Recording studio: EMI Studios, Room 4, Abbey Road
Session Apr 01, 1970 • Overdubs for "Let It Be" album
Session Apr 02, 1970 • Mixing "Let It Be" album
Article Apr 07, 1970 • McCartney Productions Ltd. acquires the film rights for Rupert the Bear
Article Apr 09, 1970 • The "McCartney" press kit is sent to UK press
Next session May-August 1970 • Home recordings - "Ram" demos
Some of the songs worked on during this session were first released on the "Let It Be (Limited Edition)" LP.
By The Beatles
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
Mixing • Stereo mixing - Remix 10 from take 18
Mixing • Stereo mixing - Remix 11 from take 18
Mixing • Stereo mixing - Remix 12 from take 18
Mixing • Stereo mixing - Remix 13 from take 18
Written by George Harrison
Mixing • Stereo mixing - Remix 10 from take 18
Written by George Harrison
Mixing • Stereo mixing - Remix 11 from take 18
Written by George Harrison
Mixing • Stereo mixing - Remix 12 from take 18
Mixing • Stereo mixing - Remix 10 from take 9
Mixing • Stereo mixing - Remix 11 from take 9
Mixing • Stereo mixing - Remix 12 from take 9
Mixing • Stereo mixing - Remix 13 from take 9
AlbumOfficially released on Let It Be (Limited Edition)
Editing • Editing of stereo remixes 10 and 13
AlbumOfficially released on Let It Be (Limited Edition)
Written by George Harrison
Editing • Editing of stereo remixes 11 and 12
AlbumOfficially released on Let It Be (Limited Edition)
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
We owe a lot to Chip Madinger and Mark Easter for the creation of those session pages, but you really have to buy this book to get all the details!
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
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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