this version) did not appear on a Beatles LP until the UK version of the EMI UK LP "Rarities" was released along with the blue box set "The Beatles Collection" in 1978.

Another version of "Across The Universe" was released during the Beatles' active career on the Apple LP/CD "Let It Be". This time the song was slowed down in tempo and was barer than the charity version.

The recording of "Across The Universe" started on February 03 1969 at EMI studio three. Seven takes of the basic track was recorded with the instrumentation being John on acoustic guitar and lead vocal, table harp, tom toms and tamboura. All of the sounds at this point were "flanged" via sound effects from the recording studio. Take two of the song appears on the Apple 3-LP/2-CD "Anthology 2".

The next day on Sunday February 04 1969, once again from EMI studio three, John Lennon overdubbed his lead vocal onto take 07 of the basic track. The backing tape would run slow when the lead vocal was put on thus making Lennon's voice sound higher pitched upon playback. It was then decided to put a little bit of experimentation into the song. I believe that if the tune at this point would have been left alone, a fine version of the song would have been great but different effects and elements of the song were thought of and attempted. It was first decided to add backing vocals to John's lead, but for some unknown reason the backing would be sung by female voices. Since it was a Sunday and a last minute decision, the story is that Paul McCartney went outside and chose two females to sing the harmony parts in the chorus out of a group of girls hanging around the perimeter of EMI studios on Abbey Road. The two girls were Lizzie Bravo and Gayleen Pease - on 16 and 18 respectively. The girls were given their notes and lyric and once they accomplished the vocals they were ushered out of the studio. Since the Beatles were still using four-track in early 1968, the tape reduction was attempted and concluded bringing the song to take eight. Further experimentation ensued with a backwards bass and drums, humming vocals and guitar and harp "to be played backwards".

The recording of the song continued four days later on February 08 1969 from EMI studio two. The experimentation continued with various overdubs including an organ played by George Martin (not used), a mellotron played by John Lennon (not used), John then added a guitar, George Harrison played the maracas and Paul added a piano. The backwards bass and drums were replaced with harmonies from John , Paul and George H. A mono mix of the song at this stage was attempted twice in the control room of EMI studio two but remained unreleased.

At some point later in the year 1968 or the beginning of 1969, animal sound effects were added to the mono mix 2 from the February 08 1969 attempt. The purpose of the mix was to have this on an abandoned EP release for music from the film "Yellow Submarine". This EP did not materialize with the LP soundtrack being released instead. The mono mix with the animal effects can be heard on the Apple/EMI 2-CD "Mono Masters" from the Mono box set.

The version of "Across The Universe" originally heard on the UK charity LP was mixed for stereo from EMI room 4 on October 20 1969. The tape was run fast during the mix. This stereo version was released on the Regal Zonophone Starline UK LP: "No One's Gonna Change Our World" on December 12 1969.

During the "Get Back" project, Glyn Johns - the producer/engineer for the proposed LP to be released entitled "Get Back" - was inspired to use "Across The Universe" due to the fact that a rehearsal/run-through of the song was filmed during the early Twickenham studio rehearsals back in January 1969. Glyn Johns used take 07 and removed the Beatles' harmony vocals, the animal effects and slowed down the tape. This stereo mix was conducted at Olympic Studios in Barnes, London on January 05 1970. This mix remains commercially unreleased.

Another stereo mix was conducted on Monday March 23 1970 by Phil Spector. This mix was attempted eight time with the eight mix being the one used for overdubbing.

Finally, on April 01 1970, an orchestra and choir were added to "Across The Universe". Phil Spector slowed the tape down even more and all of the backing vocals were eliminated as well as all of the effects. A tape reduction of the song brought it to take 09. The orchestra recorded the overdub in EMI studio one while the recording board was supervised in EMI studio three.

The next day on April 02 1970, "Across The Universe" was given three stereo mix attempts with the third attempt being the commercial version two for the "Let It Be" LP.

Version one of "Across The Universe" (with the animal effects and female backing) is available on the Starline UK LP "No One's Gonna Change Our World" as well as the EMI/Parlophone UK LP "Rarities" and the North American version of the Capitol LP "Rarities". It is also on the Capitol/EMI 2-LP/CD "Past Masters Volume two" as well as on the Apple/EMI CD "Mono Masters" and the Apple/ EMI CD "Past Masters" from the box set.

Version two of "Across The Universe" (without the animal effects and female backing) is available on the Apple LP/CD "Let It Be" as well as on the Apple 2-LP/2-CD "The Beatles 1967-1970" and the Capitol of Canada/EMI LP "The Beatles Ballads". Lastly, there is a stripped down stereo mix with John on vocal, his guitar and the tamboura featured on the Apple/EMI LP/CD "Let It Be...Naked".

