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- Album Songs recorded during this session officially appear on the Abbey Road LP.
- Studio:
- EMI Studios, Studio Two, Abbey Road
Some songs from this session appear on:
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About
This 4:30 pm to 4:15 am session started with Paul McCartney recording his first lead vocal for his composition “Oh! Darling“, wiping Billy Preston’s organ recorded on April 20 in the process.
Paul would re-record this lead vocal on July 17, 18, 22 and 23 to reach the desired quality.
The Beatles then work on Ringo Starr’s composition “Octopus’s Garden“. After some rehearsals to perfect the arrangement, they recorded 32 takes of the backing track, with Paul on bass (track one), Ringo on drums (track two) and guide vocals (track eight), George Harrison on electric guitar (track three) and John Lennon on rhythm guitar (track four).
Take 2 was released on “Anthology 3” in 1996.
In August 1968, two months after recording his first solo song composition Don’t Pass Me By, Ringo took a break from the White Album sessions and, while on holiday, was inspired to begin writing a second number, Octopus’s Garden. The piece developed over the next few months and, in April 1969, the Beatles recorded the basic track for Abbey Road. Knowing that he would re-record his vocal as an overdub, Ringo sang a guide while playing the drums, with Paul contributing bass and John and George guitars. The master, Take 32, was brimful of added sound effects and backing vocals, but this Anthology selection is Take 2, concluding with a humorously ironic statement from the end of Take 8.
From the liner notes of “Anthology 3“
The incomplete take 9 was released on “Abbey Road (50th anniversary boxset)” in 2019.
Take 32 was considered to be the best and would receive its first overdubs on April 29, 1969.
Last updated on December 28, 2021
Songs recorded
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Written by Ringo Starr
Recording • Take 9
Album Officially released on Abbey Road (50th anniversary boxset)
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.
27.
28.
29.
30.
31.
32.
33.
Staff
Musicians on "Octopus's Garden"
- Paul McCartney:
- Bass
- Ringo Starr:
- Drums, Lead vocals
- John Lennon:
- Rhythm guitar
- George Harrison:
- Electric guitar
Production staff
Going further
The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions • Mark Lewisohn
The definitive guide for every Beatles recording sessions from 1962 to 1970.
We owe a lot to Mark Lewisohn for the creation of those session pages, but you really have to buy this book to get all the details - the number of takes for each song, who contributed what, a description of the context and how each session went, various photographies... And an introductory interview with Paul McCartney!
Solid State: The Story of "Abbey Road" and the End of the Beatles
Acclaimed Beatles historian Kenneth Womack offers the most definitive account yet of the writing, recording, mixing, and reception of Abbey Road. In February 1969, the Beatles began working on what became their final album together. Abbey Road introduced a number of new techniques and technologies to the Beatles' sound, and included "Come Together," "Something," and "Here Comes the Sun," which all emerged as classics.
If we like to think, in all modesty, that the Paul McCartney Project is the best online ressource for everything Paul McCartney, The Beatles Bible is for sure the definitive online site focused on the Beatles. There are obviously some overlap in terms of content between the two sites, but also some major differences in terms of approach.
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