Recording "Junk", "Kreen - Akrore"

In late December 1969 and on January 17, 1970, Paul McCartney began recording new material using a Studer J37 4-track tape recorder that had recently been installed at his home in London. Believing these experiments could evolve into his first solo album, he moved to EMI Studios, Abbey Road, to continue the work. He spent time there on January 24, February 7 and 8 and again on February 15.

On February 16, Paul relocated to Morgan Studios, where he would continue recording until February 20.

On this third day at Morgan Studios, February 18, 1970, Paul focused on completing the two versions of “Junk” that he had initially recorded at home on January 17.

Take 1, a purely instrumental version, was later retitled “Singalong Junk” for inclusion on the “McCartney” album. On this day, Paul overdubbed electric guitar, drums, sizzle cymbal and Mellotron onto the original home recording.

Take 2 featured Paul’s lead vocal and was developed into the main version of “Junk.” It received additional overdubs including drums, toy xylophone, and harmony vocals by Paul and Linda McCartney.

Both versions were finalised during this session. “Singalong Junk” would be mixed on February 21, and “Junk” on February 26.

For the afternoon session, Paul McCartney began work on a new instrumental piece inspired by “The Tribe That Hides From Man,” a documentary he had watched the previous evening on ITV. The programme focused on the Kreen-Akrore, an isolated indigenous tribe living in the Brazilian jungle, known for defending their territory against intruders. The documentary left a strong impression on Paul and directly influenced the composition and mood of the new track.

To help capture the right atmosphere, a small fire was lit in the middle of the studio room. Paul began by recording drums, which he then double-tracked. He followed with overdubs of two electric guitars, organ, piano, and bass. To evoke the jungle environment, he strummed on his guitar case to simulate the sound of stampeding animals. Paul and Linda also contributed various animal noises, and Paul added deep, rhythmic breathing to enhance the primal feel of the track.

Taking a break during the session, Paul and Linda went to Harrods and returned with a bow and arrows. The sound of an arrow in flight was captured and incorporated into the track, along with the crackling of the fire they had set up in the studio.

The track, titled “Kreen-Akrore,” was completed by the end of the day and would be mixed on February 26.

There was a film on TV about the Kreen Akrore Indians living in the Brazilian jungle, their lives and how the white man is trying to change their way of life to his, so the next day after lunch I did some drumming.

The idea behind it was to get the feeling of their hunt. So later piano, guitar and organ were added to the first section. The second had a few tracks of voices (Linda and I) and the end had overdubbed breathing, going into organ and two lead guitars in harmony.

Done at Morgan. Engineer, Robin Black.

The end of the first section has Linda and I doing animal noises (speeded up) and an arrow sound (done live with bow and arrow – the bow broke), then animals stampeding across a guitar case. There are two drum tracks.

We built a fire in the studio but didn’t use it (but used the sound of the twigs breaking).

Paul McCartney – From the press release of “McCartney”, April 1970

I was really very nervous. I was just trying to do my best to make sure everything sounded good, and Paul was happy. It was all in his mind—he just knew exactly what he wanted to do. So we set up a drum sound and he said what sort of sound he wanted. Once he’d got the drums down — of course that’s the most important thing, because that’s the kingpin to everything that comes afterwards — he just added to that.

Robin Black – Engineer – Interview with Adrian Sinclair, 2016 – From “The McCartney Legacy: Volume 1: 1969 – 73” by Allan Kozinn and Adrian Sinclair, 2022

Paul came in excitedly talking about this program he’d seen on television. Paul and Linda went to Harrods to buy a bow, an arrow and a target… We set this up in the studio and recorded the sound of the arrows flying through the air and hitting the target.

Robin Black – Engineer – Interview with Luca Perasi, 2012 – From “Paul McCartney: Music Is Ideas. The Stories Behind the Songs (Vol. 1) 1970-1989” by Luca Perasi, 2022

I set up a number of valve mics [..] across the room to try and capture the release of the arrow, the ‘swoosh’ sound as it went through the air and the thud as it hit the target. Paul stood at the entrance of the studio area with the door shut and we put the target as far away as possible. I was just hoping that he wasn’t going to hit any of the microphones with the arrow because they’re quite expensive, but no, he was actually quite a good shot! In the end we managed to capture what he was after and on just the first or second take, as I recall. You can’t quite hear it on the final record.

Robin Black – Engineer – Interview with Luca Perasi, 2012 – From “Paul McCartney: Music Is Ideas. The Stories Behind the Songs (Vol. 1) 1970-1989” by Luca Perasi, 2022

Session activities

1. Junk

   Written by Paul McCartney

   Recording • Overdubs onto Take 1

2. Junk

   Written by Paul McCartney

   Recording • Overdubs onto Take 2

3. Kreen - Akrore

   Written by Paul McCartney

   Recording

Staff

Musicians on "Junk"

Musicians on "Singalong Junk"

Musicians on "Kreen - Akrore"

Production staff

Going further

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.

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The McCartney Legacy: Volume 1: 1969 – 73

In this first of a groundbreaking multivolume set, THE MCCARTNEY LEGACY, VOL 1: 1969-73 captures the life of Paul McCartney in the years immediately following the dissolution of the Beatles, a period in which McCartney recreated himself as both a man and a musician. Informed by hundreds of interviews, extensive ground up research, and thousands of never-before-seen documents THE MCCARTNEY LEGACY, VOL 1 is an in depth, revealing exploration of McCartney’s creative and personal lives beyond the Beatles.

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Eight Arms to Hold You: The Solo Beatles Compendium

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.

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