Jan 3 - April 2, 1970 • Songs recorded during this session appear on Let It Be (US version)
Recording studio: EMI Studios, Room 4, Abbey Road • London • UK
Session Mar 16, 1970 • Playback of "Oo You"
Session Mar 21, 1970 • Mastering of the "McCartney" album
Session Mar 23, 1970 • Mixing "Let It Be" album #1
Session Mar 23, 1970 • Tape copies of the "McCartney" album
Article Mar 25, 1970 • Paul McCartney finds out the release of "McCartney" is postponed
AlbumSome of the songs worked on during this session were first released on the "Let It Be (UK - 1st pressing with "Get Back" book)" LP
More than a year had passed since the “Get Back” sessions of January 1969, and apart from the release of the “Get Back / Don’t Let Me Down” single in April of that year, no album had materialized.
In December 1969, engineer and producer Glyn Johns was asked to revisit the “Get Back” LP he had previously assembled between March and May, with the goal of aligning it more closely with Michael Lindsay-Hogg’s upcoming documentary. At the same time, Beatles manager Allen Klein was still considering a proposal he had floated a few weeks earlier: bringing in producer Phil Spector to work on the material. Glyn Johns completed his revised version on January 8, 1970.
Later that month, Klein succeeded in bringing Spector to London.
On January 27, 1970, John Lennon and the Plastic Ono Band recorded the single “Instant Karma!” with Phil Spector producing. Depending on the source, it was either John or George Harrison who suggested involving Spector.
The success and efficiency of the “Instant Karma!” session gave John and George confidence in Spector’s abilities — enough to entrust him with the challenge of finally turning the January 1969 tapes into a finished album.
John phoned me up one morning in January and said, ‘I’ve written this tune and I’m going to record it tonight and have it pressed up and out tomorrow – that’s the whole point: Instant Karma, you know.’ So I was in. I said, ‘OK, I’ll see you in town.’ I was in town with Phil Spector and I said to Phil, ‘Why don’t you come to the session?’ There were just four people: John played piano, I played acoustic guitar, there was Klaus Voormann on bass, and Alan White on drums. We recorded the song and brought it out that week, mixed – instantly – by Phil Spector.
George Harrison
In the back of the Mercedes John relaxed and thought about how he wanted “Instant Karma” to sound, at the same time working on a new verse. He wanted a very basic rock ‘n’ roll sound that would come over well on the radio, and suddenly came up with an idea: “Spector! Let’s get Phil Spector in on the session, he’ll get the sound I want!” (Allen Klein had brought Spector to London hoping that he might be able to “produce the Beatles,” and as a trial run they had given him the chaotic tapes of “Let it Be” to see if he could make a record out of them.
Anthony Fawcett – John Lennon’s personal assistant from 1968 to 1970 – From “John Lennon – One Day At A Time” by Anthony Fawcett, 1976
Allen Klein brought in Phil Spector and said: “Well, what do you think about Phil looking at the record?” So at least John and I said: “Yeah, let’s see.” We liked Phil Spector, we loved all his records.
George Harrison – Quoted in Classic Rock, May 2020
It remains unclear whether Paul McCartney was formally informed that Phil Spector had been brought in to work on the “Get Back” tapes. What is certain, however, is that Paul strongly disliked the final result —particularly the orchestral and choral overdubs added to “The Long And Winding Road” on April 1, 1970. Engineer Glyn Johns and producer George Martin shared Paul’s opinion, while John and Ringo Starr liked the final result.
We were getting a ‘re-producer’ instead of just a producer, and he added all sorts of stuff… backing that I perhaps wouldn’t have put on. I mean, I don’t think it made it the worst record ever, but the fact that now people were putting stuff on our records that certainly one of us didn’t know about was wrong.
Paul McCartney – Quoted in Classic Rock, May 2020
In March 1970, as Martin conducted his orchestra while Starr filmed a promotional video for his new album at London’s Talk of the Town nightclub, the erstwhile Beatles producer received an urgent phone call from McCartney, who was livid. He later recalled: “Paul rang me up one day and said, ‘Do you know what’s happened? John’s taken all of the tapes.’” McCartney told Martin that John had given the Get Back tapes to Spector, who had never met with McCartney to discuss working for the Beatles.
From “Solid State: The Story of Abbey Road and the End of the Beatles” by Kenneth Womack, 2019
Through Allen Klein, John had engaged Phil Spector and done everything that he told me I couldn’t do: he overdubbed voices, he added choirs and orchestras. I could have done that job easily, but he decided to do it that way, and I was very offended by that.
