Posts Tagged ‘Recording Music’

Here, There, And Everywhere: My Life Recording The Beatles

Geoff Emerick’s Here, There, and Everywhere is ikely my most favorite Beatles connected book. Why? Because it offers such a fascinating perspective on the recording of The Beatles legendary LPs.

I like that the book is focused on what was happening in the studio instead of what the members of the band were doing personally. Comparatively other Beatles books are too centered on the biography of The Beatles and not enough on the music. It’s because of their songs that anyone is concerned about their personal stories.

The book is not entirely about The Beatles, it’s really a Geoff Emerick memoir (with a clear focus on his time recording The Beatles) however if you think that that may make it less interesting, I really don’t think that it does. I actually think it helps make his interactions with The Beatles appear more “real.”

The book’s “realness” is one of my favorite things about it. I have read a heap of books on the band but most of them seem kind of clinical in comparison. Like a bunch of facts thrown together. With Here, There, and Everywhere I really felt like I was there at the studio in the 1960s. Sort of a fly on the wall, taking it all in.

This book offers a great look into The Beatles as musicians there’s actually a series of books called The Beatles as Musicians which goes into that more indepth.) We get a glimpse at McCartney working tirelessly to get his bass guitar parts on Sgt. Pepper just right and we see George improve his guitar playing talents through the decade.

Emerick was a very important part of the band’s sound during their most creative period in the mid ’60s. Amazingly on his 1st full day as lead engineer he came up with ideas that helped make the last track on Revolver, “Tomorrow Never Knows,” sound so revolutionary.

If you are interested in buying this book you aren’t stuck with buying it on old fashioned paper, you’ll also buy it for your Kindle. If you do not have a Kindle yet then I recommend buying the Kindle DX Digital Reader because of it’s larger size, it makes it easier to read. If you live outside of the United States, you’ll need to order a Global Wireless Kindle.

Of course, as much as I like reading about the recording of The Beatles music, I enjoy listening to their music even more than that. And I think it is a fantastic idea to have the new remastered versions of The Beatles back catalog around to hear to while you are reading this great book. In particular I recommend buying The Beatles Remastered Mono Box Set because Emerick mentions on several occasions in the book how he thinks that the mono mixes are the superior versions of those albums that have a mono mix (specifically in relation to Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.)