Recording the "Magical Mystery Tour" soundtrack
Apr 25 - May 3 and Aug 22 - Nov 17, 1967 • Songs recorded during this session appear on Magical Mystery Tour (US LP - Mono)
Recording studio: EMI Studios, Studio Two, Abbey Road
Session Sep 05, 1967 • Recording "I'm The Walrus"
Session Sep 06, 1967 • Recording "I'm The Walrus", "The Fool On The Hill", "Blue Jay Way"
Session Sep 07, 1967 • Recording "Blue Jay Way"
Session Sep 08, 1967 • Recording and mixing "Flying"
Interview Sep 09, 1967 • Paul McCartney interview for New Musical Express
Some of the songs worked on during this session were first released on the "Magical Mystery Tour (US LP - Mono)" LP.
The previous day, on September 6, 1967, The Beatles recorded the basic track of “Blue Jay Way,” George Harrison’s contribution to the “Magical Mystery Tour” soundtrack, in one take. On this day, from 7 pm to 3:15 am, the band worked on overdubs to enhance the track.
Their first task was to create a reduction mix (numbered Take 2), which freed up two tracks on the four-track tape and allowed for more overdubs to be added. George then double-tracked his lead vocals on tracks three and four, which were put through a Hammond organ’s Leslie speaker to create a swirling effect. A second reduction mix (numbered Take 3) was then made to further reduce the number of tracks from four to two.
Next, George, John Lennon, and Paul McCartney added some backing vocals onto track three, which were also run through a Leslie speaker. Track four was left empty for the time being.
The track was completed a month later, on October 6, 1967.
Written by George Harrison
Tape copying • Tape reduction take 1 into take 2
Written by George Harrison
Recording • SI onto take 2
Written by George Harrison
Tape copying • Tape reduction take 2 into take 3
Written by George Harrison
Recording • SI onto take 3
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 3: Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band through Magical Mystery Tour (late 1966-1967)
The third book of this critically - acclaimed series, nominated for the 2019 Association for Recorded Sound Collections (ARSC) award for Excellence In Historical Recorded Sound, "The Beatles Recording Reference Manual: Volume 3: Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band through Magical Mystery Tour (late 1966-1967)" captures the band's most innovative era in its entirety. From the first take to the final remix, discover the making of the greatest recordings of all time. Through extensive, fully-documented research, these books fill an important gap left by all other Beatles books published to date and provide a unique view into the recordings of the world's most successful pop music act.
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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