bought by McCartney for Another Beatles Christmas Show, December 1964
George Harrison
1961 Sonic Blue Fender Stratocaster
S/N 83840
bought by Mal Evans for Harrison for the Help! sessions, February 1965
1965 Fireglo Sunburst Red Rickenbacker 360-12 12-string electric guitar
given to Harrison at a press conference in Minneapolis by radio station WDGY in association with local music store B-Sharp Music
1962 Gibson J-160E Jumbo electro-acoustic guitar
ordered from Rushworths, Liverpool and imported directly from Gibson, 27th June 1962
Sitar
Purchased by Harrison from Indiacraft, Oxford Street, London, late summer 1965
Ringo Starr
1965 Ludwig Super Classic Oyster Black Pearl Finish Drum Set with 22-inch bass
Received from Ludwig on arrival in the USA for The Beatles' American Summer 1965 Tour, 13 August 1965
Beatles Keyboards
Vox Continental Portable organ
bought for the Help! sessions, mid-1965
Hohner Pianet C electric piano
bought for the Help! sessions, early 1965
Additional keyboards owned by Abbey Road
Steinway Grand acoustic piano
Challen Upright acoustic piano
Hammond RT-3 organ
Harmonium
Amplifers
Vox AC-100
Vox AC-30
Fender Bassman
Leslie 145 with Leslie 147 power amplifier
The Rubber Soul Sessions
Wait (Lennon/McCartney)
Composer: Paul McCartney Recorded but rejected for the Help! album.
17 June 1965, Abbey Road Studio 2, 7:00-10:00pm Producer: George Martin, Engineer: Norman Smith, 2nd Engineer: Phil McDonald
Recording Take 1 (Incomplete)
Recording Take 2 (Incomplete)
Recording Take 3 (Incomplete)
Recording Take 4 (Best)
John Lennon (rhythm guitar), Paul McCartney (bass guitar), George Harrison (guitar), Ringo Starr (drums)
Overdub onto Take 4
John Lennon (vocals), Paul McCartney (harmony vocals)
18 June 1965, Abbey Road Studio 2 Control Room, 10:00am-12:30pm Producer: George Martin, Engineer: Norman Smith, 2nd Engineer: Phil McDonald
Mixing Mono Mix 1 from Take 4
unreleased
11 November 1965, Abbey Road Studio 2, 6:00pm-7:00am Producer: George Martin, Engineer: Norman Smith, 2nd Engineer: Ken Scott
Overdubs onto Take 4
Paul McCartney (vocal), John Lennon (vocal), George Harrison (tone pedal guitar), Ringo Starr (tambourine and maraca)
15 November 1965, Abbey Road Studio 1 Control Room, 2:30-5:30pm Producer: George Martin, Engineer: Norman Smith, 2nd Engineer: Richard Lush
Mixing Mono Mix 2 from Take 4 (2:11)
Released in the UK on 3 December 1965, on Parlophone PMC1267 Rubber Soul [Mono]
Released in the US on 6 December 1965, on Capitol T-2442 Rubber Soul [Mono]
Mixing Stereo Mix 1 from Take 4 (2:11)
Released in the UK on 3 December 1965, on Parlophone PCS3075 Rubber Soul [Stereo]
Released in the US on 6 December 1965, on Capitol ST-2442 Rubber Soul [Stereo]
Run for Your Life (Lennon/McCartney)
Composer: John Lennon
12 October 1965, Abbey Road Studio 2, 2:30-7:00pm. Producer: George Martin, Engineer: Norman Smith, 2nd Engineer: Ken Scott / Phil McDonald John Lennon (vocals), Paul McCartney (bass guitar), George Harrison (guitar), Ringo Starr (drums)
Recording Take 1 (Incomplete)
Recording Take 2 (Incomplete)
Recording Take 3 (Incomplete)
Recording Take 4 (Incomplete)
Recording Take 5 (Best)
Overdubs onto Take 5
John Lennon (acoustic guitar), Paul McCartney (backing vocals), George Harrison (backing vocals), Ringo Starr (tambourine)
9 November 1965, Abbey Road Room 65, 2:30-5:30pm Producer: George Martin, Engineer: Norman Smith, 2nd Engineer: Jerry Boys
Mixing Mono Mix 1 from Take 5 (2:19)
Released in the UK on 3 December 1965, on Parlophone PMC1267 Rubber Soul [Mono]
Released in the US on 6 December 1965, on Capitol T-2442 Rubber Soul [Mono]
10 November 1965, Abbey Road Room 65, 2:30-5:30pm Producer: George Martin, Engineer: Norman Smith, 2nd Engineer: Jerry Boys
Mixing Stereo Mix 1 from Take 5 (2:18)
Released in the UK on 3 December 1965, on Parlophone PCS3075 Rubber Soul [Stereo]
Released in the US on 6 December 1965, on Capitol ST-2442 Rubber Soul [Stereo]
Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown) (Lennon/McCartney)
Composer: John Lennon Working Title: This Bird Has Flown
12 October 1965, Abbey Road Studio 2, 7:00-11:30pm
Producer: George Martin, Engineer: Norman Smith, 2nd Engineer: Ken Scott John Lennon (acoustic guitar), Paul McCartney (bass guitar), Ringo Starr (tambourine)
Recording Take 1
Overdubs onto Take 1
John Lennon (double-tracked vocals), Paul McCartney (harmony vocals), George Harrison (double-tracked sitar), Ringo Starr (finger cymbals, maraca)
Released in the UK and the US on 18th March 1996 on Apple PCSP 728 (LP), CDPCSP 728 (CD), TCPCSP 728 (Cassette) Anthology 2
21 October 1965, Abbey Road Studio 2, 2:30-7:00pm
Producer: George Martin, Engineer: Norman Smith, 2nd Engineer: Ken Scott Re-make. Each of the three different takes were different
Recording Take 2 – Heavy Sitar introduction
John Lennon (acoustic guitar, vocals), Paul McCartney (bass, vocals), George Harrison (double-tracked sitar), Ringo Starr (drums)
Recording Take 3, retitled Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown).