George Martin – From “Solid State: The Story of Abbey Road and the End of the Beatles” by Kenneth Womack, 2019
I was disappointed that Lennon got away with giving it to Spector, and even more disappointed with what Spector did to it. It has nothing to do with The Beatles at all. Let It Be is a bunch of garbage… he puked all over it… It was ridiculously, disgustingly syrupy.
Glyn Johns – Quoted in Classic Rock, May 2020
To me it was tawdry. It was bringing The Beatles’ records down a peg. Making them sound like other people’s records.
George Martin – Quoted in Classic Rock, May 2020
He worked like a pig on it. He’d always wanted to work with The Beatles, and he was given the shittiest load of badly recorded shit – and with a lousy feeling to it – ever. And he made something out of it. It wasn’t fantastic, but I heard it, I didn’t puke. I was so relieved after six months of this black cloud hanging over, this was going to go out.
John Lennon – Quoted in Classic Rock, May 2020
I like what Phil did, actually. He put the music somewhere else and he was king of the ‘Wall Of Sound’. There’s no point bringing him in if you’re not going to like the way he does it, because that’s what he does.
Ringo Starr – Quoted in Classic Rock, May 2020
They don’t know that it was no favor to me to give me George Martin’s job, because I don’t consider myself in the same situation or league… I don’t consider him with me. He’s somewhere else. He’s an arranger, that’s all. As far as Let It Be, he had left it in a deplorable condition, and it was not satisfactory to any of them, they did not want it out as it was. So John said, ‘Let Phil do it,’ and I said, ‘Fine.’ Then I said, ‘Would anybody like to get involved in it, work on it with me?’ ‘No.’ George came down a couple of times to listen, Ringo came down and overdubbed drums, John said, ‘Send me an acetate when it’s finished,’ Paul the same thing, and that was it. They didn’t care. But they did have the right to say ‘We don’t want it out’, and they didn’t say that. In five years from now, maybe people will understand how good the material was.
But at that time everyone was saying, ‘Oh Beatles, don’t break up, give us something else to remember you by,’ and you give it to them and then the critics just knock the shit out of it. ‘It’s awful, it’s this, it’s that’ … but it’s your Beatles, your great Beatles! Forget my name… if my name hadn’t been on the album, there wouldn’t have been all that. George told me that, John, everyone… that’s the dues you have to pay. It was nothing to me… I had my reputation before the Beatles were around. I’m not over-cocky or anything, but they know that and I certainly knew that. I knew who I was and what I was before I met the Beatles.
Phil Spector – From “Phil Spector: Out Of His Head” by Richard Williams, 2009
On this day, March 23, 1970, Phil Spector began work on the “Get Back” tapes in Room 4 of Abbey Road Studios. At the same time, elsewhere in the building, engineer Tony Clark was completing the final mastering of Paul McCartney’s debut solo album, “McCartney.”
Spector was assisted during this session — and the ones that followed — by EMI Studios’ balance engineer Peter Bown:
We did all the Let It Be remixes in room four, working from the original Apple Studios’ eight-track tapes, the ones which had caused such consternation. I got on quite well with Spector except that he wanted tape echo on everything, seemed to take a different pill every half an hour and had his bodyguard with him. I explained to him that this was a British recording studio and that he was safe, but the bodyguard used to come along and sit outside the door… he wasn’t there by the end though, I think Spector felt safe in the end. […]
We also had the accountant guy [Allen Klein] sitting in on the remix sessions, goodness knows why, and George Harrison was here most of the time, watching. George and I got on like a house on fire. We got the remixes done to the satisfaction of those concerned and the album came out. It had my name on it, the only one that did… the only problem was that it was the worst of the lot.
Peter Bown – Balance engineer – From “The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions” by Mark Lewisohn, 1988
Phil Spector began the session by working on “I’ve Got A Feeling,” creating two sets of mixes. He first worked with a studio recording from January 28, 1969, producing two stereo mixes (RS1 and RS2). He then turned to the rooftop performance from January 30, creating four additional mixes (RS3 to RS6). Spector subsequently edited RS1 and RS2 together to create a new composite mix, again labeled RS3. Likewise, he combined elements of RS4, RS5, and RS6 from the rooftop takes into a final version titled RS4. This edited RS4 became the stereo master used for the “Let It Be” LP.
