Here, There, and Everywhere by Geoff Emerick is perhaps my most favorite Beatles related book. Why is that? Because it gives such a fascinating and lifelike perspective on the recording of The Beatles legendary LPs.
I love that the book is focused on what was going on within the studio rather than what the members of the band were doing in their personal lives. In comparison other such books are far too focused on the biography of The Beatles and not enough on the music. It’s because of their songs that anyone is concerned about their biography.
The book is not entirely about The Beatles, it is really a Geoff Emerick biography (with a clear focus on his time recording The Beatles) but if you think that that may make it not as interesting, I really don’t think that it does. I actually believe it helps make his stories about The Beatles appear more “real.”
The book’s “realness” is one of the best things about it. I’ve read a heap of books on the Fab Four however many of them seem kind of clinical in comparison. They’re often like a bunch of trivia thrown together. With this book I felt like I was really there at Abbey Road Studio in the 1960s. Sort of a fly on the wall.
This book gives a great look into The Beatles as musicians. We get a glimpse of McCartney working tirelessly to get his bass guitar parts on Sgt. Pepper perfect and we see George Harrison significantly improve his guitar playing talents through the decade.
Emerick was a very necessary part of the band’s sound throughout their most creative period in the mid ’60s. Amazingly on his 1st full day as lead engineer he came up with ideas which helped make “Tomorrow Never Knows” sound so futuristic.
If you are interested in shopping for this book you aren’t stuck with buying it on old fashioned paper, you can also obtain it for your Kindle. If you don’t have a Kindle yet then I suggest buying the 9.7″ Kindle DX because of it’s larger size, it makes it easier to read. If you live outside of the USA, you will need to get a Global Wireless Kindle.
As much as I love reading about the recording of The Beatles music, I enjoy listening to their albums even more. And I think it is a great idea to have the new Beatles remasters around to listen to while you’re reading through this great book. I particularly suggest getting The Beatles Mono CD Box Set because Emerick mentions on several occasions in this book how he thinks the mono mixes are superior (especially Sgt Pepper.)
The Beatles Remastered Vinyl when it comes out. Forget the latest garbage on the Billboard Charts, The Beatles are where it’s at.
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