In the studio
Paul McCartney began recording ‘Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey’ on 5 November 1970 at CBS Studios in New York.On that first day he worked on the first section, known as ‘We’re So Sorry’. He was accompanied by Hugh McCracken on guitar and Denny Seiwell on drums.
The session was not a success, and they returned to the song the following day. The basic track had McCartney on acoustic guitar, McCracken on electric, and Seiwell on drums. The guitarists then overdubbed additional lines, McCracken replaced his original part, and Seiwell added a tambourine part.
That song represents a breakthrough in our musical relationship. Paul is a genius. He sees and hears everything he wants and would give specific instructions to me and the drummer. But he didn’t know what he wanted the guitar part to be like on this song. I asked him to trust me – and he did. After I came up with the parts, he was very pleased. For the rest of the record, Paul let me try things out before making any suggestions.
Mix magazine
The ‘Admiral Halsey’ section was also worked on during the 6 November session. McCartney played the tack piano he had previously used on ‘Monkberry Moon Delight’, while McCracken and Seiwell played electric guitar and drums respectively.
At that time the lyrics were unfinished. McCartney had only the opening lines, and the ‘Hands across the water’ and ‘Gypsy get around’ sections.
During the session McCartney also added an electric organ part, which was dropped during the final mixing session.
The song was then left until 6 December 1970, when McCartney recorded his lead vocals at another CBS Studios session.
Security was tight, and each day Paul and Linda would come up the back elevator with their kids and a playpen, which we set up in the front of the control room. I was a part-time nanny since Mary would often be crawling around the console and sitting on my lap! The interplay between Paul and Linda was sweet, especially when they were on-mic. Linda actually came up with some parts on her own – the entire backing vocals on ‘Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey’ consists of the two of them – but when she needed a hand, Paul was great with her.We used a combination of U87s – if we were working on something smooth – and Shure SM57s for the rockier stuff throughout the album. Paul didn’t care what mic you put on him, although he did like the U87. He’s such a great singer. I know that the vocals they cut over at CBS are Paul singing live right off the floor with the rhythm section into an Electro-Voice RE20, which was a relatively new mic at the time. They recorded the telephone section over at CBS, as well. That character voice was also Paul, with a simple highpass filter engaged to give the telephone effect.
Mix magazine
Following the 6 November session, McCartney had sent a rough mix to George Martin, requesting a score which would also bridge the two sections.
Martin’s contribution was not credited on the album, and was unknown by the general public for nearly 30 years. His score sheets for the orchestral arrangement, separated into two parts, mistakenly bore the title ‘Uncle Arthur’.
McCartney conducted the orchestral musicians; the recording took place in Studio A1 at A&R Studios in New York. According to producer Phil Ramone, “The funny thing is about 20% of the orchestra didn’t know who he was. They were classical players.”
The orchestral overdub session for the ‘Uncle Albert’ section took place on 27 January 1971. The overdub features 16 violins, four violas, four cellos, a double bass, three French horns, a bass trombone, and a harp.
‘Admiral Halsey’ was tackled the following day. This time the arrangement required three flugelhorns or trumpets, three French horns, and bass trombone.
The flugelhorn solo that marks the beginning of the ‘Admiral Halsey’ section was performed by American bebop trumpeter Marvin Stamm.
When Paul decided he wanted a short solo from one of the horn players – me, Snooky Young, Mel Davis, Ray Crisara – someone in the section yelled out, ‘Let the kid do it!’ Paul must have liked the idea, because he asked me to go ahead with it.By the time this session occurred, I had been in New York for about four years working as a studio recording musician, so I felt very comfortable within the community, although I was only 31 years old at the time. Paul was very relaxed in the studio, he did not try to cause any tension. He was also very open and respectful of everyone. We were going to do the brass for three different songs in three separate sessions, completely apart from the strings overdubs.
For ‘Admiral Halsey’, we listened to the backing track, that had a scratch vocal on it and the solo was the last thing we recorded for the track. There was nothing terribly difficult to play. The most difficult thing was to make the music sound the way Paul wanted it to sound. It was a challenge. He sat on a chair and sang the part, that he would have like to sound as much as possible close to the old radio days.
