European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - December 12, 1988, Darmstadt, Hesse A new Book on the beetles throws Light on the band working process at Abbey Road studios. Facilities Tor we rfcs a a a tie for sessions lasting 12 hours or More. In 1969, the group named its final album Aller the studios although Lewisohn said the name was nol so much a tribute As a Mailer of convenience. The group had originally decided to Call its Swan song Everest and planned to Travo a cover photo taken in the Himalayas. But As the release Date approached none of the four wanted to make lha trip so Paul Mccartney suggested that they have a photo taken in the crosswalk outside the studios and thallie album be called Abbey Road. From the session tapes Lewisohn writes a listener gels a Clear impression of the differences in the working methods of the group s two principal composers. John Lennon and Paul Mccartney. Lennon the tapes show liked to work quickly and was often satisfied with performances of his songs after comparatively few takes. Mccartney by contrast Ollen reworked and rearranged his tunes sometimes starting Over alter dozens of takes and trial mixes. -. A times the clash Between these approaches yielded the Sparks thai gave the recordings their final touch. ,. After several nights of work on Mccartney s of la of of la a for example Lennon stormed Inlo the studio yelled come on. This is it and whacked out the brisk piano flourish that proved to be lust the touch Mccartney was looking for. The tapes also reveal the humor familiar from the group s Wirtis . It is Lilloo Short of miraculous that the beatles were Able to record any Lennon song without collapsing into Lewis bin writes after describing one incident in which they did just that for while Paul or George s 1-2-3-4 count ins Weie always appropriately sensible John s from Archive. Laps to the last were anything but. Only John Lennon could have devised so Many demented ways of saying Lour simple numbers Lewisohn s research also included a study of the recording logs. In which the details of what was done Al each session Are noted. Much of this documentation is. Reproduced in the Book. " the also interviewed to people who observed the work among Idem were George Martin the group s producer and most of the engineers technicians and musicians who worked on the hand s disks. There is also an interview with Mccartney which serves As the Book s foreword. ". In three books and numerous articles the 30-year-old. Lewisohn has brought a scholarly touch to beatlemania forever by Allan Koz info. New. York times. Imagine what it was like for me walking Inlo Abbey Road studios opening tape boxes thai Haynol Boon touched since they were shelved 20.years ago Ond listening through professional equipment beatles recording session. said Mark Lewisohn describing the major part of his research for his new both. The beatles recording sessions the a Lucial Abbey Road studio session nates t962-t97q.i was Able to Sil in a control room Al the studio where the beatles worked doing my own mixes and isolating Iracks Lewisohn explained recently in a Telephone interview from his Home in Berkhamsted England. And i can honestly say i was surprised by everything s heard. The beatles were Brilliant in Tho studio. Their sheer Industry was Lewisohn spent two years listening to 400 hours of taper raw material Hal had yielded 10 hours released Bealles music. V included were Early versions of familiar1 songs More than a dozen songs that were never released an. Album s Worth Lavant Garda along the lines of revolution Fri and Between takes studio chatter that throws lighten the band s working process. The Abbey Road studios in London where. Lewisohn did his listening were opened in 1931 and. Were once known primarily for the classical records made . The Bealles began recording Al Abbey Road in 1962 and by the mice sets the group s financial clout within. Emi their record company which owned the studios was such that it could commandeer Abbey Road s. By focusing on the details of when where and How they produced their music a fan since childhood a began his research when Philip Norman author of the Bealles biography St Ioctl asked him to ascertain the Date on which John Lennon and Paul Mccartney met. All previous authors had agreed that the occasion was an outdoor performance by Lennon s band the Quarry men. In Liverpool but each filed a different Date. When i found some newspaper Alicles that definitively established the Dale july 6,1957 i was so astonished that f kept researching Lewisohn said. In fact he continued for seven years producing a chronicle of 1.400 Public performances the beatles gave Between 1957 and 1966. Fleshed out with chapter introductions repertory lists annotations that include such details As attendance figures and Gate receipts and lavish documentary illustrations Hal Haling became his first Book the beatles Uvel. The research also served As the basis of his second Book 25 years in the life a More generalized chronology of the quartet s activities Between 1962 and 1s87. Just is a Olsohn s research career was taking on a life of us own. The directors of Emi realized that they had no idea what the company s Bealles Archive held. The first to attempt a Complete catalogue was John Barrett a Young Engineer. When he died in 1984, the project was shelved. Two years later. Lewisohn s Blaffas a fief caught the company s interest and the author was invited to Complete the lash. Of course i had wanted to listen to those Lapes or years he said and i had always prayed Hal if the Job went to someone it would be the beatles recording sessions Tike the beatles Lyet combines musicological sobriety with a wry sense of humor. On one hand it is a virtuosic trivia recital. If you want to know the details of the beatles dinner the night they recorded love me do they had Spaghetti at Alpino Marylebone High Street Al 19 Pence a serving George Martin paid or who recorded the Traffie noises heard on magical mystery tour Stuart Ellham. Emi s sound a flecks librarian this is Tho place Solook. Ii is also the first Book to include the dates times and places of every beatles recording mixing and editing session the number of lakes ref tired to record each of the group s songs which lakes were chosen for release and what sort of overdubbing completed their. Production what instruments were used and who played them. With this wealth of detail Lewisohn vividly conveys a sense of the atmosphere at the sessions and shows How the band evolved during us Brief but productive recording the Book begins the Bealles Are a provincial dance band eager to follow Martin s directions end Able to Sil still Lor a lecture on the poor slate of their equipment. Within Lour years they were not Only calling their own music shots but had pushed studio technology so far that Emi s engineers had to invent new circuitry to provide the it feels the beatles wanted. Most important Lewisohn shows the music taking shape sometimes in a single take Long tall a f ,. Sometimes in As Many As 102 attempts George Harrison s 1968 Wol guilty which after All that was left unreleased.,-.even Small details received extraordinary care. The Tew seconds of animal noises at the end of Good re Tomrong Good morning on sgt. Pepper s lonely hearts club bar 3, Lor example were planned so that each animal was followed by one Large enough to either devour or terrify ii. And group in search of new timbres decided to use backward Lapes of their guitars they had their solos carefully written out and played the notes in reverse order so that the tape when played. Backward produced the desired notes. -.". The Book also lists dozens of tantalizing variants including a 27-Minule Meta shelter As Well As a version of. A Day in the Lite in which the final orchestral Crescendo was followed by a choral hum. This finale was replaced when the group decided thai a piano chord would end the wort More strongly. Does Lewisohn Ever feel balled out. Well i worked on the berates recordings sessions 16 hours a Day 7 Days a week for 2 years he said. And when it was finished yes i did feel beatles Oul i told people thai i was not going to play a beatles record for at least six months. 8ul actually. I think 1 lasted Only. Ale Days. Monday december 12, .1988 the stars and stripes Page 17
