Beatle author Ken Womack and Ranking the Beatles host Jonathan Pretus join me to discuss the tech that made the Beatles’ new single “Now and Then” possible. And from John's haunting vocal to Giles Martin's stirring string arrangement, we peel back the layers of the production and consider Paul's nearly 30 year mission to complete John's demo.

A little extra mini-episode examining George Martin’s orchestration for “Live and Let Die,” with a recreation of part of the arrangement.

In our penultimate Season 1 bonus episode, we examine another solo recording, this time Paul McCartney’s thrilling theme song for the 1973 James Bond film, Live and Let Die. I’m joined by Allan Kozinn, co-author of The McCartney Legacy Volume 1, who takes us through all the details of the writing and recording process. We also learn how Paul debuted the song before the film’s release, we walk through George Martin’s Grammy-winning arrangement, and we consider Martin’s droll story about the...

Beatle author Ken Womack and Ranking the Beatles host Jonathan Pretus join me to discuss the tech that made the Beatles’ new single “Now and Then” possible. And from John's haunting vocal to Giles Martin's stirring string arrangement, we peel back the layers of the production and consider Paul's nearly 30 year mission to complete John's demo.

A little extra mini-episode examining George Martin’s orchestration for “Live and Let Die,” with a recreation of part of the arrangement.

In our penultimate Season 1 bonus episode, we examine another solo recording, this time Paul McCartney’s thrilling theme song for the 1973 James Bond film, Live and Let Die. I’m joined by Allan Kozinn, co-author of The McCartney Legacy Volume 1, who takes us through all the details of the writing and recording process. We also learn how Paul debuted the song before the film’s release, we walk through George Martin’s Grammy-winning arrangement, and we consider Martin’s droll story about the...

In the second episode looking at the making of All Things Must Pass, we explore the recording of the largest production on the album. We hear from participants at the sessions, listen to outtakes and isolations, peek into Mal Evans’ diaries, and sample a reconstruction of the song’s epic orchestral score.

Today, the first of two episodes exploring the production of George Harrison’s first solo album, All Things Must Pass, with new research and interviews drawn from the book Ken Womack and I wrote on the making of the album. In this episode, we cover the intricate and painstaking production of “My Sweet Lord.” We explode the myth of Phil Spector’s contributions, speak to a number of people who were there, and get an exclusive sneak preview of the contents of Mal Evans’ diary entries about these...

In the first bonus episode for Season 1, we step outside of our regular format and take a peek into solo Beatles territory, with a look at the recording of John Lennon’s song “Love” from his first post-Beatles solo album, John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band. We trace the song’s development all the way from home demo to finished recording, sampling the session tapes and discovering the role both Yoko and Phil Spector played in reaching the final take.

Recording Strawberry Fields Forever was a complicated, layered process, famously requiring the cutting together of two different takes in two different keys and tempos. Today we put our magnifying glass on the second of those takes, take 26, with special attention given to George Martin’s dramatic score for three cellos and four trumpets. We go into the recording studio with seven musicians to re-record Martin’s complete score, and cellist Karen Ray returns to help us deconstruct the...

In Part 2 of our look at the trio of songs titled “Revolution,” we dive into the recording of the electric guitar driven single version of the song.

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...

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In this episode, we discover what role George Martin played in the infamous Get Back sessions of January 1969, a project where John Lennon made clear they didn't want any of Martin's "production s**t."

Starting in 1966, George Martin and The Beatles used varispeed – variable speed recording – to change the textures of their recordings to create a variety of effects.

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...

We re-record George Martin's clarinet score in a recording studio and examine the arrangement with Professor of Music John Reeks to see what makes it tick.

The Beatles push four-track to its limit, and finally make the jump to eight-track recording

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 went from twin track to four track to eight track tape. Today, we examine how The Beatles progressed 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...

A page from George Martin’s handwritten manuscript for “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. MUSIC“The Road,” from...

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. ...

Welcome to the podcast dedicated to exploring the revolutionary collaboration between producer George Martin and The Beatles. Join us each episode as we not only discuss the making of Beatles songs from their producer's point of view, but also examine different aspects of George Martin's unique approach to production. Permalink