Beatles
in the Studio |
| Since their first attempts
as teenagers in Paul’s front room at recording themselves, the Beatles
had been interested in the process of tape recording and the option
of playing with the tape physically to change the sound. Composers
and musicians interested in electronic music refer to this as musique
concrète. That is, they recognize that by altering the
tape by splicing pieces together or by changing its speed and direction
you can change the sound. |
| In recordings we have
already heard (e.g., "She Loves You") George Martin and engineer,
Norman Smith recorded music so they could edit portions of different
performances together to create a composite performance. That is,
they would specifically record "edit pieces" that Martin
and EMI recording assistants could splice together. |
| The Beatles also learned
that you could mix "non-musical" sounds so that they became musical.
Certainly, recordings like Bobby Darin’s "Splish, Splash" (with
the sounds of gurgling water) had established this. Recordings like
Bobby "Boris" Pickett and the Crypt-Kickers rendition
of "Monster Mash" relied on these effects and everyone
recording in the UK would have known of Joe Meek's sound effects. |
| Unhappy with how little EMI had compensated him for his successful recordings, George Martin established his own production company and took on some of the most successful artist-and-repertoire managers as his partners. To replace Martin, EMI promoted Norman Smith to head Parlophone Records. George Martin appointed
a tape operator who had worked on Beatles recordings to replace Smith. Geoff Emerick arrived at a point in time when the Beatles became interested technological experimentation. |
| Engineers and adventurous musicians played with the electronics
of music in this era. The introduction of the transistor in the 1950s had revolutionized
home electronics. Now, musical instruments and the way you recorded
them were changing too. |
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