Anthology 3 (2016 remaster)
By The Beatles • Official album • Part of the collection “The Beatles • Post break-up albums”
By The Beatles • Official album • Part of the collection “The Beatles • Post break-up albums”
This album was recorded during the following studio sessions:
Written by George Martin
0:50 • Outtake • A2016 • Stereo • Designed as an introduction to Ringo's composition Don't Pass Me By, this George Martin orchestral arrangement - soaring flutes, harps, violins, violas, cellos, clarinets, bass and other instruments - has remained unissued until now. This piece was recorded during the session that fashioned the orchestral overdub for Good Night, the closing track on The Beatles (better known as the White Album), and utilised the same musicians.
George Martin : Producer Ken Scott : Recording engineer Unknown musician(s) : Clarinet, Double bass, French horn, Harp, Three cellos, Three flutes, Three violas, Twelve violins, Vibraphone
Session Recording: Jul 22, 1968 • Studio EMI Studios, Studio One, Abbey Road
2:15 • Demo • C2016 • Mono • Esher demo. 2016 remaster
John Lennon : Acoustic guitar, Vocals
Session Recording: Late May 1968 • Studio George Harrison's Home, Kinfauns, Esher, Surrey, UK
4:38 • Outtake • C2016 • Mono • Part of take 2. [...] Take 2, which runs in excess of 12 minutes, has been respectfully pruned to under five here, preserving the essential elements of what was, fundamentally, an impromptu jam. Following balance engineer Ken Scott's "Take 2" announcement the band immediately begins the slow, insistent groove on top of which Paul adds his compelling vocal; the mix is mono to compensate for the track configuration on the original tape: all the instruments appeared on one track, the vocal was isolated on a second and the two remaining tracks were vacant.
George Martin : Producer Ken Scott : Recording engineer
Session Recording: Jul 18, 1968 • Studio EMI Studios, Studio Two, Abbey Road
1:58 • Demo • B2016 • Mono • John only.
Session Recording: Late May 1968 • Studio George Harrison's Home, Kinfauns, Esher, Surrey, UK
1:26 • Demo • B2016 • Mono • John only.
Session Recording: Late May 1968 • Studio George Harrison's Home, Kinfauns, Esher, Surrey, UK
1:51 • Demo • D2016 • Mono • Esher demo
John Lennon : Acoustic guitar, Vocals Unknown musician(s) : Tambourine
Session Recording: Late May 1968 • Studio George Harrison's Home, Kinfauns, Esher, Surrey, UK
Written by Paul McCartney
2:25 • Demo • B2016 • Mono • Junk was composed when the Beatles were in India in Spring 1968, but the group never taped a formal studio version and the song remained unissued until April 1970, when it appeared on Paul's first post-Beatles album McCartney, re-recorded in much the same acoustic style as at Esher.
Performed by : Paul McCartney
Session Recording: Late May 1968 • Studio George Harrison's Home, Kinfauns, Esher, Surrey, UK
Written by George Harrison
2:01 • Demo • C2016 • Mono • Esher demo
George Harrison : Acoustic guitar, Vocals, Whistling
Session Recording: Late May 1968 • Studio George Harrison's Home, Kinfauns, Esher, Surrey, UK
1:19 • Demo • C2016 • Stereo • Esher Demo
Paul McCartney : Acoustic guitar, Lead vocals Ringo Starr : Percussion (?), Tambourine (?) John Lennon : Percussion (?), Tambourine (?) George Harrison : Percussion (?), Tambourine (?)
Session Recording: Late May 1968 • Studio George Harrison's Home, Kinfauns, Esher, Surrey, UK
Written by Ringo Starr
2:42 • Outtake • C2016 • Stereo • Takes 3 and 5. This recording of Don't Pass Me By - Ringo's first song composition - is a variation of the White Album basic master, before the distinctive country fiddle part was added. It combines the instrumentation from Take 3 with a vocal that Ringo overdubbed the following day on to Take 5 (which was in itself a reduction mix or "bounce" of the third take).
