Работа Джорджа Мартина

The Fab Four's fifth, still going strong
The legendary Beatles producer, now 81, talks to James Adams about a six-decade career packed with legends, and not over yet

JAMES ADAMS

May 5, 2007

It's a bit dismaying to learn that Sir George Martin is now entirely deaf in his left ear and hearing-impaired in his right. After all, the fame, fortune and esteem he's enjoyed are largely the result of what those ears have discerned over the last six decades.

Then again, no one's going to say that Martin has lacked for sound. There must be universes of music still playing in his head, vast sonic collages assembled from the famous and not-so-famous melodies, harmonies and rhythms he's variously recorded, scored, played and imagined into existence.

Of course, it's his association with the Beatles that remains the touchstone of Martin's career. And it was the Beatles that brought him to Toronto's Elgin Theatre earlier this week, as the host of An Evening with Sir George Martin, a potpourri of reminiscences, music and imagery that he's been touring, in various incarnations, for the last several years.

At 81, Martin still has what Beatles biographer Bob Spitz calls "the aura." Tall and trim, his clear blue eyes and firm jaw convey a combination of authority and decency. Sitting in a chair in the Prime Minister's Suite at the Royal York Hotel just a few hours before his presentation, Martin answered the questions graciously and with seeming engagement, only occasionally cocking an ear for a repetition or clarification. Of course, he probably had heard every question thousands of times before.

Looking at pictures of Paul, John, George and Ringo from the early 1960s, when they first travelled to London from their Liverpool home to meet him, one is struck by their youthfulness. As Martin remarked, "Paul and George were still not even 20." Yet Martin himself was also a young man at that time - just 36. "I guess I was like a big brother."

Martin, like the Beatles, had played in bands in his teens, but in 1943, when he was just 17, he put music on hold to join the flying branch of the Royal Navy. "I didn't have to join. If I'd waited until I was 18, I would have been conscripted. But," he said, smiling, "I didn't fancy much being an infantryman, which is what would have happened. So I got ahead of the game."

Martin left the service in 1947, intending to pursue a career in music. Eventually, this led him to EMI Records in London and to his installation, in 1955, as head of its Parlophone division, where he recorded classical and Baroque, as well as pop crooners, jazz artists and comedians, most famously Peter Sellers and Spike Milligan. Amusingly, Martin thought the production biz would be only an interim engagement en route to what he considered his real ambition - composition.

"I've decomposed since then," he said with a chuckle. "But you know how it is when you're young: You're a musician, and you imagine you're pretty brilliant. I remember seeing a movie called Dangerous Moonlight. It was a wartime type of film, and the hero was a classical pianist and composer, and on the soundtrack was this thing called the Warsaw Concerto [by British composer Richard Addinsell] that I thought was terrific. I used to play it, in fact, and I won a competition playing it - ?5, which was a lot of money back then. But the big problem was, I wasn't educated in music. I just had a natural feel for it and thought, 'Hey, I could do that. I'll write film music.' "

Eventually, of course, Martin did learn to read and notate music, and went on to work on lots of films, including the Beatles' first feature, 1964's A Hard Day's Night.

It's part of the group's lore that the man who came to be known as "the fifth Beatle" initially wasn't that impressed with John Lennon and company. "A rather unpromising group" with a batch of "very mediocre" originals is how his assessment has been quoted in some histories. However, Martin quickly came to like them.

They, in turn, soon came to respect and rely on him. It was Martin, lest we forget, who came up with - and played - the harpsichord-like piano bridge for In My Life after an unschooled Lennon reportedly told him he wanted "something like Bach." It was Martin, too, who gave Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite its astonishing range of circusy effects after Lennon announced: "I want to smell the sawdust in the ring."

Once Martin had the Beatles under his wing, the group's manager, Brian Epstein, began to send a bevy of Liverpudlians to Martin. He duly produced many chart-breakers for the likes of Gerry and the Pacemakers, Cilla Black and Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas, among others. In fact, in Britain in 1963, for 34 weeks the No. 1 hit was a song produced by Martin. "It had never been done before," he said with undiminished pride, "and it never will be done again."

