Tuesday, August 19, 1969
Mixing "Golden Slumbers / Carry That Weight / The End", "Something", recording and mixing "Here Comes The Sun"
For The Beatles
Last updated on December 28, 2021
Tuesday, August 19, 1969
For The Beatles
Last updated on December 28, 2021
Feb 22 - Aug 25, 1969 • Songs recorded during this session appear on Abbey Road
Recording studio: EMI Studios, Studio Two, Abbey Road
Session Aug 17, 1969 • "Que Sera Sera" session
Session Aug 18, 1969 • Recording and mixing "Golden Slumbers", "Carry That Weight", "The End"
Session Aug 19, 1969 • Mixing "Golden Slumbers / Carry That Weight / The End", "Something", recording and mixing "Here Comes The Sun"
Session Aug 20, 1969 • Mixing "I Want You (She's So Heavy)"
Article Aug 21, 1969 • Adagrose Ltd becomes McCartney Productions Ltd
Some of the songs worked on during this session were first released on the "Abbey Road" LP.
By The Beatles
The previous day, six attempts at creating a stereo mix of “The End” had been done. This new day started, at 2 pm, with three additional attempts, numbered 1 to 3. Remix 3 was deemed the best at this stage, but further adjustments to the mix would be made on August 21 and August 25 (the very last two days of work on “Abbey Road“).
The engineering team then created the edit / cross-fade of “Golden Slumbers / Carry That Weight” into Remix 3 of “The End“.
The rest of the session, which ended at 4 am, was spent on finalizing George Harrison’s two songs for the new album, “Something” and “Here Comes The Sun“.
Ten attempts at creating the stereo mix of “Something” were made, remix 10 being deemed the best. With the addition of the orchestra arrangement, the instrumental coda intended to end the song disappeared. Remix 10 was released on “Abbey Road“.
When switching to “Here Comes The Sun“, George decided he wanted one last overdub to be made, using the Moog synthesizer he brought to EMI Studios early August.
Only one attempt at creating the stereo mix of “Here Comes The Sun” was then needed. This remix 1 was released on “Abbey Road“.
The Moog playing on ‘Here Comes The Sun’ is not at all gimmicky. It is tuneful and restrained. Recorded on track four of the tape, the synthesizer eased most of the woodwind arrangement that was already there. When ‘Here Comes The Sun’ was mixed, the Moog parts were ‘wobbled’ slightly by sticking some editing tape on the capstan of the tape machine used to create tape delay echo. During mixing, the eight-track tape was played back at slightly faster than normal speed. In doing so, the key was raised by roughly a quarter-tone.
From “Abbey Road” Super Deluxe edition book (2019)
Onto the tape box from this night was written the handwritten instruction: “Don’t use guitars for solo from 6 + 7”. This referred to an unused guitar solo, which was unheard by the general public until 2011.
One of the bonus items on the DVD/Blu-ray release of Martin Scorsese’s 2011 documentary George Harrison: Living In The Material World was a studio scene featuring Dhani Harrison, George Martin and Giles Martin listening to the Here Comes The Sun multi-track tapes. The tapes revealed the guitar solo, which was likely to have been recorded by Harrison on 6 August 1969.
From beatlesbible.com
Mixing • Stereo mixing - Remix 1 from take 7
Mixing • Stereo mixing - Remix 2 from take 7
Mixing • Stereo mixing - Remix 3 from take 7
Golden Slumbers / Carry That Weight / The End
Editing • Stereo mixing - crossfade/edit for master
Written by George Harrison
Mixing • Stereo mixing - Remix 1 from take 39
Written by George Harrison
Mixing • Stereo mixing - Remix 2 from take 39
Written by George Harrison
Mixing • Stereo mixing - Remix 3 from take 39
Written by George Harrison
Mixing • Stereo mixing - Remix 4 from take 39
Written by George Harrison
Mixing • Stereo mixing - Remix 5 from take 39
Written by George Harrison
Mixing • Stereo mixing - Remix 6 from take 39
Written by George Harrison
Mixing • Stereo mixing - Remix 7 from take 39
Written by George Harrison
Mixing • Stereo mixing - Remix 8 from take 39
Written by George Harrison
Mixing • Stereo mixing - Remix 9 from take 39
Written by George Harrison
Mixing • Stereo mixing - Remix 10 from take 39
AlbumOfficially released on Abbey Road
Written by George Harrison
Recording • SI onto take 15
Written by George Harrison
Mixing • Stereo mixing - Remix 1 from take 15
AlbumOfficially released on Abbey Road
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 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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