The Wizards of Vision and Sound

A new year is bringing some ch-ch-ch-ch-changes. I hope you’re all off to a great start of 2024 and would like to welcome you to the inaugural post of a new feature I decided to call The Wizards of Vision and Sound. In a nutshell, the idea is to profile prominent music producers and sound engineers, with a focus on highlighting some of their actual work.

Producers and sound engineers is a topic I’ve had on my mind for some time. While the title implies a series, I’m not sure yet about frequency, given I already have multiple recurring features, and there’s only so much time I can devote to blogging – I’m thinking perhaps monthly or every other month.

First, I’d like to briefly address the roles of music producer and sound engineer. In general, a producer manages the process of recording music, which includes helping develop a record’s overall vision, identifying and booking studios and additional session musicians, assisting with song collection and order, and advising on musical arrangements. A sound engineer primarily focuses on the technical aspects of operating recording equipment and helping the artist realize and in some cases shape the sound they envision.

Oftentimes, the above roles become blurry, especially nowadays. Music artists frequently serve as their own producers and sound engineers. Much of that is enabled by technology, which has made home recording and production of music feasible. A dedicated producer may also take on sound engineering roles, while a sound engineer may go beyond operating recording equipment and take on a more active role in shaping an album. In some cases, functions may be further split, for example between an executive producer and a “regular” producer.

With that said, let’s get to our first wizard: George Martin. Of course, I had to kick off the series with somebody related to my all-time favorite band The Beatles! But while Martin undoubtedly is best known for his work with the four lads from Liverpool and wasn’t called “the fifth Beatle” for nothing, there’s more to the English record producer, arranger, composer, conductor and musician.

George Martin (center) with (from left) John Lennon, Ringo Starr, George Harrison and Paul McCartney

George Henry Martin, who became Sir George Martin in 1996 in recognition of his services to the music industry and popular culture, was born on January 3, 1926. His initial interest in music was sparked at the age of six when his family got a piano. While the lessons he started to take as an eight-year-old stopped after only six over a disagreement between his mother and the piano teacher, Martin continued exploring the instrument on his own and created his first composition the age of eight.

After a four-year career in the British navy, Martin studied piano, oboe, music composition and orchestration at London’s Guildhall School of Music and Drama. Following his graduation in 1950, he started working for the BBC’s classical music department while playing oboe in local bands on the side. In November 1950, Martin joined EMI and became assistant to the head of EMI’s Parlophone label. His focus continued to be classical music. He signed English conductor and composer Ron Goodwin and produced his first record, an instrumental cover of Charlie Chaplin’s theme from Limelight.

When his boss retired in 1955, Martin took over the Parlophone label. Before he started working with The Beatles and other pop artists in the early ’60s, Martin produced novelty and comedy records. According to The Beatles Bible, artists included The Goons, Rolf Harris, Flanders and Swann and, most successfully, the Beyond the Fringe show, starring Peter Cook, Dudley Moore, Alan Bennett and Jonathan Miller.

George Martin (left) with Shirley Bassey and audio engineer Stuart Eltham

In 1965, Martin left EMI over compensation disagreements and together with staffers from EMI and Decca formed his own production company, Associated Independent Recording (AIR). In addition to music, Martin’s more-than-six-decade career also included composing, arranging and production work for film and television. His final project, Soundbreaking: Stories from the Cutting Edge of Recorded Music, was an eight-part documentary series for TV about sound recording and music production. Martin passed away on March 8, 2016 at the age of 90, six days prior to the premier of Soundbreaking at South by Southwest.

While it is impossible to give full justice to Martin’s bio in just four paragraphs, this shall suffice for the purposes of this post. As noted the outset, I’d like to focus this series on music the featured wizard touched. With that, let’s take a look at some examples for Martin.

