The Beatles - Lady Madonna Sessions (3-11 Feb. 1968)

3, 4, 6, 8 and 11 February 1968. Abbey Road Studio, London. The Beatles began recording Lady Madonna on 3 February 1968. They began by recording three takes of the basic rhythm track, with McCartney on piano and Starr playing the drums with brushes. McCartney added a bass part that evening, and Lennon and Harrison both played fuzz-toned guitars through the same amplifier. Starr also added another drum track. During the same session McCartney added his vocals, which were later double tracked, and Lennon and Harrison provided backing vocals. The Beatles returned to the song three days later. McCartney added his second vocal and another piano track, and all Beatles contributed handclaps. McCartney, Lennon and Harrison also recorded their "See how they run" vocals, and the vocalised imitation brass during the middle eight. That evening four sax players were contacted to complete the song. They were called in at the last minute, without any prepared music, and their lines were largely improvised. The saxophone solo was played by Ronnie Scott, although much of it was removed or buried in the mix. Scott was reportedly unhappy about this, but The Beatles and George Martin were free to do as they pleased. The Beatles recorded Across The Universe over three days in early 1968, although an orchestral overdub was added many months later. They began on 3 February 1968, recording two takes of the song and a further four on the following day. There was much experimentation with the arrangement as they went along. Take two, featured on Anthology 2, was temporarily considered the best. Along with the basic rhythm track of acoustic guitar, percussion and tambura, it featured an overdubbed sitar introduction by George Harrison and lead vocals from John Lennon. The group continued working on the song until settling on take seven, onto which Lennon again taped his lead vocals. He and Paul McCartney then decided that it needed female harmony vocals to sing 'Nothing's gonna change my world' in the chorus, and so McCartney held an impromptu audition among the girls gathered outside Abbey Road. The girls were Lizzie Bravo, 16, and Gayleen Pease, 17. They were the only Beatles fans ever invited to contribute to a recording session. After the girls had completed their parts The Beatles taped backwards bass and drums, though these were later wiped. The group also taped three sound effects: 15 seconds of humming, and guitar and a harp-like sound, both to be played backwards. None of these were used. On 8 February, George Martin added an organ part, and Lennon played piano, though these were both wiped. They were replaced by a wah-wah guitar part played by Lennon, maracas by Harrison and piano by McCartney. Harmony vocals from the three were also recorded. On 11 February The Beatles recorded, completed and mixed Hey Bulldog during a 10-hour session. The basic rhythm tracks consisted of piano, drums, tambourine, lead guitar and bass. By take 10 they had a good version, and so onto this were overdubbed more drums, fuzz bass, a guitar solo, double tracked lead vocals by Lennon and backing vocals from McCartney. Track-Listing: 01. Lady Madonna (Take 3) [Excerpt] [00:00] 02. Lady Madonna (Take 4) [Excerpt] [00:44] 03. Lady Madonna (Take 5) [Excerpt] [01:26] 04. Across The Universe (Take 2) [Excerpt] [02:50] 05. Across The Universe (Take 8) [Excerpt] [03:43] 06. Hey Bulldog (Take Unknown) [04:25] 07. Hey Bulldog (Take 10) [Excerpt] [04:58] 08. Hey Bulldog (Take 10 with Vocal Overdub) [Excerpt] [05:22]