Paul McCartney : Drums Ringo Starr : Lead vocal, Piano
Session Recording: Jun 05, 1968 • Studio EMI Studios, Studio Three, Abbey Road
Session Recording: Jun 06, 1968 • Studio EMI Studios, Studio Two, Abbey Road
2:56 • Outtake • C2016 • Stereo • Alternate version. The fruit of three days' work in number two studio at Abbey Road, this outtake of Paul's Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da included overdubs of three saxophones and conga drums. Passed over in favour of a re-make that began the following week, however, it proved the first instance that the Beatles had brought in session musicians to augment a recording that would remain unissued.
Paul McCartney : Acoustic guitar, Bass part on distorted acoustic guitar, Vocals Ringo Starr : Drums John Lennon : Acoustic guitar, Backing vocals George Harrison : Acoustic guitar, Backing vocals George Martin : Producer Geoff Emerick : Engineer, Recording engineer Rex Morris : Saxophone Richard Lush : Second engineer James Gray : Saxophone Jimmy Scott : Conga drum Cyril Reuben : Saxophone
Session Recording: Jul 03, 1968 • Studio EMI Studios, Studio Two, Abbey Road
Session Overdubs: Jul 04, 1968 • Studio EMI Studios, Studio Two, Abbey Road
Session Overdubs: Jul 05, 1968 • Studio EMI Studios, Studio Two, Abbey Road
2:38 • Outtake • C2016 • Stereo • Rehearsal and take 34. [...] On the evidence of this eavesdrop into song's first session, the transferral of composition to tape was very much a united effort, with all four Beatles and producer George Martin pitching in ideas and opinions. The performance was not numbered "take" but, rather, a rehearsal that happened to be recorded. [...]
George Martin : Producer Geoff Emerick : Recording engineer Ken Scott : Recording engineer
Session Recording: Jun 28, 1968 • Studio EMI Studios, Studio Two, Abbey Road
Session Recording: Jul 22, 1968 • Studio EMI Studios, Studio One, Abbey Road
2:47 • Outtake • C2016 • Stereo • Take 1. The basic master of John Lennon's Cry Baby Cry was captured at the end of a mid-evening recording session in Abbey Road on 16 July 1968. Five hours earlier this Anthology selection - Take 1 - was laid down, performed live at the studio, without overdubs. Although never used, it proved that the players were immediately on the right track.
Session Recording: Jul 16, 1968 • Studio EMI Studios, Studio Two, Abbey Road
2:19 • Outtake • C2016 • Stereo • Take 23 (mislabelled as Take 4). Recorded by Paul alone - as indeed was the White Album master version - this is Take 4 of Blackbird, an unadorned acoustic guitar and vocal performance that captured well the essence of his new song, and may even have been usable at the time were it not for unwanted background noises [...]
Paul McCartney : Acoustic guitar, Foot taps, Lead vocals George Martin : Producer Geoff Emerick : Recording engineer
Session Recording: Jun 11, 1968
4:06 • Outtake • C2016 • Stereo • Take 6. Recorded a month earlier and at a slower tempo than the master (which was numbered 117, although nowhere near as many takes had been recorded), this is Take 6 of Sexy Sadie, featuring the basic line-up of electric guitar, drums, organ, and a vocal from the composer John Lennon. The recording is faded out at the end because, at this point, the coda had not been finalised.
Paul McCartney : Organ Ringo Starr : Drums John Lennon : Acoustic guitar, Lead vocal George Harrison : Electric guitar George Martin : Producer Ken Scott : Recording engineer
Session Recording: Jul 19, 1968 • Studio EMI Studios, Studio Two, Abbey Road
Written by George Harrison
3:27 • Demo • C2016 • Stereo • Having withheld his own new composition since the White Album sessions started eight weeks earlier, George Harrison waited no longer and recorded this eloquent demo of While My Guitar Gently Weeps, the first of five songs he contributed to the growing collection. The song would undergo two re-makes between this date and 6 September, when the master was completed, and become significantly heavier in the process - the final version featuring a lead guitar track played by guest Eric Clapton. The first studio recording could scarcely be more different, George singing live to his own acoustic guitar accompaniment (augmented by an organ part played by Paul), and incorporating an additional verse omitted from later version.