John Lennon (acoustic guitar, vocals), Paul McCartney (bass, vocals), George Harrison (acoustic guitar)
Recording Take 4
John Lennon (acoustic guitar, vocals), Paul McCartney (bass, vocals), George Harrison (12-string acoustic guitar, sitar), Ringo Starr (kick drum, tambourine)
Details of overdubs are unknown
25 October 1965, Abbey Road Studio Two Control Room, 10:00am-1:00pm Producer: George Martin, Engineer: Norman Smith, 2nd Engineer: Ken Scott
Mixing Mono Mix 1 from Take 4 (2:02)
Released in the UK on 3 December 1965, on Parlophone PMC1267 Rubber Soul [Mono]
Released in the US on 6 December 1965, on Capitol T-2442 Rubber Soul [Mono]
26 October 1965, Abbey Road Studio Two Control Room, 10:00am-12:30pm Producer: George Martin, Engineer: Norman Smith, 2nd Engineer: Ron Pender
Mixing Stereo Mix 1 from Take 4 (2:02)
Released in the UK on 3 December 1965, on Parlophone PCS3075 Rubber Soul [Stereo]
Released in the US on 6 December 1965, on Capitol ST-2442 Rubber Soul [Stereo]
Drive My Car (Lennon/McCartney)
Composer: Paul McCartney / John Lennon
13 October 1965, Abbey Road Studio 2, 7:00pm-12:15am
Recording Take 1 (incomplete)
Recording Take 2 (incomplete)
Recording Take 3 (incomplete)
Recording Take 4
Paul McCartney (guitar), George Harrison (bass guitar), Ringo Starr (drums)
Overdubs onto Take 4
Paul McCartney (vocal, piano, lead guitar), John Lennon (vocal), George Harrison (harmony vocal), Ringo Starr (cowbell, tambourine)
25 October 1965, Abbey Road Studio Two Control Room, 10:00am-1:00pm Producer: George Martin, Engineer: Norman Smith, 2nd Engineer: Ken Scott
Mixing Mono Mix 1 from Take 4 (2:21)
Released in the UK on 3 December 1965, on Parlophone PMC1267 Rubber Soul [Mono]
Released in the US on 20 June 1966, on Capitol T-2553 "Yesterday"… and Today [Mono]
26 October 1965, Abbey Road Studio Two Control Room, 10:00am-12:30pm Producer: George Martin, Engineer: Norman Smith, 2nd Engineer: Ron Pender
Mixing Stereo Mix 1 from Take 4 (2:26)
Released in the UK on 3 December 1965, on Parlophone PCS3075 Rubber Soul [Stereo]
Released in the US on 20 June 1966, on Capitol ST-2553 "Yesterday"… and Today [Stereo]
Day Tripper (Lennon/McCartney)
Composer: John Lennon / Paul McCartney
16 October 1965, Abbey Road Studio 2, 2:30-7:00pm Producer: George Martin, Engineer: Norman Smith, 2nd Engineer: Ken Scott
John Lennon (rhythm / lead guitar), Paul McCartney (bass), George Harrison (lead guitar), Ringo Starr (drums)
Recording Take 1 (incomplete)
Recording Take 2 (incomplete)
Recording Take 3
Overdubs onto Take 3
John Lennon (double-tracked vocal), Paul McCartney (double-tracked vocal), Ringo Starr (tambourine)
25 October 1965, Abbey Road Studio Two Control Room, 10:00am-1:00pm Producer: George Martin, Engineer: Norman Smith, 2nd Engineer: Ken Scott
Mixing Mono Mix 1 from Take 3
unused
26 October 1965, Abbey Road Studio Two Control Room, 10:00am-12:30pm Producer: George Martin, Engineer: Norman Smith, 2nd Engineer: Ron Pender
Mixing Stereo Mix 1 from Take 3 (2:47)
Released in the US on 20 June 1966, on Capitol ST-2553 "Yesterday"… and Today [Stereo]
Included in The US Albums Box Set
29 October 1965, Abbey Road Studio Two Control Room, 4:00-5:00pm Producer: George Martin, Engineer: Norman Smith, 2nd Engineer: Ken Scott
Mixing Mono Mix 2 from Take 3 (2:49)
Released in the UK on 3 December 1965, on Parlophone R3589 We Can Work It Out / Day Tripper
Released in the US on 6 December 1965, on Capitol 5555 We Can Work It Out / Day Tripper
Included on Mono Masters
Mixing Mono Mix 3 from Take 3
Used on the Granada Television show The Music of Lennon and McCartney
10 November 1966, Abbey Road Room 65, 2:00-4:30pm Producer: N/A, Engineer: Peter Brown, 2nd Engineer: Graham Kirkby
Mixing Stereo Mix 2 from Take 3 (2:47)
Released in the UK on 9 December 1966, on Parlophone PCS7016 A Collection of Beatles Oldies [Stereo]
Included on Past Masters
If I Needed Someone (Harrison)
Composer: George Harrison
16 October 1965, Abbey Road Studio Two, 7:00pm-12:00pm Producer: George Martin, Engineer: Norman Smith, 2nd Engineer: Ken Scott
Recording Take 1
John Lennon (rhythm guitar), Paul McCartney (bass), George Harrison (1965 Rickenbacker 360/12 12 String electric guitar), Ringo Starr (drums)
18 October 1965, Abbey Road Studio Two, 2:30-5:45pm Producer: George Martin, Engineer: Norman Smith, 2nd Engineer: Ken Scott
Overdubs onto Take 1
John Lennon (harmony vocal), Paul McCartney (harmony vocal), George Harrison (double-tracked lead vocal), Ringo Starr (tambourine)
25 October 1965, Abbey Road Studio Two Control Room, 10:00am-1:00pm Producer: George Martin, Engineer: Norman Smith, 2nd Engineer: Ken Scott
Mixing Mono Mix 1 from Take 1 (2:19)
Released in the UK on 3 December 1965, on Parlophone PMC1267 Rubber Soul [Mono]
Released in the US on 20 June 1966, on Capitol T-2553 "Yesterday"… and Today [Mono]
26 October 1965, Abbey Road Studio Two Control Room, 10:00am-12:30pm Producer: George Martin, Engineer: Norman Smith, 2nd Engineer: Ron Pender
Mixing Stereo Mix 1 from Take 1 (2:19)
Released in the UK on 3 December 1965, on Parlophone PCS3075 Rubber Soul [Stereo]
Released in the US on 20 June 1966, on Capitol ST-2553 "Yesterday"… and Today [Stereo]
In My Life (Lennon/McCartney)
Composer: John Lennon / Paul McCartney
18 October 1965, Abbey Road Studio Two, 2:30-5:45pm
Producer: George Martin, Engineer: Norman Smith, 2nd Engineer: Ken Scott
Recording Take 1
Recording Take 2
Recording Take 3
John Lennon (rhythm guitar, double-tracked vocal), Paul McCartney (harmony vocal, bass), George Harrison (lead guitar), Ringo Starr (drums, tambourine)
George Martin (Hammond organ - unused)
22 October 1965, Abbey Road Studio Two, 10:30-11:30am
Producer: George Martin, Engineer: Stuart Eltham, 2nd Engineer: Mike Stone
