Peer Comment #3

Best known for his work as a producer in the studio, George Martin has been a pioneer and driving force for popular music productions both past and present.  While Martin has helped countless bands achieve success throughout the years, none have seen the benefits of his expertise like the Beatles.  As the primary producer and arranger for the band, Martin has been unofficially credited by some as the fifth member of the Beatles, and is responsible for many of the groundbreaking techniques discovered in the studio while recording with the group.  Leveraging his immense knowledge in studio recording and a strong foundation in classical music, Martin's contributions to the musical community are second to none, and continue to inspire artists, engineers, and producers alike.

Unlike many producers before him, George Martin dared to inject great amounts of creativity into the studio with regards to the equipment available to him, and how it could be manipulated to produce something entirely different from what was being made at that time by pop vocal groups.  This would be ever apparent in their later albums starting with Rubber Soul and leading into the massive studio experiment, Revolver.  With Revolver, Martin and the Beatles introduced many studio techniques to take their album to the next level like;  backwards tape loops, double tracking, experimental microphone placements, running vocals through a leslie cabinet, and many others.  While Revolver may have been George Martin's most lauded accomplishment by critics and music fans, his body of work spans much further than just a producer, arranger, and session musician for the Beatles.  Martin would continue to lend his talents to artists like Gerry & The Pacemakers, America, Jeff Beck, and Celine Dion just to name a few.

Given his success with so many pop recordings over the years, it's easy to overlook some of George Martin's other achievements outside of the studio recording world.  Trained in classical music during his early years, Martin continued to pursue that interest by composing scores for film, most notably "Yellow Submarine" as well as  the themes for James Bond films "Live and Let Die" and "Goldfinger".

George Martin is an incredibly talented musical mind, and can certainly be considered one of the most influential producers of all time due to his work with the Beatles.  Perhaps his greatest asset throughout his career was the ability to think outside the box, and successfully apply that to many recordings that have continued to mold popular music throughout recent history and today. 


In Response to Dean:


Hey Dean,

I really like your post on George Martin. It really taught me a lot about the "behind the scenes" of The Beatles. I had no idea he contributed on those two famous Bond movie themes. Your post was very to the point and well written. 

Well Done.