Yet Martin never saw any of these other acts as the equals, let alone potential usurpers, of the Beatles. Epstein "may have imagined himself as a latter-day Diaghilev, an impresario who could do fabulous things with people he deemed talented," Martin observed. "But the Beatles were unique, and I had made plenty of pop records before them, let me tell you. I knew they were something I hadn't come across before and, as it proved, the world hadn't either."

After the Beatles breakup in 1970, Martin worked the soundboard for such artists as Jeff Beck, Jimmy Webb, Neil Sedaka, the Little River Band, Kenny Rogers and Cheap Trick. Even Barbra Streisand was keen to work with him, but it never happened "because she wanted to do the record three weeks from the moment we met."

The one group Martin was most intensely involved with was America, that trio of U.S. army brats living in Britain who, in 1972, scored a monstrous hit with A Horse with No Name. Martin signed on with them a year or so later, and stayed around for seven albums that included such Top 40 hits as Tin Man and Sister Golden Hair.

"There was just something about the sound of their acoustic guitars that I loved," Martin recalled with a smile. "And they were helluva nice guys. I remember the first record we did - Holiday, I think - we did in three weeks, start to finish." Having spent more than 700 hours on Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, such brevity was mind-boggling. "At the end, I said to them, 'You guys have been terrific. It's just too bad we've got a bit of a flop on our hands.' They looked at me ashen-faced and I said, 'Well, you can't enjoy making a record like this and expect it to be a hit as well, can you?'" (The record, for the record, was a huge smash.)

Named a Commander of the British Empire in 1988, then knighted by the Queen in 1996 - a year before Paul McCartney's investiture - Martin went into a kind of semi-retirement in 1999 as his hearing declined. At the turn of the century, he turned his attention to preparing a Yellow Submarine ballet or musical, only to have his ambition redirected when George Harrison came up with the idea of doing Yellow Submarine in association with Montreal's Cirque du Soleil, whose founder, Guy Lalibert?, Harrison had befriended. In 2003, Martin was brought on board.

While he accepted the commission, which eventually became the hit Love show in Las Vegas, Martin said he knew he "needed help on this. I told them, 'I ain't the force I used to be. I'm not a master of modern recording techniques and my ears aren't so good.' But I knew a guy who could fill that bill impeccably, namely my youngest son, Giles."

It proved a fruitful collaboration. In fact, it was Giles who came up with one of the production's most audacious musical conceits: underpinning Harrison's Within You Without You with the rhythm track from Lennon's Tomorrow Never Knows. "I told Giles, 'We're playing with the Holy Grail here, and I'll probably get slammed.' And he said, 'Oh Dad, you won't, but I will. I'm the precocious upstart.' "

Needless to say, no one got slammed. Once again, George Martin had walked what he calls "the tightrope of taste" to the other side. Bad hearing or no, "I still feel young," he chuckles, "and what you feel is not what you look."

*****

Also by Sir George

George Martin produced an amazing array of hits, including:

Portrait of My Love Matt Monro (1960)

Goodness Gracious Me Peter Sellers and Sophia Loren (1960)

Don't Let the Sun Catch You Crying Gerry and the Pacemakers (1964)

Little Children Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas (1964)

Can't Buy Me Love Ella Fitzgerald (1964)

Live and Let Die Paul McCartney and Wings (1973)

Apocalypse The Mahavishnu Orchestra (1974)

Sister Golden Hair America (1975)

Wired Jeff Beck (1977)

Quartet Ultravox (1983)

I Don't Wanna Have to Worry Kenny Rogers (1985)

The Who's Tommy: Original Broadway Cast Recording (1992)

Candle in the Wind Elton John (1997)

Take It Easy on Me The Little River Band (1981)

Вот это по-королевски: Элла Фитцжеральд видимо выписывала себе для записи хита Битлз из Англии их продюсера, дабы сделать кавер.

