Beatles Recording Reference Manual: Volume 4

An excellent reference for Beatles nerds like myself, perhaps not for casual fans. Track by track info on the nitty gritty of the recording of all the Beatles' songs. Thanks Jerry!

Want to know about a piece of equipment used by The Beatles? Get Andy Babiuk's book Beatles Gear. Want info about specific Beatles recording sessions? Try Mark Lewisohn's seminal 1988 book Complete Beatles Recording Sessions. Want to know how specific songs were recorded? Look for Recording the Beatles by Kevin Ryan & Brian Kehew. Want to save some money and enjoy the highlights of all three of these classics? Buy Jerry Hammack's The Beatles Recording Reference Manual (in this case, Volume 4). This is an outstanding book! (As are the other four volumes in the series.) It's divided roughly into four sections: [1] song narratives that discuss the development and participants (studio personnel, guest musicians, etc.) for each song; [2] detailed song diagrams that break down the individual instruments used on each track and for each session; [3] individual session info including dates and times with details about instruments played, studio equipment used, superimpositions added, and specific session notes; and [4] appendices that list technical recording equipment, details about each studio used by The Beatles, and lists of all instruments and amplifiers they used. To write, organize, and cross-reference this data is a phenomenal achievement. In response to some criticisms the author has received for his work: 1. Hammack merely reorganizes and re-presents (some might say plagiarizes) info from other authors' work: With the literally thousands of books written about The Beatles, it would be rare indeed to find and present previously unknown information. While there are new findings in Tune In, the first volume of Lewisohn's epic Beatles biography, there is also a ton of repetition from previous biographies. Moreover, Hammack in his Introduction generously cites the work of Ryan/Kehew, Lewisohn, and Babiuk as integral to his books. What is new about Hammack is combining the best of these heavyweights into one easily accessible source, in addition to adding a lot of original scholarship not found in their works. 2. Hammack's books are overpriced for what they offer: I respectfully disagree. Try to buy new copies of Lewisohn, Babiuk, and Ryan/Kehew; you will most definitely shell out hundreds of dollars. The Ryan/Kehew book, especially, commands monumental prices. (The last new copy I saw on Amazon was selling for nearly $1,000!) At it's going price for a brand-new copy, Hammack's book is a bargain. 3. The author is overly repetitious and monotonous: In the Introduction of this book, Hammack actually agrees with this assessment but says he deliberately chose repetition to keep the reader from having to skip through numerous pages and sections merely because the same info pertains to more than one song. This approach is not everyone's cup of tea, but reading something for one song that is presented practically verbatim for another song is OK with me if I don't have to riffle through the book to read that something. 4. There are some typographical and factual errors in the book: Yes, I've also found a few errors and I've brought them to the author's attention. Hammack has always replied and been courteous and respectful in his answers. What's most impressed me is that since the introduction of this book in 2019 a second edition has been issued to correct factual errors, add new information, address grammar and typographical issues, and improve internal consistency among the book's sections (and with other volumes). Compare this to Lewisohn (1988, no revisions), Ryan/Kehew (2006, no revisions), and Babiuk (2001, one revision). I purchased the newest edition of this book to replace my first edition. Cheap at the price to stay current (IMO). All five volumes of this series are a treasured part of my Beatles library. I'd strongly recommend they be part of anyone's. As a closing comment, I'll be following Hammack's approach and essentially repeating what I've written here in my reviews of the other four volumes. They're all equally good. (The books, that is!)

really enjoyed the content. very interesting to know how the Beatles recorded. i'll be purchasing the other volumes.

For Beatles fanatics who are interested in the recording details of the albums.

A glimpse into the studio recording gear and background of some of the greatest music of our time. There's a reason this series of recording reference guides are in the R&R Hall of Fame library.