Paul McCartney : Harmonium George Harrison : Acoustic guitar, Vocals George Martin : Producer Ken Scott : Recording engineer
Session Recording: Jul 25, 1968 • Studio EMI Studios, Studio Two, Abbey Road
Written by George Harrison
3:22 • Outtake • A2016 • Stereo • Take 102. The Beatles spent three nights recording the basic track of George Harrison's Not Guilty, until they pronounced the 99th the "best" take and freed space in a tape-to-tape reduction mixdown for George to overdub his vocal. Curiously, though, once he had done so, and the recording was completed, it was decided to leave it off the White Album, the song remaining unheard until 1979, when George recorded an acoustic remake for his album George Harrison. But this Beatles version (Take 102), heavier in approach, has not been issued until now.
Ken Scott : Recording engineer
Session Recording: Aug 08, 1968 • Studio EMI Studios, Studio Two, Abbey Road
Session Overdubs: Aug 09, 1968 • Studio EMI Studios, Studio Two, Abbey Road
Session Overdubs: Aug 12, 1968 • Studio EMI Studios, Studio Two, Abbey Road
2:08 • Outtake • C2016 • Mono • This mono mix of Glass Onion, made on 26 September 1968, encompasses sound effects compiled by John Lennon for his song: a telephone, an organ note, the smashing of glass and the then BBC-tv soccer commentator Kenneth Wolstenholme acclaiming "It's a goal!" over the sound of a roaring crowd. George Martin, on holiday at the time, heard the mix on his return and suggested a different approach: he scored the song for a string arrangement, recorded on 10 October, that rendered this mix and the FX ideas redundant and the tape to the vault shelf labelled "do not use".
Paul McCartney : Bass, Piano, Recorder Ringo Starr : Drums, Tambourine John Lennon : Acoustic guitar, Vocals George Harrison : Lead guitar George Martin : Producer Chris Thomas : Producer, Recorder Ken Scott : Recording engineer
Session Recording: Sep 11, 1968 • Studio EMI Studios, Studio Two, Abbey Road
Session Overdubs: Sep 12, 13, 16 - 1968 • Studio EMI Studios, Abbey Road
Session Mixing: Sep 26, 1968 • Studio EMI Studios, Studio Two, Abbey Road
4:13 • Outtake • C2016 • Stereo • Take 8
George Martin : Producer Ken Scott : Recording engineer
Session Recording: Aug 15, 1968 • Studio EMI Studios, Studio Two, Abbey Road
4:21 • Outtake • C2016 • Stereo • Live-in-the-studio outtake. While the master version - issued at the end of August 1968 - was long and lavish, this studio run-through of Hey Jude, taped four days earlier, is comparatively abbreviated and purposely stripped-down: live piano and vocal from Paul, live drums, acoustic and electric guitars. The take begins in a jestful manner: John speaks of "the heart of the Black country", the name of the old smoke-stack industrial region in the middle of England, and Paul responds with a mention of Boston Place, a small London street where the Beatles' company Apple had just installed an electronics laboratory. (Also, the Beatles had been filmed running along Boston Place for the title sequence of A Hard Day's Night.)
Paul McCartney : Piano, Vocal Ringo Starr : Drums John Lennon : Acoustic guitar George Harrison : Electric guitar Ken Scott : Recording engineer
Session Recording: Jul 29, 1968 • Studio EMI Studios, Studio Two, Abbey Road
3:17 • Outtake • C2016 • Stereo • Take 2. Its lyrics inspired by the text of a lecture heard in Spring in India, the basic track of Mother's Nature Son was recorded one summer's evening in London a few months later. The White Album master was Take 26, a reduction of the "best" take (24) with overdubbed drums, timpani, brass and a second acoustic guitar passage, the brass players being the only musicians apart from Paul McCartney to play on the recording of his new song. En route to the master the composer taped a succession of strictly solo pieces, seeking out the right sound and feel - this Anthology selection is Take 2, the opening strand of conversation emphasising well the willingness, common to all Beatles, to seize upon a new sound or effect, whether discovered accidentally or otherwise.
Paul McCartney : Acoustic guitar, Vocals George Martin : Producer Ken Scott : Recording engineer
Session Recording: Aug 09, 1968 • Studio EMI Studios, Studio Two, Abbey Road
6:12 • Outtake • A2016 • Stereo • Take 4. What's The New Mary Jane was in the running for a place on the White Album but fell at the final hurdle - remaining unissued until now. The piece was John's, and, of the four Beatles, only he and George are present. Contrary to its seemingly free-form nature, What's The New Mary Jane had a pre-planned structure, the other takes recorded at this EMI session - and also a demo recorded at Esher three months previously - proving so. The Anthology version is Take 4, the one marked "best" on the tape box at the end of the evening's work in number two studio at Abbey Road, featuring double-tracked piano and vocals (John), double-tracked guitar (George), and multitudinous sound effects contributed by Yoko Ono and the Beatles' assistant Mal Evans.