Overdub onto Take 3
George Martin (double-speed piano)
25 October 1965, Abbey Road Studio Two Control Room, 10:00am-1:00pm
Producer: George Martin, Engineer: Norman Smith, 2nd Engineer: Ken Scott
Mixing Mono Mix 1 from Take 3 (2:23)
Released in the UK on 3 December 1965, on Parlophone PMC1267 Rubber Soul [Mono]
Released in the US on 6 December 1965, on Capitol T-2442 Rubber Soul [Mono]
26 October 1965, Abbey Road Studio Two Control Room, 10:00am-12:30pm
Producer: George Martin, Engineer: Norman Smith, 2nd Engineer: Ron Pender
Mixing Stereo Mix 1 from Take 3 (2:22)
Released in the UK on 3 December 1965, on Parlophone PCS3075 Rubber Soul [Stereo]
Released in the US on 6 December 1965, on Capitol ST-2442 Rubber Soul [Stereo]
We Can Work It Out (Lennon/McCartney)
Composer: Paul McCartney / John Lennon
20 October 1965, Abbey Road Studio Two, 2:30-6:30pm
Producer: George Martin, Engineer: Norman Smith, 2nd Engineer: Ken Scott
Recording Take 1 (incomplete)
Recording Take 2
John Lennon (acoustic rhythm guitar), Paul McCartney (bass), George Harrison (tambourine), Ringo Starr (drums)
20 October 1965, Abbey Road Studio Two, 7:00-11:45pm
Producer: George Martin, Engineer: Norman Smith, 2nd Engineer: Ken Scott
Overdub onto Take 2
John Lennon (harmony vocal, harmonium), Paul McCartney (lead vocal)
28 October 1965, Abbey Road Studio Two Control Room, 5:00pm-5:30pm
Producer: George Martin, Engineer: Norman Smith, 2nd Engineer: Jerry Boys
Mixing Mono Mix 1, from Take 2 (2:14)
Intended for the Granada Television show The Music of Lennon and McCartney but unused
29 October 1965, Abbey Road Studio 2, 2:00pm-4:00pm
Producer: George Martin, Engineer: Norman Smith, 2nd Engineer: Ken Scott
Overdubs onto Take 2
John Lennon (additional harmonium), Paul McCartney (double-tracked lead vocal)
29 October 1965, Abbey Road Studio 2, 2:00pm-4:00pm
Producer: George Martin, Engineer: Norman Smith, 2nd Engineer: Ken Scott
Mixing Mono Mix 2 from Take 2 (2:12)
Released in the UK on 3 December 1965, on Parlophone R3589 We Can Work It Out / Day Tripper
Released in the US on 6 December 1965, on Capitol 5555 We Can Work It Out / Day Tripper
Included on Mono Masters
Mixing Mono Mix 3 from Take 2
Used on the Granada Television show The Music of Lennon and McCartney
10 November 1965, Abbey Road Room 65, 2:30-5:30pm
Producer: George Martin, Engineer Norman Smith, 2nd Engineer: Jerry Boys
Mixing Stereo Mix 1 from Take 2 (2:11)
Released in the US on 20 June 1966, on Capitol ST-2553 "Yesterday"… and Today [Stereo]
Included in The US Albums Box Set
10 November 1966, Abbey Road Room 65, 2:00-4:30pm (2:13)
Producer: N/A, Engineer Peter Brown, 2nd Engineer: Graham Kirkby
Mixing Stereo Mix 2 from Take 2
Released in the UK on 9 December 1966, on Parlophone PCS7016 A Collection of Beatles Oldies [Stereo]
Included on Past Masters
Nowhere Man (Lennon/McCartney)
Composer: John Lennon
21 October 1965, Abbey Road Studio 2, 2:30-7:00pm
Producer: George Martin, Engineer: Norman Smith, 2nd Engineer: Ken Scott
Recording Take 1 (incomplete)
Recording Take 2
John Lennon (electric rhythm guitar, vocals), Paul McCartney (harmony vocal), George Harrison (harmony vocal)
22 October 1965, Abbey Road Studio 2, 2:30-7:00pm
Producer: George Martin, Engineer: Norman Smith, 2nd Engineer: Ken Scott
Re-make
Recording Take 3
Recording Take 4
Recording Take 5
John Lennon (acoustic rhythm guitar), Paul McCartney (bass), George Harrison (acoustic rhythm guitar?), Ringo Starr (drums)
22 October 1965, Abbey Road Studio 2, 7:00-11:30pm
Producer: George Martin, Engineer: Norman Smith, 2nd Engineer: Ken Scott
Overdub onto Take 4
John Lennon (lead vocal, lead guitar), Paul McCartney (harmony vocal), George Harrison (harmony vocal, lead guitar)
25 October 1965, Abbey Road Studio Two Control Room, 10:00am-1:00pm
Producer: George Martin, Engineer Norman Smith, 2nd Engineer: Ken Scott
Mixing Mono Mix 1from Take 4 (2:40)
Released in the UK on 3 December 1965, on Parlophone PMC1267 Rubber Soul [Mono]
Released in the US on 21 February 1966, on Capitol 5587 Nowhere Man / What Goes On
Released in the US on 20 June 1966, on Capitol T-2553 "Yesterday"… and Today [Mono]
26 October 1965, Abbey Road Studio Two Control Room, 10:00am-12:30pm
Producer: George Martin, Engineer Norman Smith, 2nd Engineer: Ron Pender
Mixing Stereo Mix 1 from Take 4 (2:40)
Released in the UK on 3 December 1965, on Parlophone PCS3075 Rubber Soul [Stereo]
Released in the US on 20 June 1966, on Capitol ST-2553 "Yesterday"… and Today [Stereo]
I'm Looking Through You (Lennon/McCartney)
Composer: Paul McCartney
24 October 1965, Abbey Road Studio Two, 2:30-7:00pm
Producer: George Martin, Engineer: Norman Smith, 2nd Engineer: Ken Scott
Recording Take 1
John Lennon (acoustic guitar), Paul McCartney (bass), George Harrison (claves), Ringo Starr (drums)
24 October 1965, Abbey Road Studio Two, 2:30-7:00pm
Producer: George Martin, Engineer: Norman Smith, 2nd Engineer: Ken Scott
Overdubs onto Take 1 (2:52)
John Lennon (harmony vocal), Paul McCartney (double-tracked vocal, organ), George Harrison (lead guitar), Ringo Starr (maracas)
Released in the UK and the US on 18th March 1996, on Apple PCSP 728 (LP), CDPCSP 728 (CD), TCPCSP 728 (Cassette) Anthology 2
6 November 1965, Abbey Road Studio Two, 7:00pm-1:00am
Producer: George Martin, Engineer: Norman Smith, 2nd Engineer: Ken Scott
Remake
Recording Take 2
Recording Take 3
John Lennon (harmony vocal, acoustic rhythm guitar), Paul McCartney (double-tracked vocal, acoustic rhythm guitar, bass), George Harrison (lead guitar, tambourine), Ringo Starr (drums, Hammond organ)
Unreleased
Mark Lewisohn says this version was similar to the finished version, only faster. Personnel are assumed to be the same as on the finished version.
