Cherry Beat - Recording Sessions (Part Twenty-One - The Band's Fifteenth Album)

26th June 2016
Surprisingly though their  of the  song  had already been recorded in 1971 and released on their debut album '', Peter McDonald and Torquil Dohrn respectively recorded   and   for the song on this day, hoping to model a new updated mix of the song.

The band's intention was to remix their 1971 cover of 'Roll over Beethoven' to make it sound more like Chuck Berry's original version, rather than the version by on which their cover was partially based.

29th June 2016
Surprisingly though their rock and roll cover of the song  had already been recorded in 1973 and released as a bonus track on their 1973  Still In Business'' in 1993, Devon O'Connell recorded  and  overdubs for the song on this day, as their recording was deemed incomplete.

3rd July 2016
Surprisingly though their rock and roll cover of song  had already been recorded in 1971 and released on their second album Show Business'' in 1972, Sam Whitby and Torquil Dohrn respectively recorded  and  overdubs for the song on this day, hoping to model a new updated mix of the song.

The band's intention was to remix their 1971 cover of 'Clarabella' to make it sound more like a hybrid of the version by The Beatles and the version by, rather than a carbon copy of the version by Billy Preston on which their cover was primarily based.

7th July 2016
Surprisingly though their rock and roll cover of the Elvis Presley song  had already been recorded in 1973 and released as a bonus track on their 1973 studio album Still In Business'' in 1993, Devon O'Connell recorded and percussion overdubs for the song on this day, as their recording was deemed incomplete.

11th July 2016
Surprisingly though their rock and roll cover of the Elvis Presley song  had already been recorded in 1971 and released as a bonus track on their debut album '' in 1992, Torquil Dohrn recorded tenor saxophone overdubs for the song on this day, as their recording was deemed incomplete.

19th July 2016
Peter McDonald, Sam Whitby, and Devon O'Connell recorded backing vocal overdubs for the band's 1971 rock and roll cover of 'Jailhouse Rock' on this day. It was during this same session that Torquil Dohrn recorded a overdub.

21st July 2016
Torquil Dohrn recorded backing vocal overdubs for the band's 1971 rock and roll cover of 'Jailhouse Rock' on this day. At long last, their cover of the song was complete.

29th July 2016
Surprisingly though their rock and roll cover of the song ' (Lay Down Your Arms)' had already been recorded in 1971 and released as a bonus track on their debut album  in 1992, the band decided to model a new updated mix of the song on this day. Their recording already featured a overdub which had been recorded in 1974. The mix including the violin overdub was released as a bonus track on their 1974 album Merry Christmas in 1993.

Peter McDonald, Torquil Dohrn, and Devon O'Connell recorded backing vocal overdubs for their cover of the song on this day. Sam Whitby, Milford Ekdahl, and Wilbur Milardo also recorded, , and overdubs, respectively. They were joined by s Anaiya Hawes, Veronika Mathis, and Katy Taranto who recorded violin overdubs. Peter's 24 year old daughter Patrice McDonald and her childhood friends Scarlett Cordero and Amma Partridge also provided harmony vocals.

Patrice's friends contributed their vocals for a small amount of money each, but Patrice herself considered it be a honour to contribute vocals to any recording issued under her father's band's name, and did not ask for any money. The band's intention was to remix their 1971 cover of 'Soldier of Love' to make it sound more like Arthur Alexander's original version. Their 1971 mix of the song was very similar to the version by The Beatles but without any backing vocals. Their 1974 mix contained a single violin but was otherwise identical to the 1971 mix.

20th August 2016
Peter McDonald, Torquil Dohrn, and Devon O'Connell respectively recorded violin,, and  overdubs for the band's 1971 cover of 'Soldier of Love' on this day. At long last, the new mix of the song was complete.

29th August 2016
Surprisingly though their rock and roll cover of song  had already been recorded in 1976 and released as a bonus track on their 1976 studio album Neapolitan'' in 1994, Peter McDonald, Sam Whitby, Torquil Dohrn, and Devon O'Connell respectively recorded backing vocal, harmony vocal, backing vocal, and backing vocal and  overdubs for the song on this day, as their recording was deemed incomplete.

7th September 2016
Surprisingly though their cover of song  had already been recorded in 1972 and released as a bonus track on their second album Show Business'' in 1992, Peter McDonald, Torquil Dohrn, Devon O'Connell, and Wilbur Milardo respectively recorded,  , , and tambourine overdubs for the song on this day, as their recording was deemed incomplete.

20th September 2016
Surprisingly though the band's song 'Jeep' had already been recorded in 1975, with overdubs added in 1976, and released as a chart topping  in 1976, Peter McDonald recorded violin overdubs for the song on this day, hoping to model a new updated mix of the song.

He was joined by session musicians Anaiya Hawes and Veronika Mathis who also recorded violin overdubs, Elias Goguen and Ellen Paulos who recorded overdubs, and Osvaldo Tufuga who recorded a  overdub.

8th October 2016
Surprisingly though their hard rock cover of the song  had already been recorded in 1979 and released as a bonus track on their 1979 studio album Drink Up'' in 1996, Sam Whitby and Torquil Dohrn recorded rhythm guitar overdubs for the song on this day, as their recording was deemed incomplete.

9th November 2016
Surprisingly though their hard rock cover of the song  had already been recorded in 1979 and released as a bonus track on their 1979 studio album Drink Up'' in 1996, Peter McDonald, Sam Whitby, and Devon O'Connell respectively recorded backing vocal,, and percussion overdubs for the song on this day, as their recording was deemed incomplete.

