Come Together

Title:	Come Together
Credits:	John Lennon - Paul McCartney)
Recorded:	21st - 23rd July, Abbey Road 3; 25th, 29th, 30th July 1969, Abbey Road 2
Line-up:	Lennon vocal, rhythm guitar, lead guitar, handclaps; McCartney harmony vocal, bass, electric piano; Harrison guitar; Starr drums, maracas
Producer:	George Martin
Engineers:	Geoff Emerick/ Phil McDonald
Location:	Abbey Road - track 1
UK Release:	26th September 1969 (LP: Abbey Road)
US Release:	1st October 1969 (LP: Abbey Road)

The basic track of john Lennon's Come Together - the song that opened Abbey Road - was recorded in a single session, the "best" version, Take 8 from 21st July, being bounced down into Take 9 which then received overdubs over the next few days and became the master. Typically, John delivered a committed live vocal with every take, and this Anthology selection, previously unreleased, in Take 1. Not playing an instrument, John clapped his hands while singing, adding Tamborine late in the piece, with the other Beatles contributing what for the first take was a notably cohesive bass, guitar and drums backing to fill out this four-track recording. The absence of the echo that, at John's request, would smother the master version lends a stark clarity to the lyrics, which altered slightly when the definitive vocal was overdubbed.

The Beatles began recording 'Come Together' on July 21, 1969 for the album "Abbey Road." Eight takes (1 - 8) of the basic track were recorded on a four-track tape machine. Take eight, the "best" was transferred to eight-track and re-labelled take 9. John Lennon sang lead vocals, George Harrison played guitar, Paul McCartney was on bass, and Ringo Starr played drums. A new vocal was added to take 9 on July 22, along with electric piano, rhythm guitar and maraca. More overdubs were added the next day.

On July 25, vocal harmonies were added. On July 29, a guitar overdub for the middle part of the song was recorded, and on July 30, more guitars were added. The stereo mix was prepared August 7 in ten attempts (remixes 1 - 10 of take 9), the first being "best." This track was first released on September 26, 1969. It has been reported that a mono version of the "Abbey Road" album was released in England in September of 1970 on pre-recorded, open-reel tapes. No record of a mono mix of the tracks of the album exists. This may be a simulated mono release.

Take 1 from the July 21, 1969 recording sessions was released in both the US and the UK on October 29, 1996 on "The Beatles Anthology Volume 3."

Two versions of this song (vocal and instrumental) were performed at the rehearsals for John Lennon's "One To One" concerts. These performances, recorded August 18, 1972, have been bootlegged and can be found on the three disc set "One And One And One Is Three." A different rehearsal performance for the "One To One" concert, recorded in August, has also been bootlegged and can be found on "S.I.R. John Winston Ono Lennon (CD). John did perform this song at the "One To One" concerts, the evening performance of which has been bootlegged and can be found on "Come Back Johnny." The afternoon performance of this song at the "One To One" concert was released on the album "John Lennon: Live In New York City" in the US on January 24, 1986 and in the UK on February 24, 1986.

A new version of this song was recorded in September 1995 by The Smokin' Mojo Filters. Paul McCartney performed on the recording, which was released in October 1995 on the charity album "Help."