Editorial Review
Geoff Emerick became an assistant engineer at the legendary Abbey Road Studios in 1962 at age fifteen, and was present as a new band called the Beatles recorded their first songs. He later worked with the Beatles as they recorded their singles “She Loves You” and “I Want to Hold Your Hand,” the songs that would propel them to international superstardom. In 1964 he would witness the transformation of this young and playful group from Liverpool into professional, polished musicians as they put to tape classic songs such as “Eight Days A Week” and “I Feel Fine.”
Then, in 1966, at age nineteen, Geoff Emerick became the Beatles’ chief engineer, the man responsible for their distinctive sound as they recorded the classic album Revolver, in which they pioneered innovative recording techniques that changed the course of rock history. Emerick would also engineer the monumental Sgt. Pepper and Abbey Road albums, considered by many the greatest rock recordings of all time. In Here, There and Everywhere he reveals the creative process of the band in the studio, and describes how he achieved the sounds on their most famous songs. Emerick also brings to light the personal dynamics of the band, from the relentless (and increasingly mean-spirited) competition between Lennon and McCartney to the infighting and frustration that eventually brought a bitter end to the greatest rock band the world has ever known.
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Customer Reviews
Amazing for ANY Beatles fan 
2008-10-03
I read a tremendous amount and haven't read a book through twice since I was 13. I cannot recommend this book any higher for a Beatles fan. This is an incredible read with so many gems. My favorite quote from a good friend who read the book: "So what were you doing at 19? This guy was engineering REVOLVER."
There are so many gems in this book that you'll find yourself going back many times just to reread how a recording was done. I'm a musician, but this will be a great read for any fan of the Beatles. To hear how they recorded things back then with such limited equipment and with some pretty insane politics at the recording company EMI gave me a much greater appreciation of just how the Beatles broke the mold. Geoff was the unsung hero of these albums and is humble in his recounting of the recording sessions.
I couldn't recommend this book any higher. If you're bothering to read this you are definitely a Beatles fan, and you need to buy this book!
What was it like to work with The Beatles? 2008-09-30
This was a thoroughly fascinating look at the working life of The Beatles
at the Abbey Road recording studio. It gives an interesting and detailed
first-hand account of their ideas and execution in the studio, as well
as their personalities, and how they interacted. The book also provides
a great background on the tremendous social and economic changes in
Britain in the 1960s. What was it like for a mere teenager to get a job
working as an assistant engineer at Abbey Road? What was it like to
rise through the ranks of recording professionals and work with The
Beatles as they took the world by storm? This book answers those questions,
and many others, in a charming and engaging manner.
It is what it says it is 2008-09-28
Few voices ring more true than someone who has been there and seen it first hand. That is why Emerick's book is so important. To hear the words of someone who helped record some of the greatest Beatles masterpieces...wow. His style is autobiographical without skimping on details. The writing is entertaining, honest, and carries authority.
I was very excited to get my hands on this book. So many volumes about the Beatles have been written about the Beatles by people who were far removed from the phenomenon. Many more are just general histories that seem to repeat the same worn out chestnuts. This book, though, is neither.
Geoff Emerick was right there in the studio helping to record the music from the ground up. He saw the group in its beginning stage, creative middle, and cantankerous end. His love of the Beatles pours through without ever becoming sappy or revisionist. He tells stories that are both flattering and warty for the fab four...Emerick does not hold back.
One interesting aspect to this book is that while 80% of it is about the Beatles themselves, the other 20% is about Emerick's life, his relation to EMI, George Martin, and Apple. While this might seem like a detriment, at first (who buys a Beatles book to read about someone else's life?) in Emerick's case it strengthens what he has to say. His aside story gives perspective on what it was like to work at the monolithic EMI studios, and how different it was to work at the carnival that was Apple Studios. These pieces of information round out the story and present Emerick as a character worth of appreciation in his own right.
Emerick describes some of the new techniques that were developed to get the kind of sound the Beatles were after, and some of the major obstacles that came from trying to do so in a studio as stuffy and antiquated as EMI. This was still a world where everything wasn't digital...it was possible to actually rip things apart, monkey with the wiring, and get a new sound. Emerick was a master of this.
Reading this book gave me perspective on how many people were there to help the Beatles develop their musical vision. It is easy to see "the boys" as the creative geniuses pouring talent in to EMI and to forget the support system that helped that to happen. Emerick's book reminds the reader, through eye-witness accounts and expert descriptions, that the Beatles phenomenon was the coming together of more than just four young men...a total pool of talent all came together at the right place at the right time to work the magic.
This book has great stories, details, and humor. Emerick's voice is apparent and this book never reads like a manual. I recommend it to anyone who wants to hear stories about the Beatles from someone who was actually there and shared in the creative creation of Beatles music.
The Best BEATLES Book Available!! 2008-08-19
I have read many Beatles books (from the massive BEATLES ANTHOLOGY to less ambitious works, to downright obscure titles), but in all honestly I must say that Geoff Emerick's HERE, THERE & EVERYWHERE is by far the best Beatles book I have ever read.
Emerick's story is almost a dream come true for any Beatles fan. Imagine landing a job at the age of 15 at EMI's Abbey Road Studios in 1962, just in time to witness the launching of the Beatles' recording career. To add to this unimagineably wonderful situation, imagine being hired to be the assistant engineer to Producer George Martin just as the Beatles are about to shoot straight to the statosphere! Without a doubt Emerick was blessed with talent, ingenuity, and a lot of luck to land (and maintain) such a marvelous job.
