Mixing "Michelle", "What Goes On", "Run For Your Life", "Think For Yourself", "The Beatles Third Christmas Record"

This was the sixteenth day of work on The Beatles’ new album “Rubber Soul,” and the third mixing session for the album after the sessions of October 25 and 26. The songs recorded since then were mixed in mono and stereo, but the session began with work on The Beatles’ Third Christmas Record.

The Beatles did not attend; the engineering team handled the session alone, working from 2:30 pm to 5:30 pm.

They first edited The Beatles’ Third Christmas Record, using the three takes The Beatles had improvised the previous day.

The team then turned to the mono mixes. “Michelle” was mixed first: only one attempt was required, and Take 2 RM1 became the released version. “What Goes On” followed, again completed in a single attempt, with Take 1 RM1 issued as the final mono mix.

Next came “Run For Your Life.” Although the track had been recorded on the first day of the “Rubber Soul” sessions, it had not been mixed on October 25. As with the previous songs, only one attempt was needed, and Take 5 RM1 became the released mono mix.

“Think For Yourself” was then mixed in mono. One attempt sufficed, and Take 1 RM1 became the released version. The mono work concluded with the mix of The Beatles’ Third Christmas Record.

The team then switched to stereo mixing. “Think For Yourself“, “Michelle“, and “What Goes On” were each completed in a single attempt. “Think For Yourself” Take 1 RS1, “Michelle” Take 2 RS1, and “What Goes On” Take 1 RS1 all became the released stereo versions.

Session activities

1. The Beatles Third Christmas Record

   Written by Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, John Lennon, George Harrison, Tony Barrow

   Editing • Editing of takes 1-3

2. Michelle

   Written by Lennon - McCartney

   Mixing • Mono mixing - Remix 1 from take 2

   AlbumOfficially released on Rubber Soul (UK Mono)

3. What Goes On

   Written by Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, John Lennon

   Mixing • Mono mixing - Remix 1 from take 1

   AlbumOfficially released on Rubber Soul (UK Mono)

4. Run For Your Life

   Written by Lennon - McCartney

   Mixing • Mono mixing - Remix 1 from take 5

   AlbumOfficially released on Rubber Soul (UK Mono)

5. Think For Yourself

   Written by George Harrison

   Mixing • Mono mixing - Remix 1 from take 1

   AlbumOfficially released on Rubber Soul (UK Mono)

6. The Beatles Third Christmas Record

   Written by Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, John Lennon, George Harrison, Tony Barrow

   Mixing • Mono mixing from edit of takes 1-3

   AlbumOfficially released on The Beatles Third Christmas Record

7. Think For Yourself

   Written by George Harrison

   Mixing • Stereo mixing - Remix 1 from take 1

   AlbumOfficially released on Rubber Soul (UK Stereo)

8. Michelle

   Written by Lennon - McCartney

   Mixing • Stereo mixing - Remix 1 from take 2

   AlbumOfficially released on Rubber Soul (UK Stereo)

9. What Goes On

   Written by Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, John Lennon

   Mixing • Stereo mixing - Remix 1 from take 1

   AlbumOfficially released on Rubber Soul (UK Stereo)

Staff

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!

Buy on Amazon

The Beatles Recording Reference Manual - Volume 2 - Help! through Revolver (1965-1966)

The second book of the Association for Recorded Sound Collections (ARSC)-nominated series, "The Beatles Recording Reference Manual: Volume 2: Help! through Revolver (1965-1966)" follows the evolution of the band from the end of Beatlemania with "Help!" through the introspection of "Rubber Soul" up to the sonic revolution of "Revolver". 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.

Buy on Amazon