For nearly five decades, music critics and devoted popular music fans have applauded members of the British 1960s Rock group, The Beatles (John Lennon [1940-1980], Paul McCartney [b. 1942], George Harrison [1943-2001], and Ringo Starr [b. 1940]), as innovative performing artists. Part of this praise stems from their use of sonic diversity and experimentation with analog electronic technology in their late studio albums (1966-1970). This paper will closely uncover the reasons behind The Beatles’ decision to incorporate this technology into their music. It will also describe the devices and techniques that they and their audio recording engineers used in the Electric and Musical Industries Ltd. (EMI) recording studio at Abbey Road in London, England. To further support these points, this paper will also briefly examine how these factors influenced their compositional and collaborative processes and include brief aural analyses of some relevant songs from their albums.
Two disclaimers must be addressed before continuing. First, for the sake of conciseness, this paper will exclude discussions of some Beatles albums (Abbey Road and Let It Be). Secondly, because the text sources used in this research refer to the British album releases, this paper will also highlight some differences between the British and North American versions: particularly, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band and Magical Mystery Tour.
The Transition to Studio Recordings
Historical information about the Beatles from the 1990s and 2000s suggests several plausible reasons that explain why this group decided to concentrate on studio albums beginning in the late-1960s. While Beatles scholar Walter Everett and other sources refer to the Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band album from 1967 to explain this transition, they also stress that the Beatles created another experimental studio album before this: Revolver (1966).[1] It was shortly after the Beatles released this album that the band grew to dislike touring and performing live. This exhaustive procedure, coupled with their inability to hear each other playing onstage over the deafening crowd cheers and screams, placed a strain on their musicianship.[2] So, this seems to be the point in which the group made the transition.
Another cause for why The Beatles stopped touring at this point in their career centered on a newspaper interview that the band gave while on tour in the United States that same year. Fans in the southern region of the country grew angry after John Lennon made an inflammatory comment comparing the popularity of The Beatles to that of Jesus Christ, which led to boycotts and public burnings of their music.[3] Matters progressively worsened when the group toured parts of the Philippines. Band members Ringo Starr, George Harrison and Paul McCartney have frequently expressed their discomfort with performing in that country that year. The Beatles accidentally caused problems in the capital city of Manila after they refused to give a concert for President Imelda Marcos.[4]
Lastly, the band wanted to continue experimenting in the recording studio because each member wanted to expand his artistic creativity and compositional skills, Touring excessively denied them that opportunity. John Lennon grew particularly irritated that their music had not yet evolved and how Beatles fans constantly categorized their music and personalities.[5]
Electronic Devices and Techniques Used in the Studio Albums
The Beatles’ approach from 1966 onwards was to constantly explore new sounds. Sources indicate, however, that they did not record the songs in any particular order. Their final recordings were later set to vinyl by audio engineers at EMI in Abbey Road.[6] Additionally, the recording and mixing processes took longer stretches of time to complete when compared to their earlier records. It should also be stressed that The Beatles did not isolate each member of the group when participating in these studio recordings. John, Paul, George, and Ringo all contributed their time and efforts on these albums in order to bring their musical concepts to life.[7]
Most Beatles historians frequently cite audio engineer and supervisor George Martin (b. 1926) for his collaboration with the Beatles. While it is true that his involvement helped shape their work, it would be erroneous to assume that Martin was the only one helping them. Geoff Emerick (b. 1946) also worked extensively with the “Fab Four,” as The Beatles came to be known, during the late-1960s: from Revolver until Abbey Road. Emerick deserves mention because his biography contains a plethora of insightful information about his recording process. This factor can help one better comprehend the techniques that he used to give each album its distinctive sonic quality. More importantly, it was because of Emerick that The Beatles were able to incorporate new ideas by including analog music technology.