HERE, THERE & EVERWHERE is beautifully written with rich, vivid details of the Beatles as they recorded their exquisite, timeless music from 1962 until their break up in 1970, and beyond. Through Emerick's recollections and insights, not only do we get an insider's view as to how the music was produced and engineered, but we get to re-live the days and arduous nights that the Beatles spent at Abbey Road and other recording studios. We get to see the good times and the bad times, the endless takes and dubbings, the fun and the fights within the hallowed confines of EMI Sudios / Abbey Road.
Geoff Emerick was there, from the Beatles' early recordings, to SGT. PEPPER, to the WHITE ALBUM, to the mess at the Apple offices, to Paul McCartney's recording of BAND ON THE RUN in Africa, and much more. I heartily recommend this book, you'll learn so much from it!
Short and Insightful 2008-07-26
This is a great book and the best of a half-dozen or so books that I have read on The Beatles. First, it answers convincingly some of the most basic questions about the group such as why they broke up, how they made music together, the personalities of each, etc. Second, it is very frank in its assessments, both with praise and criticism--George Harrison receiving a fair amount of each. Third it is very revealing about particular songs, specifically how they were made (in terms of effects desired and attained)and their evolution in the recording studio. Finally, this book is well-written, not overly technical, relatively short at 300+ pages and a joy to read.
Essential technical info on many Beatles classics 2008-07-20
Geoff Emerick became an assistant engineer at the legendary Abbey Road Studios in 1962 at age fifteen, and was present as a new band called the Beatles recorded their first songs. He later worked with the Beatles as they recorded their singles “She Loves You” and “I Want to Hold Your Hand,” the songs that would propel them to international superstardom. In 1964 he would witness the transformation of this young and playful group from Liverpool into professional, polished musicians as they put to tape classic songs such as “Eight Days A Week” and “I Feel Fine.”
Then, in 1966, at age nineteen, Geoff Emerick became the Beatles’ chief engineer, the man responsible for their distinctive sound as they recorded the classic album Revolver, in which they pioneered innovative recording techniques that changed the course of rock history. Emerick would also engineer the monumental Sgt. Pepper and Abbey Road albums, considered by many the greatest rock recordings of all time. In Here, There and Everywhere he reveals the creative process of the band in the studio, and describes how he achieved the sounds on their most famous songs. Emerick also brings to light the personal dynamics of the band, from the relentless (and increasingly mean-spirited) competition between Lennon and McCartney to the infighting and frustration that eventually brought a bitter end to the greatest rock band the world has ever known.
Geoff Emerick was the sound engineer to the Beatles 2008-07-06
This book is very imformative for Beatles fans and audio philes alike. The author does not get caught up in the personal dramas of the Beatles, but chronicles his approach to problem solving in the day when multi-track recording technology was just starting to evolve. He does give some unique observations regarding the Fab 4, but does not seem to be awestruck, having been with them from the very beginning. Even though recording the Beatles was not always fun it was always eventful. This is a very special glimpse behind the magic curtain. I recommend it highly.
Coming to a Bargain Bin Near You! 
2008-06-28
Emerick and co-author Massey can't seem to get out of their own way in delivering the story of Emerick's days recording the Beatles. Their awkward, uneven account reads like a 300-page high school writing assignment.
This book desperately needs a talented co-author. Even more, it cries for an editor to give the book strong direction, eliminating diversion and self congratulation while focusing on the kind of detail and anecdote that could truly shed new light on the greatest musical story of a generation.
The story might have been compelling, except for the ego, cliche, pettiness, and sycophancy leaking through nearly every page. I will say that this book does reveal a few insights, but must also caution that the effort required to find them will require a thorough cleaning of shoes afterward.
The book is destined for the Dollar Bin here, there, and everywhere.
A Technician's Perspective on the Beatles 2008-05-25
Geoff Emerick was the recording engineer behind such seminal works as Revolver and Sgt. Pepper. He was also privy to most of the innerworkings of the Beatles' recording sessions even if he wasn't the chief engineer on all their albums. Through careful observations of the Beatles' compositional styles and perceptive insights into the dynamics of their personalities, Emerick brings a welcome clarity to the subject of how the Beatles worked in the studio and how their vision of rock evolved. The early days are evoked with particular charm, especially the memories of recording "She Loves You" at the same time that frantic fans were invading EMI studios. Emerick's comments on the raw energy of "She Loves You" versus the more contained power of "I Want to Hold Your Hand," are more than worth the price for any serious Beatles historian. Interesting, detailed, and very readable. A gem in the ongoing treatises upon Beatle-ology.
Donald Gallinger is author of the novel, The Master Planets
Getting Inside the Studio at Abbey Road 2008-05-07
Geoff Emerick has written a fascinating book on how he and George Martin helped the Beatles achieve some of the more unusual engineering feats that fans have grown so used to hearing but which in actuality required ingenuity and play-it-on-the-fly audio engineering techniques. Lennon's distant voice on "Tomorrow Never Knows," for example," was achieved when Emerick decided (on his own) to channel John's voice through the speaker of a Hammond organ.
But the book is far from a simple list of engineering techniques. The author reveals the atmosphere of various recording sessions, giving valuable insights as to how the group went from rough idea to finished song. He also provides valuable insights as to the personality of each Beatle while also filling in gaps in Beatles history that only an insider like himself would know.
This is a fantastic book and highly recommended.