10 November 1965, Abbey Road Studio Two, 9:00pm-4:00am
Producer: George Martin, Engineer: Norman Smith, 2nd Engineer: Jerry Boys
Re-remake
Recording Take 4
John Lennon (acoustic rhythm guitar), Paul McCartney (bass), George Harrison (tambourine), Ringo Starr (drums)
11 November 1965, Abbey Road Studio Two, 6:00pm-7:00am
Producer: George Martin, Engineer: Norman Smith, 2nd Engineer: Ken Scott
Overdubs onto Take 4
John Lennon (harmony vocal), Paul McCartney (double-tracked vocal), George Harrison (lead guitar), Ringo Starr (Hammond organ)
15 November 1965, Abbey Road Studio One Control Room, 2:30pm-5:30pm
Producer: George Martin, Engineer: Norman Smith, 2nd Engineer: Richard Lush
Mixing Mono Mix 1 from Take 4 (2:27)
Released in the UK on 3 December 1965, on Parlophone PMC1267 Rubber Soul [Mono]
Released in the US on 6 December 1965, on Capitol T-2442 Rubber Soul [Mono]
Mixing Stereo Mix 1 from Take 4 (2:23)
Released in the UK on 3 December 1965, on Parlophone PCS3075 Rubber Soul [Stereo]
Released in the US on 6 December 1965, on Capitol ST-2442 Rubber Soul [Stereo] (includes unintentional false starts, bringing the run time to 2:27)
Included in The US Albums Box Set
Michelle (Lennon/McCartney)
Composer: Paul McCartney / John Lennon / Jan Vaughan
3 November 1965, Abbey Road Studio Two, 2:30-7:00pm
Producer: George Martin, Engineer: Norman Smith, 2nd Engineer: Ken Scott
Recording Take 1
John Lennon (acoustic guitar), Paul McCartney (vocal, bass), George Harrison (electric guitar), Ringo Starr (drums)
3 November 1965, Abbey Road Studio Two, 7:00-11:30pm
Producer: George Martin, Engineer: Norman Smith, 2nd Engineer: Ken Scott
Tape reduction Take 1 into Take 2
Overdubs onto Take 2
John Lennon (backing vocal), Paul McCartney (backing vocal, acoustic guitar), George Harrison (backing vocal)
9 November 1965, Abbey Road Room 65, 2:30-5:30pm
Producer: George Martin, Engineer: Norman Smith, 2nd Engineer: Jerry Boys
Mixing Mono Mix 1, from Take 2 (2:42)
Released in the US on 6 December 1965, on Capitol T-2442 Rubber Soul [Mono]
Included in The US Albums Box Set
Mixing Stereo Mix 1, from Take 2 (2:40)
Released in the UK on 3 December 1965, on Parlophone PCS3075 Rubber Soul [Stereo]
Released in the US on 6 December 1965, on Capitol ST-2442 Rubber Soul [Stereo]
15 November 1965, Abbey Road Studio One Control Room, 2:30pm-5:30pm
Producer: George Martin, Engineer: Norman Smith, 2nd Engineer: Richard Lush
Mixing Mono Mix Stereo Mix 2, from Take 2 (2:34)
Released in the UK on 3 December 1965, on Parlophone PMC1267 Rubber Soul [Mono]
What Goes On (Lennon/McCartney/Starkey)
Composer: John Lennon / Paul McCartney / Richard Starkey
4 November 1965, Abbey Road Studio Two, 11:00pm-3:30am
Producer: George Martin, Engineer: Norman Smith, 2nd Engineer: Ken Scott / Graham Platt
Recording Take 1
John Lennon (rhythm guitar), Paul McCartney (bass), George Harrison (lead guitar), Ringo Starr (drums)
Overdubs onto Take 1
John Lennon (harmony vocal), Paul McCartney (harmony vocal), George Harrison (lead guitar), Ringo Starr (lead vocal)
9 November 1965, Abbey Road Room 65, 2:30-5:30pm
Producer: George Martin, Engineer: Norman Smith, 2nd Engineer: Jerry Boys
Mixing Mono Mix 1 from Take 1 (2:45)
Released in the UK on 3 December 1965, on Parlophone PMC1267 Rubber Soul [Mono]
Released in the US on 21 February 1966, on Capitol 5587 Nowhere Man / What Goes On
Released in the US on 20 June 1966, on Capitol T-2553 "Yesterday"… and Today [Mono]
Mixing Stereo Mix 1 from Take 1 (2:45)
Released in the UK on 3 December 1965, on Parlophone PCS3075 Rubber Soul [Stereo]
Released in the US on 20 June 1966, on Capitol ST-2553 "Yesterday"… and Today [Stereo]
12-Bar Original (Lennon/McCartney/Harrison/Starkey)
Composer: John Lennon / Paul McCartney / George Harrison / Richard Starkey
4 November 1965, Abbey Road Studio Two, 11:00pm-3:30am
Producer: George Martin, Engineer: Norman Smith, 2nd Engineer: Ken Scott / Graham Platt
Recording Take 1 (incomplete)
Recording Take 2
John Lennon (rhythm guitar), Paul McCartney (bass), George Harrison (lead guitar), Ringo Starr (drums)
George Martin (harmonium)
Edit of Take 2 released in the UK and the US on 18th March 1996 on Apple PCSP 728 (LP), CDPCSP 728 (CD), TCPCSP 728 (Cassette) Anthology 2 (2:53)
30 November 1965, Abbey Road Room 65, 4:45-5:00pm
Producer: n/a, Engineer: Norman Smith, 2nd Engineer: Ron Pender
Mixing Mono Mix 1 from Take 2 (6:41)
Think for Yourself (Harrison)
Composer: George Harrison
Working Title: Won't Be There With You
8 November 1965, Abbey Road Studio 2, 9:00pm-3:00am
Producer: George Martin, Engineer: Norman Smith, 2nd Engineer: Ken Scott
Recording Take 1
John Lennon (electric guitar), Paul McCartney (bass), George Harrison (electric guitar), Ringo Starr (drums)
Overdubs onto Take 1
John Lennon (harmony vocal, electric piano), Paul McCartney (harmony vocal, fuzz bass), George Harrison (vocal), Ringo Starr (maracas, tambourine)
9 November 1965, Abbey Road Room 65, 2:30-5:30pm
Producer: George Martin, Engineer: Norman Smith, 2nd Engineer: Jerry Boys
Mixing Mono Mix 1 from Take 1, retitled Think for Yourself (2:16)
Released in the UK on 3 December 1965, on Parlophone PMC1267 Rubber Soul [Mono]
Released in the US on 6 December 1965, on Capitol T-2442 Rubber Soul [Mono]
Mixing Stereo Mix 1 from Take 1 (2:16)
Released in the UK on 3 December 1965, on Parlophone PCS3075 Rubber Soul [Stereo]
Released in the US on 6 December 1965, on Capitol ST-2442 Rubber Soul [Stereo]
The Word (Lennon/McCartney)
Composer: John Lennon / Paul McCartney
10 November 1965, Abbey Road Studio Two, 9:00pm-4:00am
Producer: George Martin, Engineer: Norman Smith, 2nd Engineer: Jerry Boys
Recording Take 1
Recording Take 2
Recording Take 3
John Lennon (rhythm guitar), Paul McCartney (piano), Ringo Starr (drums)
Overdubs onto Take 3
John Lennon (lead vocal), Paul McCartney (harmony vocal, bass), George Harrison (harmony vocal, lead guitar), Ringo Starr (maracas)
George Martin (harmonium)
11 November 1965, Abbey Road Room 65, 4:00-5:30pm
Producer: George Martin, Engineer: Norman Smith, 2nd Engineer: Mike Stone
Mixing Mono Mix 1 from Take 3 (2:42)
Released in the UK on 3 December 1965, on Parlophone PMC1267 Rubber Soul [Mono]
Released in the US on 6 December 1965, on Capitol T-2442 Rubber Soul [Mono]
Mixing Stereo Mix 1 from Take 3 (2:43)
Released in the US on 6 December 1965, on Capitol ST-2442 Rubber Soul [Stereo]
Included in The US Albums Box Set
15 November 1965, Abbey Road Studio One Control Room, 2:30pm-5:30pm
Producer: George Martin, Engineer: Norman Smith, 2nd Engineer: Richard Lush
Mixing Stereo Mix 2 from Take 3 (2:41)
Released in the UK on 3 December 1965, on Parlophone PCS3075 Rubber Soul [Stereo]
You Won't See Me (Lennon/McCartney)
Composer: Paul McCartney
11 November 1965, Abbey Road Studio Two, 6:00pm-7:00am
Producer: George Martin, Engineer: Norman Smith, 2nd Engineer: Jerry Boys
Recording Take 1
Recording Take 2
John Lennon (piano), Paul McCartney (bass), George Harrison (electric guitar), Ringo Starr (drums)
Mal Evans (Hammond organ)
Overdubs on Take 2
John Lennon (harmony vocal), Paul McCartney (double-tracked lead vocal), George Harrison (harmony vocal), Ringo Starr (Tambourine)
15 November 1965, Abbey Road Studio One Control Room, 2:30pm-5:30pm
Producer: George Martin, Engineer: Norman Smith, 2nd Engineer: Richard Lush
Mixing Mono Mix from Take 2 (3:21)
Released in the UK on 3 December 1965, on Parlophone PMC1267 Rubber Soul [Mono]
Released in the US on 6 December 1965, on Capitol T-2442 Rubber Soul [Mono]
Mixing Stereo Mix from Take 2 (3:19)
Released in the UK on 3 December 1965, on Parlophone PCS3075 Rubber Soul [Stereo]
Released in the US on 6 December 1965, on Capitol ST-2442 Rubber Soul [Stereo]
Girl (Lennon/McCartney)
Composer: John Lennon
11 November 1965, Abbey Road Studio Two, 6:00pm-7:00am
Producer: George Martin, Engineer: Norman Smith, 2nd Engineer: Jerry Boys
Recording Take 1
Recording Take 2
John Lennon (acoustic guitar), Paul McCartney (bass), George Harrison (acoustic guitar), Ringo Starr (drums)
Overdubs onto Take 2
John Lennon (double-tracked lead vocal), Paul McCartney (harmony vocal), George Harrison (harmony vocal, acoustic lead guitar)
15 November 1965, Abbey Road Studio One Control Room, 2:30pm-5:30pm
Producer: George Martin, Engineer: Norman Smith, 2nd Engineer: Richard Lush
Mixing Mono Mix from Take 2 (2:28)
Released in the UK on 3 December 1965, on Parlophone PMC1267 Rubber Soul [Mono]
Released in the US on 6 December 1965, on Capitol T-2442 Rubber Soul [Mono]
Mixing Stereo Mix from Take 2 (2:28)
Released in the UK on 3 December 1965, on Parlophone PCS3075 Rubber Soul [Stereo]
Released in the US on 6 December 1965, on Capitol ST-2442 Rubber Soul [Stereo]
Rubber Soul
The Rubber Soul sessions had begun in the afternoon of 12 October 1965, when the band started work on Run For Your Life, which John Lennon had written by stealing a line from Elvis Presley's 1955 hit, Baby, Let's Play House.
