Musically I was spoilt. Really. Spoilt by my dad's influence. Blended in amongst the Irish folk was a jaw-dropping meld of Hendrix, Cream, Joplin, Kinks, the Who, early Deep Purple, Zep Small Faces, late 60s psychadelia and The Beatles. As a four/five year old I was exposed to the strains of Strawberry Fields/Penny Lane played through dad's old stereogram in our front room - over and over and over again. The Beatles black and white/night and day double-A single - I never grew tired of hearing those tunes. When I was about 10 (not long after the Beatles end) dad gave me his copy of that single (and Itchycoo Park) - both appeared grey in colour - I put that down the repeat plays.
George Martin as a genuine musical genius - and the term is not used lightly. Let's be honest about this - the Beatles and George Martin were great because of each other - a perfect "sum of the parts". His background was in orchestral/classical music and arrangements - he really had a ear for what worked.
Some of George's "touches" were beyond awe-inspiring.
The Beatles first major hit Please Please Me was a meandering Lennon ballad, until George Martin put his stamp on it - "let's make this one faster". They never looked back.
Arguably their finiest tune In My Life - again not only had George playing piano in standard time (his frequent contribution to Beatles albums) but he also recorded a second piano track at half-speed to produce that brilliance that is the "Harpsichord bridge section"
Listen to those Side 2 medleys on Abbey Road - when you realise where they came from - rescued bits/snippets of tape here and there...the mind boggles. While John descended into an Opium fog, Ringo went skiing and George Harrison had little to do with Paul, much splicing and dicing of inches, feet and yards of "throwaways" into a beautifully segued flow of attention-grabbing pop.
McCartney and Martin worked tirelessly to give the Beatles final recording a true swan-song that music-lovers would embrace. That resultant album being (possibly) their finest.
George, thank you for your hugely impressive input to the soundtrack to billions of lives. I'l miss you, but your influence will live on
Rest In Peace George:
Truly a (musical) life well-lived!!!
brENsKi ......very well said.
The Kurgan...thanks for that vid.
George Martin and Geoff Emerick helped push and expand the band, as well as reigning them in when allowed to. They were willing to experiment along with them. One only needs to listen to the 'Get Back/Let It Be' project to realize what they would have been without both.
It's what is missing on the solo efforts of John and Paul. Paul's best album was 'Band on the Run', produced and engineered by Emerick. One of his very best solo songs was 'Live and Let Die', produced by Martin, orchestral arrangement by Martin.
From all accounts, Sir George seemed to be a decent man, and great to work for and with. Everyone in the music industry owes him a debt of thanks, as well as us listeners.
He was a true genius, a word far too over used these days, much like 'legend' which George Martin also was. I dont think people realise what music production involved back in the day. A producer had to physically cut magnetic tape with a razor and stick together the best bits of different takes to make the final product, no one did this a well as George Martin. An amazing thing to hear is that on at least one occasion not only did he splice tape during vocal parts he actually once edited half way through a WORD. The last line of With a Little Help From My Friends, the line Ringo famously was reluctant to sing due to the final note, contains the words 'Yes, I get by with a little help from my friends, with a little help from my frieeeeeeends'. You can hear the edit halfway through the word 'Yes' at the start of the line. Not sure how the first part of the word 'yes' could be wrong but it obviously was. Be warned, once you hear it you cannot unhear it. link