11th November 2016
Surprisingly though their hard rock cover of the song  had already been recorded in 1979 and released as a bonus track on their 1980 studio album Blast Off!'' in 1996, Peter McDonald, Sam Whitby, Torquil Dohrn, and Devon O'Connell respectively recorded, , , and grand piano overdubs for the song on this day, as their recording was deemed incomplete.

19th November 2016
Peter McDonald and Sam Whitby respectively recorded and  overdubs for the band's 1979 cover of 'Don't Bring Me Down' on this day. At long last, their cover of the song was complete.

21st November 2016
The band members - including Milford Ekdahl - recorded two s as part of the preliminary recording sessions for their fifteenth album on this day. The first of these covers was an instrumental track  which was originally composed by and  for the  of ' 1998 film ''. It was first time had ever recorded an  composition. 'The Bar' was chosen by Peter McDonald for the band to record because of the 50's feel it gave off.

Though did their best to stay close to the original arrangements of the track, their version was much more geared towards 50's rock and roll than the original version. Peter explained that the track had always given him vibes. So in addition to the orchestral arrangements of the original version, 's version featured their standard lineup of s,, and. Years later, Peter stated that their cover sounded very similar to their cover of the Little Richard song ''.

The second of these covers was ' (Git It!)' which had been written by and  for the 1986 musical . 's cover of the song was modelled after the version from the.

'Feed Me' was chosen by Peter for the band to record because of the 50's rock and roll feel it gave off. And because of its musical similarities to the Chuck Berry song '' which had previously covered in 1973. Peter noted that the resemblance between 'You Can't Catch Me' and 'Feed Me' is most apparent when comparing 's cover of 'You Can't Catch Me' and the version of 'Feed Me' from the 2003 revival of the Little Shop of Horrors musical.

's cover of 'Feed Me' featured Torquil Dohrn as, Devon O'Connell as , and Peter as. Peter's daughter Patrice McDonald was featured as, while her friends Darryrene Adams, Scarlett Cordero, and Amma Partridge were featured as , , and , respectively.

Ironically Peter and Patrice are father and daughter, while the characters they were featured as were dates in the musical film. But it didn't matter because was only covering one of the songs that appeared in the musical. 'Feed Me' was the recording to feature Sam Whitby playing a replica of a Superflux Über UV guitar from the University expansion pack of the 2004 PC game The Sims 2 that was published and developed by Electronic Arts and Maxis, respectively.

Several years later Sam said that when he and Torquil discovered the Superflux Über UV guitar from The Sims 2, they desperately wanted to have their own replicas of the guitar. So after getting permission from EA, they had their own replicas of the Superflux Über UV crafted for them by an anonymous guitar manufacturing company in 2008. With the plumbobs and everything. Torquil said that they were given their own replicas of the Superflux Über UV, on the condition that they only used them for studio work, and not for live performances.

Sam and Torquil however did not abide by this condition, and eventually started using their Superflux Über UVs during live performances. Shortly after acquiring their Superflux Über UVs, Sam and Torquil had them professionally sanded to bare wood and lightly lacquered with two thin coats of nitro-cellulose. They also removed the s and the plumbobs from the headstocks. The headstocks were then professionally repaired to fill the gaps where the plumbobs had been.

The changes that were made to Sam and Torquil's guitars were enough for them to avoid getting sued for violating the agreement that they made about not using their Superflux Über UVs for public performances or indeed anywhere where a camera was present. Sam and Torquil would frequently use their Superflux Über UVs in the places of their s.

22nd November 2016
Peter McDonald, Sam Whitby, and Torquil Dohrn respectively recorded violin, cello, and tenor trombone overdubs for the band's cover of 'The Bar' on this day. Milford Ekdahl and Wilbur Milardo also recorded. They were joined by session musicians Margarito Donahoe who recorded a overdub, Elias Goguen who recorded a  overdub, and Buddy Harvey who recorded a tenor trombone overdub.

It was later that same session that Peter recorded a  overdub, Sam recorded a  overdub, Torquil recorded a tenor saxophone overdub, Milford recorded a  overdub, and Margarito recorded an  overdub.

23rd November 2016
Peter McDonald and Torquil Dohrn respectively recorded viola and overdubs for the band's cover of 'The Bar' on this day. They were joined by session musician Margarito Donahoe who recorded a overdub.

It was later that same session that Peter, Torquil, and session musician Eliza Cuthbert respectively recorded cello,, and overdubs.

24th November 2016
Torquil Dohrn recorded overdubs for the band's cover of 'The Bar' on this day. It was later that same session that he recorded a overdub. One more session would be necessary to complete the track.

25th November 2016
Torquil Dohrn recorded overdubs for the band's cover of 'The Bar' on this day. The track was now completed.

2nd December 2016
This was the band's first official recording session for their fifteenth album. On this day the band recorded a new composition 'No Fools Tonight' which was written primarily by Devon O'Connell, with input from Torquil Dohrn. Devon explained that he'd had a dream nearly two and a half years beforehand where he was listening to a song containing the lyrics 'No fools, no fools, no fools tonight'. As soon as he'd woken up, he quickly wrote the lyrics that he'd heard in the dream on a piece of paper to avoid forgetting them.

The song featured a blend of several musical styles including, , and. When describing the song's musical style several years later, Devon said that it was sort of what you would get if  by and  by  had a baby. The song featured an part by  Gregory Dogan, and backing vocals by Peter McDonald's daughter Patrice McDonald. The backing vocals were inspired by the ones provided by Stephanie Spruill on 'Hot in the City'.

4th December 2016
The band recorded a new composition on this day. 'You Let Me Be Your Man' which was written primarily by Peter McDonald, with input from Sam Whitby. The song and its musical style were inspired by ' songs  and . The song's title was also drawn from the lyrics of the latter song.

