Editing The Beatles (album) (section)

===Sessions===
[[File:Abbey road studios.jpg|right|thumb|The album was recorded largely at [[Abbey Road Studios]].]]

''The Beatles'' was recorded between 30 May and 14 October 1968, largely at [[Abbey Road Studios]] in London, with some sessions at [[Trident Studios]].{{sfn|Miles|2001|pp=300, 310–12}} Their time in Rishikesh was soon forgotten in the tense atmosphere of the studio, with sessions occurring at irregular hours.{{sfn|MacDonald|1997|p=245}} The group's self-belief led to the formation of a new multimedia business corporation, [[Apple Corps]], an enterprise that drained the group financially with a series of unsuccessful projects.{{sfn|MacDonald|1997|p=246}}

The group block-booked time at Abbey Road through July.{{sfn|Lewisohn|1988|p=135}} The open-ended studio time led to a new way of working out songs. Instead of tightly rehearsing a backing track, as in previous sessions, the group recorded all the rehearsals and jamming, then added [[overdub]]s to the best take.{{sfn|Lewisohn|1988|p=139}} The production aesthetic ensured that the album's sound was scaled down and less reliant on studio innovation than ''Revolver'' and ''Sgt. Pepper''.{{sfn|Hertsgaard|1996|p=255}} Harrison's song "[[Not Guilty (song)|Not Guilty]]" was left off the album, though 102 takes were recorded.{{sfn|Lewisohn|1988|p=139}}

Only 16 of the album's 30 tracks feature all four band members performing.{{efn|"Revolution 1",{{sfn|MacDonald|1997|p=245}} "Everybody's Got Something To Hide Except Me and My Monkey",{{sfn|MacDonald|1997|p=257}} "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da",{{sfn|MacDonald|1997|p=258}} "Cry Baby Cry",{{sfn|MacDonald|1997|p=260}} "Helter Skelter",{{sfn|MacDonald|1997|p=261}} "Sexy Sadie",{{sfn|MacDonald|1997|p=262}} "While My Guitar Gently Weeps",{{sfn|MacDonald|1997|p=263}} "Yer Blues",{{sfn|MacDonald|1997|p=269}} "Rocky Raccoon",{{sfn|MacDonald|1997|p=270}} "Glass Onion",{{sfn|MacDonald|1997|p=273}} "Birthday",{{sfn|MacDonald|1997|p=277}} "Happiness Is A Warm Gun",{{sfn|MacDonald|1997|p=279}} "Piggies",{{sfn|MacDonald|1997}} "Honey Pie",{{sfn|MacDonald|1997|p=281}} "I'm So Tired",{{sfn|MacDonald|1997|p=283}} "The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill"{{sfn|MacDonald|1997|p=284}}}} Several backing tracks do not feature the full group, and overdubs tended to be performed by the song writer.{{sfn|Lewisohn|1988|p=137}} McCartney and Lennon sometimes recorded simultaneously in different studios with different engineers.{{sfn|Lewisohn|1988|p=150}} [[George Martin]]'s influence had gradually waned, and he left abruptly to go on a holiday during the recording sessions, leaving his young protégé [[Chris Thomas (record producer)|Chris Thomas]] in charge of production.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/nottingham/content/articles/2006/03/23/white_album_review_event_feature.shtml |title=The White Album @ Playhouse|publisher=BBC |first=Nigel |last=Bell|access-date=28 June 2008}}</ref>{{sfn|Lewisohn|1988|p=298}}

During the sessions, the band upgraded from [[multitrack recording|4-track recording]] to 8-track. As work began, Abbey Road Studios possessed, but had yet to install, an 8-track machine that had supposedly been sitting unused for several months. This was in accordance with EMI's policy of testing and customising new gear extensively before putting it into use. The Beatles recorded "[[Hey Jude]]" and "[[Dear Prudence]]" at Trident because it had an 8-track console.{{sfn|Lewisohn|1988|p=146}} When they learned that EMI also had one, they insisted on using it, and engineers [[Ken Scott]] and Dave Harries installed the machine (without studio management authorisation) in Abbey Road's Studio 2.{{sfn|Lewisohn|1988|p=153}}

The band held their first and only 24-hour session at Abbey Road during the final mixing and sequencing for the album. This session was attended by Lennon, McCartney and Martin; Harrison had left on a trip to the US the day before. Unlike most LPs, there was no customary three-second gap between tracks, and the master was edited so that songs segued together, via a straight edit, a crossfade, or an incidental piece of music.{{sfn|Lewisohn|1988|p=162}}