Read Online Beatles' Let It Be (33 1/3) by Steve Matteo - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Steve Matteo
Ads: Link
or at least a tie, a practice that went on into the early 70s.
Along with producers and engineers, there was also an extensive technical staff. It was primarily responsible for maintaining the equipment, but also became deeply involved in the many technical innovations that were born at Abbey Road, mostly during the Beatles sessions.
Jerry Boys was an engineer who worked at Abbey Road and Olympic Studios on such Beatles albums as
Rubber Soul, Revolver, Sgt. Pepper,
and
Let It Be.
He has had a long, successful recording career working with a diverse range of musicians. He commented on the positive aspects of working at Abbey Road: “You were in a place where everything was done the best possible way. They had spares of everything. It was like training asa doctor in the best hospital. You were exposed to every form of music you could possibly imagine.”
While the Beatles had recorded outside of Abbey Road, this would be the first complete album to be recorded elsewhere. Although the group had basically had the run of Abbey Road at the end of their time recording there, which included having a great production, technical, and engineering support team at its disposal, the idea of having their own studio, outfitted the way they liked and accessible around the clock, was appealing. The group had long abandoned recording in accordance with the rigid Abbey Road schedule. Aside from the rock musician’s penchant for late hours, the group embraced the idea to record at night because they had heard that Frank Sinatra did so. The simmering ill feelings of the group about working at Abbey Road boiled over during the
White Album
sessions. After a tape machine broke down, John Lennon said, “It won’t be the same when we get our own studio down at Apple.”
John Henry Smith, an engineer who worked at Abbey Road and at Apple, remembered that the Beatles were “frustrated and fed up with EMI (Abbey Road).” “EMI at that time,” he continued, “wasn’t terribly respectful of them. They were still treated as ‘the boys.”’
The process of the Beatles gaining more control over how their records sounded involved having GeorgeMartin interpret their ideas, as well as convincing the engineers at Abbey Road to allow them to break the written and unwritten rules of recording that had long been adopted at the studio.
Peter Asher attested to the challenges the Beatles faced at Abbey Road Studios. Asher, who had brought James Taylor to Apple Records and went on to produce most of his recordings in the 70s, had also been half of the duo Peter and Gordon. He knew Paul not only from his days recording at Abbey Road, but also from his sister Jane’s long relationship with Paul, which lasted from 1963 through 1968. Paul spent a good deal of time with the Asher family at their home on Wimpole Street. In fact, it was Margaret Asher, Peter and Jane’s mother, who picked out Paul’s home in St. John’s Wood. Coincidentally, she had also been an oboe professor at the Royal Academy of Music and had even taught George Martin to play the instrument. Peter Asher recalled some of the constraints when recording at Abbey Road:
For a mix, they would come in and set the compressors in the mix position and that would be it, and no one was allowed to touch it. It wasn’t until the Beatles that you were allowed to go, “What happens if you turn the knob all the way like this?” We’d bring in records and say, “Look, we want more bass,” and they would say, “No, that’s all the bass you can have.” We’d play them a Motown track and say, “Listen to this bass,” and they’d go, “Well, that’s distorted, you can’t do that.” We would say, “If they can do it in America, whycan’t we do it?” They just said, “No.” It was like breaking the rules. You couldn’t have distorted sound on a record. They were purists and in some ways that was good. There was a very high attention to detail. They were judging it all by ultra hi-fi
Along with producers and engineers, there was also an extensive technical staff. It was primarily responsible for maintaining the equipment, but also became deeply involved in the many technical innovations that were born at Abbey Road, mostly during the Beatles sessions.
Jerry Boys was an engineer who worked at Abbey Road and Olympic Studios on such Beatles albums as
Rubber Soul, Revolver, Sgt. Pepper,
and
Let It Be.
He has had a long, successful recording career working with a diverse range of musicians. He commented on the positive aspects of working at Abbey Road: “You were in a place where everything was done the best possible way. They had spares of everything. It was like training asa doctor in the best hospital. You were exposed to every form of music you could possibly imagine.”
While the Beatles had recorded outside of Abbey Road, this would be the first complete album to be recorded elsewhere. Although the group had basically had the run of Abbey Road at the end of their time recording there, which included having a great production, technical, and engineering support team at its disposal, the idea of having their own studio, outfitted the way they liked and accessible around the clock, was appealing. The group had long abandoned recording in accordance with the rigid Abbey Road schedule. Aside from the rock musician’s penchant for late hours, the group embraced the idea to record at night because they had heard that Frank Sinatra did so. The simmering ill feelings of the group about working at Abbey Road boiled over during the
White Album
sessions. After a tape machine broke down, John Lennon said, “It won’t be the same when we get our own studio down at Apple.”
John Henry Smith, an engineer who worked at Abbey Road and at Apple, remembered that the Beatles were “frustrated and fed up with EMI (Abbey Road).” “EMI at that time,” he continued, “wasn’t terribly respectful of them. They were still treated as ‘the boys.”’
The process of the Beatles gaining more control over how their records sounded involved having GeorgeMartin interpret their ideas, as well as convincing the engineers at Abbey Road to allow them to break the written and unwritten rules of recording that had long been adopted at the studio.
Peter Asher attested to the challenges the Beatles faced at Abbey Road Studios. Asher, who had brought James Taylor to Apple Records and went on to produce most of his recordings in the 70s, had also been half of the duo Peter and Gordon. He knew Paul not only from his days recording at Abbey Road, but also from his sister Jane’s long relationship with Paul, which lasted from 1963 through 1968. Paul spent a good deal of time with the Asher family at their home on Wimpole Street. In fact, it was Margaret Asher, Peter and Jane’s mother, who picked out Paul’s home in St. John’s Wood. Coincidentally, she had also been an oboe professor at the Royal Academy of Music and had even taught George Martin to play the instrument. Peter Asher recalled some of the constraints when recording at Abbey Road:
For a mix, they would come in and set the compressors in the mix position and that would be it, and no one was allowed to touch it. It wasn’t until the Beatles that you were allowed to go, “What happens if you turn the knob all the way like this?” We’d bring in records and say, “Look, we want more bass,” and they would say, “No, that’s all the bass you can have.” We’d play them a Motown track and say, “Listen to this bass,” and they’d go, “Well, that’s distorted, you can’t do that.” We would say, “If they can do it in America, whycan’t we do it?” They just said, “No.” It was like breaking the rules. You couldn’t have distorted sound on a record. They were purists and in some ways that was good. There was a very high attention to detail. They were judging it all by ultra hi-fi
Similar Books
