Ranking George Martin as a producer

[Ovi]

No complaints on either of the Beatles albums he produced and he was perfect for the band as the man who managed to develop all Paul's and John's crazy ideas into songs. But was he as good as Phil Spector? or Brian Wilson? Did he revolutioned or at least came up with new things in the producing world? Would The Beatles be what they are today without him? What do you think?

[tkitna]

No complaints on either of the Beatles albums he produced

What does this statement mean? Are you under the assumption that Martin only produced a couple of the Beatles albums?

But was he as good as Phil Spector? or Brian Wilson? Did he revolutioned or at least came up with new things in the producing world? Would The Beatles be what they are today without him? What do you think?

The thing to remember is that Martin worked with less than Spector (Brian, I dont know) at the time. While Spector had access to 8 track recordings, Martin was still reduced to just using the 4 track technology. I have the utmost respect for all of them, but I think Martin did more and sounded better. How many times have we read that one of the lads would approach him with something that wasnt even in musical terms and told him to make it happen and he did? Notes that shouldnt be there were there, and so forth. Cutting up the tape for BFTBOMK comes to mind too. The backwards guitars and instruments. The feedback on IFF. So on and so on. The Beatles would not be near what they are without Martin.

I dont want to paint this picture as me showing favortism towards Martin, because Spector and his Wall Of Sound cranked out amazing hit after hit in the 60's and I still love the majority of them, but when you listen to a Beatles album, the production is pretty damn good and sounds cleaner than most even back then. Thats impressive to me. I guess I would look at Spector and Martin as peers in the big picture. Wilson probably not so much. He was awesome too, but I dont know if he was in their league.

[Ovi]

What does this statement mean? Are you under the assumption that Martin only produced a couple of the Beatles albums?

No, I was just trying to say that I have no complaints about his work with The Beatles.

How many times have we read that one of the lads would approach him with something that wasnt even in musical terms and told him to make it happen and he did? Notes that shouldnt be there were there, and so forth. Cutting up the tape for BFTBOMK comes to mind too. The backwards guitars and instruments. The feedback on IFF. So on and so on. The Beatles would not be near what they are without Martin.

Yes, he was perfect for The Beatles. Whenever they had something crazy in mind (like Lennon wanting a carnival atmosphere for BFTBOMK), Martin was there ready to try new things. He suited the band very good, never being too pushy or trying to stick his own ideas into their songs, unless they wanted to.

But would've Martin make it big as a producer if not for The Beatles?

[Dcazz]

I think he was the right guy just for the fact that aside from his musical talent he was in charge of the comedy productions at EMI before they came along. I'm sure they fit together well from start.

[Hello Goodbye]

But would've Martin make it big as a producer if not for The Beatles?

We'll never know the answer to that question.  But it surely was the right combination of talent and genius that made its mark on music history.

[nimrod]

I guess I would look at Spector and Martin as peers in the big picture. Wilson probably not so much. He was awesome too, but I dont know if he was in their league.

Agree with Todd here 100%, but please remember, there is no 'who was best' as there is no scale to measure how good they were, its only opinions....subjective etc.
I dont think George wouldve been a famous producer without the Beatles though, thats just my belief, he was fantastic for them and just right for what they needed...........but his lucky day came when Brian walked into his life..