Tuesday, August 12, 1969
Mixing "Oh! Darling", "Because", "Maxwell's Silver Hammer"
For The Beatles
Last updated on April 26, 2025
Tuesday, August 12, 1969
For The Beatles
Last updated on April 26, 2025
Feb 22 - Aug 25, 1969 • Songs recorded during this session appear on Abbey Road
Recording studio: EMI Studios, Studio Two, Abbey Road • London • UK
Article August 9-10, 1969 • Members of the Manson Family kill five, including actress Sharon Tate
Session Aug 11, 1969 • Recording "I Want You (She's So Heavy)", "Oh! Darling", "Here Comes The Sun"
Session Aug 12, 1969 • Mixing "Oh! Darling", "Because", "Maxwell's Silver Hammer"
Session Aug 13, 1969 • Mixing "You Never Give Me Your Money"
AlbumSome of the songs worked on during this session were first released on the "Abbey Road" LP
During this session, which ran from 7 pm to 2 am, three tracks from the upcoming “Abbey Road” album were mixed in stereo.
The mixing of “Oh! Darling” required five attempts. Remixes Stereo 5 to 9 were made from Take 26, with Remix Stereo 9 deemed the best and ultimately released on “Abbey Road.”
Curiously, when Paul and George Martin were working out the running order of the “Abbey Road” album on August 20th, 1969, an archive document shows a handwritten “OK voice?” next to the song “Oh! Darling.” This appears to indicate that Paul was still unsure about his vocal contribution to the song. However, it was decided to leave it as it was.
From beatlesebooks.com
Only two attempts to mix “Because” were needed. Remix Stereo 1 and 2 were made from Take 16, with RS2 considered the best and released on “Abbey Road“.
I was so enamored of the sonic results of not using compressors or limiters that I even decided to mix the entire track without them. That was a first for any record I’d ever made; in fact, it was quite probably a first for any major pop recording done since the cumbersome devices were introduced in the early fifties. Yet every word, every syllable is crystal clear on the final mix, due to the time and effort we all expended on getting the song recorded right in the first place.
Geoff Emerick – From “Here, There and Everywhere: My Life Recording the Music of The Beatles“, 2006
On August 6, ten attempts at creating a stereo mix of “Maxwell’s Silver Hammer” had been made. On this day, ten more attempts were made (labelled RS 27 to 36). But more work would be required on August 14 to create the final mix.
Mixing • Stereo mixing - Remix 5 from take 26
Mixing • Stereo mixing - Remix 6 from take 26
Mixing • Stereo mixing - Remix 7 from take 26
Mixing • Stereo mixing - Remix 8 from take 26
Mixing • Stereo mixing - Remix 9 from take 26
AlbumOfficially released on Abbey Road
Mixing • Stereo mixing - Remix 1 from take 16
Mixing • Stereo mixing - Remix 2 from take 16
AlbumOfficially released on Abbey Road
Mixing • Stereo mixing - Remix 27 from take 27
Mixing • Stereo mixing - Remix 28 from take 27
Mixing • Stereo mixing - Remix 29 from take 27
Mixing • Stereo mixing - Remix 30 from take 27
Mixing • Stereo mixing - Remix 31 from take 27
Mixing • Stereo mixing - Remix 32 from take 27
Mixing • Stereo mixing - Remix 33 from take 27
Mixing • Stereo mixing - Remix 34 from take 27
Mixing • Stereo mixing - Remix 35 from take 27
Mixing • Stereo mixing - Remix 36 from take 27
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!
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".
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.
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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