Written by Geoff Emerick, Howard Massey
Format: MP3
Abridged

My Life Recording the Music of the Beatles

Emerick was only 15 when he began working with the Beatles as an assistant engineer at Abbey Road Studios. Later, as a 19-year-old full engineer, he was on board for the seminal Revolver and Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. Always aiming for perfection, the Beatles never took no for an answer, and he did his best to oblige by developing innovative recording techniques, some simple (e.g., using a loudspeaker as a microphone), others more sophisticated. Being the Beatles' engineer wasn't entirely pleasant. Eventually, during the tense and uncomfortable White Album sessions, the Beatles barely spoke to one another without anger, and Emerick quit before recording was finished. But he returned to work on Abbey Road and several McCartney solo records, including Band on the Run. Anyone interested in the Beatles and their music ought to love Emerick's as-told-to insider's account of working with the world's most famous band when they made their most famous music.