Mixing "I Want You (She's So Heavy)"

There were two sessions on this day. From 2:30 pm to 6 pm, work was completed on John Lennon’s “I Want You (She’s So Heavy).” From 6 pm to 1:15 am, the running order of the “Abbey Road” album was finalized.

This day marked the last time the four Beatles were together in a recording studio.

On August 8, “I Want You (She’s So Heavy)” had received new overdubs added onto the master recording made at Trident Studios on February 23, without incorporating the overdubs recorded on April 20, 1969. On August 11, harmony vocals had been overdubbed onto Take 1 from April 20, but these were also edited into the original Trident master.

On this day, both versions were mixed — eight attempts were made to mix Take 1 (labelled Remix Stereo 1 to 8), and two attempts were made for the Trident version (labelled Remix Stereo 9 and 10). It was then decided to combine the two versions for the final release: the April 20 recording was used for the first four minutes and 37 seconds (using RS8), and the Trident version for the remainder of the track (using RS10), ending at 7:47.

The decision to end the song abruptly was also made during this session. The edit combining RS8 and RS10 became the version released on “Abbey Road.”

We were putting the final touches to that side of the LP and we were listening to the mix. John said ‘There! Cut the tape there’. Geoff [Emerick] cut the tape and that was it. End of side one!

Alan Parsons – Engineer​ – From “The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions” by Mark Lewisohn, 1988

John remained indecisive until the last minute about which version of “I Want You” he even wanted me to mix — there were several backing tracks that had been recorded at Trident back in April, two of which had received overdubs. In the end, Lennon had me edit together two of them; the splice comes right after his last “She’s so…” It was like working on “Strawberry Fields Forever” all over again, but this time around, thankfully, both takes were in the same key and at the same tempo.

And then there was the matter of how the song would end. When they recorded the backing track, the Beatles had just played on and on, with no definitive conclusion, so I assumed I would be doing a fadeout. John had
other ideas, though. He let the tape play until just twenty seconds or so before the take broke down, and then all of a sudden he barked out an order: “Cut the tape here.”

“Cut the tape?” I asked, astonished. We had never ended a song that way, and an abrupt ending like that didn’t make any sense unless the track was going to run directly into another one. But that wasn’t the case here, because it had already been decided that “I Want You” was to close side one of the album. My protestations had no impact on John: his decision was absolute.

“You heard what I said, Geoff; cut the tape.”

Geoff Emerick – From “Here, There and Everywhere: My Life Recording the Music of The Beatles“, 2006

The second session saw the Beatles finalizing the running order of the album:

At this point, [the album] had two variations from the final, released format: the two sides of the album were reversed, i.e. side B was side A and vice versa, so that the medley was on side A and the album finished with the slashed guitar chord of “I Want You (She’s So Heavy)”. And the placing of “Octopus’s Garden” and “Oh! Darling” was transposed, with “Octopus’s Garden” first.

From “The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions” by Mark Lewisohn, 1988

The session ended with the banding of the final master tape. Except that two additional sessions, on August 21 and August 25, would be needed for some last-minute adjustments.

Session activities

1. I Want You (She's So Heavy)

   Written by Lennon - McCartney

   Mixing • Stereo mixing - Remix 1 from take 1

2. I Want You (She's So Heavy)

   Written by Lennon - McCartney

   Mixing • Stereo mixing - Remix 2 from take 1

3. I Want You (She's So Heavy)

   Written by Lennon - McCartney

   Mixing • Stereo mixing - Remix 3 from take 1

4. I Want You (She's So Heavy)

   Written by Lennon - McCartney

   Mixing • Stereo mixing - Remix 4 from take 1

5. I Want You (She's So Heavy)

   Written by Lennon - McCartney

   Mixing • Stereo mixing - Remix 5 from take 1

6. I Want You (She's So Heavy)

   Written by Lennon - McCartney

   Mixing • Stereo mixing - Remix 6 from take 1

7. I Want You (She's So Heavy)

   Written by Lennon - McCartney

   Mixing • Stereo mixing - Remix 7 from take 1

8. I Want You (She's So Heavy)

   Written by Lennon - McCartney

   Mixing • Stereo mixing - Remix 8 from take 1

9. I Want You (She's So Heavy)

   Written by Lennon - McCartney

   Mixing • Stereo mixing - Remix 9 from unnumbered Trident master

10. I Want You (She's So Heavy)

    Written by Lennon - McCartney

    Mixing • Stereo mixing - Remix 10 from unnumbered Trident master

11. I Want You (She's So Heavy)

    Written by Lennon - McCartney

    Editing • Editing of stereo remixes 8 and 10

    AlbumOfficially released on Abbey Road

12. Master tape banding and tape copying

    Recording • Abbey Road LP

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!

Buy on Amazon

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".

Buy on Amazon

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.

Buy on Amazon