Gerry And The Pacemakers/How Do You Do It? (1963)

How Do You Do It? was penned by British songwriter Mitch Murray. When his publisher Dick James presented the song to Martin, he initially wanted The Beatles to record it. They reluctantly did but insisted to go with their own Love Me Do – not a bad decision, in my completely unbiased opinion! :-) Martin agreed, but he continued to see the song’s hit potential and he was right. He gave it to Gerry And The Pacemakers, after the Liverpool group had been signed to EMI’s Columbia label. Produced by Martin and released in March 1963, the song became their debut single and ended up topping the UK charts for three weeks. The Beatles’ recording eventually appeared in 1995 on the Anthology 1 collection.

Shirley Bassey/Goldfinger (1964)

Martin, George Martin! Composed by John Barry and with lyrics by Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley, the magnificent title song of the 1964 James Bond film was performed by Shirley Bassey. According to the website of Abbey Road Studios, where the gem was recorded, The vocal session tape was created on 7 September 1964, with the engineers listed as Malcolm Addey and Ron Pender, with George Martin producing in Studio Two. Additional fun fact: Jimmy Page, then a session musician, played on Goldfinger as part of the John Barry Orchestra.

The Beatles/Eleanor Rigby (1966)

While I purposely chose to highlight Martin’s work beyond The Beatles, I couldn’t leave out Eleanor Rigby, which I think features one of his finest moments with them: The writing of the string score for Eleanor Rigby. The Beatles Bible notes this gem was inspired by the music written by Bernard Herrmann for the Truffaut film Farenheit 451. The string octet was recorded in 14 takes. Paul McCartney subsequently overdubbed his lead vocals. None of The Beatles played on the recording. Apart from appearing on the Revolver album, Eleanor Rigby was released in August 1966 as a double A-side single with Yellow Submarine.

Mahavishnu Orchestra/Wings of Karma (1974)

In March 1974, Martin worked with Mahavishnu Orchestra at his AIR Studios in London to record their third studio album Apocalypse, which came out the following month. It also featured the London Symphony Orchestra, which to me made Martin look like a perfect man for the job. In his cleverly titled 1979 memoir All You Need Is Ears, he called Apocalypse “one of the best records ever made.” Here’s Wings of Karma composed by John McLaughlin.

America/Sister Golden Hair (1975)

In 1974, folk rock trio America started working with Martin who ended up producing their next five albums. Sister Golden Hair was included on the second of the series, Hearts, which came out in March 1975. Written by Gerry Beckley, the song also became the album’s first single and one of America’s biggest hits, topping the Billboard Hot 100 in the U.S. Songfacts points out it marked Martin’s 20th no.1 U.S. single as a producer, and his first post-Beatles.

UFO/Lettin’ Go (1980)

That one came as a surprise! Martin produced UFO’s eighth studio album No Place to Run, though he later regretted his decision. Released in January 1980, it was recorded at Martin’s studio on Montserrat, known as AIR Montserrat, which had been built on the Caribbean island in 1979. In a 2016 interview with Louder, then-former UFO bassist Pete Way noted friction between the band and Martin over different work and life styles. While calling No Place to Run not bad and “well put together”, he said the group felt Martin’s mix was “a bit low-key.” The same story quotes a 1994 interview with Martin during which he said, “I once had a flirtation with heavy metal, and I regretted it very much. It [the genre] didn’t seem to have any sense.” Here’s the perhaps ironically titled Lettin’ Go, co-written by Way and UFO vocalist Phil Mogg.

Little River Band/The Night Owls (1981)

Martin’s production work wasn’t limited to British and American artists. In 1981, he worked with Aussie pop rock group Little River Band, who recorded their sixth studio album Time Exposure at AIR Montserrat. Released in September that year, it peaked at no. 9 in Australia and reached no. 21 in the U.S. on the Billboard 200. The first single The Night Owls, written by LRB co-founder and guitarist Graeham Goble, climbed to no. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100, making it one of the group’s highest charting songs on the U.S. pop chart. In an April 2021 YouTube interview with Rock History Music, Goble and LBR’s second guitarist Beeb Birtles spoke very highly of Martin and working with him.