She Doesn't Have A Lot To Say

The last song on the Apple LP/CD "Abbey Road" is a short acoustic original composition by Lennon/McCartney written mainly by Paul entitled "Her Majesty".

Paul's ode to the Queen (Elizabeth II), the song was rehearsed during the Get Back/Let It Be sessions and can be heard on bootlegs during the session on January 09 1969 from Twickenham studios.

On original covers and labels of the first pressing Apple LPs, some copies do not have "Her Majesty" listed as part of the track list on the back cover. In the UK and North America, first pressings of the Abbey Road LP do not feature "Her Majesty" on the type copy for the side two label. Later copies and re-issues feature "Her Majesty" on the type copy for side two but some of the covers left it off for a few years (depending where the cover was printed).

"Her Majesty" was recorded on Wednesday July 02 1969 at EMI studio two. The song took three takes to perfect (the commercial version is take three). The instrumentation for the song is simply Paul McCartney on acoustic guitar and vocal. Two of the eight tracks was all it required to complete the song. The full version of "Her Majesty" with the end chord can be heard on the bootleg from Yellow Dog - track 09 - of the CD "Unsurpassed Masters Volume 5".

On July 30 1969, the test run for the "Huge Melody" was attempted. At this time, "Her Majesty" was placed between "Mean Mister Mustard" and "Polythene Pam". The song was also given a rough stereo mix at this time. After the test run of the long medley, it was decided by Paul McCartney that "Her Majesty" did not quite fit within the scope of the musical ensemble and was thus edited out of the medley. EMI engineer John Kurlander took the removed portion of "Her Majesty" and instead of throwing it away, proceeded to tack it onto the end of the reel after the leader tape. This version was taken away to Apple in order to cut an acetate of the current work. When the acetate arrived back from Apple and was played , it was discovered that there was about twenty seconds of silence before "Her Majesty" automatically began to play at the end of the acetate! Paul McCartney thought it was brilliant and decided to have the commercial LP replicate this order of songs complete with the edited and roughly mixed stereo "Her Majesty".

The original order of the "Huge Melody" with "Her Majesty" placed back between "Mean Mister Mustard" and "Polythene Pam" can be heard on the Vigotone CD "No. 3 Abbey Road N.W. 8".

"Her Majesty" is available on the Apple LP/CD "Abbey Road".

A live version of the song was played by Paul McCartney on June 03 2002 as part of "Party At The Palace" for the Golden Julbilee of Queen Elizabeth II.

Are Ya Gonna Be In My Dreams Tonight ?

The final song from the "Huge Melody" of side two of the Apple LP/CD "Abbey Road" is an original Lennon/McCartney composition written mainly by Paul appropriately entitled "The End". The title of the song was written down as "Ending" for recording purposes. Although technically this was not the last song on the LP, it finished the huge melody and wrapped up the LP with the next song being mainly an afterthought. On the original first press labels of side two on the LP, "The End" is listed as the last song.

This song features a drum solo by Ringo ( his first and only) as well as the remaining Beatles' three guitar solos in this order: Paul, George and John.

The basic track for "The End" was started on Wednesday July 23 1969 at EMI studio three. Seven takes of the song were recorded with Ringo's drum solo being different each time. The group settled on take 07 for the final overdubs and at this point stray lead guitar, tambourine and other instruments were present on the recording which would be later excised. Also, the song at this point was only one minute and twenty seconds in length. This would change with overdubs and editing to extend the track.

On July 30 1969, an experiment to connect all of the songs for the "Huge Melody" was completed and "The End" received a rough stereo mix. There was still work to do as vocals and other overdubs had not yet been completed. This version can be heard on Yellow Dog's "Unsurpassed Masters Vol. 5". At this point, "The End" was purely instrumental and sounds like a bed track. A very early version. No trade -off guitar solos either.

Vocals for "The End" were recording as overdubs on August 05 1969 at EMI studio two.

Two days later on August 07 1969 at EMI studio three, more of the harmony vocals as well as the guitar solos played by the three Beatles were added to take 07 of "The End".

The next day on August 08 1969 at EMI studio two, more bass and drums were added to "The End".

The orchestration for the song (which is played at the ending of the song) was recorded in EMI studio one but fed to the mixing board in EMI studio two. This took place on August 15 1969.