Similar to 'I Wanna Be Your Man', the in 'You Let Me Be Your Man' features a different  to the rest of the song. 'You Let Me Be Your Man' features Peter singing lead for most of the song while Sam sings lead during the chorus parts. While 'I Wanna Be Your Man' features singing lead for most of the song while John Lennon sings lead during the chorus parts.

Similar to 'I Want to Hold Your Hand', 'You Let Me Be Your Man' features some form of. 'I Want to Hold Your Hand' features, while 'You Let Me Be Your Man' features. 's song marked the first time that fingersnaps had been used on any of their recordings, which they would frequently use on tracks recorded for their fifteenth studio album, instead of handclaps.

12th December 2016
The band recorded a new composition on this day. 'You Should Know What to Do' which was written solely by Torquil Dohrn. The song and its musical style were inspired by The Beatles' similarly titled song ''. Though The Beatles' song was only recorded as a demo and was never recorded professionally, it nonetheless served as a valid source of inspiration for Torquil when writing 'You Should Know What to Do'.

'You Should Know What to Do' features an upright piano, drum kit, s, and. But the biggest contrast between it and 'You Know What to Do' is the inclusion of a solo that was provided by session musician Margarito Donahoe. It was the first time that a pungi had ever been used on a recording.

20th December 2016
The band recorded a new composition on this day. 'What Are You Doing?' which was written solely by Peter McDonald. The song's musical style was inspired by The Beatles' medley  /  /  from their  ''. The medley featured the guitar solo from , the section from , remixed keyboards from , and backing vocals from . The song was also inspired by The Beatles' similarly titled song 'What You're Doing'.

Inspired by The Beatles' 'Drive My Car' / 'The Word' / 'What You're Doing' medley, 'What Are You Doing?' was a composite of three different basic tracks spliced together, along with a separate overdub guitar solo track, a saxophone section, a backing vocal track, and a grand piano and Lowrey organ track. The song started with the first basic track with edit pieces from the second basic track. The next section featured the overdub guitar solo track with the and percussion from the first basic track playing in the background. At the end of the overdub guitar solo track came the third basic track with edit pieces from the first basic track, then the second basic track with edit pieces from the third basic track, and last the first basic track again.

Due to the complexity of the track, all the vocal parts would be added as overdubs instead of being recorded with the initial basic track. All the saxophone parts, backing vocals, and grand piano and Lowrey organ parts were also overdubbed onto the final track. The saxophone parts appeared in various parts of the song, particularly during the parts featuring the first basic track. The first basic track was started on this day. While the second and third basic tracks were respectively started on the 8th and 20th January the following year. The overdub guitar solo track was recorded on the 17th January the following year.

3rd January 2017
Peter McDonald, Sam Whitby, Torquil Dohrn, and Devon O'Connell recorded fingersnaps for 'You Let Me Be Your Man' on this day. It was during this same session that Sam and Wilbur Milardo respectively recorded and tambourine overdubs. One more session would be necessary to complete the track.

Sam Whitby, Devon O'Connell, Wilbur Milardo, and session musician Margarito Donahoe respectively recorded foot tapping, maracas, tambourine, and pungi overdubs for 'You Should Know What to Do' on this day. Torquil Dohrn's was also. The song was now completed.

Devon O'Connell recorded tambourine and overdubs for the first basic track of 'What Are You Doing?' on this day. The instrumentation for the first basic track which was inspired by The Beatles' song 'Drive My Car' was now completed.

The band also recorded a new composition on this day. 'Chapel in the Pines' which was written primarily by Peter McDonald, with input from Sam Whitby. The song's musical style was inspired by the song ''. The song's title was also drawn from the lyrics of the said song.

The song featured a baritone saxophone played by session musician Lacresha Smail, and backing vocals by Peter's daughter Patrice McDonald, and her friends Darryrene Adams and Amma Partridge. Though 'Chapel in the Pines' features Peter singing lead for the majority of the song, Sam sings lead on the  parts.

The reason for this is because Sam's  was higher than Peter's and was therefore more suitable for hitting notes at such a high, particularly now that Peter and Sam were both in their 60's and couldn't hit high notes as easily as they used to.

8th January 2017
Wilbur Milardo recorded maracas for 'You Let Me Be Your Man' on this day. The song was now completed.

The band recorded the second basic track of 'What Are You Doing?' on this day. The second basic track featured Peter McDonald on, Sam Whitby on rhythm guitar, Torquil Dohrn on lead guitar, Devon O'Connell on drums, and Wilbur Milardo on upright piano.

Peter McDonald and Torquil Dohrn respectively recorded  and tenor trombone overdubs for 'Chapel in the Pines' on this day. One more session would be necessary to complete the track.

The band also recorded a new composition on this day. 'The World' which was written primarily by Sam Whitby, with input from Peter McDonald. The song's musical style was inspired by The Beatles' songs 'What You're Doing', , and the similarly titled 'The Word', and ' song . Similar to 'What Are You Doing?', 'The World' was a composite of three different basic tracks spliced together, along with a and  section, and a grand piano and Lowrey organ track.

The song started with the first basic track with edit pieces from the second basic track. The next section featured the guitar solo part of the second basic track with edit pieces from the third basic track. At the end of the guitar solo part came the third basic track with edit pieces from the first basic track. The last section featured the second basic track with edit pieces from the third basic track, and last the guitar solo part of the second basic track with edit pieces from the third basic track again.

'The World' features a rather unusual clarinet and trombone section, with 4 clarinets and 4 trombones. According to Sam, the objective was to blend the clarinets' sound with the trombones'  sound, to make it appear like the section was played by 8 clarinet-trombone hybrids. Normally would use saxophones to create this type of sound, as saxophones have both a reedy and brassy sound. However for this song they wanted to try something more unconventional.

