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The Online Guitar Store - All You Need Is Ears: The inside personal story of the genius who created The Beatles
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List Price: $17.95
Our Price: $12.21
Your Save: $ 5.74 ( 32% )
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Manufacturer: St. Martin's Griffin
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Average Customer Rating:  
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Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 781.66149092
EAN: 9780312114824
ISBN: 0312114826
Label: St. Martin's Griffin
Manufacturer: St. Martin's Griffin
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 288
Publication Date: 1994-10-15
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Studio: St. Martin's Griffin
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Editorial Reviews:
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"George," he said, "I don't know if you'd be interested, but there's a chap who's come in with a tape of a group he runs. They haven't got a recording contract, and I wonder if you'd like to see him and listen to what he's got?"
"Certainly," I said, "I'm willing to listen to anything. Ask him to come and see me."
"O.K., I will. His name's Brian Epstein..."
All You Need Is Ears is the story of George Martin, the man who spotted the Beatles' talent, who recorded and produced them from the start, and who brought their musical ideas to life. In this witty and charming autobiography, he describes exactly what it was like to work in the studio with the Beatles--from the first audition (and his decision to scrap Pete Best on drums) to the wild experimentation of Sgt. Pepper (complete with sound effects, animal noises and full orchestras in evening dress at the direct request of Paul McCartney).
This is a singular look at the most important musical group of all time, and how they made the music that changed the world: No other book can provide George Martin's inside look at their creative process, at the play of genius and practical improvisation that gave them their sound; it is an indispensable read for Beatle lovers and anyone interested in the music world.
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: disappointed
Comment: I felt Mr. Martin could have gotten into the Beatles stuff sooner. Once he got there it wasn't that interesting....the Geoff Emmerick book was more entertaining & enlightening
Customer Rating:
Summary: It's George Martin. What more could you want?
Comment: There is a reason that you call this guy Sir...he's old, and he's earned the title. To hear from George Martin what it was like to work with the Beatles is like hearing from Jesus what it is like to co-pilot for God. Well, that's kind of blasphemous, but it's still true. Martin's style is direct and matter of fact...he is not prone to flowery language or overblown description.
I'm not so sure about all that Jesus stuff that Har is talking about, but Martin definitely ranks up there as at least some kind of DemiGod in the church of Beatle. It is therefore essential that you read this book. Well, let me add a caveat here: read this book if you have an interest in the Beatles and the recording industry. As a good many of Martin's stories focus, of course, on the magic of recording, the non-interested might find these sections a bit boring.
This book has the same good points as Emerick's (though they both seem to take credit for certain studio achievements) in that Martin's book adds a lot of peripheral information to the Beatles saga. There are sections about Martin's earlier life, the joys of working for good old EMI, and the the trials and tribulations of forming his own studio, AIR. Though some folks just want people like Martin to shut-up about themselves and just talk about the glorious Beatles, the lives of these cornerstone studio wizards fill out the reader's vision of working in the recording industry during the 60's. As I said earlier, I find this kind of "rounding out" of the Beatles legend essential to knowing the "bigger picture." (I also find that using quotes around common words helps you to "sleuth out" their "hidden meaning.")
Martin recounts his first hand experiences helping record all the Beatles records (with a few minor exceptions around the Let it Be period.) Because his memories were not clouded in a drug haze like so many other players of this period, Martin's recollections tend to be more reliable (sometimes even more so than the Beatles themselves!) Sir George always comes across as knowledgeable, lucid, and authentic.
What I don't understand is why this book isn't encyclopedia sized. Martin, having seen the things he has, must have a treasure trove of great stories floating around that silver skull of his. Why not share a bit more?
Incidentally, this is the better of his two books. The Making of Sgt. Pepper, also by Mr. Sir Martin, is a decent read, but seems to rehash some of the themes he discusses here. I mean, how many more times can we hear the story of the Hurdy Gurdy Swirly backing track to Mr. Kite? If you can get it at the library, or from a friend, or if you are rolling in the dough, go ahead and pick it up too. Otherwise, I would start with this one.
Customer Rating:
Summary: A fine book by a great record producer
Comment: Sir George Martin writes as he talks, which is straightforward and with great knowledge of the record industry. So this book is awash with great little stories from his career, together with a lot of interesting information on the many artists he had produced at the time this book was written.
Obviously more time is spent on The Beatles, but he combines this discussion of the artists with quite a bit of technical information charting the history of recording techiques as they developed. Its here for me where the book probably loses a bit more than a star, as my interest (or perhaps lack of understanding) waned after I had read 2 or 3 pages on the advent of stereo.
That last comment is an important point. This book was written in the 1970's so anybody buying this to learn how a great record producer handles modern recording techniques will be sadly dissappointed.
However overall its an entertaining and mainly interesting read written by one of the best record producers (and certainly the most important) the UK ever produced.
Customer Rating:
Summary: George Martin Book - Excellent
Comment: This book by George Martin is excellent. He walks through the history of recording music and includes with it the story of the Beatles. As a music lover, I found this book to be fascinating. I would imagine that younger people, who are merely familiar with CD recordings and itunes, would enjoy the technical challenges that were dealt with in earlier days of the recording industry. I found it extremely interesting to listen to the Beatles songs after I heard the methods used to create the sounds. Enjoy!
Customer Rating:
Summary: Ears is all you need.
Comment: To be fair, I read this book years ago and my memory has faded considerably. Sir George Martin seemed to have written this book with one sole purpose in mind: to encourage people to take care of their ears, so to enjoy music to the fullest. Along the way he offers unique insights into the Beatles' recording career. A Must read for musicians as it explains many unthought of perspectives relating to sound waves and the like. For example, put your speakers on carpet, the sound will no doubt be muffled when compared with putting them on a mirror. Read and enjoy.
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