Three days later on August 18 1969 at EMI studio two, the piano for the coda was overdubbed (probably doubled) as it originally exists on the test run from July 30 1969. "The End" was also mixed for stereo in six attempts on this day with the last attempt being deemed at the correct mix.

The next day on August 19 1969, the stereo mix for "The End" was once again attempted three times. At some point, two bars of music was added to the middle A to D section by means of editing.

On Thursday August 21, a final stereo mix was conducted and this is the mix that is available on the current commercia version. There was also editing by engineer Phil McDonald which saw manipulation of the orchestral overdub.

Finally on Monday August 25 1969, "The End" was once again edited to remove 36 seconds of music ( the middle section where the guitar solos emerge ) which were probably just twice the length or repeated twice.

"The End" is available on the Apple LP/CD "Abbey Road". A version of "The End" with the tambouine and stray guitar note as well as an edit of the middle section and with the orchestration being brought up in the mix can be heard on the Apple/EMI 3-LP/2-CD "Anthology 3". Finally, portions of the middle section mixed in and out can be heard on the Apple/EMI 2-LP/CD "Love".

A live version of "The End" can be heard from Paul McCartney's 1989-1990 world tour on the Capitol/EMI 3-LP/2-CD "Tripping the Live Fantastic" as well as the Capitol/EMI LP/CD "Tripping the Live Fantastic. Hightlights!".

I Will Sing A Lullaby

The next song on the "Huge Melody" from the Apple LP/CD "Abbey Road" is another original Lennon/McCartney song written mainly by Paul entitled "Golden Slumbers". The song was inspired by Paul's inability to read sheet music when upon seeing the words to a poem by British playwright Thomas Dekker. Paul set the melody to the words of the poem (although some of the words were modified in the lyrics). So, maybe it's really a Lennon/McCartney/Dekker composition. In any case, the song was written at Paul's father's home in Chesire on the piano to the amusement of his stepsister Ruth who had shown him the poem.

The song was played at the "Get Back/Let It Be" Twickenham rehearsals on January 09 1969.

On the LP label, the full performance is titled "Golden Slumbers/Carry That Weight" although the working title throughout the commercial recording was simply "Golden Slumbers'.

The basic track for the recording started on July 02 1969 at EMI studio two. The instrumentation for the song consisted of Paul on piano and guide vocal, George Harrison on bass and Ringo on drums. 15 takes were performed although it was take 13 that was used for the commercial release and the bed track.

The next day on Thursday July 03 1969, takes 13 and 15 were edited together at EMI studio two although the take continued to be referred to as take 13. Two lead vocals from Paul and the Paul, George and Ringo vocals were added to the "Carry That Weight" portion. There is also a leslie guitar played on the last riff of "Carry that Weight" that was added to the track. Also on this date, two tape reductions of the song were attempted and completed bringing the song into take 17.

The next day on Friday July 04 1969, the Lewisohn book mentions an overdub onto the "Golden Slumbers" track, but does not mention what that overdub was. In fact, the reference books I've been looking at all mention that there was an overdub session on this date at EMI studio two, but there is nothing saying what that instrument or vocal or whatever was actually done and I'm assuming it must be a vocal or the guitar and that maybe vocals were overdubbed one day and the guitar the next or visa versa.

On July 30 1969 at EMI studio three, Paul McCartney overdubbed another vocal onto the "Golden Slumbers/Carry That Weight". The song was then given at rough stereo mix in the control room of EMI studio two and placed within the context of the huge melody as a test run. This version of the song ( in mono ) can be heard on the bootleg "Unsurpassed Masters Vol. 05".

The next day on Thursday July 31 1969, Paul McCartney once again "punched in" his lead vocal starting at the first chorus and overdubbed the rest of the song. Also added to the track were timpani and extra drums by Ringo. The guitar solo was also added at this point. All of this taking place at EMI studio two.

Finally, on August 15 1969, the orchestra overdub was recorded onto "Golden Slumbers/Carry That Weight" from EMI studio one (where the orchestra was located) into EMI studio two (the control room where the mixing board was located.

Three days later on Monday August 18 1969, "Golden Slumbers/Carry That Weight" was mixed for stereo in two attempts from the control room of EMI studio two.

"Golden Slumbers/Carry That Weight" is available on the Apple LP/CD "Abbey Road".

The song was performed live by Paul McCartney on his 1989-1990 World Tour and is available on the EMI/Capitol 3-LP/2-CD "Tripping The Live Fantastic" as well as the EMI/Capitol LP/CD "Tripping the Live Fantastic - Highlights!".

The song also appears on the "Get Back" DVD of the above tour as well as being performed at the Albert Hall in London for "The Music for Montserrat" on September 15 1997.