Paul McCartney: Recording Sessions (1969-2013), Luca Perasi
On 1 February 1971 Paul and Linda added backing vocals to the ‘Hands across the water’ section. The track was then left for several weeks while McCartney worked on other songs, and finished the lyrics of the ‘Admiral Halsey’ section.
The song was eventually finished at Sound Recorders Studio in Hollywood. On 1 April McCartney recorded the lead vocals for the ‘Admiral Halsey’ section.
The session also involved a contribution from synth player Paul Beaver, who demonstrated how to apply a filter to the word ‘water’ during the ‘Hands across the water’ section, to sound as if it was submerged.
Beaver returned on 7 April to apply the effects. Studio engineer Eirik Wangberg also added the sound of rain and thunder to the track, which was then finally complete.
Yes, it’s really cool indeed. For this sound, I used a mono track which I got from a film studio, recorded it over twice and made an artificial stereo out of it. Then, in the mix, I panned the thunder over… I am particularly proud of this bit! It’s not often mentioned, but if you check the song out it was one of the first recordings where the synthesizers were used on the vocals. Listen to it carefully: it sounds like the choir was done beneath the water!
The release
‘Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey’ was released as a single in the United States on 2 August 1971, as Apple 1837. Its b-side was ‘Too Many People’.
The song was included in our album Ram, and it was released as a single a few months later. It became my first post-Beatles number one in the US.
The Lyrics: 1956 To The Present
The single topped the Billboard Hot 100 in September 1971, becoming the first in a string of McCartney’s number one singles throughout the 1970s and 80s.
‘Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey’ was an epic thing, a Number 1 in America, surprisingly enough. I like the little bit that breaks in: ‘Admiral Halsey notified me, da-da-da, had a cup of tea and a butter pie.’ It’s a bit surreal, but I was in a very free mood, and looking back I like all of that. It must have freaked a few people, ’cause it was quite daft.
Mojo, 2001
McCartney received a Grammy Award for Best Arrangement Accompanying Vocalists for ‘Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey’ in 1971.
Fascinating detail about that filter effect on the final fake telephone ring – it functions just like a sudden cut in a movie, unintended or not. A “happy accident” worthy of the Beatles!
Am I the only one that hears Paul doing a bit of John Cleese in this song
Nope, I hear it too!
No, you hear nothing of the sort. Cole Porter is the person he’s channelling, not John Cleese. As if. Too much ignorance on these boards.
And too many intolerant, egotistical pricks!
I was thinking the same thing as I listened to the song but an hour ago. Intentionally or not, Paul sounds very much like John Cleese in that passage.
NNo you are not. Have always looked for a cameo credit for J.C.
Look this isn’t an Argument!
I’m very sorry but you didn’t pay. 🙂
I always thought it sounded like Cleese
Cette chanson est, et de loin, une des plus belles de son époque.
Paul McCartney is the best musician in the world! The only thing you did wasn’t Yesterday! Kudos Paul! Keep going!! Buddy Haughwout!
John Lennon was so jealous and bitter at Paul’s genius and talent, that he just couldn’t help himself with the constant bashing of his musical soulmate. I think that Lennon recognized that McCartney, who loved, admired and hero worshipped him as a teen and young adult, started to catch up, then surpass Lennon with his songwriting skills, that Lennon feared that McCartney wouldn’t need/want him anymore, so Lennon just criticized and put down just about everything Paul did, running to the press and running off at the mouth, with the music press poison pens dripping and at the ready, to heap vitriol at McCartney’s works, as if THEY could create anything better musically themselves.(unlikely)
I think that John truely loved Paul, but was just too envious and wanted to ALWAYS to be perceived as the best……but he wasn’t.
