Improvisation 27.32

Last updated

"Improvisation 27.32"
Instrumental by The Beatles (with Billy Preston)
Recorded27 January 1969
Studio Apple Studio (3 Savile Row, London)
Genre Blues rock, jam
Length≈6:31
Label Unreleased
Songwriters Improvised (Lennon, McCartney, Harrison, Starr, Preston)
Producer George Martin
Appears in edited form over the end credits of The Beatles: Get Back Part 2

Improvisation 27.32 [1] is an untitled instrumental jam recorded by The Beatles on January 27th 1969 with the help of American and long-time friend keyboardist Billy Preston. A shorter version of the improvisation is featured in the credits of episode 2 on the 2021 documentary The Beatles: Get Back . [2]

Contents

Recording

The performance of the blues jam was recorded on a Nagra audio recorder, which was continuously played during the sessions for the unreleased album Get Back, later released as Let It Be in 1970. When they composed this instrumental, the Beatles had recently moved from Twickenham studios to the more intimate Apple Studio. Music historian Mark Lewisohn, who compiled a book about the complete sessions of the Beatles made a remark about the track and its existence. [3]

The title "Improvisation 27.32" was chosen by bootleggers to identify the track. The number 27 refers to the day in which it was composed, while the number 32 refers to the position in the recording tape. [4] Although the credits of documentary refer it simply as “Blues Jam”, the material fits the description made by Lewisohn in his book.

Context within the session

When the Beatles moved from Twickenham Studios to the more intimate Apple studio, they invited long term friend Billy Preston to join them and the tensions inside the band were temporarily solved. Preston had a very positive influence both musically and from a human point of view. [5] On that day the Beatles rehearsed the songs Get Back and Let It Be, developed this improvisation and another unreleased track, I Told You Before. [6]

Music analysis

The blues composition features a steady beat developed by Billy Preston on his Rhodes piano. The Beatles decided to implement this instrument in their sessions to give a feel of modern blues rock. [7]

The groove in the composition resembles an electronic instrument and make the instrumental particularly interesting. [8] Variety praised Preston’s “sparkling riffs which added “an inner hum to the layer cake. [9]

Personnel

Credits based on Get Back audiovisual evidence and session documentation. [10]

The Beatles
Additional musician
Production

References

  1. ↑ "A/B Road Complete Get Back Sessions - Jan 27th, 1969 - 3 & 4 (album)". The Paul McCartney project. Retrieved 11 November 2025.
  2. ↑ The Beatles: Get Back — Part 2 (TV episode). Disney+ / Apple Corps. 2021. End-credits audio features a blues jam recorded at Apple Studio on 27 January 1969.
  3. ↑ Lewisohn, Mark (1988). The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions. Hamlyn/EMI. pp. 170–173.
  4. ↑ "Get Back sessions – January 27, 1969". The Paul McCartney Project. Retrieved 8 November 2025.
  5. ↑ "Billy Preston – The Secret Hero of Let It Be". NME. 29 November 2021. Retrieved 8 November 2025.
  6. ↑ "Get Back Sessions - January 27, 1969" . Retrieved 8 November 2025.
  7. ↑ Dumouchel, Christian (26 July 2022). "Once Upon a Tine - Rhodes, Billy Preston & The Beatles". Rhodes Music. Retrieved 12 November 2025.
  8. ↑ Komatović, Nikola. "Get Back to Where You Might Belong Unveiling the Beatles: Knowledge of Music Theory" (PDF). ZBORNIK RADOVA AKADEMIJE UMETNOSTI. 12: 57.
  9. ↑ "'The Beatles: Get Back' Review—Addictive and Essential". Variety. 25 November 2021. Retrieved 8 November 2025.
  10. ↑ The Beatles: Get Back — Part 2. Disney+ / Apple Corps. 2021.
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