His Sister Pam/ Yeah, Yeah, Yeah !!

The next two songs on the "Huge Melody" of side two on the Abbey Road LP/CD, they were both recorded at the same time similar to the previous posting of "Sun King/Mean Mister Mustard". The two songs in question were both Lennon/McCartney original compositions. The first section written mainly by John while the second section written mainly by Paul. The titles of the songs are "Polythene Pam/ She Came in Through The Bathroom Window".

An early demo version of "Polythene Pam" featuring John on vocal and acoustic can be heard on the Apple 3-LP/2-CD "Anthology 3" from the "White Album" pre-production tapes made at George Harrison's Esher home in May 1968.

"She Came In Through The Bathroom Window" surfaces as a rehearsal from the "Get Back/Let It Be" project from either the 21st or 22nd of January 1969 ( depending on the source). This early performance can be heard on the Apple 3-LP/2-CD "Anthology 3".

The proper commercial recording of both songs started with the basic track recordings which took place Friday July 25 1969 from EMI studio two. 39 takes of the songs were completed with the instrumentation of John on guide vocal and acoustic, Paul on guide vocal (for the second part) and bass, George on electric and Ringo on drums. Take 39 was used as the final take and a shit load of overdubs occurred over the next few days. For instance, on this day alone, the drums and the bass as well as the proper lead vocals were all overdubbed before day's end !!

After that week-end on Monday July 28 1969, more overdubs for the song continue with lead vocal, electric and acoustic piano, tambourine, assorted percussion, acoustic and electric guitars. Whew !! Once these were completed, a reduction was attempted and completed in order to add additional overdubs to the songs.

Two days later on Wednesday July 30 1969, more overdubs were added to the songs including backing vocals, more guitars and more percussion. The two songs were given a rough stereo mix and played in order of the "Huge Melody" as a test run on this day.

The commercial release of the song had the following audible overdubs (many of the overdubs completed above were either wiped out or inaudible on the commercial release): backing vocals, an electric guitar and various percussion such as a tambourine, maracas, etc.

The editing/crossfading/ and stereo mixing of "Polythene Pam/She Came In Through The Bathroom Window" was attempted and completed in twelve attempts on Thursday August 14 1969 from the control room of EMI studio two.

"Polythene Pam/She Came In Through The Bathroom Window" is available on the Apple LP/CD "Abbey Road".

Everybody's Happy/ Dirty Old Man

The next two songs following the introduction in the long melody are both original Lennon/McCartney compositions and are both written mainly by John: "Sun King/Mean Mister Mustard". A demo version of "Mean Mister Mustard" can be heard as the fourth track of the Apple/ EMI 3-LP/2-CD "Anthology 3" which was performed in May 1968 as part of the "Esher Demos".

During the recording of "Sun King/Mean Mister Mustard"; the working title at EMI was "Part Two: Here Comes The Sun King". It was probably shortened due to the similarity of the previous George Harrison composition "Here Comes The Sun".

The basic track for "Sun King/Mean Mister Mustard" was completed in 35 takes on July 24 1969 at EMI studio two. The instrumentation was John on guide vocal and acoustic guitar, George Harrison on electric guitar, Paul on bass and Ringo on drums. At one point during this session, The Beatles started busking "Ain't She Sweet" (Gene Vincent version) and the jam was caught on tape and is available in stereo on the Apple/EMI 3-LP/2-CD "Anthology 3".

The next day on July 25 1969 and once again at EMI studio two, overdubs included vocals, piano and organ.

Finally, four days later on July 29 1969 at EMI studio three, more vocal overdubs and bongos, tambourine and maracas were added to the track.

The next day on Wednesday July 30 1969 from the control room of EMI studio two, "Sun King/Mean Mister Mustard" was given a rough stereo mix and placed within the huge melody to see if it would work. The cross fade between "You Never Give Me Your Money" and "Sun King" posed a bit of a problem but that was worked out with sound effects added the following month (see previous post).

On Tuesday August 14 1969 from the control room of EMI studio two, "Sun King/Mean Mister Mustard" were given four attempts at a stereo mix with the fourth attempt being used on the commercial version.

On Thursday August 21 1969 in room 4 of EMI studios, the final crossfading between "You Never Give Me Your Money" and "Sun King" was completed in stereo using the sound effects.

"Sun King/Mean Mister Mustard" are available on the Apple LP/CD "Abbey Road". A silly version of "Sun King" entitled "Gnik Nus" which is basically the vocal track played backwards is available as track 08 on the Apple/EMI 2-LP/CD "Love".