John Lennon : Piano, Vocals George Harrison : Acoustic guitar George Martin : Producer Mal Evans : Accordion, Football rattle, Hand bell, Ripping paper percussion, Swanee whistle, Tambourine, Vibraphone Yoko Ono : Accordion, Football rattle, Hand bell, Ripping paper percussion, Swanee whistle, Tambourine, Vibraphone, Vocals Ken Scott : Recording engineer
Session Recording: Aug 14, 1968 • Studio EMI Studios, Studio Two, Abbey Road
Medley
2:31 • Outtake • B2016 • Stereo • Medley with "Los Paranoias". During a light-hearted recording session for I Will, Paul frequently slipped into "jamming" mode, sometimes at the behest of John and Ringo who were sitting close at hand providing the percussion that augmented his acoustic guitar track. On of the off-the-cuff pieces was Step Inside Love - written by Paul in 1967 expressly for Cilla Black to sing as the theme tune for her first TV series, Cilla, that began on the BBC on 30 January 1968. The Beatles never recorded a formal studio recording of the song, and this version, performed by the composer many months after Cilla's recording, was simply an ad-lib re-acquaintance with the piece.
Paul McCartney : Acoustic guitar, Vocals Ringo Starr : Claves John Lennon : Percussion Chris Thomas : Producer Ken Scott : Recording engineer
Session Recording: Sep 16, 1968 • Studio EMI Studios, Studio Two, Abbey Road
2:14 • Outtake • C2016 • Stereo • Takes 3, 6 and 9. [...] Now using eight-track recording machines on a regular basis for the first time, I'm So Tired was taped live, the master (Take 14) including minimal overdubbing. John would often perform a vocal with every take, and all the outtakes of I'm So Tired have one - presented here is an amalgam of takes 3, 6 and 9 that embrace all the best moments.
George Martin : Producer Ken Scott : Recording engineer
Session Recording: Oct 08, 1968 • Studio EMI Studios, Studio Two, Abbey Road
1:55 • Outtake • C2016 • Stereo • Take 1. From the same session as the Step Inside Love and Los Paranoias jams, this is Take 1 of I Will, in which Paul sang and played acoustic guitar while John and Ringo added a percussive accompaniment. Paul would have realised quite early on - if not beforehand, indeed - that this performance would not be the master (which turned out to be Take 67) but as a first run-through it captures all the essential ingredients.
Paul McCartney : Acoustic guitars, Lead vocal Ringo Starr : Drums John Lennon : Maracas, Skulls Chris Thomas : Producer Ken Scott : Recording engineer
Session Recording: Sep 16, 1968 • Studio EMI Studios, Studio Two, Abbey Road
Why Don't We Do It In The Road?
2:15 • Outtake • C2016 • Mono • Take 4. The White Album version does not suggest so, but Why Don't We Do It In The Road started out as an acoustic number, and, moreover, had Paul alternating between gentle (if pleading) and strident vocal styles. The master (Take 5) was adorned with a number of overdubs that turned the song into much heavier piece, with every instrument bar Ringo's drums played by Paul himself. This is Take 4, performed solo.
Paul McCartney : Acoustic guitar, Vocal Ken Townsend : Recording engineer
Session Recording: Oct 09, 1968 • Studio EMI Studios, Abbey Road
1:57 • Outtake • C2016 • Stereo • Take 2. [John] performed it solo but was bolstered in his endeavours by Paul, up in the studio two control room, communicating with him by way of the talkback key. Take 2, featured here, is mostly instrumental, John attempting to capture the definitive acoustic guitar track. It broke down, but the next try, Take 3, would prove to be the master, and it was on to this that he overdubbed the vocal track.
John Lennon : Acoustic guitar, Vocals George Martin : Producer Ken Scott : Recording engineer
Session Recording: Oct 13, 1968 • Studio EMI Studios, Studio Two, Abbey Road
Medley
Written by Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, John Lennon, George Harrison
2:31 • Outtake • A2016 • Stereo • Medley with "Step Inside Love". [...] Then, prompted by one of John's comments, and preserving the frivolity of the moment, Paul led the other Beatles into a jam, Los Paranoias.