Andy Leek/Say Something (1988)

The last example of Martin’s work I’d like to call out is his production of Say Something, a 1988 album by Andy Leek. The British singer-songwriter, musician and poet first gained prominence as an early member of Dexys Midnight Runners before launching a solo career in 1980. Say Something was recorded at AIR Studios in London with impressive guest musicians, such as Steve Howe (Yes), Clem Clempson (Colosseum, Humble Pie) and Alan Murphy (Level 42). Martin said Leek “was one of the greatest artists he had ever produced”.

Over his long career, Martin produced 30 no. 1 singles in the UK and 23 no. 1 hits in the U.S. He won six Grammy Awards, including two in 1967 for Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (Best Contemporary Album and Album of the Year); 1973 for arranging the soundtrack of Bond movie Live and Let Die (Best Arrangement, Accompanying Vocalist(s)); 1993 for Best Musical Show Album (as producer of The Who’s Tommy); and 2007 as producer for The Beatles’ Love soundtrack remix album for the Cirque du Soleil show Love (Best Compilation Soundtrack Album For Motion Picture, Television Or Other Visual Media), together with his son Giles Martin. Martin also contributed to numerous charitable causes, including The Prince’s Trust and Montserrat.

Following is a Spotify playlist of the above and select other songs produced by George Martin.

Note: The post was updated on January 13, 2024 with the above Spotify playlist

Sources: Wikipedia; Abbey Road Studios website; The Beatles Bible; Songfacts; Louder; Rock History Music; YouTube; Spotify

If I Could Only Take One

Alrighty, it’s Wednesday and time again to prep for another imaginary desert island trip. Of course, in the context of this recurring feature, this means I need to pick another song to take with me – one bloody tune, not an album, though I’m not suggesting the latter would be much easier.

Plus, there are a few additional rules. The tune must be by an artist or band I’ve only rarely written about or not covered at all. And I’m doing the silly exercise in alphabetical order.

This week I’m up to “u”. Artists (last name) and bands starting with that letter include U2, UFO, Ultravox, Umphrey’s McGee, Uncle Kracker, Uncle Tupelo, Utopia and Uriah Heep. Given my above rules, U2 and Uriah Heep are out. I also just recently wrote about Umphrey’s McGee. And since I don’t feel like dancing with tears in my eyes, Ultravox are out as well.

This still leaves me with four choices, none of which I’ve covered to date. And my pick is Utopia, aka Todd Rundgren’s Utopia. Now that I’ve figured out the artist/band, the question is which song to pick? Love Is the Answer.

Written by Todd Rundgren, Love Is the Answer is a tune from Utopia’s third studio album Oops! Wrong Planet, released in September 1977. Initially, the pop-oriented song missed the charts. Two years later, American soft rock duo England Dan & John Ford Coley recorded a version of the tune and took it to no. 1 in the U.S. on the Billboard Adult Contemporary Chart. It also reached no. 10 on the mainstream pop chart Hot 100. Sounds very yachty!

Following are some additional tidbits from Songfacts:

Todd Rundgren wrote this hopeful song about the power of love for his band Utopia, which released it on their 1977 album Oops! Wrong Planet. The song became a hit in 1979 when England Dan & John Ford Coley recorded a slicker version perfect for the adult contemporary market, and scored their last of six US Top 40 hits with their cover.

In our 2015 interview with Todd Rundgren, he explained that Utopia’s Oops! Wrong Planet was a “bummer album,” and that they included this song on it to make it more uplifting. [Perhaps that made Rundgren want to bang the drum all day? CMM]

Todd Rundgren performed this song when he toured as part of Ringo Starr’s “All Starr Band” in 2015. Ringo insists on three hits from his guests, and along with “I Saw The Light” and “Bang the Drum All Day,” he wanted Todd to do “Hello It’s Me.” Rundgren didn’t think that one was a good fit in the set, as it’s a very introspective song and Ringo’s shows are very communal. Todd convinced him to go with “Love Is The Answer,” which he thought was the perfect song for Ringo – “Mr. Peace And Love” as Rundgren calls him. The plan worked: the song went over very well at these shows and fit the vibe perfectly.