One, Two , Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven.

The third song on the second side of the LP/CD "Abbey Road" consists of an original Lennon/McCartney composition written mainly by Paul entitled "You Never Give Me Your Money". This tune was the beginning of a series of songs that were intended to form a continuous piece of music/ kind of a medley of various songs. The entire piece was referred to as "The Long One/Huge Melody". "You Never Give Me Your Money" introduced the long melody and was recorded as an introduction from the beginning. The song was inspired by the constant business pressures and troubles eminating from the Apple Corps. offices of the day.

The basic track for "You Never Give Me Your Money" was conducted on Tuesday May 06 1969 at Olympic Sound Studios in Barnes, London. The instrumentation for the basic tracks included Paul on vocal and piano, John on distorted electric guitar, George on clean swirling guitar (with the help of a Leslie) and Ringo on drums. 36 takes were recorded. The Beatles chose take 30 for the commercial version. A stereo mix of this version was attempted and completed on the same day.

On Tuesday July 01 1969 at EMI studio two, Paul McCartney re-did his vocal track for "You Never Give Me Your Money". A mono mix of this version of the song can be heard on the bootleg: "Unsurpassed Masters Vol. 05".

On Friday July 11 1969 again at EMI studio two, another Paul McCartney solo performance as his bass guitar was overdubbed onto take 30 of "You Never Give Me Your Money".

Four days later on July 15 1969 at EMI studio three, more vocals and tambourine/ chimes were added to the song.

On Wednesday July 30 1969, "You Never Give Me Your Money" was given some backing vocals on the "Out Of Money..." section which eventually went un-used for the commercial version. Once completed, a test run of "The Long One/Huge Melody" commenced which gave "You Never Give Me Your Money" a rough stereo mix consisting of a reduction to take 40. At this point, "You Never Give Me Your Money" and "Sun King" were linked by an organ chord. This rough mix can be heard on the bootleg: "Unsurpassed Masters Volume 05". All of this took place in the control room of EMI studio two.

On Thursday July 31 1969, Paul McCartney disgarded the previous day's reduction (eliminating the previous day's vocal overdub) and re-recorded his bass guitar and tack piano section in the "Out of money..." part.

On Tuesday August 05 1969, Paul McCartney entered the control room of EMI studio three with a bag full of home made tape loops. He then took his tape loops and transferred them onto professional four track tape. The loops were sound effects containing cricket sounds, bell chiming, birds, etc. This loop was used to finally connect "You never Give Me Your Money" and "Sun King" on the recording. Five takes were attempted to mix and connect the sound effects.

On Wednesday August 13 1969, "You Never Give Me Your Money" was mixed for stereo in 27 attempts with attempt 23 being used for the commercial version. The song was mixed for stereo in the control room of EMI studio two.

The next day on August 14 1969, "You Never Give Me Your Money" was crossfaded into "Sun King" with 11 attempts including the inclusion of the sound effects.

"You Never Give Me Your Money" is available on the Apple LP/CD "Abbey Road".

On a personal note; my thrill was hearing Paul perform the piece solo at sound check in Montreal on August 12 2010 for his Up and Coming tour.

Because The Wind Is High, It Blows My Mind

The second song on side two of the brilliant Apple LP/CD "Abbey Road" is an original Lennon/McCartney composition "Because" written mainly by John. The chord progression of the song was inspired by Yoko when she was playing some Beethoven arpeggios on the piano.

The basic track for the song was recorded on Friday August 01 1969 at EMI studio two. The instrumentation included George Martin playing the electric harpsichord with John Lennon playing the same riff on the electric guitar. Paul plays bass and Ringo taps out a beat on the drums although this was just a rythm guide and not used on the recording. There were 23 takes completed although the commercial version and the basic track chosen for overdubs was take 16. At the same session, John Paul and George added the first series of harmony vocals to the basic track.

Three days later on August 04 1969, John Paul and George added two more sets of harmony vocal work overtop the original vocals thereby producing nine singers doing the three part harmony in triplicate. All of this activity took place at EMI studio two.

The next day on August 05 1969, George Harrison entered room 43 at EMI and added the moog synthesizer part for the middle eight of "Because" as well as the moog overdub (with a different sound) for the final verse of "Because".

"Because" was mixed for stereo in two attempts on Tuesday August 12 1969 from the control room of EMI studio two.

"Because" is available on the Apple LP/CD "Abbey Road".

