Studio B, Sound Recorders Studio, Los Angeles
Producer: Paul McCartney
Engineer: Eirik Wangberg
Paul McCartney finished recording the vocals for the Ram song ‘Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey’ on 1 April 1971.
He had already recorded the first part of the song, so the focus on this day was on the second section. The opening lyrics for ‘Admiral Halsey’ had eluded him for some time, but in recent days he had finally finished writing them. The vocals were recorded during this session.
McCartney wished to add synth effects to his vocals, so Paul Beaver of electronic music duo Beaver & Krause was booked to play on the session.
McCartney wanted an underwater effect on the answering word “water” in the ‘Hands across the water’ section, so Paul Beaver of electronic music duo Beaver & Krause brought his synthesizer to the studio and demonstrated how to get the sound. They also worked on a phasing effect on ‘Dear Boy’.
On Thursday afternoon I was scheduled to do a session at Sound Recorders in Los Angeles, but they wouldn’t tell me what it was for. I got there, set up the synthesizer and I sat in the recording engineer chair behind the console. Then this guy walked in the control room and with an intimidating English accent said, ‘Who are you and what the hell are you doing here?’ It was Paul!
Maccazine Ram Special Part 2, Volume 42, Issue 1
A tape reel was filled with synthesizer effects, but the desired sounds proved elusive. Beaver returned to the studio to complete the songs on 7 April.