That evening, they moved on to the rather more complex Norwegian Wood, then labouring under its original title of This Bird Has Flown.
The following evening, the 13th October, they recorded four takes of Drive My Car, working beyond midnight for the first time in their career to turn the song into a Motown-ish, cowbell-driven workout.
The band took two days off, returning on the afternoon of the 16th October to work on Day Tripper. The song was, Lennon and McCartney later admitted, forced, stealing thematically from their own Drive My Car. They returned to work that evening to complete Day Tripper and begin work on Harrison's If I Needed Someone. They finished working on that on the afternoon of the 18th October, when they also recorded three takes of In My Life.
20th October was dedicated to recording We Can Work It Out. The first of a trio of songs by McCartney about his failing relationship with Jane Asher, it was written from the heart, unlike Day Tripper.
George's Sitar was sold at auction in 2017, fetching $62500
Unhappy with the 12 October version of This Bird Has Flown, the Beatles returned to the song, now retitled Norwegian Wood, on the afternoon of 21st October, recording a further three takes, each one different from the others. The final take was used for the album.
That evening, they moved on to another Lennon song, Nowhere Man, recording a couple of takes before deciding that the song needed more work.
On the morning of the 22nd October, George Martin added an organ solo to Take 3 of In My Life. Unhappy with that, he replaced it with a piano, recorded at half speed to give it an almost harpsichord quality when played back at the correct tempo.
That afternoon, work continued on Nowhere Man, which Lennon had reworked overnight. The song's distinctive three part harmony vocal was added in the evening.
The afternoon of the 24th October was dedicated to a new McCartney song, I'm Looking Through You, with vocals added in the evening.
It was at this point, nine songs into the sessions, that The Beatles ran out of material.
Two of the nine, We Can Work It Out and Day Tripper, had already been earmarked for a single, so they desperately needed to find another seven songs to complete the 14 tracks for the album, which had to be released in time for Christmas 1965.
By 29th October, all 9 tracks had been mixed, and The Beatles still had no new songs.
Paul McCartney's original 1963 demo of Michelle.
In desperation, Paul McCartney set words to a cod-French guitar piece that he had used to impress girls at parties in Liverpool in the late 50s and early 60s. He had recorded a demo of the song in 1963, but it had never made it on to any of the band's albums. The result, Michelle, was recorded on 3rd November.
John Lennon also dug into his past. An early composition, What Goes On, written by Lennon during his time in The Quarrymen, was supposed to have been recorded on 5th March 1963, as a follow-up single to Please Please Me. But a new song, From Me To You, was recorded instead.
McCartney extended a verse and a chorus, and the song was given to Ringo Starr to sing, who added a few words, giving the song the unique writing credit Lennon/McCartney/Starkey. It was recorded on 4th November.
Also on 4th November, The Beatles recorded the decidedly unoriginal 12-Bar Original, a direct rip-off of Booker T and the MGs’ Green Onions. Intended as the closing track on Rubber Soul, it didn’t see the light of day until it appeared on Anthology 2 in 1995.
By now the barrel had been well and truly scraped. They needed four more songs and had nothing to give, playing for time by re-recording I’m Looking Through You on 6th November.
Lennon and McCartney went away to force themselves into writing new material, and they pressed upon George Harrison, then with only three released songs to his name, to come to their rescue. The result was his angry retort, Think For Yourself, recorded by the band on 8th November.
By 10th November, Lennon and McCartney had come up with a joint composition, The Word, written with the aid of marijuana the previous day. It was recorded on that day, along with yet another version of I’m Looking Through You. This was the version that would finally end up on the album.
A final 13 hour session on 11th November saw the recording of a new McCartney song, You Won’t See Me, (his first new song since I’m Looking Through You, with which it shared its subject matter - his rapidly deteriorating relationship with Jane Asher). Next up was a new Lennon composition, the European sounding Girl.
Suddenly, time was up, but the album was incomplete. One more song was needed, and by this time, they had decided that 12-Bar Original was too close to Green Onions to release.
But by lucky chance, they had several songs left over from the sessions for their previous album, Help!. Considered to be not strong enough, a few had been left unreleased. One of these, If You’ve Got Troubles, was dismissed out of hand because there was nothing that could be done to rescue it. Another, That Means A Lot, had been given to PJ Proby, who had scored a minor hit with it. But the last, a piece called Wait, had potential.
Digging Wait out of the vaults, The Beatles tried to disguise what they considered to be a weak song by pepping it up with extra percussion.
And with that, the album was finished.
The remaining songs were mixed on 15th November, and the album was in the shops by 3rd December.
That it is considered to be one of their finest works is all the more remarkable given the state of near panic with which it was recorded
Composer:Lennon / McCartney John Lennon rhythm guitar (1965 Framus Hootenanny 12-string acoustic guitar), Lead Vocal Paul McCartney bass (1963 Hofner 500/1 bass), Backing Vocals George Harrison lead guitar (1964 Gretsch Tennessean guitar), Backing Vocals Ringo Starr drums (1964 Ludwig Oyster Black Pearl "Super Classic" Kit with 22" kick drum)
George Martin: Producer Norman Smith: Engineer Ken Scott: 2nd Engineer
Recorded: 7:00-11:00pm, Tuesday 13th April 1965, Studio 2, Abbey Road Recording Studio Recording Medium: Four Track
Additional Recording: 7:00-10:00pm, Monday 24th May 1965, CTS Studios, London Recording Medium: Three Track
Mono Mix: 18 June 1965 Stereo Mix: 18 June 1965
UK Mono Release: Friday 23rd July 1965 (A Single / I'm Down [Parlophone R5305]) UK Stereo Release: Friday 6th August 1965 (Help! LP [Parlophone PCS-3071]) US Mono Release: Monday 19th July 1965 (A Single / I'm Down [Capitol 5476]) US Stereo Release: Friday 13th August 1965 (Help! LP [Capitol SMAS-2386])
As with all of The Beatles' material up until 1969, Help!, the title song from their second feature film, was released in both mono and stereo versions. It had been written by John Lennon at his home in Weybridge on Sunday 4th April during a day off from filming. In 1980, Lennon said of the song:
When Help! came out, I was actually crying out for help. Most people think it's just a fast rock 'n' roll song. I didn't realise it at the time; I just wrote the song because I was commissioned to write it for the movie. But later, I knew I really was crying out for help. So it was my fat Elvis period. You see the movie: he - I - is very fat, very insecure, and he's completely lost himself. And I am singing about when I was so much younger and all the rest, looking back at how easy it was.
