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- Album Songs recorded during this session officially appear on the Abbey Road LP.
- Studio:
- Olympic Sound Studios, London
Timeline
More from year 1969
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About
This was the first of four days spent at Olympic Sound Studios.
The backing track of George Harrison’s “Something” had been recorded on May 2, 1969. On this day, the first overdubs were added onto take 36.
George recorded a lead guitar part, likely his guitar solo. Geoff Emerick mentioned in his
Geoff Emerick didn’t engineer this session, but wrote the following as if he was in the studio for this session:
George was clearly still holding a grudge against Paul, and it seemed that he got some degree of revenge during the recording of ‘Something.’ I couldn’t help but notice that Harrison was actually giving Paul direction on how to play the bass, telling him repeatedly that he wanted the part greatly simplified. It was a first in all my years of working with The Beatles: George had never dared tell Paul what to do; he’d simply never asserted himself that way.
Geoff Emerick – From “Here, There and Everywhere: My Life Recording the Music of The Beatles“, 2006
I think George thought my bass-playing was a little bit busy. Again, from my side, I was trying to contribute the best I could, but maybe it was his turn to tell me I was too busy. But that was fun; that went off well.
Paul McCartney – From The Beatles Anthology
Work on “Something” would only continue on July 11, 1969.
Last updated on December 28, 2021
Staff
Musicians on "Something"
- Paul McCartney:
- Bass
- George Harrison:
- Guitar
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!
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 like to think, in all modesty, that the Paul McCartney Project is the best online ressource for everything Paul McCartney, The Beatles Bible is for sure the definitive online site focused on the Beatles. There are obviously some overlap in terms of content between the two sites, but also some major differences in terms of approach.
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