Hello again! It's been a while since I posted anything here. Various choir concerts and Easter have occupied recent weekends, but I wanted to write about two recent passings in the music world that meant a lot to me.
First, I'd like to focus on the brilliant George Martin, a producer/arranger/musician I've admired for many years, mostly for his truly groundbreaking work with the Beatles, but also for another couple of albums that are still among my favourites.
In the next post, I'll talk about Keith Emerson, another hard-working musician whose work had a large impact on my musical tastes and explorations.
But, to George Martin first...
"The Fifth Beatle"
In the interview published in Playboy magazine around the time of John Lennon's untimely death, the interviewer asked him to comment on the classification of George Martin as "The Fifth Beatle." To my dismay, Lennon arrogantly dismissed his contribution, saying things to the effect of, "Tell me one song George Martin wrote - please." This was manifestly unfair, and has bothered me ever since.
Not to disparage the memory of St. John of the 'Pool, but there are so many Beatles songs that wouldn't have sounded the same, or barely existed, without what George Martin wrote, or played, or contributed, it's hard to know where to start - but I'll mention a few:
Instrumental Solos and ensembles:
George himself plays the brief Baroque-style piano solo on John's "In My Life." It sounds a little "harpsichordy" because the solo is actually sped up slightly to match the key of the song.
The French horn solo in "For No One" is also a great addition, adding to the melancholy feeling of one of the great break-up songs.
And the piccolo trumpet solo in "Penny Lane," playing against the straight rhythm of the song, is a perfectly eccentric addition to a song about childhood memories of eccentric people.
And don't forget about the delightful clarinet ensembles in "When I'm Sixty-Four," or "Honey Pie." Those songs wouldn't be nearly as charming without them.
String arrangements:
What would Paul's songs like "Yesterday," "Eleanor Rigby," or "She's Leaving Home" sound like without Martin's string ensembles? Think of the held high A note in the last iteration of "Why she had to go, I don't know, She wouldn't say" in "Yesterday," or the rising echoes of the strings to the words, "Where do they all come from?" and "Where do they all belong?" in "Eleanor Rigby." They wouldn't sound the same without them, would they? Think of the hundreds of covers of "Yesterday": are any of them really as affecting as the original?
To give credit where it's due, Paul's singing in all these songs is excellent. Listen to how he bends some of the vowel sounds to give a mournful, weary quality to the words. Another reason they still hold up after (gulp) fifty years.
As for John's songs, with his limited instrumental knowledge, all he could do was suggest the effect he wanted, like an ensemble of some sort starting at a low note and rising to a high one in the two climactic sections of "A Day In the Life." It was Martin who actually wrote the amazing orchestral arrangements, both ending on a high E, that we all know. Also, John only asked for swooping and sliding effects in the accompaniment of "I Am the Walrus." George Martin arranged the string and vocal ensembles to give life to what were only sketchy ideas.
Then, there's "Being For the Benefit of Mr. Kite," a song which would not have the same effect without the "mad circus" sounds created by taking snippets of stock calliope/carnival sounds, literally throwing them in the air, and then splicing them together for some truly unheard-of effects. Again, Lennon suggests; Martin delivers.
George Martin also guided the Beatles in recording techniques, starting at two-track recording, to four-track, to eight-track, along with overdubbing practices that enabled them to create a sound that was so advanced, it couldn't be replicated live.
Throughout, his signature was always a clean, clear, balanced sound, without undue interference. To see what I mean, listen to Abbey Road (especially the ensemble vocals on "Sun King" or "Because"), then to Let It Be, which was produced by Phil Spector. The difference is quite noticeable.
Other Albums
George Martin produced other artists, of course, including comedy ensemble The Goons (pre-Beatles), and Cilla Black, among others. I won't speak to these particular artists, due to unfamiliarity, but there are two albums that I am familiar enough with to comment on - the two jazz-influenced LPs Jeff Beck put out in the mid-1970s, Blow By Blow and Wired.
Both albums benefit from Martin's clean sound, but, in particular, the string arrangements on Blow By Blow merit comment:
The last section of the tune "Scatterbrain" launches into a 9/8-time figure played by Beck and his three-man ensemble first, but then they are joined by a string ensemble, playing the same figure. Then, there is a break, where Beck plays another repeating riff, and then the song slowly fades out, with the strings returning to that 9/8 figure, as Beck solos over them. It was the track that ended the first side of the LP, and it's very effective.
My favourite tune on the album, though, has always been the last one, a version of Bernie Holland's "Diamond Dust." To this day, I remain intrigued - and thrilled - by the main theme, an angular yet lovely melody, apparently in 5/4 time. It is moody, melancholy, uplifting and fascinating all at the same time. The string ensemble is very much present here, but the highlight is at the end, where it takes over completely (save for Richard Bailey's drums), and Martin arranges the melody into - wait for it - a fugue (not a word you associate with rock or jazz) to bring the album to a finish on a lush chord (don't ask me what chord it is - my ear's not good enough to tell. But it is beautiful.).
It's just magical - I never hear that ending without wishing the song would keep going! One of the greatest "late-night" tunes anybody ever did.
Well, those are a few of my thoughts on the late George Martin - for me, a seminal figure in rock music, and someone who lived a long, productive, amazing life.
It is his touch that makes the Beatles' music, as well as those great Jeff Beck albums, live on for music lovers.
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