Martin: Well, don’t forget, I did record "A Hard Day’s Night" with Peter Sellers. Did you ever hear that?

MF: No.

Martin: I also recorded "Can’t Buy Me Love" with Ella Fitzgerald. Did you ever hear that?

MF: That I’ve heard. And I’ve also heard her do a Cream song, "Sunshine of Your Love." That was just—wow! [both laugh]

Martin: "Can’t Buy Me Love" worked very well, I thought. We did a number of Beatles’ tracks with Peter.

MF: He was fantastic.
http://www.musicangle.com/feat.php?id=50

Привет!

the Beatleman, ты прав, встреча Мартина и "Битлз" это из серии обыкновенных чудес, ее значение совершенно невозможно переоценить.

Нашел куски старых своих переводов из Мартина:

«Я не сумею передать разницу между ними. Они оба были гении, оба писали прекрасную музыку и во многих отношениях были похожи. Но, так уж сложилось в глазах публики, что мир видит Пола в роли сочинителя популярных мелодий, а Джона – чудаковатых слов. Пол умел значительно четче формулировать свои музыкальные идеи, тогда как Джона оставлял их висеть в воздухе на всеобщее обозрение или изъяснял их сравнениями, метафорами. Он описывал чувства, но не знал достаточно точно, какими средствами их передать. Когда я впервые услышал I Am The Walrus, только гитара и голос, я был потрясен, фантастика, вы представить себе не можете. Я спросил Джона, «Как ты хочешь оркестровать песню?» и он ответил мне: «Не знаю, это же твоя работа, правда?» Я его спросил: «Но какая-то идея у тебя должна быть». И он ответил: «Возьми струнные и духовые, обычный твой хлам.»

И вот еще о попурри на Abbey Road:

"Цифровая технология тогда еще не родилась и попурри монтировалось «на ходу»: Битлз играли вместе с уже записанными фрагментами, чтобы синхоронно нарастить следующий. К окончанию работы над попурри они играли всю нитку из восьми песен вживую, без остановок".

>>чудаковатых слов

По стилистике лучше наверное перевести как "чудные слова". Насколько понимаю, там было freak. И в смысловом отношении можно перести как "каламбур" - имеется в виду игра слов, коей предостаточно в его песенках...

2еж ушастый:

К окончанию работы над попурри
>они играли всю нитку из восьми песен вживую, без остановок".

Не буду комментировать предыдущие слова, вероятно так же было смутно в оригинале. Но вот этот кусок несколько противоречит. Где там "восемь кусков"? Студийные документы показывают, что одновременно Битлз играли не больше двух песен. А потом эти куски соединяли в аппараратной на нескольких магнитофонах. В качестве подтверждения достаточно вспомнить историю с "Полиэтиленовой Пэм", которую то вставили вначале, то потом выбросили...

А насчет метафор - так работают некоторые музыканты. Приблизительно в таких категориях, читал, Том Уэйтс общается с приглашенными музыкантами. Не какая-то конкретная мелодия или гармония, а они предлагают образ, которые органичен для данной песни. Вообще это пример определенного доверия. Леннон умышленно провоцировал, отдавая отчет кого. И если человеку надо и он хочет помочь, то как правило, этих картинок было достаточно. Эмерик только появился в студии, как ему пришлось искать аналог горлового пения буддийских монахов. При всем его минимальном опыте студийной работы сделать это ему удалось. Достаточно было подключить свое воображение...

И вообще к 67 году, да и после истории с Леандером, Мартин должен был хорошо подумать, прежде чем задавать вопросо о партитуре Леннону, а не броситься со всех ног выполнять распоряжение композитора...

Expert, не были бы Вы так любезны отсовокупиться от меня раз и навсегда? Нижайше Вас благодарю.