Due to the complexity of the track, all the vocal parts would be added as overdubs instead of being recorded with the initial basic track. All the clarinet parts, trombone parts, and grand piano and Lowrey organ parts were also overdubbed onto the final track. The clarinet and trombone parts appeared in various parts of the song, particularly during the parts featuring the first and second basic tracks. The first basic track was started on this day. While the second and third basic tracks were respectively started on the 17th and 20th January that month.

13th January 2017
Devon O'Connell and Wilbur Milardo respectively recorded maraca and overdubs for the second basic track of 'What Are You Doing?' on this day. The instrumentation for the second basic track which was inspired by The Beatles' song 'The Word' was now completed.

Torquil Dohrn recorded baritone saxophone overdubs for 'Chapel in the Pines' on this day. The song was now completed.

Devon O'Connell recorded a tambourine overdub for the first basic track of 'The World' on this day. The instrumentation for the first basic track which was inspired by The Beatles' song 'Day Tripper', minus the upright piano which was inspired by The Beatles' song 'The Word', was now completed.

The band also recorded a new composition on this day. 'You Don't See Me' which was written solely by Peter McDonald. The song and its musical style were inspired by The Beatles' songs  and the similarly titled . Though it has more of a sound than 'We Can Work It Out' which is more  oriented, and 'You Won't See Me' which is more  oriented.

17th January 2017
Peter McDonald and Torquil Dohrn recorded the overdub guitar solo track for 'What Are You Doing?' on this day. The overdub guitar solo track featured Peter on bass guitar and Torquil on rhythm guitar. Torquil also recorded a lead guitar overdub for the track later that same day. The overdub guitar solo track was inspired by the guitar solo from The Beatles' song 'Taxman'.

The band recorded the second basic track of 'The World' on this day. The second basic track featured Peter McDonald on bass guitar, Sam Whitby on rhythm guitar, Torquil Dohrn on lead guitar, Devon O'Connell on drums, and Wilbur Milardo on harmonium. Devon also recorded overdubs for the track later that same day. The instrumentation for the second basic track was inspired by The Beatles' song 'The Word'.

Peter McDonald, Sam Whitby, Devon O'Connell, and Wilbur Milardo respectively recorded, harmonium, tambourine, and fingersnaps to 'You Don't See Me' on this day. It was during this same session that Peter and Sam respectively recorded harmony vocal and backing vocal overdubs. The song was now completed.

20th January 2017
The band recorded the third basic track of 'What Are You Doing?' on this day. The third basic track featured Peter McDonald on bass guitar, Sam Whitby on, Torquil Dohrn on lead guitar, Devon O'Connell on drums, and Wilbur Milardo on upright piano. Unlike the first two basic tracks of 'What Are You Doing?', the third basic track didn't require any overdubs before the three basic tracks were spliced together. The instrumentation for the third basic track was inspired by The Beatles' song 'What You're Doing'.

The band recorded the third basic track of 'The World' on this day. The third basic track featured Peter McDonald on bass guitar, Sam Whitby on acoustic-electric rhythm guitar, Torquil Dohrn on lead guitar, Devon O'Connell on drums, and Wilbur Milardo on upright piano. Unlike the first two basic tracks of 'The World', the third basic track didn't require any overdubs before the three basic tracks were spliced together. The instrumentation for the third basic track was inspired by The Beatles' song 'What You're Doing'.

The band also recorded a new composition on this day. 'Green Submarine' which was written primarily by Peter McDonald, with input from Sam Whitby. According to Peter, he got the idea for the song while singing in the shower, sometime in 2010. He explained that he would often sing songs when taking a shower, many of which were snippets of songs that he'd invented on the spot. One of those songs included the lyrics 'Green Submarine... Rockin' down the stream... Hooh... hahh... hooh'.

For several years, Peter was unsure where the 'Rockin' down the stream' part came from, but he eventually concluded that he must have subconsciously plagiarised the 'Gently down the stream' lyric from the  ''. Peter originally considered rewriting that bit of the song, since a would generally be too large to fit into a. But he ultimately decided against it, since he was unable to find a more suitable word that remotely rhymed with submarine. And the 'stream' part could simply refer to an enormous.

As the name of the song implies, it was about a green submarine, an one according to Sam. Originally the song's musical style was going to be very similar to that of The Beatles' song '', which the song 'Green Submarine' was partially inspired by. But wanted one of their new songs to have a  sound. Something they imagined that would do. And 'Green Submarine' just happened to be the song that they thought would be the best fit for that sound.

Sam stated that if they hadn't decided to record one of their songs as a skiffle number, they might never have considered using some of the instruments that they played on the track. To ensure that the song was given a traditional skiffle feel, decided to record it entirely with acoustic instruments. They wanted it to be the sort of song that they could easily play outside on the street. The only non-acoustic thing that ended up on the recording were s featuring the sound of a real submarine chugging through.

25th January 2017
Torquil Dohrn recorded alto saxophone overdubs for 'What Are You Doing?' on this day. He was joined by session musicians Sherilyn Dancer, Lacresha Smail, and Clotilde Whiddon who respectively recorded tenor saxophone, baritone saxophone, and alto saxophone overdubs. Torquil also recorded baritone saxophone overdubs later that same day. The saxophone overdubs were inspired by the ones from The Beatles' song 'Savoy Truffle'.

Torquil Dohrn and session musicians Inga Geibel, Wendell Heatley, and Enrique Hegna recorded B♭ clarinet overdubs for 'The World' on this day. Torquil's B♭ clarinet part was prominent in both but slightly more prominent in the right channel. Inga's part was prominent in both channels but slightly more prominent in the left channel. Wendell's part was most prominent in the right channel and least prominent in the left channel. And Enrique's part was most prominent in the left channel and least prominent in the right channel.

