As was becoming more and more common during this period, the different Beatles were doing different things in different studios today. This arrangement allowed them to both be more productive and avoid having to put up with each other.
In this case, John and Ringo were in one part of Abbey Road mixing “Yer Blues” and “Revolution 9”; Yoko is not specifically mentioned in the record, but you have to assume she was with them. And I sort of doubt Ringo had much input into the mixing; he was more likely there for moral support, or just because he preferred spending time with John over Paul, who was downstairs working on the brass arrangement for “Mother Nature’s Son.”
According to engineer Ken Scott, who was with Paul,
Everything was great, everyone was in great spirits. It felt really good. Suddenly, half way through, John and Ringo walked in and you could cut the atmosphere with a knife. An instant change. It was like that for ten minutes and then as soon as they left it felt great again. It was very bizarre.
It’s always kind of sad to read more about how sick The Beatles were of each other at this point. It makes sense; they had been wrapped up in the Beatle bubble, spending huge amounts of time together, for more than half a decade. But I hate it when they fight.
Later in the day, Paul recorded two new songs. One was called “Etcetera” and has never been released; the consensus seems to be that it was a variation on “Thingumybob,” the tune he had written and produced for the Black Dyke Mills Band. The other, and this is surprising to me, was “Wild Honey Pie.”
Throughout the many White Album listenings over many years, I’ve always assumed that “Wild” was John’s piss-taking response to “Honey Pie,” one of Paul’s most precious and insipid numbers. But no; not only did Paul write it, he’s the only one playing on it. All the vocals and guitars, and even the bass drum, are McCartney overdubs.
I kind of like “Wild Honey Pie” — it’s obnoxious but high-spirited and over quickly:
But I’d gladly sacrifice it if that meant we could get rid of “Honey Pie” too. I wonder, if you played the two simultaneously, would they wipe each other out, like matter and anti-matter? Probably not, but I’m afraid to try it.
I love BOTH Honey Pies! And “Why don’t we do it in the road?” as well.