Paul McCartney : Acoustic guitar, Vocals Ringo Starr : Shaker John Lennon : Percussion Chris Thomas : Producer Ken Scott : Recording engineer
Session Recording: Sep 16, 1968 • Studio EMI Studios, Studio Two, Abbey Road
2:49 • Outtake • B2016 • Stereo • Preston's electric piano work is evident on this recording of the new Lennon-McCartney collaboration I've Got A Feeling, which was a good, tight performance until it broke down near the end - for which John instantly accepted responsibility.
Glyn Johns : Recording engineer
Session Recording: Jan 23, 1969 • Studio Apple Studios, 3 Savile Row, London
She Came In Through The Bathroom Window
3:37 • Outtake • B2016 • Stereo • Recording from the first day of the Savile Row sessions. The performance of She Came In Through The Bathroom Window is a rehearsal, Paul running the Beatles through one of his latest compositions. The song did not surface again in these Get Back sessions but, uptempo, would become a part of the Abbey Road medley, for which it was recorded in July 1969.
Glyn Johns : Recording engineer
Session Recording: Jan 21, 1969 • Studio Apple Studios, 3 Savile Row, London
4:18 • Outtake • B2016 • Stereo • Also taped this day in Savile Row were several run-throughs of a new John Lennon song, Dig A Pony, one of which is presented here. The "all I want is" backing vocals at the start and end were always an integral part of the song but were mixed out during production of the album Let It Be. The performance is clearly an improvement over previous ones, according to the conversation at the end of the song, with John citing the name "Ricky and the Red Streaks", suggested by Paul around this time as a possible on-the-road pseudonym for the Beatles.
Glyn Johns : Recording engineer
Session Recording: Jan 22, 1969 • Studio Apple Studios, 3 Savile Row, London
3:27 • Outtake • B2016 • Stereo • Written by Paul and sung as a duet with John, Two Of Us captures the essence of the Get Back sessions: performed live - and carrying on despite intermittent feedback - the Beatles were both routining and recording at the same time, honing each song with constant re-playing. Here, the proximity of the two men at the microphone prompted Paul's "Take it, Phil" encouragement to John, a reference to the Everly Brothers who performed in a similar manner.
Glyn Johns : Recording engineer
Session Recording: Jan 24, 1969 • Studio Apple Studios, 3 Savile Row, London
Written by George Harrison
2:23 • Outtake • B2016 • Stereo • Take 1. A good band performance - acoustic guitar (George), slide guitar (John), piano (Paul) and drums (Ringo) - of George Harrison's happy twelve-bar blues. All the recordings of this song were done on the same day, but the version on the album Let It Be featured a lead vocal re-recorded by George on 8 January 1970.
Paul McCartney : Piano Ringo Starr : Drums John Lennon : Electric lap steel slide guitar George Harrison : Acoustic guitar Glyn Johns : Recording engineer
Session Recording: Jan 25, 1969 • Studio Apple Studios, 3 Savile Row, London
Written by Paul McCartney
3:18 • Outtake • B2016 • Stereo • A combination of two performances of Teddy Boy [...] Neither was an attempt at laying down a definitive "take", hence the talking in the background, John's barn-dance calls and the feedback, but Paul was clearly using the opportunity to offer up his new song for consideration by the others.
Glyn Johns : Recording engineer
Session Recording: Jan 24, 1969 • Studio Apple Studios, 3 Savile Row, London
Session Recording: Jan 28, 1969 • Studio Apple Studios, 3 Savile Row, London
Medley
Written by Robert Blackwell, John Marascalco
3:11 • Outtake • A2016 • Stereo
Paul McCartney : Lead vocal, Piano Ringo Starr : Drums John Lennon : Electric guitar, Lead vocal George Martin : Producer Glyn Johns : Recording engineer Billy Preston : Organ
Session Recording: Jan 26, 1969 • Studio Apple Studios, 3 Savile Row, London
3:41 • Outtake • D2016 • Stereo • A comparison of this recording of The Long And The Winding Road and the one on the 1970 album Let It Be will reveal that they are the same; the Anthology presentation is "as nature intended" however, featuring only the Beatles' and Billy Preston's instrumentation, whereas the Let It Be version was dressed up with orchestral and choral tracks produced by Phil Spector during a special overdub session, in composer Paul McCartney's absence, on 1 April 1970.
