>> The music came from the Beatles – but it was George Martin’s willingness to step outside the boundaries of what was acceptable that helped make them special ....
.. however unlikely a figure George Martin cut at the cutting edge of 60s pop – with his hair oil and his tie and his Royal Navy background – he was every bit as inquisitive, brave and mischievous as they were when it came to music. He was bold enough to encourage their belief they should write their own singles in an age when almost no other artist did. He was flexible and open-minded enough to translate their most playful and abstract requests into reality and completely unflappable when confronted with apparently impossible demands during the making of Strawberry Fields Forever or I Am the Walrus. And he was capable of writing arrangements that made great songs even better: the strings on Yesterday that immediately placed the song somewhere outside of pop music, into the ranks of modern standards; In My Life’s baroque electric piano solo, tweaked until it sounds like a harpsichord, sped up until it felt slightly unearthly, an inventive and effective interpretation of the song’s mood of dreamy nostalgia; the spectacularly inventive kaleidoscope of harmonium, harmonica and calliope that gives Being for the Benefit of Mr Kite! its weird hallucinatory atmosphere. <<
George Martin passed away at home in England, aged 90. He was an inspiration/idol/role model/mentor to many an audio producer, musician, musicologist, DJs and anyone who was touched by music. The degree to which he and the Beatles revolutionized previously-standard concepts of making music, cannot be overstated... however unlikely a figure George Martin cut at the cutting edge of 60s pop – with his hair oil and his tie and his Royal Navy background – he was every bit as inquisitive, brave and mischievous as they were when it came to music. He was bold enough to encourage their belief they should write their own singles in an age when almost no other artist did. He was flexible and open-minded enough to translate their most playful and abstract requests into reality and completely unflappable when confronted with apparently impossible demands during the making of Strawberry Fields Forever or I Am the Walrus. And he was capable of writing arrangements that made great songs even better: the strings on Yesterday that immediately placed the song somewhere outside of pop music, into the ranks of modern standards; In My Life’s baroque electric piano solo, tweaked until it sounds like a harpsichord, sped up until it felt slightly unearthly, an inventive and effective interpretation of the song’s mood of dreamy nostalgia; the spectacularly inventive kaleidoscope of harmonium, harmonica and calliope that gives Being for the Benefit of Mr Kite! its weird hallucinatory atmosphere. <<
Faced with an artist (Lennon) who would matter-of-factly demand that a certain recording sound like "an orange", Martin, rather than scratching his head, delivered. One example is the calliope chaos in the middle of Lennon's song "Being for the Benefit of Mr, Kite". Martin had his assistant chop up tape lengths of random calliope music and literally throw them up in the air. Then he told the assistant to pick them up and splice them back together. And it worked. Marvelously.
Nice story from The Guardian here.
An inspiration, and a genius. RIP George. You gave us so much.
