Recording "I'm Only Sleeping" and mixing "And Your Bird Can Sing", "Taxman"...
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- Album Songs recorded during this session officially appear on the Revolver (UK Mono) LP.
- Studio:
- EMI Studios, Studio Three, Abbey Road
Songs recorded
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Recording • Mono mixing - Remix 8 from take 3
Album Officially released on Revolver (UK Mono)
11.
12.
13.
Recording • Take 2
Album Officially released on Revolver (Super Deluxe - 2022)
14.
15.
16.
Recording • Take 5
Album Officially released on Revolver (Super Deluxe - 2022)
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
Staff
Musicians on "I'm Only Sleeping"
Production staff
About
This was the fourteenth day of the recording sessions for the “Revolver” album. There were two sessions on this day – a mixing session and a recording session focused on a new track, “I’m Only Sleeping“.
From 6 pm to 11:30 pm, efforts were made to mix in mono three recently recorded tracks, “Taxman“, “And Your Bird Can Sing” and “Tomorrow Never Knows“. None of the mixes for “Taxman” and “And Your Bird Can Sing” would ever be released.
Nine attempts at mixing “Tomorrow Never Knows” (labelled remix 1 to remix 9) were done. On June 6, 1966, three further attempts (remix 10 to 12) were done. Remix Mono 11 was released on the first UK pressing of “Revolver“, but George Martin changed his mind about the best version of the song and decided to use Remix Mono 8 (from this day) for all further mono releases.
[The Beatles] found that they could get more control of the sound that they wanted by actually being there for a mix.
Phil McDonald – From The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions by Mark Lewisohn, 2004
From 11:30 pm to 3 am, The Beatles started working on “I’m Only Sleeping” by recording eleven takes of the rhythm track. The early takes had John Lennon on acoustic guitar and lead vocals, George Harrison on tambourine, Paul McCartney on backing vocals and Ringo Starr on bongos. Later takes, including take 11, had John Lennon on acoustic guitar, Paul McCartney on bass and Ringo Starr on drums.
With an air of experimentation running high in the studio, engineer Geoff Emerick recorded this rhythm track at 56 cycles per second with the intention of it sounding more labored and sleepy-sounding when played back at the normal 50 cycles. The eleventh take was found to be best and, by 3 am, it was time for the group to go home and do some actual “sleeping.”
From beatlesebooks.com
Take 11 would be considered the best version, not before a remake was attempted on April 29. Overdubs would be added onto it on April 29, May 5 and May 6, 1966.
Last updated on October 22, 2023