Spector then turned to the rooftop recordings of “Dig A Pony” and “One After 909.” For “Dig a Pony,” he produced two stereo mixes (RS1 and RS2), deliberately removing the “All I want is you…” vocal lines that appeared at both the beginning and end of the performance. RS2 was chosen for inclusion on “Let It Be.” He then created three stereo mixes of “One After 909,” with RS3 ultimately selected for the album release.
The next song tackled that day was George Harrison’s “I Me Mine,” recorded on January 3, 1970. Spector created three stereo mixes from Take 16 (labeled RS1 to RS3), then edited them together to add a second chorus, extending the song’s length from its original 1:34 to 2:25. However, the work completed on this day was ultimately set aside.
The final song remixed on this day was “Across The Universe“, originally recorded in February 1968. Glyn Johns had previously created stripped-down stereo mixes from Take 8 on January 5, 1970, removing the sound effects that had been added during the original session. On this day, Spector produced eight new stereo mixes from the same take — none of which were ultimately used.
Both “Across the Universe” and “I Me Mine” would receive orchestral overdubs on April 1, followed by final remixing on April 2, 1970.
Phil Spector continued his work on the “Get Back” tapes on the following day, March 25, 1970.
Mixing • Stereo mixing - Remix 1 - From unknown January 28 take
Mixing • Stereo mixing - Remix 2 - From unknown January 28 take
Mixing • DDSI.30.11 • Stereo mixing - Remix 1
Mixing • DDSI.30.11 • Stereo mixing - Remix 2
AlbumOfficially released on Let It Be (UK - 1st pressing with "Get Back" book)
Mixing • DDSI.30.06 • Stereo mixing - Remix 3
Mixing • DDSI.30.06 • Stereo mixing - Remix 4
Mixing • DDSI.30.06 • Stereo mixing - Remix 5
Mixing • DDSI.30.06 • Stereo mixing - Remix 6
Mixing • DDSI.30.08 • Stereo mixing - Remix 1
Mixing • DDSI.30.08 • Stereo mixing - Remix 2
Mixing • DDSI.30.08 • Stereo mixing - Remix 3
AlbumOfficially released on Let It Be (UK - 1st pressing with "Get Back" book)
Written by George Harrison
Mixing • Stereo mixing - Remix 1 from take 16
Written by George Harrison
Mixing • Stereo mixing - Remix 2 from take 16
Written by George Harrison
Mixing • Stereo mixing - Remix 3 from take 16
Mixing • Stereo mixing - Remix 1 from take 8
Mixing • Stereo mixing - Remix 2 from take 8
Mixing • Stereo mixing - Remix 3 from take 8
Mixing • Stereo mixing - Remix 4 from take 8
Mixing • Stereo mixing - Remix 5 from take 8
Mixing • Stereo mixing - Remix 6 from take 8
Mixing • Stereo mixing - Remix 7 from take 8
Mixing • Stereo mixing - Remix 8 from take 8
Editing • DDSI.30.06 • Editing of stereo remixes 1 and 2, called remix stereo 3
Editing • DDSI.30.06 • Editing of stereo remixes 4, 5 and 6, called remix stereo 4
AlbumOfficially released on Let It Be (UK - 1st pressing with "Get Back" book)
Written by George Harrison
Editing • Editing of stereo remixes 1, 2 and 3, called remix stereo 2
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!
Paul McCartney: Music Is Ideas. The Stories Behind the Songs (Vol. 1) 1970-1989
With 25 albums of pop music, 5 of classical – a total of around 500 songs – released over the course of more than half a century, Paul McCartney's career, on his own and with Wings, boasts an incredible catalogue that's always striving to free itself from the shadow of The Beatles. The stories behind the songs, demos and studio recordings, unreleased tracks, recording dates, musicians, live performances and tours, covers, events: Music Is Ideas Volume 1 traces McCartney's post-Beatles output from 1970 to 1989 in the form of 346 song sheets, filled with details of the recordings and stories behind the sessions. Accompanied by photos, and drawing on interviews and contemporary reviews, this reference book draws the portrait of a musical craftsman who has elevated popular song to an art-form.
Eight Arms to Hold You: The Solo Beatles Compendium
Eight Arms To Hold You: The Solo Beatles Compendium is the ultimate look at the careers of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr beyond the Beatles. Every aspect of their professional careers as solo artists is explored, from recording sessions, record releases and tours, to television, film and music videos, including everything in between. From their early film soundtrack work to the officially released retrospectives, all solo efforts by the four men are exhaustively examined.
As the paperback version is out of print, you can buy a PDF version on the authors' website
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".
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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