The vocal isolation has been circulating for quite a while and is available on various forms of vinyl bootlegs including "Turn Me On, Dead Man" which features a bit of the instrumentation as well. The vocal isolation can be found on the Apple 3-LP/2-CD "Anthology 3" as well as the Apple/EMI 2-LP/CD "Love" (with added sound effects).

Little Darling

The first song on side two of the Apple LP/CD "Abbey Road" is the classic George Harrison composition entitled "Here Comes The Sun" which was written in Eric Clapton's garden (as the story goes) during a day off from the Beatles madness.

One of the pleasures of the original vinyl version compared to the laster CD version is the fact that the music is split up into two parts: side one which is the collection of tunes and the abrupt ending of "I Want You (She's So Heavy)" whereby the tape is cut while the music is still going and building up to a cresendo. This must have come as quite a surprise to most fans and music listeners when the LP was first released. The needle then glides off the LP and it stops. It must be then flipped over, and the second side starts. This side contains the long medley as well as ending with another abrupt ending of "Her Majesty" which is missing the final chord. As this while staring at an Apple revolving around and around and around.

Recording for "Here Comes The Sun" was started on July 07 1969 (Ringo Starr's 29th birthday) with George on acoustic guitar and guide vocal, Paul on bass and Ringo on Drums. Thirteen takes were recorded at EMI studio two and then the acoustic guitar was perfected as an overdub to take 13. John Lennon was not involved in the recording.

The next day on July 08 1969 and once again at EMI studio two, George Harrison laid down his lead vocal and then George and Paul added vocal harmonies as overdubs. The eight track was then treated to two reductions taking the song to takes 14 and 15. A rough mono mix of take 15 was completed and taken away by George Harrison.

On July 16 1969, handclaps and a harmonium were added to "Here Comes The Sun" as overdubs. The activity took place at EMI Studio three.

On Monday August 04 1969, a rough stereo mix of the current version of "Her Comes The Sun" was attempted and completed at EMI studio three from the control room. This was mainly a reference mix for George Harrison.

Two days later on August 06, 1969 at EMI studio three, George Harrison overdubbed some more acoustic guitar onto take 15 of the song.

On Friday August 15 1969, the orchestration for "Here Comes The Sun" was overdubbed onto take 15. The musicians were in EMI studio one but the recording itself was controlled through the board in Studio two. The instruments included violas, cellos, string bass, flutes, picolos and clarinets.

Four days later on August 19 1969, a final moog synthesizer was added to the song by George Harrison and the song was mixed into stereo for the version that we all now know and love. The moog overdub was conducted in room 43 at EMI and the mixing was completed from the control room of EMI studio two.

"Here Comes The Sun" can be found on the Apple LP/CD "Abbey Road" as well as the Apple 2-LP/2-CD "The Beatles 1967-1970" as well as the Capitol/EMI LP/CD "The Best of George Harrison". The song is also contained on the compilation Capitol of Canada/Parlophone LP "The Beatles Ballads". A version can also be found on the Apple/EMI 2 lp/CD "Love".

Live performances of "Here Comes The Sun" can be found on the Apple 3-LP/2-CD "The Concert For Bangla Desh"(an acoustic version with Pete Ham of Badfinger), another live performance of the song took place on "Saturday Night Live" on November 18 1976 (an acoustic version with Paul Simon), another version was performed live by George at the "prince's trust" on June 05 1987 and remains unreleased. George Harrison and Eric Clapton toured Japan in 1991 and "Here Comes the Sun" was performed. A performance from the Japanese tour can be found on the Dark Horse 2-LP/2-CD "Live In Japan". The last public performanced of the song took place a year later in 1992 for the Natural law Party Benefit which took place at the Royal Albert Hall in London.

It's Driving Me Mad

The last song on side one of the Beatles classic Apple LP/CD "Abbey Road" is an original composition by Lennon/McCartney written mainly by Johne entitled "I Want You (She's So Heavy)". This song was an attempt by Lennon to explain his love for Yoko in as few words as possible

"I Want You (She's So Heavy)" has a very long recording history. The song was first recorded during the Get Back/Let It Be sessions on January 29 1969 (a day before the roof top concert) at Apple Studios and it was known only as "I Want You" back then. This version has not been released as far as I know and may only have been a run-through of the song.

The proper recording of the version we all know and love started on February 22 1969 at Trident Studios with the basic track being recorded and with a guide vocal by John Lennon. The organ was played by Apple artist Billy Preston and the recording was produced by Glyn Johns. 35 takes were recorded with various parts of the takes combined in order to fill a master tape of the song. This was done the next day on February 23 1969 once again at Trident Studios. Take 9 of the first part, the middle part was from take 20 and take 32 closed out the song. All were edited onto one master tape. A safety copy of the master was attempted and completed on February 24 1969 at Trident Studios. Once again, Glyn Johns was over-seeing all of the above recording procedures.