Peter McDonald, Sam Whitby, Torquil Dohrn, Devon O'Connell, and Wilbur Milardo respectively recorded backing vocal and, , , crowd noises, and backing vocal overdubs for 'Green Submarine' on this day. They were joined by producer Gregory Dogan, Peter's daughter Patrice McDonald, and session musicians Garfield Allbright, Arnulfo Bagnall, Simon Penaflor, Bryant Rohde, Kyra Smithers, Rodolfo Spiro, and Maynard Vining who recorded backing vocal overdubs.

The band also recorded a new composition on this day. 'She Will Be There' which was written primarily by Sam Whitby, with input from Peter McDonald. The song and its musical style were inspired by The Monkees' songs  and the similarly titled . The song's title was also drawn from the lyrics of the former song.

The song featured harmony vocals by Peter's daughter Patrice McDonald which were inspired by the ones provided by Coco Dolenz on the demo of 'She'll Be There' which The Monkees had never recorded professionally.

29th January 2017
Peter McDonald and Torquil Dohrn respectively recorded lead vocal and tenor saxophone overdubs for 'What Are You Doing?' on this day. They also recorded harmony vocal overdubs with Sam Whitby later that same day. One more session would be necessary to complete the track.

Sam Whitby and Torquil Dohrn respectively recorded lead vocal and tenor trombone overdubs for 'The World' on this day. They were joined by session musicians Ephraim Burns, Tabitha Eberle, and Buddy Harvey who recorded tenor trombone overdubs. Keeping the trombone parts in time with the clarinet parts that were recorded on the 25th January proved to be a difficult task and required several takes to get right. As the clarinet and trombone were two very different instruments.

Torquil's tenor trombone part was prominent in both channels but slightly more prominent in the right channel. Ephraim's part was prominent in both channels but slightly more prominent in the left channel. Tabitha's part was most prominent in the right channel and least prominent in the left channel. And Buddy's part was most prominent in the left channel and least prominent in the right channel. Sam and Torquil also recorded harmony vocal overdubs with Peter McDonald later that same day. One more session would be necessary to complete the track.

Peter McDonald, Sam Whitby, Torquil Dohrn, Devon O'Connell, and Wilbur Milardo respectively recorded crowd noises,, ,   , and crowd noises for 'Green Submarine' on this day. They were joined by producer Gregory Dogan who recorded overdubs, Peter's daughter Patrice McDonald and session musician Kyra Smithers who recorded crowd noises, Garfield Allbright who recorded   s, Arnulfo Bagnall, Simon Penaflor, and Bryant Rohde who recorded , and Rodolfo Spiro who recorded  s.

1st February 2017
Peter McDonald, Sam Whitby, and Torquil Dohrn recorded backing vocal overdubs for 'What Are You Doing?' on this day. Sam and Wilbur Milardo also respectively recorded grand piano and Lowrey organ overdubs later that same day. The backing vocal overdubs were inspired by the backing vocals from The Beatles' song 'Helter Skelter' while the grand piano and Lowrey organ overdubs were inspired by the grand piano and Lowrey organ from The Beatles' song 'Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds'. The song was now completed.

Sam Whitby and Wilbur Milardo respectively recorded grand piano and Lowrey organ overdubs for 'The World' on this day. The grand piano and Lowrey organ overdubs were inspired by the grand piano and Lowrey organ from The Beatles' song 'Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds'. The clarinet and trombone parts that were recorded during the previous month were on this day. The song was now completed.

Peter McDonald, Sam Whitby, Torquil Dohrn, Devon O'Connell, and Wilbur Milardo respectively recorded nautical voices,, crowd noises, shouting, and  s for 'Green Submarine' on this day. They were joined by producer Gregory Dogan who recorded crowd noises, and Peter's daughter Patrice McDonald who recorded the sound of.

Peter admitted that many of the nautical sound effects found on 'Green Submarine' were inspired by those on The Beatles' song 'Yellow Submarine'. But the thing that mattered at the end of the day was how differently they sounded to those on 'Yellow Submarine', not whether they'd used similar equipment to make the sound effects. One more session would be necessary to complete the track.

Peter McDonald, Sam Whitby, Torquil Dohrn, Devon O'Connell, and Wilbur Milardo respectively recorded bass guitar, electric piano, rhythm guitar, percussion, and percussion overdubs for 'She Will Be There' on this day. It was during this same session that Sam recorded a backing vocal overdub. The song was now completed.

The band also recorded a new composition on this day. 'The Day We Fell in Love' which was written primarily by Torquil Dohrn, with input from Peter McDonald. The song was inspired by The Monkees' similarly titled song ''. And its musical style was inspired by the songs that  recorded as a member of The Monkees.

4th February 2017
Peter McDonald and Sam Whitby respectively recorded shouting and the sound of  for 'Green Submarine' on this day. It was later that same day that session musician Maynard Vining recorded tape loops of a submarine chugging through ocean water while on board a submarine near Beachlands West Beach in. Maynard had gotten in touch with someone he knew that could pilot a submarine specifically for him to record for 'Green Submarine'. With the tape loops added, the song was now completed.

Peter McDonald, Sam Whitby, Torquil Dohrn, Devon O'Connell, and Wilbur Milardo respectively recorded, , Lowrey organ, percussion, and percussion overdubs for 'The Day We Fell in Love' on this day. Torquil's vocal was also double-tracked. One more session would be necessary to complete the track.

The band also recorded a new composition on this day. 'Mr. Webb' which was written primarily by Peter McDonald, with input from Sam Whitby. The song's title was inspired by The Monkees' song ''. And its musical style was inspired by both the and the  of the said song.

9th February 2017
Peter McDonald recorded overdubs for 'The Day We Fell in Love' on this day. The song was now completed.