Revolver (1966)
In recording music for The Beatles, Emerick admits that most of the techniques that he used occurred either by chance or by accident. Besides implementing a multitude of novel microphone techniques (eg, placing microphones in close proximity with other instruments to capture nuances[8]), he also included sound produced through magnetic tape manipulation on reel-to-reel tape machines. Emerick provided his reflections on this experience when he and The Beatles began working on Revolver in 1966:
…In the months leading up to Revolver, all four Beatles had been bitten by the recording bug and had gone out and bought themselves open-reel tape recorders. Paul (McCartney), already developing a taste for avante-garde music, had discovered that the erase head could be removed, which allowed new sounds to be added to the existing ones each time the tape passed over the record head. Because of the primitive technology of the time, the tape quickly became saturated with sound and distorted, but it was an effect that appealed to the four of them as they conducted sonic experiments in their respective homes. They would often bring in bits of tape and say, “Listen to this!” as they tried to outdo one another in a de facto “weird sound” contest….[9] (my parenthesis).
Based on this quote, one can clearly see the direction in which the Beatles wanted their music to go. Emerick and the group had, in fact, utilized different tape techniques on Revolver: from splicing (cutting up and rearranging the magnetic tape), to speed variation and reversal. These compositional approaches frequently appear on several tracks. “I’m Only Sleeping,” the third song on the album, contains a “reversed guitar” effect: most noticeably in the second verse (0:45-0:54), Bridge to the instrumental solo (1:25-1:44) and faded Ending (2:46-3:03).[10] Other examples of tape manipulation on Revolver occur in “Yellow Submarine” and “Tomorrow Never Knows.” Emerick almost ran into copyright trouble while recording “Yellow Submarine” because one of the noises that he took from the sound archives at EMI (Sound, Inc.) sampled a march by American composer John Philip Sousa (1854-1932) for the “fanfare” segment (1:05-1:10). Despite disguising this part of the tape through splicing, the sample appeared in its original form in the final recording. Emerick describes the process that he used to avoid copyright infringement: “… George (Martin) had me swap over two of the pieces (of tape), and we flew it into the multitrack master, being careful to fade it out quickly….” (my parentheses). [11]
Although “Tomorrow Never Knows,” serves as the last track on Revolver, Emerick and the Beatles had begun their recording sessions with this song. It features a series of recorded and distorted sounds on magnetic tape compiled by Paul McCartney.[12] Besides using the “reverse-guitar” effect, this song also consists of sections with speed variation and what could be heard as seagull noises. In order to capture an ethereal atmosphere for this song, Emerick used overdubbing and multiple tape machines in the EMI studio.[13]
Footnotes
[1] Beatles, Revolver. Hollywood: Capitol Records, 1966, 2009. CD
[2] Beatles. “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (Documentary),” Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. (EMI Records Ltd., 1967, 2009). I-Tunes LP.
[3] Bob Spitz. “Chapter 30: A Storm in a Teacup,” in The Beatles: The Biography (New York: Little Brown and Company, 2005), 627-657.
[4]Beatles. The Beatles Anthology, San Fransisco: Chronicle Books, 2000. 217-221.
[5] Walter Everett. “Two: Yellow Mellow Custard, Green Slop Pie (1967),” in The Beatles as Musicians: Revolver Through the Anthology (New York, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999), 99.
[6] Geoff Emerick and Howard Massey ,”Innovation and Invention: The Making of Revolver,” in Here, There and Everywhere: My Life Recording the Music of The Beatles (New York: Gotham Books, 2006), 111-131.
[7] Geoff Emerick and Howard Massey, “7: Innovation and Invention: The Making of Revolver,” in Here, There and Everywhere: My Life Recording the Music of The Beatles (New York: Gotham Books, 2006), 111-131.
[8] Ibid, 111
[9] Ibid, 111.
[10] Beatles, Revolver, (Hollywood: Capitol Records, 1966, 2009. CD),Tr. 3.
[11] Ibid, Tr. 6; Geoff Emerick and Howard Massey, “7: Innovation and Invention: The Making of Revolver,” in Here, There and Everywhere: My Life Recording the Music of The Beatles (New York: Gotham Books, 2006), 123.
[12] Ibid., 111-112.
[13] Ibid; Beatles, Revolver, (Hollywood: Capitol Records, 1966, 2009. CD),Tr. 14; Walter Everett, “One: Another Kind of Mind There: The Meaning of Within (1966),” in The Beatles as Musicians: Revolver Through the Anthology (New York, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999), 34-38.