George Martin : Producer Glyn Johns : Recording engineer
Session Recording: Jan 26, 1969 • Studio Apple Studios, 3 Savile Row, London
4:08 • Outtake • B2016 • Stereo • Faded up a few seconds into the performance because the tape-machine operator missed the start, this is the Beatles routining another new Paul McCartney song that came to rest not with the Get Back/Let It Be project but on the later Abbey Road album. (That version was recorded May to August 1969.) Paul plays bass guitar here so the piece lacks the later version's piano foundation, although Billy Preston does contribute a keyboard part, and it soon develops into a jam, culminating in a newsflash that a clearly delighted John Lennon was quick to share with his fellow bandsmen.
George Martin : Producer Glyn Johns : Recording engineer
Session Recording: Jan 27, 1969 • Studio Apple Studios, 3 Savile Row, London
All Things Must Pass
3:05 • Demo • Stereo • 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. [...] 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.
George Harrison : Guitars, Vocals Brian Gibson : Engineer
Session Recording: Feb 25, 1969 • Studio EMI Studios, Abbey Road
Mailman, Bring Me No More Blues
Written by Ruth Roberts, Bill Katz, Stanley Clayton
1:56 • Outtake • A2016 • Stereo • The Beatles entered into a Buddy Holly groove during their eighth Apple Studios session, especially coming together with this cover of Mailman, Bring Me No More Blues, with John Lennon clearly attempting to emulate Holly's distinct vocal style. [...]
Paul McCartney : Bass, Vocals Ringo Starr : Drums John Lennon : Guitar, Vocals George Harrison : Guitar George Martin : Producer Glyn Johns : Recording engineer
Session Recording: Jan 29, 1969 • Studio Apple Studios, 3 Savile Row, London
3:09 • Outtake • D2016 • Stereo • [...] Owing to the distracting presence of the police, which prompted some ad-libbing by Paul at the end, there was little chance of this number (the third rooftop performance of Get Back) being too accomplished; indeed, it was further hampered by the early silencing of John and George's amplifiers - a matter quickly rectified by the guitarists - so for a while only Paul's bass, Ringo's drums and Billy Preston's keyboard are audible. All the same, this is an historic moment: the Beatles are singing the last song in their last live performance.
Concert From "The rooftop concert" in London, United Kingdom on Jan 30, 1969
Written by George Harrison
3:03 • Outtake • B2016 • Stereo • 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.
George Harrison : Guitars, Piano, Vocal Brian Gibson : Engineer
Session Recording: Feb 25, 1969 • Studio EMI Studios, Abbey Road
Written by Ringo Starr
2:49 • Outtake • B2016 • Stereo • Takes 2 and 8. 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.
Paul McCartney : Bass Ringo Starr : Drums, Lead vocals John Lennon : Rhythm guitar George Harrison : Electric guitar Jeff Jarratt : Recording engineer
Session Recording: Apr 26, 1969 • Studio EMI Studios, Studio Two, Abbey Road
3:50 • Outtake • B2016 • Stereo • Take 5 - Presented here is the previously unreleased Take 5, lacking the many overdubbed elements - the anvil for one - that would feature in the master.
Paul McCartney : Piano, Vocals Ringo Starr : Drums George Harrison : Bass George Martin : Producer Phil McDonald : Recording engineer
Session Recording: Jul 09, 1969 • Studio EMI Studios, Studio Two, Abbey Road
Written by George Harrison
3:19 • Demo • B2016 • Mono • 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.
George Harrison : Guitar, Vocal Brian Gibson : Engineer
Session Recording: Feb 25, 1969 • Studio EMI Studios, Abbey Road
3:40 • Outtake • C2016 • Stereo • Take 1 - Not playing an instrument, John clapped his hands while singing, adding tambourine late in the piece, with the other Beatles contributing what for the first take is a notably cohesive bass, guitar and drums backing to fill out this four-track recording. The absence of the echo that, at John's request, would smother the master version lends a stark clarity to the lyrics, which altered slightly when the definitive vocal was overdubbed.
