Thursday, August 21, 1969
Mixing the "Abbey Road" medley
For The Beatles
Last updated on April 27, 2025
Thursday, August 21, 1969
For The Beatles
Last updated on April 27, 2025
Feb 22 - Aug 25, 1969 • Songs recorded during this session appear on Abbey Road
Previous session Aug 20, 1969 • Mixing "I Want You (She's So Heavy)"
Article Aug 21, 1969 • Adagrose Ltd becomes McCartney Productions Ltd
Article Aug 21, 1969 • Apple Corps' first annual board meeting
Session Aug 21, 1969 • Mixing the "Abbey Road" medley
Article Aug 22, 1969 • The Beatles' last photo session
AlbumSome of the songs worked on during this session were first released on the "Abbey Road" LP
At this late stage — after the master tape of the “Abbey Road” album had been assembled the previous day — it was discovered that the orchestral part on “The End” was slightly out of sync with The Beatles’ performance. To address this, a session was held from 1 pm to 2 pm in Room 4 of EMI Studios, where engineer Phil McDonald prepared a tape copy to isolate the orchestra track onto a separate tape.
A second session then took place in the control room of Studio Two, from 2:30 pm to midnight.
On August 14, eleven attempts had been made to crossfade “You Never Give Me Your Money” into “Sun King / Mean Mr. Mustard,” using tape loops assembled by Paul McCartney on August 5. On this day, a further attempt was made — and this became the version used on “Abbey Road.”
Attention then returned to “The End,” which was remixed to correct the sync issue between the band and the orchestra. Only one remix (labelled Remix Stereo 4) was needed, and this version was used for the album, pending a final edit completed on August 25.
Those changes were then reinserted into the album’s master reel.
The Beatles were a challenge because they always wanted to add more. We actually filled up the 8-track; there was no room when we wanted to add the big sweeping strings on the last few bars of ‘The End’. So we recorded it ‘wild’ on a separate 4-track with the 8-track playing. Then I had to press the button at exactly the right time to play that ‘wild’ recording onto the mix.
Alan Parsons – Assistant engineer – From Uncut Magazine, October 2019
To correct this, track three with the strings and brass was transferred to another tape and ‘flown in’ from another machine during mixing.
From “Abbey Road” Super Deluxe edition book (2019)
Tape copying • Tape copying (take 7)
Mixing • Stereo crossfade remix 12, from sound effects take 5 of "You Never Give Me Your Money"
Mixing • Remix 4, from take 7
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!
The Beatles Recording Reference Manual: Volume 5: Let It Be through Abbey Road (1969 - 1970)
The fifth and final book of this critically acclaimed series, "The Beatles Recording Reference Manual: Volume 5: Let It Be through Abbey Road (1969 - 1970)" follows The Beatles as they "get back to where they once belonged...". Not once, but twice. With "Let It Be", they attempted to recapture the spontaneity of their early years and recordings, while "Abbey Road" was a different kind of return - to the complexity, finish and polish that they had applied to their work beginning with "Revolver" and through to "The Beatles".
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 modestly consider the Paul McCartney Project to be the premier online resource for all things Paul McCartney, it is undeniable that The Beatles Bible stands as the definitive online site dedicated to the Beatles. While there is some overlap in content between the two sites, they differ significantly in their approach.
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