Sources: Wikipedia; Songfacts; YouTube

What I’ve Been Listening to: Savoy Brown/Street Corner Talking

What do you do when you’re in the mood for some great blues rock? You get some! And so I did with Street Corner Talking by Britain’s Savoy Brown released in September 1971. As it oftentimes goes with these types of posts, I got the idea to listen to their seventh studio album after my streaming music provider had served up Tell Mama, the record’s dynamite opener.

Savoy Brown – btw, what a cool name! – have been around for a bit. ‘How long’, you might wonder. How about more than 55 years! Not surprisingly, their line-up has changed many times over the decades, though the founder is still around and going strongly. Before getting to the album, a bit of history is in order. The following background is taken from the band’s bio on their website.

Savoy Brown was formed in 1965 by guitarist Kim Simmonds in London, England. Simmonds has been the group’s guiding hand from the first singles released in 1966 through the band’s newest effort, their forty-first album “Ain’t Done Yet” [released in August 2020. At the time, I featured one of the album’s tunes in a Best of What’s New installment]

…Energetic blues has been the calling card of the band from the beginning. Blues Rock became the catch-all phrase in the late 1960s to describe the band’s music along with that of contemporaries including Cream, Fleetwood Mac, and Jimi Hendrix…

...Through the 1960s, 1970s and 1980’s songs such as “I’m Tired”, “Train to Nowhere”, “Tell Mama” and “Lay Back In The Arms Of Someone” became Hot 100 entries. Two of the band’s albums in the 1970s, “Looking In” and “Hellbound Train”, appeared on the Billboard Top Forty charts…Along the way, Savoy Brown has toured continuously, making it one of the longest running blues rock bands in existence. Through the years, the band has headlined concerts at many prestigious venues including Carnegie Hall, the Fillmore East, the Fillmore West, and London’s prestigious Royal Albert Hall...

…Former [Savoy Brown] members, having cut their teeth under Simmonds’ leadership, have gone on to complete their careers with other bands. Among others, these include singer Dave Walker with Fleetwood Mac and Black Sabbath, Bill Bruford with King Crimson, Andy Pyle with the Kinks and Paul Raymond with UFO… Three other band alumni – Lonesome Dave Peverett, Roger Earl, and Tony Stevens, went on to become the founding members of the multi-platinum act Foghat. Sounds a bit like John Mayall to me!

Kim Simmonds (guitar, vocals), who has lived in the U.S. since 1980, remains the only original member of Savoy Brown’s current line-up. The other core members include Pat DeSalvo (bass, backing vocals) and Garnet Grimm (drums). Both have been with the band since 2009. With that, let’s get to some music!

I’d like to kick it off with the song that inspired the post. Tell Mama, the first track on the album, was co-written by Simmonds and Paul Raymond, the band’s keyboarder at the time. Just a great catchy rocker with some cool slide guitar action.

Taking on The Temptations perhaps is a near-impossible task, but I have to say I really dig where Savoy Brown took I Can’t Get Next to You. Co-written by Motown songwriters Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong, this psychedelic soul gem was first released by The Temptations as a single in July 1969. It also appeared on their 11th studio album Puzzle People that came out in September of the same year. Check out how nicely Savoy Brown’s version of the tune is shuffling along. I also dig the keyboard work.

Time Does Tell is another great track. It was written by Simmonds. Andy Sylvester’s bass work gives this tune a great groove. I also like Simmonds’ guitar solo that starts at about 2:42 minutes. Damn, this is really cool – don’t take it from me, give it a listen!

Here’s the title track, another song Simmonds wrote. I can hear some Cream in that guitar riff. And that’s never a bad thing!

I’d like to wrap things up with another nice cover: Willie Dixon’s Wang Dang Doodle. Dixon wrote that tune in 1960, and it was first released by Howlin’ Wolf in 1961. Haven’t we all felt like hanging out with automatic slim, razor totin’ jim, butcher knife totin’ annie and fast talkin’ fanny to pitch a wang dang doodle all night long? 🙂

This is the first album by Savoy Brown I’ve explored in greater depth, and I really dig it – can you tell? 🙂 This certainly wants me to listen to more from this band. Any tips are welcome!

