George Martin RIP

#22
Sad to hear of the death of George Martin.....Music will be poorer for his departure...

Also sad to read yesterday that Bill Wyman has been diagnosed with (edit) prostate cancer....
 
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#26
Very sad news I think his gift was being able to take their crazy music ideas and make them a reality much like Apple engineers were able to turn Steve Job's visions into real world products. I have always been in awe of the producers and engineers of that era extremely creative but very disciplined with their craft. Brian and George were just as important band members as Paul and John were it was a once in a lifetime perfect storm that hasn't been duplicated since. I wish him peace.
 
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#28
sad news. I was surprised to hear he was 90. Sir George aged well.
But what a contribution to the soundtrack of our lives! Not just Beatles music but a multitude of other artists. They said on the news this morning that he had produced over 700 popular songs.

I can certainly say that I learned a lot about recording from Mr Martin, just by listening to his work for the last 50 years and trying to recreate many of his studio techniques during my 30+ years as a recording engineer.

There are 3 people who worked in the recording arts that have influenced me, as an engineer, greatly over the years...
Tom Dowd, Phil Ramone, and Sir George Martin. Now they are all gone. May they rest in peace. We are a better musical community for having been fortunate enough to have lived on the planet during the time they did.
 
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#32
IMHO I don't think the Beatles would have reached their artistic heights without Martin, one of the greatest producers in my lifetime.
Fly on George...................................................................
 
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#33
Another great loss. George Martin's extensive experience in many genres of music—particularly in the poly-layered discipline of classical music—was hugely enabling for the Beatles. He knew how to separate and layer voices by intensity, timbre and colour, even in a 4-track mono mix, in ways that belied the great skill involved and rendered an apparently simple, memorable product. In my science day job, I've spoken with many Nobel laureates who have a similar skill to render great intelligence and complexity of thought into elegant simplicity. That, for me at least, is a parallel I find in his work. I was listening to Abbey Road in the car the other day marvelling at it. And he loved Ringo's playing. Great man. Great loss.
 
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#35
A real loss. For once I think I can use the phrase "he was a legend in his own lifetime" without exaggerating. It's nice that his son Giles is carrying on the family business with great success.

Useless Factoid - He was granted his own coat of arms in March 2004 by the College of Arms. His shield features three beetles (just because it balanced the design better than 4, not a deliberate slight or a dead Beatle or anything apparently), a house martin holding a recorder, and the Latin motto Amore Solum Opus Est (sort of roughly "All You Need Is Love") The Zebra at the bottom is, I'm guessing, a reference to the cover of Abbey Road where the 4 Beatles are on a Zebra Crossing. A Musical staff across the centre, not sure about the jigsaw puzzle design,and those curly things at the top sure look like they're flipping someone the bird. Oh, and "For God and Empire" is the wording found on The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (M.B.E.) which was awarded by The Queen to The Beatles...and which John Lennon later returned as a protest against the Vietnam war. I'm sure I've missed some, and probably just made some up too. :D

Martin.jpg
 
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#38
jerry said:
IMHO I don't think the Beatles would have reached their artistic heights without Martin, one of the greatest producers in my lifetime.
Fly on George...................................................................
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I agree...they were very fortunate George Martin was their producer.

RIP.
 
#39
Gravedigger Dav said:
He was a hero of mine as well, but I wouldn't call him a hack. He was actually producing classical music when he met the Beatles. I don't recall who brought them to his attention, but he was not even a fan of popular music. Notice the string arrangement in Eleanor Rigby. That would be his influence. He helped them expand their musical horizons. He was also responsible for ousting Pete Best.
I have always thought George Martin made the Beatles. Not that they weren't talented, but he was a big influence on them and their success. I doubt you mean any disrespect, but hack isn't an appropriate title for him.
Central Texas? Austin? I'm in Fort Worth. My son lives in Austin. I'm down that way a lot.
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I think if was Brian Epstein who ousted Pete Best wasn't it?

No question of his influence on the Beatles. The one thing he did that I didn't care for (strange to only be able to think of one thing) was "sweeten up" the Long and Winding Road. I heard a stripped down version of that somewhere with just the piano and without all the strings and it was a far better song. AND it's the only one I can think of where I didn't like what he did. I understand the Beatle's Sgt. Pepper's album was completely done on an 8-track board...impressive!

Sad day for the music industry.
 
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