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.

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