1966, April

APRIL 30, 1966 KRLA BEAT MAGAZINE

Studio Three, EMI Studios, London

Vocal overdubbing onto "Eleanor Rigby" was the main task today in this 5:00pm to 1:00am session, after which the recording was considered complete and mixed into mono. (A further overdub on June 6th rendered this mix redundant, though, and a new one was made on June 22nd for inclusion on the LP)

Following this work, John added his lead vocal onto the previously recorded "I'm Only Sleeping", the first of three overdub sessions for the song.

Studio Two, EMI Studios, London

The first session for Paul McCartney's most famous and best-loved songs, Elanor Rigby, took place on this day, with the recording of the string octet backing.

The session was a short one, beginning at 5pm and finishing at 7.50pm. A string octet had been booked, featuring four violins (played by Tony Gilbert, Sidney Sax, John Sharpe and Jurgen Hess), two violas (Stephen Shingles and John Underwood), and two cellos (Derek Simpson and Norman Jones).

The performers were each given a standard Musicians' Union fee of £9 for their work, and performed a score written by George Martin. Two brief rehearsals took place, with and without vibrato, and the musicians opted to play without.

Both John Lennon and Paul McCartney were present at the studio, but remained in the control room of Studio Two. George Martin was on the studio floor conducting the musicians.

The strings were recorded with a close microphone technique, giving them a timbre different from anything that had previously been heard.

Fourteen takes of the strings backing were recorded, the last of which was the best. The instruments were recorded two per track, and a reduction mix - numbered take 15 - was made at the end of the session to free up three further tracks.

A new mix of the instrumental backing was made in 1995 for the Anthology 2 collection, presenting the strings in full stereo for the first time.

The picture below is from the graveyard next to the church where Paul and John met. However, Paul said in later interviews that the line in the song had nothing to do with the grave that he could remember, but maybe subconciously he did.

Studio Three, EMI Studios, London

The Beatles were not only attending mix sessions, but also to make presence felt is clear from this day's studio documentation. One mix of "Taxman", one of "And Your Bird Can Sing" and nine of "Tomorrow Never Knows" was produced between 6:00 and 11:30 pm, yet none was used for the finished album.

Between 11:30 and 3:00 am, the Beatles started work on a new song, John's dreamy "I'm Only Sleeping", taping 11 takes of a mostly acoustic basic track. Overdubs were added on April 29th and May 5th and 6th.

Studio Two, EMI Studios, London

Booked for 2:30-5:30 and 7:00-10:00 pm, the Beatles got thoroughly stuck into this day's re-make of John's "And Your Bird Can Sing", working uninterrupted from 2:30 pm until 2:45 the following morning. They recorded 11 more takes of the song's rhythm track and overdubbed onto what they considered to have been the "best" of these, take ten.

(An interesting blend of lead guitar vamping and Paul's bass guitar notes ended the song, and the best version of this section came in take six, so future mixes combined the two elements.)

Two rough mono mixes of "Got To Get You Into My Life", without echo or the Beatles' attendance, were made this day at EMI, 10:00-11:00 am, for the purpose of cutting acetates.

Nothing much going on today

Another day off recording at the studio

The Beatles decided to take a break today. After all, it's the weekend.

Studio Two, EMI Studios, London

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Studio Two, EMI Studios, London

George's wonderfully sardonic "Taxman" was virtually completed during a 2:30 pm-12:50 am session, in which the Beatles recorded 11 takes of the rhythm track and then set about overdubbing onto the last of these.

By the end, the song lacked only the final session's spoken count-in, the "Mister Wilson, Mister Health" regrain which extended the fame of Britain's two most prominent politicians right around the world, a cowbell and the distinctive guitar solo outro. (This solo was in fact a copy of the middle-eight piece, edited onto the end of the the song during the final mono and stero mix on June, 21st).

Studio Two, EMI Studios, London

Two new songs were begun in this 2:30pm to 2:30 am session, although both would be re-made for record release. The lion's share of the 12 hours was devoted to John's "And Your Bird Can Sing", taping two takes and then, considering it complete, producing mono mixes of the "best", take two. However, a re-make was recorded on April 26th.

Four rehearsal rhythm track takes of George's "Taxman" were taped towards the end of the session but recording started fresh the next day.

There was no recording session scheduled for April, 18, 1966, so John Lennon and George Harrison went to the Marquee Club in London, where they saw The Lovin' Spoonful perform.

Between 1964 and 1988 the Marquee Club was situated at 90 Wardour Street in Soho, London. On this night Harrison met Eric Clapton; the pair would become close friends in subsequent years. They had met once before, during Another Beatles Christmas Show at Hammersmith Odeon in 1964-65.

Afterwards Lennon and Harrison visited a London nightclub in the company of Brian Jones, Spencer Davis, Stevie Winwood and Tom McGuinness.

Studio Two, EMI Studios, London

"Doctor Robert" was completed with vocal overdubs onto take seven and, at the end of the 2:30-12:00 pm session, rough mono mixes.

Studio Two, EMI Studios, London

An afternoon evening session, the Beatles recording in seven takes the basic track of John's new composition "Doctor Robert", written about a certain New York doctor who, allegedly, administered hallucinogenic drugs to friends from his Manhattan practice.

(Speaking of Dr. Robert, I think everyone should go on BeatlesRadio.com and take a look. Thanks to our own "Dr. Robert", you can see and hear what a wonderful job he does!)