On Friday April 18 1969, John Lennon and George Harrison overdubbed guitars onto the master tape from Trident Studios. A reduction of the tape was attempted and completed and more overdubbing of guitars continued onto this tape which was re-titled take 1. The production chores at this point was overseen by Chris Thomas. The recording of guitar overdubs took place at EMI studio two. At the conclusion of this session, a rough stereo mix was completed in one attempt.

Two days later on April 20 1969 from EMI studio three, more hammond organ and conga drums were added to take 01 of the master tape. Once again, Chris Thomas produced this session.

Fast forward to August 08 1969 at EMI studio two and now George Martin producing. John Lennon had on this day decided to add "white noise" from George Harrison's moog synthesizer to the ending of the song. The problem was that the noise was added not to the finished master after the previous reduction back in April but rather the pre-reduction master.

Three days later on August 11 1969 and at EMI studio two, backing vocal for the "She's So Heavy" section were added to the reduction take 1 of the song by John Paul and George. John was undecided which version to use - either the pre-reduction master or the post-reduction master so he decided to edit/add both backing vocal takes to both masters at this point.

On Wednesday August 20 1969 from the control room of EMI studio three, the first section of the original pre-reduction tape was edited onto the post-reduction tape at four minutes and thrity-seven seconds. This allowed the white noise moog sound to be heard at the end of the song. The first part was mixed for stereo in eight attempts while the second part was mixed for stereo in two attempts. A combination of mix attempts eight and ten were combined to complete the stereo mix which we now all enjoy and love !!

"I Want You (She's So Heavy)" is available on the Apple LP/CD "Abbey Road".

No One There To Tell Us What To Do

The next song on side one of the fantastic Apple LP/CD "Abbey Road" is an original composition by Richard Starkey (Ringo Starr) entitled "Octopus's Garden". The song was written in late 1968 when Ringo was on holiday taking a break from the Beatles "White Album" sessions. He discovered that an Octopus would build his own garden in the sea and used this subject as the inspiration for the song.

The song's construction can be seen in the "Let It Be" movie where George Harrison, Ringo and George Martin are at Apple Studios on January 26 1969. They appear at the grand piano playing various chords to the song and contributing ideas.

The basic track was recorded on Saturday April 26 1969 at EMI studio two which consisted of Ringo playing drums and singing a guide vocal, Paul on bass, John and George on the guitars. 32 takes were required to finally establish the commercial basic track whereby the overdubs would be added. The second take of the song can be heard on the Apple 3-LP/2-CD "Anthology 3" along with a comment by Ringo following take eight.

Three days later on April 29 1969 at EMI studio three, Ringo re-recorded his lead vocal (double tracked in places)and and a piano part was overdubbed. The song at this stage received four stereo mixes. The tape was left on the shelf for the time being. This version of "Octopus's Garden" can be found in mono on the vinyl bootleg "No. 3 Abbey Road".

The Beatles returned to the song on July 17 1969 at EMI studio three in order to add some backing vocals and sound effects to the song. The sound effects included blowing bubbles through a straw (similar to what was done on the song "Yellow Submarine") as well as using studio trickery on the high pitched background vocals by Paul and George Harrison.

The next day on July 181969 and once again at EMI studio three, Ringo perfected his lead vocal and the song was mixed for stereo in four attempts (the fourth one being used) and for some unknown reason was also mixed for mono in seven attempts.

"Octopus's Garden" can be found on the Apple LP/CD "Abbey Road" as well as the Apple 2-LP/2-CD "The Beatles 1967-1970".

Ringo performed the song with a fresh vocal but using the basic track on the George Martin special "With A little Help From My Friends" television show on December 24 1969. The song was also performed by Ringo for his own television special "Ringo" in 1978. Ringo performed a part of the song in a medley for "Saturday Night Live" television in 1984. The song was also performed with the Roundheads for the VH1 "Storytellers" television special as well as playing the song the previous night at the Bottom line Cafe in NYC; both from 1998.

You Didn't Need Me Anymore.

The next song on side one of the fabulous Apple LP/CD "Abbey Road" is an original Lennon/McCartney composition written mainly by Paul entitled "Oh! Darling". This tune was written in the old style 1950s 6/8 timing. The song was rehearsed earlier in the year as part of the "Get Back" project before it's official recording for "Abbey Road".

