All Episodes - Producing The Beatles
The podcast dedicated to exploring the untold story of producer George Martin's revolutionary collaboration with John, Paul, George and Ringo.
View Podcast Details10 Episodes
PTB-010 IT'S GONNA BE ALRIGHT part 2
In examining the making of the third version of Revolution (after Revolution 1 and Revolution 9), we talk to musician and composer Casey McAllister to consider the origins of the recording’s intro; author and producer Jerry Hammack fills us in on how The Beatles got that memorable guitar sound; and former New York Times music critic Allan Kozinn shows us how all three versions of Revolution taken together tell a particular kind of story.
PTB-009 IT'S GONNA BE ALRIGHT part 1
Sparked by the air of social upheaval in 1968, John's song "Revolution" spawned three very different recordings: “Revolution 1,” “Revolution 9,” and “Revolution” (the single version). Today in the first of a two part episode, we look at how “Revolution 1” gave birth to “Revolution 9,” and discover the mesmerizing missing link between the two. Former New York Times music critic Allan Kozinn helps us deconstruct “Revolution 9,” and to make sense of why John created such a challenging recording in the first place.
PTB-008 Get Back
With Apple’s announcement that Peter Jackson will be reworking the Let It Be footage, we go back to the actual sessions to examine this period from George Martin’s perspective. Martin and The Beatles advanced the use of the recording studio in a variety of creative ways, but what would happen if they took away their method of building a recording with layers of intricate overdubs and played everything live? On the Get Back/Let It Be project, the Beatles did just that, setting aside the recording process they had developed with their producer over the previous six years. But without “production,” what was Martin’s role in this project? How much was he actually there? And who actually produced these sessions?
PTB-007 Changing Speeds - The 'Varispeed' Technique
Building off George Martin's half-speed, wind up piano technique, The Beatles and their producer used varispeed — variable speed recording — to alter the sound of instruments, vocals, and even entire rhythm tracks of songs. These alterations changed the textures of these parts in sometimes subtle, and sometimes dramatic ways. Today, we examine how Martin and The Beatles used this technique on six recordings from 1966 to 68, and we invite pianist Jesse Reeks back to discuss the reason Martin used this technique on two of his piano solos.
PTB-006 From Me To You
The Beatles' first four singles seem to be fairly straightforward live studio recordings, but George Martin expended a good bit of effort to polish these songs up for release. Today, we listen through the session tapes for The Beatles' third single, "From Me To You," to trace Martin's process for crafting the record, and we'll discuss how Martin applied the same process in the recording of The Beatles' other early singles. We also talk with writer and music producer Jerry Hammack, who helps us understand how all of this was accomplished using 1963 technology.
005 The clarinet score for When I'm Sixty-Four
"When I'm Sixty-Four" is Paul McCartney's nostalgic throwback to British music hall music, and a tribute to his father, Jim McCartney. Today, we examine George Martin's iconic clarinet score for the song, and consider how much Paul had a hand in writing that score. We'll also go into the recording studio to recreate the clarinet score with three musicians, led by John Reeks, Professor of Music at Loyola University, and we'll break the score down to see what we can learn about its construction and composition.
PTB-004 The Beatles on Multitrack part 2
In the second half of our brief overview of how George Martin and The Beatles used multitrack recording, we'll hear how they pushed four-track recording to its breaking point, and we'll learn how they managed the complex arrangements on Sgt Pepper with such limited means. We'll also hear how the band's jump to eight-track recording during the White Album sessions reflected a shift in their relationship with their producer, and how they were still pushing the limits of recording technology even on their last album.
PTB-003 The Beatles on Multitrack part 1
One of the most fascinating aspects of The Beatles' career is how, with George Martin's guidance, they advanced the art of recording as they progressed from twin track to four track to eight track tape. Today, we examine how The Beatles went from learning the basics of the studio on twin track, to realizing the creative possibilities of four track. To understand how their ideas developed, we'll listen to individual tracks from six multitrack recordings from 1963-66, and consider George Martin's role during this period.
PTB-002 Scoring Eleanor Rigby
George Martin's score for “Eleanor Rigby” builds on the classical string quartet form that the producer introduced The Beatles to on the song “Yesterday.” In this episode, we examine the writing and recording of the score with cellist Karen Ray, and we also consider Martin's unusual source of inspiration for this dramatic piece of music.
Episode 001: "In My Life" and Wind Up Piano
George Martin's memorable piano solo for “In My Life” was one of his favorite contributions to any Beatles recording. In this episode, we examine the special technique Martin used to capture this solo on tape, as well as how he used this same technique in a variety of other recordings. We also look into Martin's background as a pianist, and we sit down with the organist from St Louis Cathedral, Jesse Reeks, to discuss the origins of this solo in Baroque music.