Sorry but John was a music genius too and there are countless great examples of this during his Beatles years,and some during his solo career.Please go listen to his beautiful,brilliant music in his 1974 song, Number 9 Dream, the music is beautiful and brilliant with beautiful melodies and harmonies and John’s usual beautiful singing voice.John produced and arranged this song by himself and the very good album it’s on,Walls and Bridges too. And John’s beautiful Hawaiian type music in this song, You Are Here, from his Mind Games album.
Lennon´s critique of McCartney´s material was almost always fair. He knew what he was talking about. I agree totally with the Lennon citation above, about Uncle Albert and the Ram and McCartney LP:s.
Lennon was better than McCartney at hearing if the basic material of a song was good or not. He was able to think past, and not be fooled by, a slick production.
I really think Lennon wanted McCartney to make good and fully developed songs and was disappointed when he almost never did.
When Paul almost never wrote good and fully developed songs? Paul wrote *many* of these in his early solo/Wings career.And John didn’t always write these type of songs in his solo career either.
On the McCartney LP Maybe I´m amazed and Every night are really good. That would be something is good but definitely not fully developed.
Junk is okay but melodically too predictable. That goes for Teddy boy to. whch does not have very good lyrics, because McCartney did not bother to develop it or did not understand that he should do so.
Man we was lonely has good verses but a rather tedious chorus. The two parts differ too much emotionally to fit together.
Kreen Akrore is interesting but not a real song. What else is there on that LP? Not much.
Ram is even worse: Uncle Albert is good, as is the verse-refrain in The back seat of my car, but that is all, in my opinion.
Wild life is a right out terrible LP. Red rose speedway has the not so bad, but also not very good, My love and When the night.
Band on the run is overrated. The two first parts of the Band on the run song are good as is Denny Laines No words, but the rest of the songs are mediocre compared to McCartney´s Beatles production.
Venus and Mars… I can´t be bothered. Speed of Sound has Let ’em in which is not so bad.
London Town, Back to the egg, McCartney II… Not much substance there.
Tug of war is a good LP in many ways, for a change.
Pipes of peace is not very good. And so on.
I think you’re right. Uncle Albert, as even Paul admitted, was a collection of odds and ends of bits and pieces sewn together to make a song. John saw right through it and called him on it, mentioning what he liked and what he didn’t. John could be very unfair sometimes, but on this count he was just calling it like he saw it.
…and obviously, Lennon’s critique of this song was right on…. NOT!! This was a huge hit. It was odd, and a little goofy, but very much like many Beatles songs. It’s a shame John had to be so critical/jealous.
I really like Uncle Albert, but Paul should not have coupled it with Admiral Halsey, as this is a lesser song.
have to agree , i remember throwing RAM in the garbage, awful album , with the exception of uncle Albert and one or two others like too many people . . red rose speedway , just terrible . actually i never kept any of paul’s solo albums. but they all did have a few masterpieces on each one . but mostly just elevator music on them . having said that , Lennon should have kept his mouth shut . he had alot of bad things to say about alot of people .I remember when he said cancer had whipped John wayne , well i guess he got whipped to . At least Paul was cool and just did his own thing .
If you think John knew whether a basic song was any good or not, then God knows why he wrote Woman is the N of the World. McCartney’s judgement was affected by too much weed, not the presence or absence of Lennon.
At the end of the day, the ultimate judge of music is the public, regardless of how many experts pontificate over its intrinsic worth. (If this were not true, “Happy Birthday to You” would have sunk faster than a Led Zeppelin. I dislike the cheesy world music “You’re The Voice” more than any other song, but am prepared to admit the majority rules on this piece). No music would ever be released, except to the eclectic philosophical cognoscenti to argue over to their hearts’ content.
Perhaps people hear John Cleese because the whole thing sounds like something from Monty Python and I love it.
Maybe it’s just me but this song just screams John. I know that Paul had an Uncle Albert who this was suppose to be about and maybe to some extent it was. To me however, “Albert” is John, who at the time was referring to himself as a genius (like Albert Einstein) and he, John, was so busy rubbing his “love cloud” goings on with Yoko in Paul’s face as if to say “I don’t need you anymore, I have Yoko” Paul hits back with, in essence, “Sorry, I’m too busy for you, I’ve got to check on tea” (We’re so easily called away)
The ending part makes me think of Yoko “Little, little be a gypsy get around…”) The whole tune is extremely clever but it is a dig at both Lennon and Ono. At least that is what I get from it. Love it though.