Studio Two, EMI Studios, London

Eleven uninterrupted hours, 2:30 pm-1:30 am, completing "Rain", overdubbing tambourine, bass and more vocals, then doing tape-to-tape reductions to add yet more overdubs. Four mono mixes, the third marked "best", were produced at the end of the session. (Rain was first mixed into stereo on December 2, 1969)

Paperback Writer was an attempt by McCartney to write a song based on a single chord - possibly influenced by Indian music, but most likely a result of their marijuana use; other songs from this period, notably The Word, If I Needed Someone and Tomorrow Never Knows, were similarly modelled.

Studio Three, EMI Studios, London

"Paperback Writer" was completed between 2:30 and 7:30 pm, with numerous overdubs onto the previous night's take two, including Paul's lead and John and George's novel "Frere Jacques" backing vocal, evoking schoolboy memories of French lessons. The finished recording was mixed into mono.

At 8:30 pm, after a 30 minute pause, recording began of "Rain", to be the B-side of "Paperback Writer" when issued in June. Like many of the Revolver era recordings, "Rain"  was full of all of the latest technological advancements: limiters, compressors, jangle boxes, Leslie speakers, ADT, tapes played backwards, machines deliberately running faster or slower than usual, and vari-speed vocals.

By the end of the session, at 1:30 am, the Beatles had made five passes at completing a rhythm and vocal track. The song would be taken through to completion in the next session.

Studio Three, EMI Studios, London

Two distinct sessions this day. From 2:30 to 6:30 pm, George's "Granny Smith" (Love You To) was completed with the reduction of take six into take seven and subsequent overdubs of a new Harrison lead vocal, Ringo's tambourine and an occasional harmony vocal from Paul (omitted during mixing). Deemed complete, three mono mixes and various edits were made before the 6:30 conclusion.

Independent of the album, Revolver, which would be issued in August, the Beatles released a new single on Friday, June 10, with two songs from these current sessions. Recording of the A-side, Paul's "Paperback Writer", began at 8:00 pm this evening, concluding, for the present, at 2:30 am. In this time, two takes of the rhythm track were made, only the second being complete. Marked "best" it served as the platform onto which April 14th overdubs were recorded.

The Beatles in-between sessions at EMI Studios in London

Studio Two, EMI Studios, London

After overdubbing guitars onto "Got To Get You Into My Life", the initial session of the day, 2:30 to 7:00 pm, saw George begin the recording of "Love You To", his first Indian-flavored composition. (It was untitled at first and then assumed the working title "Granny Smith", after the apple, only becoming "Love You To" near the album's release date).

The recording grew progressively more complex with each of the six takes, the first three being taped during the afternoon, the next three from 8:00 pm to 12:45 am. The sixth was marked "best" and included George's acoustic guitar and guide vocal, Paul's bass, and overdubs of sitar and tabla. Anil Bhagwat was credited on the Revolver sleeve as the tabla player, but there was no credit for the sitar player.  This may have been George himself, although newly discovered session documentation suggest that, like Bhagwat, someone from the Asian Music Circle in north London - founded by a friend of George's, Ayana Deva Angadi - was recruited for the part.

Recording Revolver

Studio Three, EMI Studios, London

Working from 2:30 to 9:00 pm, the Beatles recorded three more takes of "Got To Get You Into My Life", perfecting the rhytm track. The eighth was deemed "best", later to be overdubbed with vocals, guitar and the song's distinctive brass passages.

Studio Three, EMI Studios, London

While the afternoon from 2:30 to 7:15 was spent overlaying many of the aforementioned effects onto take three of "Tomorrow Never Knows", the evening session, from 8:15 to 1:30 am, saw the Beatles start work on Paul's superb Tamla Motown-inspired "Got To Get You Into My Life", recording five takes.

The song changed a great deal before it ended up on Revolver with recording taking place sporadically until June 17th.

The first session for what was to become the significant album Revolver. This set of recordings was destined to rock the rock world, change forever the course of popular music. And the closing song, "Tomorrow Never Knows" was the first to be taped. It took just three takes to tape "Tomorrow Never Knows" although by its very essence the recording was also the result of innumerable overdubs. In 1965, the Beatles' recordings had been progressing quite nicely, but here was a quantum jump into not merely tomorrow but sometime next week, "Tomorrow Never Knows" displaying an unrivalled musical progression and the Beatles' willingness first to observe the boundaries and then smash right through them.

The session took place in studio three at EMI Studios, Abbey Road, and lasted from 8pm-1.15am. At this time the song had the working title Mark I.

George Martin was, as ever, a vital ingredient in the process, always innovative himself, a tireless seeker of new sounds and willing translator of the Beatles' frequently vague requirements. Now he was joined by balance engineer Geoff Emerick, promoted to replace Norman Smith.

Revolver also heralded the first use of Artificial Double Tracking, invented by Abbey Road technical engineer Ken Townsend directly at the Beatles' request and now in use at studios worldwide. ADT saved the Beatles the chore of having to manually double-track their voices or instruments, an effect they so frequently sought. But "Tomorrow Never Knows" didn't only feature ADT - it also boasted tape loops and voices put through a Leslie speaker.

"Tomorrow Never Knows" featured, too, a John Lennon vocal that sounded like no other before, having been fed through the electronic circuitry of a revolving Leslie speaker (so named after its inventor, Donald J. Leslie) inside a Hammond organ technical innovation conceived by the Beatles, Martin, and Emerick team based upon composer Lennon's vision of 4000 monks chanting in the background of his song while he sang if perched on the highest mountain top. And all of this less than three years after "She Loves You".

The Beatles planning their next session

The Beatles preparing for upcoming sessions (Revolver)

The Beatles were busy planning their upcoming tour.

KRLA BEAT - April 2, 1966................................