Timeline Albums, EPs & singles Songs Films Concerts Sessions People Interviews Articles

Monday, November 6, 1967

Mixing "Hello, Goodbye", "I Am The Walrus", "Your Mother Should Know", "Magical Mystery Tour"

For The Beatles

Last updated on April 21, 2023


Master session

Location

  • Recording studio: EMI Studios, Studio Three, Abbey Road

Timeline

Master releases

AlbumSome of the songs worked on during this session were first released on the "Magical Mystery Tour (US LP - Mono)" LP

Some of the songs from this session also appear on:

During this session, which lasted from 2:30 pm to 6 pm, stereo mixes of “Hello, Goodbye” and three songs from the soundtrack of The Beatles’ “Magical Mystery Tour” TV special were created.


The first task was to create the stereo mix of “Hello, Goodbye“. Like the mono mix created on November 2, the stereo mix was made from Take 17, which contained the viola overdubs recorded on October 20, and Take 22, which contained all the other instruments. The same technique used for the mono mix was used again, requiring two four-track machines to run in sync.

Using this technique, Remix Stereo 1 to 2 were created, with RS2 ultimately chosen as the best and used as the stereo release of the song.


I Am The Walrus” was the next song to be tackled. During the session to create the mono mix on September 29, a live feed from the BBC Third Programme’s radio performance of William Shakespeare’s “The Tragedy Of King Lear” was inserted into Remix Mono 22 rather than on the multi-track tape. As a result, it could not be duplicated in true stereo.

To solve the problem, a true stereo mix was used for the first 2’03” of the song and combined with Remix Mono 22 for the latter part of the song which contained the live radio feed, with a mock stereo effect applied to it.

If you listen to the end of the stereo mix where the radio comes in, it suddenly changes to fake stereo with the bass on one side and the treble on the other. This was because the part with the radio was done live as part of the mono mix and there was no other way to recreate it in stereo at the time. Years later when it came time to do the Love soundtrack, it had been discovered exactly which broadcast it was that Ringo had tuned into, and the BBC made it available so it could finally be recreated in proper stereo and 5.1.

Ken Scott – From “Abbey Road to Ziggy Stardust“, 2012

The engineering team made seven attempts at mixing the track in stereo (numbered Remix Stereo 1 to 7), and finally settled on RS 6 to create the hybrid mix. The end result, created by editing RS 6 and RM 22, was named Remix Stereo 7. RS7 was not the released version though, as a last-minute change was done on November 17.


On August 22 and 23, 1967, The Beatles recorded a version of “Your Mother Should Know” at Chappell Recording Studios. On September 16, they decided to work on a remake of the track. However, the remake was eventually scrapped, and, on September 29, the Beatles returned to the original takes at Chappell to add more overdubs and finalize the track. On October 2, the track was mixed in mono.

On this day, two attempts at mixing “Your Mother Should Know” were made. Remix Stereo 2 served as the stereo release version of the track.

No phasing was heard in the final verse as was heard on the mono mix. The stereo landscape consists of the rhythm track and the bass guitar centered in the mix while the organ and tambourine are found only in the right channel. They got very adventurous with the vocals, however, having all lead and background vocals in the left channel for the first and second verse, then panned to the right channel for the third verse, then panned back to the left channel for the phrase “sing it again” just before the final verse, and finally centered in the mix for the final “da, da, da, da” verse. Very tricky indeed!

From beatlesebooks.com

The title track of the “Magical Mystery Tour” soundtrack was the last song to be mixed on that day. The track was recorded over the course of four days in April 1967: April 25, 26 and 27, and May 3. The mono mix (RM7) was done on May 4.

On this day, four attempts at creating a stereo mix, labelled RS1 to 4, were made. Of these, RS4 was considered the best. However, the following day, some last-minute additions were made to the track, which resulted in RS4 being replaced.


Session activities

  1. Hello, Goodbye

    Written by Lennon - McCartney

    Mixing • Stereo mixing - Remix 1 from take 22

  2. Hello, Goodbye

    Written by Lennon - McCartney

    Mixing • Stereo mixing - Remix 2 from take 22

    AlbumOfficially released on Magical Mystery Tour (US LP - Stereo)

  3. I Am The Walrus

    Written by Lennon - McCartney

    Mixing • Stereo mixing - Remix 1 from take 17 and from remix mono 22

  4. I Am The Walrus

    Written by Lennon - McCartney

    Mixing • Stereo mixing - Remix 2 from take 17 and from remix mono 22

  5. I Am The Walrus

    Written by Lennon - McCartney

    Mixing • Stereo mixing - Remix 3 from take 17 and from remix mono 22

  6. I Am The Walrus

    Written by Lennon - McCartney

    Mixing • Stereo mixing - Remix 4 from take 17 and from remix mono 22

  7. I Am The Walrus

    Written by Lennon - McCartney

    Mixing • Stereo mixing - Remix 5 from take 17 and from remix mono 22

  8. I Am The Walrus

    Written by Lennon - McCartney

    Mixing • Stereo mixing - Remix 6 from take 17 and from remix mono 22

  9. I Am The Walrus

    Written by Lennon - McCartney

    Mixing • Stereo mixing - Remix 7 from take 17 and from remix mono 22

    AlbumOfficially released on Magical Mystery Tour (US LP - Stereo)

  10. Your Mother Should Know

    Written by Lennon - McCartney

    Mixing • Stereo mixing - Remix 1 from take 52

  11. Your Mother Should Know

    Written by Lennon - McCartney

    Mixing • Stereo mixing - Remix 2 from take 52

    AlbumOfficially released on Magical Mystery Tour (US LP - Stereo)

  12. Magical Mystery Tour

    Written by Lennon - McCartney

    Mixing • Stereo mixing - Remix 1 from take 9

  13. Magical Mystery Tour

    Written by Lennon - McCartney

    Mixing • Stereo mixing - Remix 2 from take 9

  14. Magical Mystery Tour

    Written by Lennon - McCartney

    Mixing • Stereo mixing - Remix 3 from take 9

  15. Magical Mystery Tour

    Written by Lennon - McCartney

    Mixing • Stereo mixing - Remix 4 from take 9

  16. I Am The Walrus

    Written by Lennon - McCartney

    Editing • Editing of stereo remixes 6 and 7


Staff

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!

Shop on Amazon

The Beatles Recording Reference Manual: Volume 3: Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band through Magical Mystery Tour (late 1966-1967)

The third book of this critically - acclaimed series, nominated for the 2019 Association for Recorded Sound Collections (ARSC) award for Excellence In Historical Recorded Sound, "The Beatles Recording Reference Manual: Volume 3: Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band through Magical Mystery Tour (late 1966-1967)" captures the band's most innovative era in its entirety. From the first take to the final remix, discover the making of the greatest recordings of all time. Through extensive, fully-documented research, these books fill an important gap left by all other Beatles books published to date and provide a unique view into the recordings of the world's most successful pop music act.

Shop on Amazon

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.

Read more on The Beatles Bible

Paul McCartney writing

Talk more talk, chat more chat

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.

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

2024 • Please note this site is strictly non-commercial. All pictures, videos & quoted texts remain the property of the respective copyright owner, and no implication of ownership by us is intended or should be inferred. Any copyright owner who wants something removed should contact us and we will do so immediately. Alternatively, we would be delighted to provide credits.