Sources: Wikipedia; Savoy Brown website; YouTube

On This Day in Rock & Roll History: March 8

Covering March 8 in rock history was a last-minute decision. In part, I was inspired by the last item on the list, which is related to The Beatles. Interestingly, it turned out this date also saw another event related to The Fab Four, which is the first item. What could be nicer than bookending this installment of my long-running recurrent music history feature with my all-time favorite band? Let’s get to it!

1963: Please Please Me by The Beatles placed at no. 40 on Chicago radio station WLS’s weekly Silver Dollar Survey, according to Songfacts Music History Calendar – the first time a Fab Four tune made a radio station survey in the U.S. This also means WLS may have been the first radio station in America to play one of their songs. As usual, the track was credited to John Lennon and Paul McCartney, though the original composition was by Lennon and the released studio version was significantly influenced by George Martin. About 11 months later, on February 9, 1964, The Beatles would conquer American TV households and start the British Invasion with their first appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show.

1965: Bob Dylan released Subterranean Homesick Blues, the lead single to his fifth studio album Bringing It All Back Home, which appeared two weeks thereafter. The tune marked his first top 40 hit in the U.S., climbing to no. 39 on the Billboard Hot 100. In the UK, it did even better, reaching the top 10 on the Official Singles Chart. According to Songfacts, Dylan told the Los Angeles Times that musically “It’s from Chuck Berry, a bit of ‘Too Much Monkey Business’ and some of the scat songs of the forties.”

1968: The Fillmore East opened in New York City on Second Avenue near East 6th Street. The venue was a companion to rock promoter Bill Graham’s Fillmore Auditorium and its successor Filmore West in San Francisco. Until its closing on June 27, 1971, Fillmore East saw many notable music acts, such as Jimi Hendrix, The Allman Brothers Band, The Kinks, Jefferson Airplane and Led Zeppelin. Due to the venue’s great acoustics, many live albums were recorded there, including the legendary At Fillmore East by the Allmans in 1971. Here they are with the epic Whipping Post, captured on September 23, 1970. The band’s double guitar attack with Duane Allman and Dickey Betts, along with Greg Allman’s mesmerizing vocals and Hammond are on full display. The band was on fire that night. Live rock music simply doesn’t get better. Check it out!

1974: Queen released their sophomore album Queen II in the UK. The record peaked at no. 5 in the UK and cracked the top in the U.S., reaching no. 49 on the Billboard 200. Initially, Queen II was met with mixed reactions, but as is not uncommon with famous bands, eventually, it garnered praise from music critics, fans and fellow musicians. It also marked the first record for Queen where they used multi-layered overdubs, which became a signature feature on their later records. Here’s the lead single Seven Seas of Rhye, which was written by Freddie Mercury and released about two weeks ahead of the album.

2016: Legendary producer George Martin passed away at the age of 90 at his home in Wiltshire, England. His death was announced by Ringo Starr on Twitter and later confirmed by Universal Music Group. The cause was not disclosed. Of course, Martin is best known for his work with The Beatles. I think it is fair to say they would not have been the same without him. Following the disbanding of The Beatles, Martin worked with many other well-known artists, such as America, Jeff Beck, UFO and Little River Band. One of my personal favorites Martin did for The Beatles was the string arrangement for Eleanor Rigby. Primarily written by Paul McCartney, the tune appeared on the Revolver album from August 1966.

Sources: Wikipedia; This Day In Music; Songfacts Music History Calendar; This Day In Rock; YouTube

Music of Cream Shines at New Jersey’s Count Basie Theatre

While I’ve seen many tribute bands over the past couple of years, Tuesday night was a first: a tribute act whose members were relatives of the original band’s musicians. Meet Music of Cream: Malcolm Bruce (bass) and Kofi Baker (drums), sons of Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker; and Will Johns (guitar), nephew of Eric Clapton.