Recording
The song was recorded in 12 takes on Tuesday, 13 April. The first nine takes concentrated on the backing track, with no vocals. As was their standard practice, the bass and drums were recorded to one track of a four-track tape, and the two guitars went on a second:
Take 1
Stopped after 36 seconds when one of the strings on Lennon's guitar snapped
Take 2
Stopped after Harrison mis-played the first descending guitar riff
Take 3
Stopped after verse 2, when Lennon changed chords a couple of bars early
Up until this point, Harrison has been playing chords over the intro, syncopated offbeats in the chorus and the descending guitar arpeggios at the start of each verse. After Take 3, George Martin pointed out that Harrison was not playing the arpeggios cleanly, and suggested that it should be overdubbed later. Harrison pointed out that this would require him to play the arpeggios and sing simultaneously, which would be even harder.
Take 4
This was complete, although Harrison missed out the arpeggios, and Starr makes a couple of minor errors.
Take 5
This was also complete, but Lennon's guitar is out of tune.
Take 6
McCartney counted the band in again before Lennon had a chance to tune his guitar. However, Martin aborted the take halfway through the opening verse, allowing Lennon to tune up. Lennon tried to do so, but fails, much to his own frustration.
Take 7
Stopped after the band failed to get the transition to the final verse. Lennon's guitar was still out of tune.
Take 8
Halted after a few seconds when Harrison stopped playing
Take 9
A complete and satisfactory take.
After Take 9, the Beatles then recorded double tracked vocals on to the remaining two tracks. One of the vocal tracks also featured Starr on tambourine.
The four tracks of the original tape were then transferred to a new four track tape by engineer Norman Smith, combining the two vocal tracks to one and leaving one track free. These were counted as new takes. During the mixdown, the intro was mixed out from one of the two vocal tracks, because Lennon's timing was off.
Take 10
Complete but not used
Take 11
Aborted after Smith forgot to mix out one of the vocal tracks from the intro
Take 12
A satisfactory mix. Harrison then recorded his guitar arpeggios on to the fourth track.
A rough mono mix was prepared for the Beatles at the end of the session. Three more mono mixes, numbered RM2-4, were prepared the following Sunday, 18th April, along with a stereo mix, numbered RS1, with all the instruments mixed on one side and all of the vocals mixed on the other. As the tambourine had been recorded alongside the vocals, it was on the vocal track.
Rerecording the Vocals
RM4 was the best mono mix, and was supplied to United Artists for the film soundtrack. The following Thursday, 22 April, the Beatles were at Twickenham Film Studios, where they filmed a black and white sequence, used in the film. The Beatles, dressed in black on a minimalist set, mimed to RM4. Starr wears the ring that is at the centre of the film's plot, while Lennon plays his six-string Gibson acoustic.
However, the Beatles' miming was inaccurate and did not sync up with the film, and it was decided that the vocals needed to be re-recorded. This was done in a non-EMI session on the evening of Monday 24th May, at CTS Studios in London. CTS was often used for post-sync sound production work for film and television, and was an unusual choice of recording venue - perhaps the new vocals were required by United Artists rather than EMI, so the studio was their choice, or perhaps Abbey Road was simply not available.
Either way, CTS could only record to three track tape, so the instrumental track from RS1 was transferred to one of the three tracks, leaving the other two tracks free for Lennon, McCartney and Harrison to record their double-tracked vocals in an unknown number of takes. Starr, presumably, was not at the session, because he did not re-record his tambourine.
Mixing
Mono Film Version
The new version was mixed to mono at CTS the same evening, and this is the version used in the film.
Mono Single and Album Version
When preparing the mixes for the single and mono album on 18th June, George Martin decided that the vocals during the introduction of the re-recorded version were not satisfactory, so he edited the first 11 seconds from the original RM4 mono mix into the re-recorded version.
Stereo Version
When he went to prepare the final stereo mix, George Martin encountered a problem: the three track tape from CTS could not be mixed to stereo, because Abbey Road did not possess a three-track tape machine. He resorted to using the original 13th April vocals from Take 12.
Subsequent Mixes
All subsequent stereo mixes of the song have also used the 13th April vocals.
In 1987, George Martin made a new stereo mix of Help! for release on CD. This was remastered in 2009 and re-released.
In 2015, the song was remixed again by Giles Martin and Sam Okell at Abbey Road Studios for release on a new version of 1.
Differences Between the Mono and Stereo Versions
The mono version has no tambourine, and on the first verse, John sings "and now these days...".
The stereo version has a tambourine, and John sings "but now these days..."
The phrasing of "changed my mind" differs between the mono and stereo versions as well.
Past Masters is a double-CD set containing all of The Beatles' recordings that had not otherwise been released on an album.
Originally released in 1988 as a two separate CDs, named Past Masters Volume One and Past Masters Volume Two, the collection was compiled by Beatles historian Mark Lewisohn at the time when the Beatles' albums were being prepared for CD in the mid-1980's.
Past Masters Volume 1
Owing to the band's policy of not releasing singles that had not already been released on an album, the compilation contains many of the band's most important recordings, including such tracks as She Loves You, I Want To Hold Your Hand, Paperback Writer and Hey Jude. The collection consists of all of the Beatles' singles, including songs that had been released as alternative mixes or recordings for singles (eg Get Back, Revolution and Let It Be). It also includes three tracks recorded specifically for foreign markets (two of them in German), a track originally donated to a charity compilation album and all of the tracks from the Long Tall Sally EP.
The Long Tall Sally EP
contained the songs Long Tall Sally, I Call Your Name, Slow Down and Matchbox
A decision had been taken by Apple at the time to standardise the Beatles' albums worldwide, using the original UK releases so that they were released as The Beatles had intended. In all, Lewisohn had a straightforward task - basically to compile all of the tracks that were not on a UK album into chronological order.
But then Apple made an odd decision. Somewhere down the line, someone decided that the US Magical Mystery Tourcompilation album should be integrated into the standard UK releases. The Magical Mystery Tour double EP had been released in the UK on 8 December 1967. It contained the songs
The Magical Mystery Tour EP
Side A 1. Magical Mystery Tour
2. Your Mother Should Know Side B
1. I Am The Walrus Side C
1. The Fool On The Hill
2. Flying Side D
1. Blue Jay Way
But EPs were falling out of favour in the US, and Capitol, the Beatles' American label, opted to release Magical Mystery Tour as an album, filling it out with the Beatles' 1967 singles, the Sgt.Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band era Penny Lane/Strawberry Fields Forever, and All You Need Is Love/Baby You're A Rich Man, and UK Magical Mystery Tour era non-album single, Hello Goodbye, (the B-side, I Am The Walrus, was on the EP). The Magical Mystery Tour album was released in the US on 27 November 1967.
Fast forward to 1988, and this caused an odd anomaly on the Past Masters compilation, because there is a jarring change of style between 1966 B-side Rain and the next non-album single, 1968's Lady Madonna. This could easily have been prevented by moving the four tracks at the start of Volume Two (Day Tripper, We Can Work It Out, Paperback Writer and Rain to the end of Volume One).
