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- Album Songs recorded during this session officially appear on the The Ballad Of John And Yoko / Old Brown Shoe (UK - 1969) 7" Single.
- Studio:
- EMI Studios, Abbey Road
Timeline
More from year 1969
Some songs from this session appear on:
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About
On the day of his 26th birthday, George Harrison went to Abbey Road Studios to record demos of three of his recent compositions, “Old Brown Shoe“, “All Things Must Pass” and “Something“.
“Old Brown Shoe” had been rehearsed by The Beatles during the “Get Back” sessions on January 27, January 28 and January 29, 1969. On this day, George recorded a basic track with vocal and piano. He then added an electric rhythm guitar overdub throughout the song. An electric guitar solo was then added during the instrumental verse. The basic track with those overdubs was released on “Anthology 3” in 1996.
Of the three demos created by George Harrison on 25 February 1969 this is the most elaborate: after a live vocal along with a piano track he then overdubbed electric guitar and, rolling the tape from the top for a third time, further guitar passages for the bridge and coda.
From the “Anthology 3” liner notes
The second demo of the day was “All Things Must Pass“, a song George would release on his first solo album and eponym album in 1970. Like “Old Brown Shoe“, this song has been rehearsed during the “Get Back” sessions, first brought to consideration on January 3, 1969.
For this demo, George recorded a basic track with vocals and guitar. A guitar overdub was then added, and his vocals were double-tracked. The end result was released on “Anthology 3” in 1996.
During the Beatles’ January 1969 Get Back sessions George Harrison frequently suggested this new composition as a contender, but it wasn’t until he took time out to record a solo demo of the song a month later that it was first put on to multi-track tape. It was then another year and a half before George taped the definitive studio recording, the song going on to grace – and give the title to – his first post-Beatles work, a triple-album issued at the end of 1970.
This charming demo – guitar and vocal, with a second guitar passage overdubbed – is one of three that the artist recorded on the occasion of his 26th birthday. The other two (Old Brown Shoe and Something) appear later in this collection.
From the “Anthology 3” liner notes
“Something” had also been rehearsed during the “Get Back” sessions on January 28 and January 29. For this third demo of the day, George recorded a basic track with vocal and guitar. This was released on “Anthology 3” in 1996.
The final solo demo recorded by George Harrison on his 26th birthday resulted in the first commitment to tape of the beautiful Something, destined for the album Abbey Road (recording spanned April to August 1969), George’s first A-side composition for the Beatles when it was issued as a single that October, and hundreds of cover versions. The demo is simplicity itself: a live-in-one-take electric guitar/vocal performance that, in addition to definitive lyric, also embraced a counter-melody verse later dropped. Shortly after taping this demo George participated in a session during which Joe Cocker became the first artist – ahead of the Beatles, even – to record this major new composition; his version did not come out until November 1969, however, by which time Abbey Road and the Something single had been issued.
From the “Anthology 3” liner notes
He then overdubbed some piano parts. The basic track with overdubs was released on “Abbey Road (50th anniversary boxset)” in 2019.
(Mark Lewisohn mentioned Ken Scott as being the engineer for this session ; but Ken Scott in his autobiography explained that he was not in charge: maintenance engineer Brian Gibson tracked this session with George)
Last updated on November 27, 2021
Songs recorded
1.
2.
Written by George Harrison
Recording • Take 2 (with overdubs)
Album Officially released on Anthology 3
3.
4.
Written by George Harrison
Recording • Take 2 (with overdubs)
Album Officially released on Anthology 3
5.
6.
Written by George Harrison
Recording • Piano overdubs onto take 1
Album Officially released on Abbey Road (50th anniversary boxset)
Staff
Musicians on "Something"
- George Harrison:
- Guitar, Vocal, Piano
Musicians on "Old Brown Shoe"
- George Harrison:
- Vocal, Piano, Guitars
Musicians on "All Things Must Pass"
- George Harrison:
- Guitars, Vocals
Production staff
- Brian Gibson:
- Engineer
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!
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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