Recording and mixing "Old Brown Shoe", "I Want You (She's So Heavy)"

On this day, George Harrison’s “Old Brown Shoe” was completed. The basic track and initial overdubs had been recorded two days earlier, on April 16, but George felt the song could be further improved with the addition of a Hammond organ overdub. He also recorded a new guitar solo for the instrumental verse.

The session began at 2:30 pm and the recording work was wrapped up by 10:30 pm.

Nineteen stereo mixes were then attempted. George’s lead guitar was enhanced using ADT (Artificial Double Tracking). The final mix, remix 23, was selected as the master and would be released as the B-side to the recently recorded “The Ballad Of John And Yoko.“

Recording for “I Want You (She’s So Heavy)” had begun on February 22, 1969. At around 1 am during this session, George and John Lennon — the only two Beatles present — returned to the track to add guitar overdubs. The process involved several tape reduction mixes carried out in tandem with the overdubbing.

John and George went into the far left-hand corner of number two to overdub those guitar. They wanted a massive sound so they kept tracking and tracking, over and over.

Jeff Jarratt – Engineer – From “The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions” by Mark Lewisohn, 1988

The session ended with some rough stereo mixes of the track. Work on “I Want You (She’s So Heavy)” would resume on April 20, 1969.

Session activities

1. Old Brown Shoe

   Written by George Harrison

   Recording • SI onto take 4

2. Old Brown Shoe

   Written by George Harrison

   Mixing • Stereo mixing - Remix 5 from take 4

3. Old Brown Shoe

   Written by George Harrison

   Mixing • Stereo mixing - Remix 6 from take 4

4. Old Brown Shoe

   Written by George Harrison

   Mixing • Stereo mixing - Remix 7 from take 4

5. Old Brown Shoe

   Written by George Harrison

   Mixing • Stereo mixing - Remix 8 from take 4

6. Old Brown Shoe

   Written by George Harrison

   Mixing • Stereo mixing - Remix 9 from take 4

7. Old Brown Shoe

   Written by George Harrison

   Mixing • Stereo mixing - Remix 10 from take 4

8. Old Brown Shoe

   Written by George Harrison

   Mixing • Stereo mixing - Remix 11 from take 4

9. Old Brown Shoe

   Written by George Harrison

   Mixing • Stereo mixing - Remix 12 from take 4

10. Old Brown Shoe

    Written by George Harrison

    Mixing • Stereo mixing - Remix 13 from take 4

11. Old Brown Shoe

    Written by George Harrison

    Mixing • Stereo mixing - Remix 14 from take 4

12. Old Brown Shoe

    Written by George Harrison

    Mixing • Stereo mixing - Remix 15 from take 4

13. Old Brown Shoe

    Written by George Harrison

    Mixing • Stereo mixing - Remix 16 from take 4

14. Old Brown Shoe

    Written by George Harrison

    Mixing • Stereo mixing - Remix 17 from take 4

15. Old Brown Shoe

    Written by George Harrison

    Mixing • Stereo mixing - Remix 18 from take 4

16. Old Brown Shoe

    Written by George Harrison

    Mixing • Stereo mixing - Remix 19 from take 4

17. Old Brown Shoe

    Written by George Harrison

    Mixing • Stereo mixing - Remix 20 from take 4

18. Old Brown Shoe

    Written by George Harrison

    Mixing • Stereo mixing - Remix 21 from take 4

19. Old Brown Shoe

    Written by George Harrison

    Mixing • Stereo mixing - Remix 22 from take 4

20. Old Brown Shoe

    Written by George Harrison

    Mixing • Stereo mixing - Remix 23 from take 4

    AlbumOfficially released on The Ballad Of John And Yoko / Old Brown Shoe (UK - 1969)

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

    Written by Lennon - McCartney

    Recording • SI onto unnumbered Trident master

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

    Written by Lennon - McCartney

    Recording • Tape reduction of unnumbered Trident master, called take 1

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

    Written by Lennon - McCartney

    Recording • SI onto take 1

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

    Written by Lennon - McCartney

    Mixing • Stereo mixing - Unnumbered rough remix from take 1

Staff

Musicians on "I Want You (She's So Heavy)"

Musicians on "Old Brown Shoe"

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