Peter McDonald, Sam Whitby, Torquil Dohrn, Devon O'Connell, and Wilbur Milardo respectively recorded electric cello,, acoustic rhythm guitar, maraca, and  overdubs for 'Mr. Webb' on this day. One more session would be necessary to complete the track.

The band also recorded a new composition on this day. 'You May Just Be the One' which was written solely by Torquil Dohrn. The song's title was inspired by a mistake in The Monkees' episode  where erroneously refers to his composition  as 'You May Just Be the One'. Both the and the  of 'You Just May Be the One' served as inspiration for the musical style of 'You May Just Be the One'.

13th February 2017
Torquil Dohrn and Wilbur Milardo respectively recorded oboe and tambourine overdubs for 'Mr. Webb' on this day. The song was now completed.

Peter McDonald, Sam Whitby, Torquil Dohrn, Devon O'Connell, and Wilbur Milardo respectively recorded bass guitar, rhythm guitar, rhythm guitar, maraca, and tambourine overdubs for 'You May Just Be the One' on this day. It was during this same session that Torquil and Devon recorded backing vocal overdubs. The song was now completed.

The band also recorded a new composition on this day. 'The Postman' which was written primarily by Torquil Dohrn, with input from Sam Whitby. The song's title and Broadway musical style were inspired by The Monkees' song ''.

16th February 2017
Peter McDonald, Sam Whitby, Torquil Dohrn, Devon O'Connell, and Wilbur Milardo respectively recorded bass guitar, rhythm guitar, alto saxophone, tambourine, and percussion overdubs for 'The Postman' on this day.

The band also recorded two new compositions on this day. The first composition was 'Ob-La-Di-Bla-Da' which was written primarily by Peter McDonald, with input from Torquil Dohrn. The song's musical style was inspired by The Beatles' songs  and . The song's title was drawn from the lyrics of The Beatles' song 'Savoy Truffle' which in turn referenced the song 'Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da'.

The second composition was 'Evolution' which was written solely by Sam Whitby. The song and its musical style were inspired by The Beatles' songs  and , and the John Lennon song ''. The song's title was also drawn from the lyrics of the latter song.

19th February 2017
Peter McDonald, Sam Whitby, and Torquil Dohrn respectively recorded B♭ trumpet,, and B♭ trumpet overdubs for 'The Postman' on this day.

Peter McDonald, Sam Whitby, Torquil Dohrn, Devon O'Connell, and Wilbur Milardo respectively recorded backing vocal and bass guitar, grand piano, alto saxophone, bongo drum, and tambourine overdubs for 'Ob-La-Di-Bla-Da' on this day. They were joined by producer Gregory Dogan who recorded backing vocal and percussion overdubs, and Peter's daughter Patrice McDonald and her friends Darryrene Adams, Scarlett Cordero, and Amma Partridge, and session musicians Garfield Allbright, Arnulfo Bagnall, Ephraim Burns, Oliver Burns, Graciela Caver, Winford Colunga, Jeremiah Dibernardo, Cleveland Dickenson, Magdalena Donley, Ellie Durst, Tabitha Eberle, Hermaleigh Edmiston, Inga Geibel, Buddy Harvey, Anaiya Hawes, Wendell Heatley, Rusty Laub, Kristel Legette, Karin Lomonaco, Veronika Mathis, Ellen Paulos, Antonia Rodriques, Lorenzo Roysden, Arnoldo Slate, Kyra Smithers, Rodolfo Spiro, Emily Swinger, Marcel Tennant, Osvaldo Tufuga, and Maynard Vining who recorded backing vocal overdubs.

Peter McDonald, Sam Whitby, Torquil Dohrn, Devon O'Connell, and Wilbur Milardo respectively recorded, acoustic rhythm guitar, tenor trombone, , and tambourine overdubs for 'Evolution' on this day. They were joined by session musicians Ephraim Burns, Tabitha Eberle, and Buddy Harvey who recorded tenor trombone overdubs. It was during this same session that Sam recorded a backing vocal overdub.

The band also recorded a new composition on this day. 'French Onion' which was written primarily by Sam Whitby, with input from Peter McDonald. The song's title and musical style were inspired by The Beatles' song ''.

21st February 2017
Peter McDonald and Torquil Dohrn respectively recorded violin and concert flute overdubs for 'The Postman' on this day. Torquil also recorded tenor trombone overdubs later that same day. The song was now completed.

Peter McDonald, Sam Whitby, Torquil Dohrn, Devon O'Connell, and Wilbur Milardo respectively recorded concert flute, cello, baritone saxophone, fingersnaps, and fingersnaps for 'Ob-La-Di-Bla-Da' on this day. They were joined by session musicians Ephraim Burns, Tabitha Eberle, and Buddy Harvey who recorded tenor trombone overdubs, Oliver Burns and Rusty Laub who recorded B♭ trumpet overdubs, Graciela Caver, Magdalena Donley, Ellie Durst, Anaiya Hawes, Kristel Legette, Veronika Mathis, Lorenzo Roysden, Arnoldo Slate, and Marcel Tennant who recorded violin overdubs, Winford Colunga who recorded overdubs, Jeremiah Dibernardo and Ellen Paulos who recorded viola overdubs, Cleveland Dickenson who recorded  overdubs, Inga Geibel who recorded B♭ clarinet overdubs, Wendell Heatley who recorded  overdubs, and Osvaldo Tufuga who recorded cello overdubs.

Though session musician Karin Lomonaco had originally been brought in to record concert flute overdubs, she only ended up contributing backing vocals to the finished recording, as Peter wanted to record the concert flute parts along with Torquil who would record his own concert flute parts later on. Peter knew that as a professional flute player, Karin could have recorded his concert flute parts in fewer takes, but the band members of wanted to play all the instruments that they knew how to play, even if they required more takes to complete.

