- Album Songs recorded during this session officially appear on the Let It Be (Limited Edition) LP.
- Studio:
- EMI Studios, Room 4, Abbey Road
Timeline
More from year 1970
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About
The day before, April 1, Phil Spector supervised the recording of orchestral and choral overdubs for three songs, “Across The Universe“, “The Long And Winding Road” and “I Me Mine“. On this day, he created the final mixes for those songs. This was also the final day of work for the “Let It Be” album.
Phil Spector and engineers Peter Bown and Roger Ferris made four stereo mixes of “The Long And Winding Road”, named remixes 10 to 13, followed by an edit of remix 10 and remix 13. This edit was released on the “Let It Be” album.
Three stereo mixes of “I Me Mine” were then made, named remixes 10 to 12. The orchestral overdubs were kept lower in these mixes, allowing The Beatles’ instruments and vocals to be the primary focus. An edit of remix 11 and 12 was then made. This edit was released on the “Let It Be” album.
The tape of “Across The Universe” was slowed down, extending the track by nine seconds and changing its key from D to C#. Four remixes (remixes 10 to 13) were then made.
After this last session, acetates of the album were cut and sent out to the four Beatles. That’s how Paul McCartney discovered the work done by Phil Spector, leading him to send an angry letter to Allen Klein on April 14, 1970:
Dear Sir,
In future, no one will be allowed to add to or subtract from a recording of one of my songs without my permission.
I had considered orchestrating ‘The Long And Winding Road’ but I had decided against it. I, therefore, want it altered to these specifications:
1. Strings, horns, voices and all added noises to be reduced in volume.
2. Vocal and Beatle instrumentation to be brought up in volume.
3. Harp to be removed completely at the end of the song and original piano notes to be substituted.
4. Don’t ever do it again.Signed
Paul McCartney
c.c. Phil Spector
John Eastman
Even at the beginning, Paul said, ‘Yes,’ and then he heard it. I spoke to him on the phone and said, ‘Do you like it?’ And he said, ‘Yeah, it’s okay.’ He didn’t put it down, and then, suddenly, he didn’t want it to go out. It was two weeks after that that he wanted to cancel it.
Ringo Starr – From “The Beatles: Off the Record” by Keith Badman
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
Last updated on January 5, 2022
Songs recorded
1.
Mixing • Stereo mixing - Remix 10 from take 18
2.
Mixing • Stereo mixing - Remix 11 from take 18
3.
Mixing • Stereo mixing - Remix 12 from take 18
4.
Mixing • Stereo mixing - Remix 13 from take 18
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
Mixing • Stereo mixing - Remix 13 from take 9
Album Officially released on Let It Be (Limited Edition)
12.
Editing • Editing of stereo remixes 10 and 13
Album Officially released on Let It Be (Limited Edition)
13.
Written by George Harrison
Editing • Editing of stereo remixes 11 and 12
Album Officially released on Let It Be (Limited Edition)
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!
If we like to think, in all modesty, that the Paul McCartney Project is the best online ressource for everything Paul McCartney, The Beatles Bible is for sure the definitive online site focused on the Beatles. There are obviously some overlap in terms of content between the two sites, but also some major differences in terms of approach.
http://www.beatlesebooks.com/i-me-mine
http://www.beatlesebooks.com/across-the-universe
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