Mixing "12-Bar Original"

On November 4, 1965, during the recording sessions for “Rubber Soul“, The Beatles recorded an instrumental piece titled “12-Bar Original“. It was more than a casual jam as two formal takes were attempted, the first a false start and the second a complete performance.

The track was never considered for inclusion on “Rubber Soul“. However, on this day, during a brief 15-minute session from 4:45 to 5:00 pm, a mono mix was prepared for the group’s personal collections.

The mix was made by balance engineer Norman Smith, marking his final work with the band. Smith had served as The Beatles’ sound engineer from their first EMI session on June 6, 1962, through to the completion of the “Rubber Soul” sessions.

We all got on so well. They used to call me ‘Normal’ and, occasionally, ‘2dBs Smith’ because on a few occasions I would ask one of them to turn his guitar amplifier down a couple of decibels. But Rubber Soul wasn’t really my bag at all so I decided that I’d better get off the Beatles’ train. I told George [Martin] and George told Eppy [Brian Epstein] and the next thing I received a lovely gold carriage clock inscribed ‘To Norman. Thanks. John, Paul, George and Ringo’.

Norman Smith – From “The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions” by Mark Lewisohn, 1988

Session activities

1. 12-Bar Original

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

   Mixing • Mono mixing from take 2

   AlbumReleased on bootleg Rubber Soul - Studio Sessions - Back To Basics

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