Most interesting here however, is Emerick's observations as a firsthand observer of the Beatles themselves. Here one watches the creative competition between Lennon and McCartney in particular go from a simple matter of one-upmanship during Sgt. Pepper to a personal battle of wills during the making of The White Album.

With the Beatles recording virtually as separate solo artists by this time, Lennon and McCartney — once boyhood friends — could barely stand to be in the same room together. While Lennon dismisses the multiple takes required for McCartney's "Ob La Di, Ob La Da" as more of McCartney's "granny shit," Sir Paul is equally horrified with Lennon's notion of "Revolution #9" being a single, no less an album track.

Emerick's personal recollections are most telling as he recalls George Harrison trying to bring songs like "Only A Northern Song" to the table, songs that would later be relegated to "lesser projects" like the Yellow Submarine soundtrack, which the Beatles apparently viewed as a mere fulfillment of a contractual obligation. By the time of the album, which would come to be known to the world as Let It Be, the Beatles are apparently together in name only, while producer Phil Spector tries to hold together the mess things have apparently become.

The happy ending comes when the Beatles manage to put aside their differences long enough to record the dueling guitar solos heard on Abbey Road’s second side. Here, there is a rare moment of unity recalling the Beatles early days as four boys from Liverpool destined to change history that is enough to erase the bitter division marking the band's final months together.

As the guy sitting behind the studio console during these pivotal years in the history of a band that would go on to change the world, Geoff Emerick tells a most compelling story. For Beatles fans looking for a unique first hand perspective into the music which changed history, your search stops here.