But it would have been more in keeping with the spirit of the releases to have included all of The Beatles' 1967 non-album tracks, eg the US Magical Mystery Tour album.
There is also an argument to include the four new songs from the Yellow Submarine album, but as this is a UK album, it had a legitimate place in the release schedule.
There is perhaps a simple commercial reason for bringing the US Magical Mystery Tour compilation into the standardised discography: selling Past Masters Volume One, Past Masters Volume Two and Magical Mystery Tour will make more money for Apple than simply Past Masters Volume One and Past Masters Volume Two. But including the 1967 UK singles and EP in the set would have made it flow better as a compilation.
Nevertheless, technology has changed since the 1980s, and we have the ability to make our own compilations. A full track listing for Past Masters Discs One and Two is presented here. At 60:01 for Disc 1 and 70:08 for Disc 2, it fits comfortably on two CDs.
Feel free to include the four Yellow Submarine tracks - they fit neatly in between "Revolution" and "Get Back", but would extend the collection to three CDs. In the 21st century, with our MP3s, this doesn't really matter.
The Beatles animated movie
Yellow Submarine
contains a wealth of Beatle classics, released between 1965 (or 1966 if you are American) and 1967, as well as three songs recorded with little enthusiasm specifically for the film, and one song recorded for Sgt.Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band but rejected. Two songs were taken from
Rubber Soul
(or
Yesterday...and Today
if you are American), three from Revolver,
and five from Sgt.Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, as well as both sides of the All You Need Is Love single. A couple of attempts have been made to release official soundtrack albums.
The original Yellow Submarine album from 1969
The first, released as Yellow Submarine on 13 January 1969 in the US and, as Yellow Submarine (Nothing Is Real) on 17 January 1969 in the UK, included the four new songs, along with the title track (originally released on Revolver in 1966) and All You Need Is Love (originally released as a single in 1967, and on the American album Magical Mystery Tour). It also contained seven pieces of incidental music by George Martin, much as the US versions of A Hard Day's Night and Help! had done a few years previously. However, where those albums had scattered Martin's orchestrations amongst the tracks by The Beatles, here they were confined to side two of the album, with all of The Beatles' songs on side one.
Yellow Submarine Songtrack released in 1999
The second attempt at a soundtrack album was Yellow Submarine Songtrack, released on 13 September 1999. This compilation gathered most of the songs used in the film, but omitted Martin's incidental music. All of the songs were remixed from the original multi-tracks using 1990's digital technology. Although the songs were all re-released in their original 1960's stereo mixes in 2009, these remain the best versions of these songs available. The technique has only been repeated once, when The Beatles' greatest hits album, 1, was remixed and re-released in 2015. Yellow Submarine Songtrack is also the only release of a true stereo mix of George Harrison's Only A Northern Song. The original version was only ever mixed in mono, due to a complex recording process that required two 4-track tape recorders to be synchronised manually. A fake stereo version was made from the mono mix for the original Yellow Submarine album. By the 1990s, all of the tracks from both sets of 4-track tapes could be synchronised digitally to create the first stereo mix of the song.
Yellow Submarine Songtrack omitted A Day In The Life, for fear that the album almost constituted a remixed version of the Beatles' classic 1967 album Sgt.Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. The version suggested in the playlist here is from the Blue Album, which omits the cross fade from Sgt.Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise) on the original Sgt.Pepper's album. This version was prepared for the 1988 documentary film
Imagine: John Lennon
and originally appeared on the soundtrack.
Composer: Phil Medley and Bert Berns (under the pseudonym Bert Russell) John Lennon rhythm guitar ('58 Rickenbacker 325 guitar), Lead Vocal Paul McCartney bass ('61 Hofner 500/1 bass), Backing Vocal George Harrison lead guitar ('57 Gretsch Duo Jet guitar), Backing Vocal Ringo Starr drums (Mahogany Duroplastic Custom Premier kit)
George Martin: Producer Norman Smith: Engineer Richard Langham: Second Engineer
Recorded: 11 February 1963, Abbey Road Studio Two (Takes 1-2) Recording Medium: Two Track
Mixing:
Mono: 25 February 1963, Abbey Road Studio 1 (from Take 1)
George Martin: Producer
Norman Smith: Engineer
A.B.Lincoln: Second Engineer
Stereo: 25 February 1963, Abbey Road Studio 1 (from Take 1)
George Martin: Producer
Norman Smith: Engineer
A.B.Lincoln: Second Engineer
UK Release: 22 March 1963 (LP: Please, Please Me, Parlophone PMC 1202 [mono], PCS 3042 [stereo]) US Release: 22 July 1963 (LP: Introducing The Beatles, Vee Jay VJLP 1062 [mono], SR 1062 [stereo])
Running Time:
Mono Mix: 2:35
Stereo Mix: 2:37
US Mono Mix: 2:36
US Stereo Mix: 2:36
Chart Action:
US Release: 2 March 1964 (A Single / There's A Place) Tollie 9001
Entered the top 40 on 21 March 1964. Stayed in top 40 for nine weeks, reaching No.2 for four weeks.
The Beatles had had one minor hit single in Love Me Do, and a massive number one hit single in it's follow up, Please Please Me. George Martin wanted to release an album as quickly as possible. Such was Martin's urgency that he called them in from their February 1963 tour with Helen Shapiro, and pressed ahead with making the record, despite the effect that a heavy cold was having on John Lennon's voice.
They already had the A and B sides of the two singles, so they needed to record another 10 tracks to make up the 14 that was the standard number of tracks on a UK album at that time. Thus, at 10:00am on Monday 11th February 1963, the Beatles traipsed into Abbey Road Studio 2 to begin work on their début album. Nearly 13 hours later, they were done.
George Martin: The first LP was recorded in one day. We needed to have things quickly. I was very concious about that with 'Please Please Me' being a number-one single. If I had an album to follow it very sharply, I would have a big album sale. I knew darn well we couldn't record an album of original songs. So the obvious thing to do was to record all the stuff they did in their live act. I'd already been to see them at the Cavern, so I knew their repertoire by this time. I just got them down to the studio and said, "Right, we're going to record 'Roll Over Beethoven,' we're going to record 'Money,' we're going to record 'Chains,' and so on. It was rather like a performance actually. We started at ten in the morning, no, eleven, in deference to their long beauty sleep, and I think we finished about ten at night. We a break for lunch and a break for tea and we recorded 10 songs. Norman Smith was at the controls, and he got a good balance. It was knocked off like a live performance.
Martin's recollections are obviously a little hazy: The Beatles did not record either Roll Over Beethoven or Money on that day, although both tracks appeared on their second album. Studio documentation shows that the session did indeed begin at 10:00am. Studio documentation also shows that they recorded 11 songs.
The Beatles' remarkable performance of Twist and Shout was released as the
lead track on an EP (Parlophone GEP 8882) on 12 July 1963, along with A Taste of Honey, Do You Want To Know A Secret and There's A Place
In addition to Martin, Smith and The Beatles themselves, journalist and fellow Liverpudlian Alan Smith was also present. He had been invited to cover the session for the NME, and wrote about it in the 17 July 1963 edition, in an article entitled The 'Twist And Shout' Battle Hots Up! (And How The NME Helped).
They had recorded two songs in the morning, rehearsed through their lunch hour, and recorded another three songs in the afternoon. The evening session began with The Beatles attempting to record the final Lennon / McCartney original of the session, Paul McCartney's Hold Me Tight.
