One Thing I Can Tell You Is You Got To Be Free Words Of Love
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Short George Martin article with a couple of interesting comments:
Just 86 the 'Fifth Beatle' stuff Jul 15, 2008 04:30 AM Bill Brioux
LOS ANGELES–"God, can we get away from The Beatles for a moment?"
Sir George Martin had had enough. The 82-year-old music icon – introduced to TV writers as the man who had sold 1 billion records – was fed up fielding questions about John, Paul, George and Ringo.
Martin was at the PBS portion of the television critics' press tour to promote On Record: The Soundtrack Of Our Lives, an ambitious, eight-hour documentary series set to premiere in the fall of 2010. Toronto-based Wildheart Entertainment is behind the venture, with Kevin Spacey booked as narrator.
"The principle storytellers are going to be the music icons of today," says producer/writer Maxim Langstaff, who partnered with Martin on previous "Making Of Sergeant Pepper" projects. The series will feature a Who's Who of pop and rock stars commenting on the 100-year history of recorded music.
Martin, who is hard of hearing, fielded questions from reporters through an assistant who sat next to him onstage and typed them up on a laptop. He grew peevish as more and more of us wanted to get back to The Beatles. "Working with The Beatles obviously was a large part of my life, and certainly they are featured in this PBS series, but they're not the dominant theme," he said. After the group officially disbanded in 1970, Martin produced No. 1 hits for America as well as for Paul McCartney and Wings. Love, the Cirque du Soleil musical Martin produced with his son Giles using remixed Beatles classics, is in its second sold-out year in Las Vegas.
The silver-haired producer says he admires PBS. Otherwise, he told the critics, "I don't like American television much, sorry to say."
And, yes, he hates American Idol. "I know it's enormously popular," he said, "but it's not my cup of tea. I would never dream of being on there. In spite of the money that's being made ... I'd much rather be poor."
Of the acts he listens to today, he singled out Coldplay and Radiohead. "I'm pretty provincial and English in my taste, I guess," he said.
As for those Beatle questions, reporters just couldn't let it be. Martin said the John Lennon Revolver track "Tomorrow Never Knows" was the weirdest song he ever produced, getting into some detail about Ringo Starr's "iconic drum track" and various experimental tape loops. "I don't want to go on too long, it will bore the pants off you," he said.
One of Lennon sweetest songs– "In My Life" – is his favourite Beatles single.
"I loved John's lyric. I loved the simplicity of the song.
"It wasn't exactly 'I Am The Walrus,' was it?"
He also has a fondness for it because – while the Fab Four were off having tea – he composed and performed the sprightly piano solo in the middle of the recording, sped up to sound like a harpsichord. This is partly why George Martin is referred to as "the fifth Beatle."
That song has grown more personal for him as "friends and lovers" he has known have passed away.
One Thing I Can Tell You Is You Got To Be Free Words Of Love
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I like his comments about working with Paul:
Sir George Martin's Advice to Musicians
You have to get on with an artist If you don’t like the artist and they don’t like you there’s no future in the relationship at all. You have to have a personality that people warm to. This is one of the joys I’ve had working with my son – he has that, he has that rapport with people, cracking a joke, making people laugh. It’s what the Beatles had: a wonderful charisma. When you were with them you felt good. That is one of the reasons I signed them. I thought: “If they make me feel happy, they’ll make an audience feel happy.”
Don’t write off a song if it doesn’t work at first Please Please Me was a good case in point because I listened to it and I said: “Do you know that’s too bloody boring for words? It’s a dirge. At twice the speed it might sound reasonable.” They took me at my word. I was joking and they came back and played it to me sped up and put a harmonica on it, and it became their first big hit.
Stand up to the artist, whoever it is Even when it is Paul McCartney, the producer has to stand up to the artist; its terribly important. If you are a “yes” man you’re no bloody good at all. The trouble is most people are. This is why Paul has trouble really, because there is no one who will say what they really think.
Deal with each artist accordingly I was once with John Lennon in his Dakota apartment. We were reminiscing about the old days and he said to me: “You know, George, if I could I’d love to do everything over again.” I said: “You’d like to go back in the studio and rerecord all the songs we’ve done?” Two hundred and fifty songs! He said: “No, we could do it better.” “What about Strawberry Fields?” I said. “Especially Strawberry Fields,” he replied.