Paul McCartney : Bass Ringo Starr : Drums John Lennon : Handclaps, Lead vocal, Tambourine George Harrison : Guitar George Martin : Producer Geoff Emerick : Recording engineer Phil McDonald : Recording engineer
Session Recording: Jul 21, 1969 • Studio EMI Studios, Abbey Road
Written by Paul McCartney
2:30 • Demo • B2016 • Stereo • Ahead of the Beatles' latest session for Abbey Road, Paul McCartney arrived at EMI early this July afternoon and assembled a solo demo of a new composition, Come And Get It, that he was offering exclusively to be Apple label group the Iveys. First he sang and played the piano, then he double-tracked his vocal and shook maracas, then added drums and, finally, overlaid bass guitar. The process took less than an hour, and nine days later Paul produced the Iveys' version, almost identical to his, which - released after they changed their name to Badfinger - became a Top Five single and the main theme for the Peter Sellers/Ringo Starr movie The Magic Christian.
Paul McCartney : Bass, Drums, Maracas, Piano, Vocals George Martin : Producer Phil McDonald : Recording engineer
Session Recording: Jul 24, 1969 • Studio EMI Studios, Studio Two, Abbey Road
Written by Milton Ager, Jack Yellen
2:09 • Outtake • B2016 • Stereo • Later in the day, during the recording of the Abbey Road song Sun King, the Beatles ambled into a lighthearted jam that encompassed three Gene Vincent songs - Be-Pop-A-Lula, Who Slapped John? and, most enticingly, Ain't She Sweet, the standard from 1927 that Vincent had covered in 1956 and the Beatles themselves recorded in 1961 (issued on Anthology 1). Then they had performed an arrangement that vocalist John Lennon described as "a march", but in this 1969 jam they duplicated the softened style of Vincent's recording.
Paul McCartney : Bass Ringo Starr : Drums John Lennon : Rhythm guitar, Vocals George Harrison : Lead guitar George Martin : Producer Geoff Emerick : Recording engineer Phil McDonald : Recording engineer
Session Recording: Jul 24, 1969 • Studio EMI Studios, Studio Two, Abbey Road
2:24 • Outtake • B2016 • Stereo • Remixed vocals only. Using the fine acoustics of Abbey Road's Studio One, this remix exposes the exquisite vocal harmonies recorded by John Lennon, Paul McCartney and George Harrison for John's song Because. Clearly, the Beatles enjoyed an innate ability to harmonise, and in their earlier recording days had written two songs, This Boy and Yes It Is, with three-part vocals to the fore. Instrumentation on the Abbey Road mix of Because was sparse - spinet electric harpsichord, bass, electric guitar and overdubbed Moog synthesizer - but here it has been stripped away to reveal the nine voices (the vocals were recorded once and then overdubbed twice more by the three Beatles) in isolation.
Paul McCartney : Vocals John Lennon : Vocals George Harrison : Vocals George Martin : Producer Geoff Emerick : Recording engineer Phil McDonald : Recording engineer
Session Recording: Aug 01, 1969 • Studio EMI Studios, Studio Two, Abbey Road
Session Recording: Aug 04, 1969 • Studio EMI Studios, Studio Two, Abbey Road
4:05 • Outtake • D2016 • Stereo • Six days ahead of recording the master of Let It Be, Paul McCartney sat at the piano in Apple's basement studio and promised his three fellow Beatles a version of his new song that would "knock you out", even though he was still to write two of the verses (the ones beginning "And when the night is cloudy" and "I wake up to the song of music"). For effect, two pieces of John Lennon dialogue from that later 31 January session top and tail the piece, the closing discourse ("OK, let's track it. [Sharp intake of breath.] You bounder, you cheat!") emphasising once again the strictly live aspect of these Savile Row sessions: the Beatles were determined not to overdub (or "track") anything... but the temptation was there.
George Martin : Producer Glyn Johns : Recording engineer
Session Recording: Jan 25, 1969 • Studio Apple Studios, 3 Savile Row, London
Written by George Harrison
1:48 • Outtake • B2016 • Stereo • Pre-take 15 and take 16. A quick run-through of George Harrison's I Me Mine (shot in early January 1969 during the Twickenham rehearsal period of the Get Back project) was set for inclusion in the Let It Be film, indicating that it also should feature on the accompanying album. But as the song had never been committed to tape with any serious endeavour the Beatles convened again in number two studio at EMI - some five months after completing final album Abbey Road - and recorded their last new piece together. (The word "new" is an important qualifier, for work polishing up previously recorded material for Let It Be continued through to April.) But not all of the Beatles participated: John Lennon was on holiday, his absence prompting a telling remark - like a mock press statement - from George during the session, which precedes this Anthology recording.