The closest case I can think of is Jason Bonham, son of the late Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham, who pays tribute to the English rockers with Jason Bonham’s Led Zeppelin Experience. But I’ve never seen a tribute act where the entire lineup is blood-related to the members of the original band.

Apart from being true masters of their craft, Malcolm Bruce, Kofi Baker and Will Johns also have impressive other accomplishments, as their bios on the Music of Cream website show. Malcolm is a composer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and engineer. In addition to having recorded and performed with his father, he can be heard on recordings of other artists like Little Richard, Eric Clapton or Elton John. Last year, Malcolm also released his debut solo album Salvation.

Kofi first performed live with his father on the BBC TV show The Old Grey Whistle Test when he was just six years old. In addition to Jack Bruce, he has also played and toured with other rock musicians, such as Uli Jon Roth (former lead guitarist of Scorpions), UFO guitarist Vinnie Moore and Rick Derringer. He also released a solo record, Lost City, and recorded an album with Jonas Hellborg and Shawn Lane called Abstract Logic.

Music of Cream (from left): Kofi Baker, Malcolm Bruce and Will Johns

In addition to Jack Bruce, Will has performed with Ronnie Wood, Mick Taylor and Bill Wyman. Will’s strong connection to members of The Rolling Stones is likely due to his father Andy Johns, recording engineer and producer, who apart from the Stones has worked with Led Zeppelin and Jimi Hendrix. Will is also the nephew of Glyn Johns who has produced for The Who, Eric Clapton and Eagles. To date, he has released three solo albums: Count On Me, Hooks & Lines and Something Old, Something New.

Yes, it’s safe to assume that all their connections haven’t hurt Malcolm, Kofi and Will, but this doesn’t take away from the fact that they are highly talented musicians and accomplished artists. Music of Cream’s shows are billed as a 50th anniversary tour, which was launched in Australia and New Zealand last year. Cream’s debut album Fresh Cream appeared in December 1966.

Tuesday night’s show was divided in two sets separated by a 20-minute intermission. Based on what I’ve seen on Setlist.fm, this appears to be the typical format. In addition to great music, I also thought the projection of psychedelic color patterns mixed with historical footage of Cream on the stage background was pretty cool. While the band was taking a break, documentary film footage was shown. During both sets, Kofi, Macolm and Will also shared anecdotes about Ginger, Jack and Eric.

Time for some clips! Here are two from the first set. Politician appeared on Wheels Of Fire, Cream’s third album released in August 1968. It was written by Jack Bruce and lyricist and singer Pete Brown who frequently collaborated with Bruce.

Next up: Strange Brew, the opener of Cream’s sophomore album Disraeli Gears from November 1967. The tune is credited to Eric Clapton, the record’s producer Felix Pappalardi and his wife Gail Collins.

Some of the other tunes from the first set included N.S.U., Badge and Sleepy Time Time.

The second set kicked off with I’m So Glad, followed by Crossroads. Following is a clip of the latter, a Robert Johnson tune arranged by Eric Clapton.

White Room was another tune Music of Cream performed during the second half of show. Co-written by Bruce and Brown, the song was the opener of the Wheels Of Fire album.

Some other tunes from the second sets included Born Under A Bad Sign, Sitting On Top Of The World, Toad and Sunshine Of Your Love. Here’s a clip of the latter, another track from Disraeli Gears, co-written by Bruce, Clapton and Brown. The band stretched it into an 11-minute-plus jam.

Music of Cream also threw in Spoonful as an encore. Including the intermission, the show lasted a solid three hours. Not only did Malcolm Bruce, Kofi Baker and Will Johns do a great job to capture the music of Cream, but they were also clearly enjoying themselves.

Upcoming tour dates include Baltimore, Md. (Oct 25), Greensburg, Pa. (Oct 26), Bristol, Tenn. (Oct 28) and Richmond, Va. (Oct 30). The full schedule is available here.

Sources: Wikipedia, Music of Cream website, Setlist.fm,