Never enter the studio without at least the basis of an idea You’ve got to have something when the artist comes into the studio, otherwise it’s a complete waste of time. I suppose, in a way, in our experimentation after Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band people felt that the recording studio was a musical workshop where you could just start off with nothing. That wasn’t really true. What we were trying to do after Pepper was to try to make things different from what they had heard before. They shouldn’t just wander in and say: “Shall we try this instrument?” That might give them an idea for a song that’s been in their mind but it wouldn’t give them the idea for the song.
Know when to call a session to a halt It should go on no longer than it takes for the producer to fall asleep. I did actually fall asleep in more than one Beatles session. It was hard, long hours that they did. Before the Beatles, one had sessions of about three hours – that waswhat the unions dictated. Eventually, the artists became the decider rather than the producer.
Be ready to say if something isn’t working Sometimes a song isn’t good enough. I was working with Paul, I think it was for Pipes of Peace, on one of the songs I had rejected on the first hearing way back. He worked on it and thought it was worthwhile and he was hammering himself into the ground, doing take after take. I went in and said: “Paul, it’s not working.” He said, “Why isn’t it working?”, looking at me accusingly. “Because the song’s not good enough.” He looked at me and there was a kind of stand-off and then he said, “Do you think I don’t know?” I thought, “Blimey.”
The artist ego in him, the composer, said that it was a great song and he should make something out of it, but then when I came in and pushed him, reality took over and he abandoned it. It was a tricky thing to do because it angered him. It was tough for me to say that, but it had to be done.
Don’t let technology overwhelm you I think Sgt Pepper, which was done on four-track, would have been different if I had had an infinite number of tracks, because it exerted a discipline over me and, through me, over the Beatles. They had to get things right and they knew they had to perform.
One of things about modern technology is that it gives you too many options and delays that moment. You can also get all sorts of sound effects at the press of a button, things that it took us days to work out, so you don’t have to try.
Capture humanity over perfection I’m a great believer in humanity. I went to a Frank Sinatra recording in the Fifties. Now, Frank sometimes sang out of tune and he did things that maybe he could have improved. But though he sang out of tune he sounded great; some people sing in tune and sound bloody awful. I like a little mistake, a little bit of humanity, and you got that with the Beatles. Ringo never played a quartz-controlled beat ever in his life.
Wow, another terrific article. Thanks so much, Geoff!
Quoted Text
It’s what the Beatles had: a wonderful charisma. When you were with them you felt good. That is one of the reasons I signed them. I thought: “If they make me feel happy, they’ll make an audience feel happy.”
I just fell in love with Sir George a little bit more.
Cool stuff about McCartney. Yes, he absolutely strikes me as someone who needs someone to stand up to him. Everyone can use a good editor/sounding-board, what have you. But he's so strong-minded he'll push his way through-- even when he shouldn't. Ah, John, he needed you!
All you've got to do is choose love. That's how I live it now. I learned a long time ago, I can feed the birds in my garden. I can't feed them all. -- Ringo Starr, Rolling Stone magazine, May 2007
For all I know, Ringo might be a yogi disguised as a drummer! - George Harrison
You have to get on with an artist If you don’t like the artist and they don’t like you there’s no future in the relationship at all. You have to have a personality that people warm to. This is one of the joys I’ve had working with my son – he has that, he has that rapport with people, cracking a joke, making people laugh. It’s what the Beatles had: a wonderful charisma. When you were with them you felt good. That is one of the reasons I signed them. I thought: “If they make me feel happy, they’ll make an audience feel happy.”
Don’t write off a song if it doesn’t work at first Please Please Me was a good case in point because I listened to it and I said: “Do you know that’s too bloody boring for words? It’s a dirge. At twice the speed it might sound reasonable.” They took me at my word. I was joking and they came back and played it to me sped up and put a harmonica on it, and it became their first big hit.
Stand up to the artist, whoever it is Even when it is Paul McCartney, the producer has to stand up to the artist; its terribly important. If you are a “yes” man you’re no bloody good at all. The trouble is most people are. This is why Paul has trouble really, because there is no one who will say what they really think.
Deal with each artist accordingly I was once with John Lennon in his Dakota apartment. We were reminiscing about the old days and he said to me: “You know, George, if I could I’d love to do everything over again.” I said: “You’d like to go back in the studio and rerecord all the songs we’ve done?” Two hundred and fifty songs! He said: “No, we could do it better.” “What about Strawberry Fields?” I said. “Especially Strawberry Fields,” he replied.