Peter McDonald, Sam Whitby, Torquil Dohrn, Devon O'Connell, and Wilbur Milardo respectively recorded B♭ trumpet,, B♭ trumpet, percussion, and percussive clicks for 'Evolution' on this day.

Peter McDonald, Torquil Dohrn, and Wilbur Milardo respectively recorded cello,, and tambourine overdubs for 'French Onion' on this day. They were joined by session musicians Graciela Caver, Anaiya Hawes, and Veronika Mathis who recorded violin overdubs, and Daryl Laffoon who recorded viola overdubs. Sam Whitby's vocal was also double-tracked.

1st March 2017
Peter McDonald, Sam Whitby, and Torquil Dohrn respectively recorded B♭ trumpet, double bass, and tenor saxophone overdubs for 'Ob-La-Di-Bla-Da' on this day.

Peter McDonald recorded s for 'Evolution' on this day. Peter, Sam Whitby, Torquil Dohrn, Devon O'Connell, and Wilbur Milardo also recorded fingersnaps later that same day. The song was now completed.

The band also recorded a new composition on this day. 'Movin' on up in the World' which was written primarily by Torquil Dohrn, with input from Sam Whitby. The song's musical style was inspired by The Beatles' song , though it features a saxophone arrangement that was inspired by The Beatles' song .

5th March 2017
Peter McDonald, Sam Whitby, and Torquil Dohrn respectively recorded cello, fingersnaps, and concert flute overdubs for 'Ob-La-Di-Bla-Da' on this day. Peter and Torquil also respectively recorded double bass and B♭ clarinet overdubs later that same day.

Peter McDonald and Sam Whitby respectively recorded viola and cello overdubs for 'French Onion' on this day. Peter also recorded violin and soprano recorder overdubs later that same day. The song was now completed.

11th March 2017
Peter McDonald and Torquil Dohrn respectively recorded viola and B♭ trumpet overdubs for 'Ob-La-Di-Bla-Da' on this day. Peter and Torquil also respectively recorded violin and tenor trombone overdubs later that same day. One more session would be necessary to complete the track.

Torquil Dohrn, Devon O'Connell, and Wilbur Milardo respectively recorded tenor saxophone, maraca, and  overdubs for 'Movin' on up in the World' on this day. Torquil and session musician Lacresha Smail also recorded baritone saxophone overdubs later that same day, while session musician Sherilyn Dancer recorded tenor saxophone overdubs. The song was now completed.

The band also recorded a new composition on this day. 'The Lonely Windy Road' which was written solely by Peter McDonald. Though Peter admitted that the song's musical style was inspired by The Beatles' similarly titled song , he declared that the song's title and primary source of inspiration had originated from Chapter 21 'The Tale of the Three Brothers' of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows'' by.

He had misremembered the text 'a lonely, winding road' as being 'a lonely, windy road' by the time he had written the final draft of his song. And that's how it came to be called 'The Lonely Windy Road'. Peter stated that the reason he never corrected the error in the lyrics was because he wanted to avoid the song's title being too similar to 'The Long and Winding Road'.

When it came to recording the song, the word 'Windy' was pronounced as 'Wine-dy', as it was a substitute for the word 'Winding', rather than being pronounced as 'Win-dy'. 'The Lonely Windy Road' featured backing vocals provided by Peter's daughter Patrice McDonald. l and additional choral overdubs would be recorded between the 14th and 23rd March 2017.

14th March 2017
Peter McDonald and Torquil Dohrn recorded fingersnaps for 'Ob-La-Di-Bla-Da' on this day. The song was now completed.

Peter McDonald, Sam Whitby, and Torquil Dohrn respectively recorded B♭ trumpet, acoustic rhythm guitar, and acoustic rhythm guitar overdubs for 'The Lonely Windy Road' on this day.

They were joined by Peter's daughter Patrice McDonald's friends Darryrene Adams, Scarlett Cordero, and Amma Partridge, and session musicians Graciela Caver, Eliza Cuthbert, Anaiya Hawes, Kristel Legette, Veronika Mathis, and Ellen Paulos who recorded backing vocal overdubs, Aracely Bronstein, Sandie Cancel, Magdalena Donley, Ellie Durst, Eloisa Hastings, Coretta Linthicum, Alejandra McNinch, Karry Olberding, Florentina Quijano, Lorenzo Roysden, Arnoldo Slate, Marcel Tennant, and Cherryl Trepanier who recorded violin overdubs, Ephraim Burns and Buddy Harvey who recorded tenor trombone overdubs, Jeremiah Dibernardo, and Elias Goguen who recorded viola overdubs, Rusty Laub who recorded B♭ trumpet overdubs, and Emma Picou and Osvaldo Tufuga who recorded cello overdubs.

The orchestral and choral overdubs that were recorded for 'The Lonely Windy Road' on this day and all the other days thereafter were mixed very low in the song, so that even with a production style, the instruments and vocals that were recorded on the 11th March 2017 would be at the front of the mix.

The band also recorded a new composition on this day. 'I Never Gave You My Pillow' which was written solely by Peter McDonald. The song's musical style was inspired by The Beatles' songs  and . The song's title was also drawn from the lyrics of the latter song.

21st March 2017
Peter McDonald, Sam Whitby, and Torquil Dohrn respectively recorded cello, cello, and B♭ trumpet overdubs for 'The Lonely Windy Road' on this day. They were joined by session musicians Graciela Caver, Anaiya Hawes, Kristel Legette, and Veronika Mathis who recorded violin overdubs, Eliza Cuthbert who recorded pedal harp overdubs, and Ellen Paulos who recorded viola overdubs.