Paul McCartney : Acoustic guitar, Bass, Electric piano, Hammond organ, Harmony vocals Ringo Starr : Drums George Harrison : Acoustic guitar, Eletric guitar, Harmony vocals, Vocals George Martin : Producer Phil McDonald : Recording engineer
Session Recording: Jan 03, 1970 • Studio EMI Studios, Studio Two, Abbey Road
2:51 • Outtake • B2016 • Stereo • No other group has delivered such an apt farewell as the Beatles: except for the brief Her Majesty, thrown into the Abbey Road master tape almost as an afterthought, the last song on the Beatles recorded it, only one of the seven basic track takes of this piece has vocals - the master, Take 7. The version presented here is a new remix, however, embracing numerous elements omitted during the mix sessions for Abbey Road. In particular, there is considerable more guitar, and a further appreciation of the "sparring" section can be gained - from 19 until 55 seconds in, Paul, George and John, in that order, take turns to play two-bars (about four seconds) of the guitar solo. The 30-piece orchestral overdub, taped at tremendous cost considering it lasts less than 20 seconds, also appears more prominently in this new mix.
Paul McCartney : Backing vocals, Bass, Lead guitar, Piano, Vocals Ringo Starr : Drums, Tambourine John Lennon : Lead guitar, Rhythm guitar George Harrison : Lead guitar, Rhythm guitar George Martin : Producer Geoff Emerick : Recording engineer Phil McDonald : Recording engineer Unknown musician(s) : 1 bass trombone, 1 double-bass, 1 trombone, 12 violins, 3 trumpets, 4 horns, 4 violas
Session Recording: Jul 23, 1969 • Studio EMI Studios, Studio Three, Abbey Road
Session Overdubs: 5, 7, 8, 15, 18 Aug 1969 • Studio EMI Studios, Abbey Road
Medley
Written by Charles E. Calhoun
3:11 • Outtake • A2016 • Stereo
Paul McCartney : Lead vocal, Piano Ringo Starr : Drums John Lennon : Electric guitar, Lead vocal George Martin : Producer Glyn Johns : Recording engineer Billy Preston : Organ
Session Recording: Jan 26, 1969 • Studio Apple Studios, 3 Savile Row, London
Written by Carl Perkins
3:11 • Outtake • A2016 • Stereo
Paul McCartney : Lead vocal, Piano Ringo Starr : Drums John Lennon : Electric guitar, Lead vocal George Martin : Producer Glyn Johns : Recording engineer Billy Preston : Organ
Session Recording: Jan 26, 1969 • Studio Apple Studios, 3 Savile Row, London
From Beatles Remastered ‘Anthology’ Albums Debut On All Streaming Services | Billboard, April 4, 2016:
We had to wait until last Christmas to hear the Beatles’ studio albums on streaming services. On Monday morning (Apr. 4) at 12:01 a.m., the Fab Four went all in, offering remastered version of their Anthology albums on all major services.
Anthology, Volumes 1-3, which were originally released in two-disc sets in 1995 and 1996, included rare and previously unreleased recordings, plus studio outtakes, alternate versions and singles “Free as a Bird” and “Real Love.” Upon their original release, the collections went multi-platinum in several countries and “Free as a Bird” (completed by George Harrison, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr from 1977 demos recorded by John Lennon) was the Beatles’ 34th top 10 hit in the U.S.
All three volumes were remastered at Abbey Road Studios by the same group of engineers who worked on the band’s Grammy-winning 2009 studio album remasters. The tracks can be heard on major international services including Apple Music, Deezer, Google Play, Microsoft Groove, Prime Music, Rhapsody, Slacker Radio, Spotify and Tidal, as well as dozens of local streaming partners around the world.
Notice any inaccuracies on this page? Have additional insights or ideas for new content? Or just want to share your thoughts? We value your feedback! Please use the form below to get in touch with us.