Never enter the studio without at least the basis of an idea You’ve got to have something when the artist comes into the studio, otherwise it’s a complete waste of time. I suppose, in a way, in our experimentation after Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band people felt that the recording studio was a musical workshop where you could just start off with nothing. That wasn’t really true. What we were trying to do after Pepper was to try to make things different from what they had heard before. They shouldn’t just wander in and say: “Shall we try this instrument?” That might give them an idea for a song that’s been in their mind but it wouldn’t give them the idea for the song.
Know when to call a session to a halt It should go on no longer than it takes for the producer to fall asleep. I did actually fall asleep in more than one Beatles session. It was hard, long hours that they did. Before the Beatles, one had sessions of about three hours – that waswhat the unions dictated. Eventually, the artists became the decider rather than the producer.
Be ready to say if something isn’t working Sometimes a song isn’t good enough. I was working with Paul, I think it was for Pipes of Peace, on one of the songs I had rejected on the first hearing way back. He worked on it and thought it was worthwhile and he was hammering himself into the ground, doing take after take. I went in and said: “Paul, it’s not working.” He said, “Why isn’t it working?”, looking at me accusingly. “Because the song’s not good enough.” He looked at me and there was a kind of stand-off and then he said, “Do you think I don’t know?” I thought, “Blimey.”
The artist ego in him, the composer, said that it was a great song and he should make something out of it, but then when I came in and pushed him, reality took over and he abandoned it. It was a tricky thing to do because it angered him. It was tough for me to say that, but it had to be done.
Don’t let technology overwhelm you I think Sgt Pepper, which was done on four-track, would have been different if I had had an infinite number of tracks, because it exerted a discipline over me and, through me, over the Beatles. They had to get things right and they knew they had to perform.
One of things about modern technology is that it gives you too many options and delays that moment. You can also get all sorts of sound effects at the press of a button, things that it took us days to work out, so you don’t have to try.
Capture humanity over perfection I’m a great believer in humanity. I went to a Frank Sinatra recording in the Fifties. Now, Frank sometimes sang out of tune and he did things that maybe he could have improved. But though he sang out of tune he sounded great; some people sing in tune and sound bloody awful. I like a little mistake, a little bit of humanity, and you got that with the Beatles. Ringo never played a quartz-controlled beat ever in his life. As told to Paul Williams.
Seems like George doesn't like Paul's recent work. What do you think?
Wow, another terrific article. Thanks so much, Geoff!
I just fell in love with Sir George a little bit more.
Cool stuff about McCartney. Yes, he absolutely strikes me as someone who needs someone to stand up to him. Everyone can use a good editor/sounding-board, what have you. But he's so strong-minded he'll push his way through-- even when he shouldn't. Ah, John, he needed you!
I love John, I love Paul, And George and Ringo, I love them all!
Seems like George doesn't like Paul's recent work. What do you think?
Oh, I think that's a bit harsh. Certainly George likes Paul's stuff-- but some of it needs work. This is true with any creative endeavor. Musicians here, back me up, but I've heard most people write several songs for every one they record. According to Wiki, for Michael Jackson's "Bad" album: "Jackson wrote a reported sixty songs for the new album and recorded thirty, wanting to use them all on a three-disc set. Instead his longtime producer Quincy Jones cut it down to ten tracks and a bonus song making it a single LP." This album became Jackson's 2nd biggest seller.
Artists work in various ways. John would tend to bring rough songs, sketches really, into the studio and have people flesh them out. Paul tended to finish the works in his head. So he would be clear about what he wanted-- but he's still going to need an objective voice to tell him when what he's imagining isn't working. This doesn't in any way imply that Paul does shoddy work. It's just that what an artist envisions in his or her head doesn't always come across to the outside world the way it needs to, or most effectively. That's why many artists enjoy working with a good producer-- someone who can provide feedback and direction, because everyone needs that.
All you've got to do is choose love. That's how I live it now. I learned a long time ago, I can feed the birds in my garden. I can't feed them all. -- Ringo Starr, Rolling Stone magazine, May 2007
For all I know, Ringo might be a yogi disguised as a drummer! - George Harrison
Seems like George doesn't like Paul's recent work. What do you think?
He was just saying that producers have to be able to handle the artist's ego or the work is going to suffer, and his observation that there is no one around Paul willing to tell him when he's going off the rails is an old one made by many commentators that I can remember reading back in the seventies. It doesn't imply that all of Paul's solo work is bad; it's just an explanation for why some of it doesn't work.
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