Всем остальным привет! Вот тут подборка видеоматериалов по Мартину:

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=George+Martin

еж ушастый
Привет! Где пропадаешь, дружище?
Что касается роли Мартина, то полностью с тобой солидарен - ее невозможно переоценить.

2еж ушастый:

>Expert, не были бы Вы так любезны отсовокупиться

А я не присовокуплялся. Просто попросил привести в подтверждение тех или иных высказываний факты из истории группы Битлз и творческой биографии Мартина. А то у меня из головы до сих пор не идет, что поменяв порядок куплета и припева можно из ничтожной песенки получить мировой хит. Битлз по сей день должны быть ему благодарны за эту фантастическую услугу. Можно сказать, соавтор Леннона и Маккартни...

Привет, Mr. Moonlight!

Да дела заели, лето. Алиса вспоминается: "У нас, чтобы только оставаться на своем месте приходиться бежать изо всех сил". Ага. Да и жарко очень, комп как-то пока не тянет к себе. Что до Джорджа Мартина, то это, конечно же, Личность, огромный талант - и профессиональный и человеческий.

еж ушастый ! привет!

В соседней теме про песню It's For You я упомянул британский ТВ фильм "Lennon and McCarney Music" (я его скачал по случаю, правда, в в mpg, и в очень неважном качестве). Фильм начинается очень оригинально: за фортепиано сидит Дж.Мартни и вместе с какими-то духовыми играет знаменитое вступление 1-го концерта Чайковского для ф-но с оркестром. Покуда это вступление развивается, Мартин начмнает вплетать в него темы из песен легендарной четверки. Это, черт побери, замечательно! А Мартин, в этом нет никаких сомнений, абсолютный профи на ф-но.
А Эксперту нашему ставим, как это и положено, запятую!:))

Привет!

Mr. Moonlight, этот фильм с переводом али как? И можно ли его надыбать из сети?

Типичная продукция Джорджа Мартина до встречи с Битлз - комедийные записи известных киноартистов:

Питер Селлерз в роли доктора-индуса и София Лорен в роли влюбленной пациентки - "Goodness Gracious Me"
http://ifolder.ru/3726148


"Goodness Gracious Me" is a comedy song recorded by Peter Sellers and Sophia Loren, and was a top 10 UK single in 1960. It features the stars acting the role of two Indian Asians – Sellers a doctor, and Loren his patient – who fall in love.

The song was used to promote the film The Millionairess although it did not feature in the movie itself. However, lines in the song refer to the film, such as There's nothing wrong with it / please put it away referring to the scene when Epifania shows Dr. Kabir her tongue thinking she is ill.

It also provided the inspiration for the title and theme tune of the BBC radio and TV comedy programme of the same name.

The song proved so popular in the United Kingdom that a follow-up song, Bangers and Mash, was released. Sellers sang and spoke the part of a Cockney asking for plain English cooking, Loren singing the part of his Italian wife wanting to serve him Italian food. Both are featured on collections of Seller's comedy recordings.

2Mr.Moonlight:

Фильм начинается
>очень оригинально: за фортепиано сидит Дж.Мартни
>и вместе с какими-то духовыми играет знаменитое
>вступление 1-го концерта Чайковского для ф-но
>с оркестром. Покуда это вступление развивается,
>Мартин начмнает вплетать в него темы из песен
>легендарной четверки. Это, черт побери, замечательно!


Мартин ничего там не "вплетает". После короткого отрывка из Чайковского он вместе со своими оркестром переключаются на I Feel Fine. И только. Так что запятую себе поставь.

Join the Beatles on Web video
FINDING THE BEAT: iVideosongs.com hosts high-definition videos from famous musicians discussing songs and how best to play them, including Beatles producer Giles Martin.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/4420852a28.html

И уроки Джайлза http://www.ivideosongs.com/

Привет!

Спасибо, Primal Scream, поглядел несколько фрагментов уроков Джайлса Мартина, это интересно.