Recording "Something"
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- Album Songs recorded during this session officially appear on the Abbey Road LP.
- Studio:
- EMI Studios, Studio Three, Abbey Road
Songs recorded
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.
27.
28.
29.
30.
31.
32.
33.
34.
35.
36.
Staff
Musicians on "Something"
Production staff
About
On April 16, 1969, The Beatles had recorded 13 instrumental takes of the backing track of George Harrison’s “Something“. On this day, they decided to restart from scratch.
They recorded 36 takes (numbered from take 1) with George on electric guitar (track three), Paul McCartney on bass (track one), John Lennon on piano (track four) and Ringo Starr on drums (track two).
From take nine onwards, two outputs were taken from George’s guitar; the new one, recorded on track six of the eight-track tape, was the sound of it coming through a rotating Leslie speaker. In take 27, once the song had ended, John led the group into a coda based on a repetitive riff he played on piano. Each time The Beatles fell into that jam, the tape was stopped after a few seconds – except for take 36, the final one used for the master, when it continued rolling for nearly five minutes.
From “Abbey Road” Super Deluxe edition book (2019)
Take 36 was deemed the best take and was 7’48” long (to be compared with the version of “Something” released on “Abbey Road” lasting 3’00”). The instrumental coda would be dropped in stages and finally disappeared when “Something” was mixed on August 19, 1969.
The first overdubs would be added onto take 36 on May 5.
Last updated on December 28, 2021