including the Beatles' producer George Martin, publicist Derek Taylor and engineer Geoff Emerick. Besides Barrett's previous research, the collection of Beatles recordings stored at Abbey Road Studios had never been properly archived. Listening to over four hundred hours of tapes, Lewisohn's working process served the dual purpose of both researching the book as well as organising the collection, cataloguing its various mixes, submixes, mastertakes and outtakes. Publication and content Hamlyn published The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions in the UK in 1988. Harmony Books published it the same year in the US, re-titled as The Beatles Recording Sessions. A book launch was held in October 1988 at Abbey Road Studios, with wax figures of the Beatles temporarily moved to the studio from London's Madame Tussauds wax museum for the event. Spanning 204 pages, most of The Complete Beatles Recording Session is written in the form of a diary detailing each day either the Beatles spent in a recording session or producers and engineers spent mixing and editing their music. The diary begins with the band's first recording session at EMI Recording Studios on 6 June 1962, while drummer Pete Best was still in the band, and finishes on 8 May 1970 with the release of the album Let It Be. The book includes a one-page preface by Ken Townsend and a ten-page interview between Lewisohn and Paul McCartney. Each entry first notes the date; the studio location, usually EMI or Apple Studios; the session time; the songs recorded or mixed, including the number of takes; and the names of the producer and engineers involved. Lewisohn then writes about the details of the particular session, such as overdubbing, false starts and studio chatter, as well as information about session musicians, orchestration and any other related information. He discusses the fate of various session tapes, the differences between mono and stereo mixes and the technical advancements first pioneered on the Beatles' recordings. UK release dates of singles, albums and EPs are also mentioned, discussing their chart success and sales numbers. Following the diary entries, the book includes a complete discography of all the Beatles' UK and US releases, including singles, EPs and albums. It concludes with a glossary of recording industry terms and a note from Townsend on the recording technology used by the band. Impact and legacy The book has been widely described as an "essential" Beatles reference book, required reading for