WithoutGeorge Martin, the Beatles might never have been heard beyond seaport clubs innorthern Europe and without his hand in the studio, many of their classicrecordings might have been a bit less classic. Some of the funny stories in theBBC documentary “Produced by George Martin” are already familiar to Beatlesfans. The self-deprecating producer recalls being unimpressed by the demo tapeBrian Epstein played for him. Even after the indefatigable manager brought theband to Abbey Road, Martin thought their music was “rubbish” but was won overby their charisma. And yes, Martin insisted on replacing Ringo Starr with amore on-the-beat studio drummer for their first session.
Thefun part of the documentary is getting to know Martin before he met theBeatles. After serving as a naval aviator during World War II, Martin enrolledat a conservatory where, he’s happy to report, he wasn’t “over educated inmusic.” He dreamed of becoming a classical composer in the Rachmaninoff mode,but accepted a job in 1950 from Britain’s biggest record label, EMI; whileworking at the company’s Abbey Road studio, he met Judy, the secretary whoremains his wife 60 years later. During the ‘50s and early ‘60s he recorded andarranged jazz, classical, novelty and comedy records, making his greatestimpression with discs by Peter Sellers and Peter Ustinov. The Beatles were fansbefore they met him.
“Theywere eternally curious,” he says of the Beatles. Their imagination and hisscope were the ingredients for an ideal collaboration. Martin was also asensitive listener. Some arrangers would have smothered “Yesterday” under anorchestra but Martin kept the strings as simple and bare as the lyric. Herealized that recording technology, especially with the advent of magnetictape, could achieve more than merely documenting a performance. “Let’s paintinstead of making photographs,” he says, drawing an analogy to the visual arts.
Althoughhis post-Beatles career will always be heard as anti-climactic, Martin producedsuch diverse artists as the Mahavishnu Orchestra, America and Jimmy Webb in the‘70s and in the ‘80s, his Air Studios on Monteserrat was a popular recordinggetaway for the Police, Elton John and Duran Duran.
“Producedby George Martin” includes a wealth of archival footage and interviews withPaul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Jeff Beck and others who worked with him. It’s outon Blu-ray and DVD.