A loose working version of "Oh! Darling" from January 27 1969 at Apple Studios in London can be heard on the Apple 3-LP/2-CD "Anthology 3". This working version features Billy Preston on the electric piano.

The basic track for the commercial version of "Oh! Darling" took place on April 20 1969 at EMI studio three with Paul on bass and guide vocal, John on the piano, Ringo on the drums and George Harrison on guitar. There were 26 takes of the song and the last take was deemed as the bed for which overdubs would be added. A hammond organ was added to take 26 at this session although it would later be wiped off the track. At this point the title of the song was "Oh! Darling (I'll Never Do You No Harm)". It would be shortened thereafter.

On April 26 1969 at EMI studio two, the hammond organ was taken off the track and Paul re-did his lead vocal and harmonized with himself. This version of "Oh! Darling" can be heard on the vinyl bootleg "No. 3 Abbey Road".

On May 01 1969, "Oh! Darling" was given three stereo mixes which took place in the control room of EMI studio three. None of the mixes were used on the commercial version.

Paul was not satisfied with his lead vocal and overdubbed a new vocal onto take 16 (unknown why he would not use the bed track but rather a previous take) on July 17 1969 in EMI studio three.

The next day on July 18 1969 Paul entered EMI studio three once again to try another attempt at the lead vocal for "Oh! Darling".

The next attempt at a lead vocal for "Oh! Darling" took place on July 22 1969 at EMI studio three.

The final attempt at a lead vocal for "Oh! Darling" took place on Wednesday July 23 1969 at EMI studio three. This was the released version. This is an example of what a perfectionist McCartney had become.

On Friday August 08 1969, Paul McCartney overdubbed a lead guitar and a tambourine onto the master tape of "Oh! Darling". This all took place at EMI studio two. These overdubs eventually were not used on the final version.

The song was completed on Monday August 11 1969 at EMI studio two with the final overdub onto "Oh! Darling": the vocal harmonies by John, Paul and George.

The song was mixed for stereo the next day on August 12 1969 from the control room of EMI studio two. Five attempts were completed with the fifth being used for the commercial release.

"Oh! Darling" can be found on the Apple LP/CD "Abbey Road".

Rose and Valerie Screaming From The Gallery

The next song on side one of the great "Abbey Road" LP is an original Lennon/McCartney composition written mainly by Paul entitled "Maxwell's Silver Hammer". This song about pataphysical science (??) and a murderous tendency was first concieved a year previous and was rehearsed at Twickenham Studios earlier in 1969 for the "Get Back" project. Six months later, formal recording sessions for the song began.

The basic track was recorded at EMI Studio two on July 09 1969. Although all four Beatles were present, the instrumentation for these basic track recordings include Paul on piano and guide vocal, George Harrison on bass guitar and Ringo on drums. 21 takes of the song were recorded (although they skipped over numbers 6 to 10). Take 5 from this session can be heard on the Apple 3-LP/2-CD "Anthology 3". Take 21 was the basic track to recieve the future overdubs.

The next day on July 10 1969, overdubs on the basic track for "Maxwell's Silver Hammer" included vocals by Paul , George and Ringo. Also included were more piano by Paul and hammond organ played by George Martin. Ringo added hitting a real anvil and George Harrison add some electric guitar played through a leslie. 13 stereo mixes were attempted with none of them used. All of this activity took place at EMI studio two.

The next day on July 11 1969, further vocal (for the ending) and guitar overdubs were completed at EMI studio two.

On Wednesday August 06 1969, in the EMI studio two control room, a tape reduction of "Maxwell's Silver Hammer" was attempted and completed bringing the song to take 27. At the same time as the reduction, Paul McCartney was in EMI studio room 43 with a Moog synthesizer added this instrument to the last verse of the song and recording it at the same time as the reductions were taking place. Once this was completed, "Maxwell's Silver Hammer" was mixed for stereo at EMI studio two control room with remix number 14 to 26.

On Monday August 11 1969, a mono copy of the song was tape copied from stereo mix 18 and taken away to Apple.

The next day on August 12 1969, more stereo remixing was done for "Maxwell's silver Hammer" with mixes number 27 to 36. This all took place at EMI studio two.

On August 14 1969, a stereo mix of the final verse (37) was then spliced on tape with the previous best stereo mix (34). All of this took place at EMI studio two within the control room.

Finally, on August 25 1969, the master tape of the commercial version was edited in order to remove the first four bars of the song which made the intro start with the vocal and instrumentation of the first verse. This completed the master tape and used on all commercial versions.

"Maxwell's Silver Hammer" is available on the Apple LP/CD "Abbey Road".