Asked about the song in 1987, McCartney recalled:
I can't remember much about that one. Certain songs were just 'work' songs, you haven't got much memory of them. That's one of them... I remember the name of the tune. Some of them... I wouldn't call them fillers but they were 'work' songs. You just knew that you had a song that would work, a good melody. 'Hold Me Tight' never really had that much of an effect on me.
Of the 13 takes of Hold Me Tight recorded by The Beatles, only takes 6 and 9 were complete, and neither of them were performed satisfactorily. Nevertheless, it was decided that takes 9 and 13 could be edited together to create a master version, but this was never done.
By 10:00pm, The Beatles had rattled through four more tracks and fulfilled their quota for 10 songs. But by then, someone - probably George Martin - had decided that Hold Me Tight wasn't up to scratch and asked for a replacement. So they took a break, and The Beatles, George Martin, Norman Smith and Alan Smith went down to the Abbey Road canteen for refreshments, and discussed what the final song might be.
The 17 July 1963 issue of the NME, containing
Alan Smith's article, The 'Twist And Shout' Battle Hots Up! (And How The NME Helped)
Alan Smith described what happened next:
At about 10pm we all retired to the studio canteen for coffee and biscuits, where the Beatles and recording manager George Martin began an earnest discussion about a suitable number for the last track.
A lot of material was considered, but there were some friendly arguments about a final choice. 'Twist And Shout' — a number I'd heard them do on a radio programme a few days before — hadn't been mentioned.
"What about 'Twist And Shout'?" I asked group member George Harrison, who was sitting nearby. "I heard it on the radio the other day and it was pretty good."
"That's an idea!" said George. He mentioned it to Paul, John and Ringo. They nodded in agreement. "Make it nice and loud!" shouted someone over the canteen noise of cups and saucers.
Well, off they went back to the studio — and recorded it in two takes!
(Source: Alan Smith, The 'Twist And Shout' Battle Hots Up! (And How The NME Helped), NME, 17 July 1963
Thanks to Dylan Crawfoot for sourcing the text of this article.)
The radio broadcast that Smith remembered was The Talent Spot, recorded Tuesday 27 November 1962 and broadcast at 5:00pm on Tuesday 4 December 1962, just a day short of 10 weeks previously to the recording session (not quite the "few days" that Smith mentioned in his article). The Beatles had performed Love Me Do, P.S. I Love You and Twist and Shout.
Alan Smith recalled the incident slightly differently when interviewed about it fifty years later:
They were sitting in a little room to the side of the studio, and they said "What are we going to do for the last number?" And I said "I thought I heard you guys do 'La Bamba' a few weeks ago on the radio?". And Paul McCartney looked a bit blank, and he said, "No, you mean 'Twist and Shout'". So they said "Alright, let's go and do it", and they just went and did it. And I looked down from the control room, and John Lennon did it. He wasn't well - he had a really bad cold, and he was drinking milk and having throat sweets, and just did it in one glorious take.
(Source:Alan Smith, interviewed by Jo Whiley, 12 Hours To Please Me, BBC Radio 2, 11 February 2013)
Zubes
Norman Smith also remembered the occasion.
"Someone suggested they do 'Twist and Shout', the old Isley Brothers' number, with John taking the lead vocal. But by this time all their throats were tired and sore - it was 12 hours since we had started working. John's, in particular, was almost completely gone so we really had to get it right first time, the Beatles on the studio floor and us in the control room. John sucked a couple more Zubes, had a bit of a gargle with milk and away we went."
The original Top Notes version of Twist and Shout, produced by Phil Spector.
Twist and Shout was written by Phil Medley and Bert Russell, a pseudonym for songwriter Bert Berns. It was originally released in America in August 1961 by the Top Notes on the Atlantic label (45-2115), produced by a little known producer named Phil Spector. The single did not chart.
Berns felt that Spector had failed to capture the energy generated by the Top Notes' live performances, and decided to make a new recording of the song, with himself producing.
The new version, released in the UK by the Cincinnati group, The Isley Brothers in July 1962 on the StateSide label (SS 112), reached the lofty position of number 42 on the UK chart. In Revolution in the Head, critic Ian MacDonald says of the Isley Brothers version "the bass is looser and the conception more spontaneously chaotic, with saxes and trumpets joining in on what is basically a party record with Latin overtones".
The Isley Brothers version of Twist and Shout, produced by songwriter Bert Berns.
Despite it's low chart placing, The Isley Brothers version of Twist and Shout attracted the attention of The Beatles, who were always on the lookout for obscure records to add to their act - this was their way of setting themselves apart from the other bands that vied for audience attention at the Cavern and in Hamburg. It was added to their act around August 1962. But where the Isleys had created a party record for American high school proms, the Beatles turned it into something far more feral - a record for late nights in Liverpool's sweat dripping Cavern and the strip clubs of the Hamburg Reeperbahn. Where the Isley Brothers version twisted at the hip, The Beatles twisted very firmly at the groin.
They didn't play the song every night, but it was one of a rotating number of songs. It was certainly part of their set when they supported Frank Ifield in Peterborough on 2 December 1962. Reviewer Lyndon Whittaker of the Peterbourgh Standard said:
"The exciting Beatles" rock group quite frankly failed to excite me. The drummer apparently thought that his job was to lead, not to provide rhythm. He made far too much noise and in their final number "Twist and Shout" it sounded as though everyone was trying to make more noise than the others. In a more mellow mood, their "A Taste of Honey" was much better and "Love Me Do" was tolerable.
(Source: Lyndon Whittaker, The Peterbourgh Standard, 7 December 1962, quoted in The Beatles Live, Mark Lewisohn, Henry Holt & Co, 1986 (p118),
also in Tune In: The Beatles: All These Years, Mark Lewisohn, Crown Archetype, 2013 (p816))
So in Abbey Road Studio Two, with Lennon stripped to the waist, and with the others treating the control room staff as their audience, The Beatles went for it.The song was completed in one take. As Alan Smith said in his NME article, a second take was made, but Lennon had given his all, and though the performance was complete, his voice had gone. Lennon's performance is arguably one of the most stunning rock and roll achievements of all time. In the control room, Martin, the two Smiths and Langham were stunned. Going by McCartney's triumphant "Hey" at the end, The Beatles perhaps surprised even themselves.
So it seems that Twist and Shout, one of the all time great recordings, might not have happened at all if The Beatles had been able to nail Hold Me Tight - certainly one of the lesser songs in the Lennon/McCartney canon.
,
Bruce Spizer and Frank Daniels, 498 Productions 2011,
,
John C.Winn, Three Rivers Press 2008,
, Andy Babuick, Backbeat Books 2002)
compilation album should be integrated into the standard UK releases. The Magical Mystery Tour double EP had been released in the UK on 8 December 1967. It contained the songs
, Track 7
, Track 1
, Disc 1 Track 1
, Track 6
contains a wealth of Beatle classics, released between 1965 (or 1966 if you are American) and 1967, as well as three songs recorded with little enthusiasm specifically for the film, and one song recorded for 
(or
if you are American), three from 
and five from 
and originally appeared on the 
.
David Pritchard & Alan Lysaght, Hyperion, 1998 (pp117-118))
Mark Lewisohn, Hamlyn, 1988 (p10))
, critic Ian MacDonald says of the Isley Brothers version "the bass is looser and the conception more spontaneously chaotic, with saxes and trumpets joining in on what is basically a party record with Latin overtones".
, Mark Lewisohn, Henry Holt & Co, 1986 (p118),
, Mark Lewisohn, Crown Archetype, 2013 (p816))