Studio Two, EMI Studios, Abbey Road
Producer: Chris Thomas
Engineer: Ken Scott
The Beatles began recording the White Album ballad ‘I Will’ during this session.
George Harrison was absent, so it was a three-man effort. Paul McCartney sang and played acoustic guitar, Ringo Starr played drums and maracas, and John Lennon kept a beat on temple blocks.
It took 67 attempts before a satisfactory take was completed. McCartney also led the others through various improvisations, including take 19, better known as ‘Can You Take Me Back?’, a snippet from which appeared on the White Album in between ‘Cry Baby Cry’ and ‘Revolution 9’.
Also during the session, the trio recorded ‘Step Inside Love’, a song written by McCartney for Cilla Black. Their rendition segued into an improvised song, ‘Los Paranoias’. These were included on 1996’s Anthology 3, along with take one of ‘I Will’.
I made a little demo of it and got that to both Cilla and the producer of the TV show. They really liked it and asked me to help record it. I think I was so pleased with it I was again happy to help, and then I also enjoyed watching the show each week.
The Lyrics: 1956 To The Present
Take 65 was chosen of the best take of ‘I Will’. The Beatles had been recording the session on four-track tape, and to enable further overdubs the performance was dubbed onto eight-track tape.
At the end of the session a brief overdub was added to ‘Glass Onion’: the sound of a recorder, played by Paul McCartney, after the couplet about ‘The Fool On The Hill’.
I hear Paul humming the bass guitar part, imitating it. It also sounds like he played his cheeks like bongos
I have been able to vaguely detect a second guitar on the outtakes alongside Paul’s guitar, and it resembles a nylon-string or something, so this would imply that George was playing it while Paul played the 6-string.