Peter McDonald, Sam Whitby, Torquil Dohrn, Devon O'Connell, and Wilbur Milardo respectively recorded harmony vocal, cello, B♭ trumpet,, and upright piano overdubs for 'I Never Gave You My Pillow' on this day.

The band also recorded a new composition on this day. 'Spacecraft' which was written solely by Torquil Dohrn. The song and its musical style were inspired by the song ''. Torquil explained that he once misremembered the title of the David Bowie song as 'Spacecraft', rather than 'Space Oddity'.

Once he'd realised his mistake, he thought that he should write a song about. Both 'Space Oddity' and 'Spacecraft' have use similar instruments, though 'Spacecraft' features soprano recorders, whereas 'Space Oddity' does not.

23rd March 2017
Peter McDonald and Torquil Dohrn respectively recorded viola and tenor trombone overdubs for 'The Lonely Windy Road' on this day. Peter also recorded violin overdubs later that same day. The song was now completed.

Peter McDonald, Sam Whitby, Torquil Dohrn, Devon O'Connell, and Wilbur Milardo respectively recorded B♭ trumpet, double bass, tenor trombone, tambourine, and overdubs for 'I Never Gave You My Pillow' on this day. Peter and Torquil also respectively recorded cello and French horn overdubs later that same day.

They were joined by session musicians Aracely Bronstein, Graciela Caver, Ellie Durst, Eloisa Hastings, Anaiya Hawes, Kristel Legette, Veronika Mathis, Alejandra McNinch, Florentina Quijano, Lorenzo Roysden, and Marcel Tennant who recorded violin overdubs, Abraham Ellerbee who recorded overdubs, Charley Galban, Simon Penaflor, and Bryant Rohde who recorded  overdubs, Elias Goguen, Daryl Laffoon, and Ellen Paulos who recorded viola overdubs, Rusty Laub who recorded B♭ trumpet overdubs, and Emma Picou and Osvaldo Tufuga who recorded cello overdubs.

Peter McDonald, Sam Whitby, Torquil Dohrn, Devon O'Connell, and Wilbur Milardo respectively recorded cello, Lowrey organ, concert flute, fingersnaps, and overdubs for 'Spacecraft' on this day.

26th March 2017
Peter McDonald recorded viola and violin overdubs for 'I Never Gave You My Pillow' on this day. The song was now completed.

Peter McDonald, Sam Whitby, Torquil Dohrn, and Wilbur Milardo respectively recorded double bass, cello, soprano recorder, and fingersnaps for 'Spacecraft' on this day. Peter and Sam also respectively recorded viola and double bass overdubs later that same evening.

They were joined by session musicians Aracely Bronstein, Graciela Caver, Eloisa Hastings, Anaiya Hawes, Kristel Legette, Veronika Mathis, and Alejandra McNinch who recorded violin overdubs, and Daryl Laffoon who recorded viola overdubs. One more session would be necessary to complete the track.

1st April 2017
Peter McDonald recorded violin, concert flute, and soprano recorder overdubs for 'Spacecraft' on this day. The song was now completed.

4th April 2017
The band recorded a new composition on this day. 'Heavy Load' which was written solely by Torquil Dohrn. The song and its musical style were inspired by the songs '' and ' (Give Me Peace on Earth)'. The song's title was also drawn from the lyrics of the latter song. Unlike either of the songs that it was inspired by however, 'Heavy Load' was primarily recorded using.

Torquil described the song as the 'anti-Blue Jay Way', because The Beatles' song '' incorporated aspects of, despite using only Western instrumentation. 'Heavy Load' on the other hand used mostly Indian instrumentation, but the objective was to try and get every Indian instrument featured on the track to sound as Western as possible. The only Western instruments to appear on the track were and s.

The band members had been flown to several days beforehand, along with session musicians Margarito Donahoe, Hermaleigh Edmiston, and Emily Swinger, for a better idea of what Indian instruments they should use on the recording. 'Heavy Load' became the second song to be recorded in India, as well as the first studio recording to be recorded completely outside.

In the end they decided upon using semi-acoustic sitars in the place of s, a traditional in the place of an, a  in the place of a bass guitar, a  in the place of a drum kit,  in the place of a keyboard, , and , a  in the place of a western tambourine,  in the place of a ,  in the place of saxophones, and  in the place of B♭ trumpets.

The completed track would be taken back to for final  and audio processing. The band considered recording an overdub track featuring the Western instruments that the Indian ones would be mimicking and have it mixed low so it could be heard faintly beneath the track that was recorded in India. This idea would be dropped and the overdub track was never recorded.

6th April 2017
Peter McDonald, Sam Whitby, Torquil Dohrn, Devon O'Connell, and Wilbur Milardo respectively recorded Indian harmonium,, semi-acoustic slide sitar, cymbals with brushes, and kanjira overdubs for 'Heavy Load' on this day. They were joined by session musician Margarito Donahoe who recorded ransingha overdubs. One more session would be necessary to complete the track.

8th April 2017
Peter McDonald, Sam Whitby, and Torquil Dohrn respectively recorded ransingha, Indian harmonium, and nadhaswaram overdubs for 'Heavy Load' on this day. They were joined by session musicians Margarito Donahoe and Hermaleigh Edmiston who recorded nadhaswaram overdubs, and Emily Swinger who recorded ransingha. The song was now completed.

19th April 2017
Peter McDonald, Sam Whitby, Torquil Dohrn, Devon O'Connell, and Wilbur Milardo respectively recorded, acoustic rhythm guitar, , percussion, and  overdubs for 'No Fools Tonight' on this day.

Later on that same evening, Peter, Sam, and Torquil respectively recorded, clavinet, and electric piano overdubs. The song was now completed.