Recording
Five takes were recorded of the backing track, featuring McCartney on drums, Harrison on electric guitar, and Lennon on bass (Fender Bass VI). Take 5 was chosen as "best". The exact order of overdubs is not clear. McCartney recorded a full drum performance on Track 2, with no other instrumental contributions by Lennon or Harrison. On Track 3, McCartney played bass while Harrison played the Bass VI, sometimes doubling McCartney's bass line and sometimes playing full chords. (This capability was one of the benefits of the Bass VI; it could be played as a bass or as a regular 6-string guitar.) While they were playing their parts, Lennon overdubbed snare on the off-beats for the entire duration of the song without a single deviation or fill. This performance was basically duplicated on Track 1, possibly wiping the original backing track in the process. On Track 4, McCartney contributed a piano performance, while Lennon and Harrison provided more bass and electric guitar. With all four tracks, a reduction was made into Take 6, combining Tracks 1 and 3 into a single track and tracks 3 and 4 into another. On the remaining two tracks, McCartney recorded his lead vocal - double tracked in places - while Lennon and Harrison contributed handclaps and Beach Boys-styled backing vocals.
Read more about this topic: Back In The U.S.S.R.
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