Study Hall

In The Studio: The Beatles “Something” Isolated Vocal (Video)

What to listen for in this classic song from the iconic Abbey Road album...
This article is provided by Bobby Owsinski.

The Beatles “Something” is one of the most covered songs ever, and may be George Harrison’s best song.

That’s why it’s so cool to go back and have a listen to the isolated vocal track from this song from the iconic Abbey Road album.

Here’s what to listen for:

1. The vocal is very in tune, which can’t always be said for vocals from this era.

2. You’ll hear the nice Abbey Road Studios reverb all around the vocal, which is very mellow sounding due to the EQ they used.

3. The vocal double on the B section isn’t too close. This could have been because it was either another take, or they just didn’t care much about getting it close.

4. Listen for Harrison singing the guitar solo almost note for note. Doesn’t this contradict a passage in engineer Geoff Emerick’s book that states that Harrison played both the guitar solo and the vocal at the same time on the last track available? You can hear the guitar solo was already recorded from the headphone leakage.

5. The harmonies, as with all Beatles harmonies, is gorgeous even though it’s only two part. Sometimes it’s with Harrison himself, sometimes with Paul McCartney.

Bobby Owsinski is an author, producer, music industry veteran and technical consultant who has written numerous books covering all aspects of audio recording. For more information be sure to check out his website.

Study Hall Top Stories