Here, There and Everywhere

January 16, 2006
Emerick was a fresh-faced young engineer in April 1966 when producer George Martin offered him the chance to work with the Beatles on what would become Revolver
. He lasted until 1968, when tensions within the group, along with the band members' eccentricities and the demands of the job, forced him to quit after The White Album
, exhausted and burned out. In this entertaining if uneven memoir, Emerick offers some priceless bits of firsthand knowledge. Amid the strict, sterile confines of EMI's Abbey Road studio, where technicians wore lab coats, the Beatles' success allowed them to challenge every rule. From their use of tape loops and their labor-intensive fascination with rolling tape backwards, the Beatles—and Emerick—reveled in shaking things up. Less remarkable are Emerick's personal recollections of the band members. He concedes the group never really fraternized with him—and he seems to have taken it personally. The gregarious McCartney is recalled fondly, while Lennon is "caustic," Ringo "bland" and Harrison "sarcastic" and "furtive." Still, the book packs its share of surprises and will delight Beatle fans curious about how the band's groundbreaking records were made.

January 15, 2006
What more can be written about the Beatles? If you happen to have spent most of your formative adult years recording them alongside producer George Martin, quite a bit. With an amazing memory for detail, Abbey Road engineer Emerick paints vivid pictures of a decade of intense recording sessions that quite literally shook the world and of the attendant strain on those who made and shaped the music. Charmingly geeky tech talk abounds, which will prove a little heavy going at first for Beatles novices, though hard-core Fab-o-philes will eat it up with a spoon. Thankfully, Emerick is not above a little dishing: though he's an admitted Paul partisan, each of the Beatles's cuddly public personae gets a reality check. (And, boy, must Yoko's ears be burning!) All in all, Emerick's sincere love for the Beatles and their music shines through. This would make a good fly-on-the-wall companion to the The Beatles Anthology and Bob Spitz's recent The Beatles, or could partner with George Martin's All You Need Is Ears for a look behind the control room glass. Recommended for larger public and academic libraries. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 12/05.]" -Matthew Moyer, Jacksonville P.L., FL"

Copyright 2006 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

February 1, 2006
Emerick was only 15 when he began working with the Beatles as an assistant engineer at Abbey Road Studios. Later, as a 19-year-old full engineer, he was on board for the seminal " Revolver" and " Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. " Always aiming for perfection, the Beatles never took no for an answer, and he did his best to oblige by developing innovative recording techniques, some simple (e.g., using a loudspeaker as a microphone), others more sophisticated. Being the Beatles' engineer wasn't entirely pleasant. Eventually, during the tense and uncomfortable" White Album" sessions, the Beatles barely spoke to one another without anger, and Emerick quit before recording was finished. But he returned to work on " Abbey Road" and several McCartney solo records, including " Band on the Run." Anyone interested in the Beatles and their music ought to love Emerick's\b \b0 as-told-to insider's account of working with the world's most famous band when they made their most famous music. (Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2006, American Library Association.)