Nah. McCartney explicitly stated what the song’s about – nothing to do with J & Y. That’s your imagination running amok.
Because Paul and other musicians will openly admit every detail about every word put into a song, especially if its a dig at former bandmates…right?
One of my favorite songs by paul. What a genius.
I’ve always loved the song! One of my favorite along with Magneto from Venus and Mars. Love you Paul!
I too like Magneto and Titanium man, though the lyrics is silly.
That’s Paul all over — genius melodies, juvenile lyrics.
I’m dying to know “What is that sound effect when he says the word “wa-ter”?? The song Admiral Hasley? For several years I wanted to know how did that weird vocal effect..”Land, across the water “wa-ter”, land across the sky”…
That was Linda McCartney’s vocal, “water”, and it was passed through modulated reverb and mixed in separately from the main backing track.
Who does the voice over on the talking part? Sounds like John Cleese. Is it?
Certainly sounds like Paul, no?
McCartney made a mistake when coupling Uncle Albert with Admiral Halsey. The former is much better and one should never connect a good to a lesser song.
I don’t like the combination either. I’d have much preferred a “full” Uncle Albert beautiful ballad, and a separate “full” Admiral Halsey comedy/weird song.
Other McCartney songs are medleys, but there isn’t the same tonal clash (Band on the Run, You never give me your money, Golden Slumbers/Carry that weight/The end etc)
Lennon´s critique of McCartney´s material was almost always fair. He knew what he was talking about. I agree totally with the Lennon citation above, about Uncle Albert and the Ram and McCartney LP:s.
Ram has been critically reappraised in the last few years. I’d say it was John who got it wrong. Much of Paul’s solo work has better stood the test of time in my opinion. That said, I’m not keen on this song. I never liked Paul’s silly voice songs or Linda’s singing when she yells ‘hands across the waterrr’. She does it in other songs too.
How do we know that John didn’t any influence in the “Uncle Albert” song? And in meaning representation was Einstein. I understand Paul’s comments concerning his uncle and Admiral Halsey. But very deep in my gut something tells me that John had a bit of influence for his own reasoning. They both may of agreed on the lyrics for separate reasons. John was a visionary and Paul would take an idea from time to time I’m sure. Not saying Paul to be fair was a ladder stepper for his own reasons, but was an amazing artist himself but was the first to be the business man.
I had the 45 back in the day. This is just a fun listen, nothing spectacular or meaningful. Not a great piece of art, but one to just hum or sing to, however meaningless the lyrics are.
And then I’ll put a flower right over here, magnificent work of art.
It’s a cute collection that has stood the test of time. It had to be done exactly that way.
The claim that this song was the first number one song by an ex-Beatle is factually incorrect. George Harrison was the first ex-Beatle to score a number one hit in 1970 with “My Sweet Lord”. This song hit number one in 1971.
Interesting fact: George was also the last Beatle to score a number one hit. The final number one for any former Beatle was in 1988 with “Got My Mind Set on You” by George.
I didn’t claim it was the first Beatles solo number one. The article says: “It became his first post-Beatles number one single”, and that it was “the first in a string of McCartney’s number one singles throughout the 1970s and 80s”. Those are both correct.
I got this single at the time and remember the video of it on the JPM tv special. I always enjoyed his various medleys and the way he transitioned the song parts and especially enjoyed his imitation of a British telephone here. I notice there’s usually always the same folks regularly bashing Paul and his music on this site and referencing the perfect John who who never attempted a song like this or many of the other types of songs on Ram say like “Dear Boy” with its complex vocal overlays. Had John paid more attention to his own music rather than to regularly bashing Paul’s in the seventies, John could have accomplished so much more musically in his short time left.