Geoff Emerick At GRAMMY Pro Studio Summit | New Orleans
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 5 ก.ย. 2024
- Iconic recording engineer and producer Geoff Emerick pioneered many modern recording techniques through imagination, experimentation and rule breaking. During his keynote conversation at GRAMMY Pro Studio Summit, presented by the Memphis Chapter at Esplanade Studios in New Orleans, Emerick gave candid, first-hand accounts of his trailblazing work with the Beatles, including details on recording Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. Emerick also discussed his work on Elvis Costello's Imperial Bedroom, the recent re-staging of the Beatles' Abbey Road Sessions and much more.
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What a genius he was and so young. I was glad for his Grammys and he should have got more. So humble in his creations. No wonder Paul wanted him to Engineer his albums that he was able to use him for. I loved his book.
Yep. Everyone is a genius
So generous of him to share the truth he saw of the Beatles since we had lost 2 Beatles at that ponit...such a great band and so important for long time fans. Thank you and have a great time with those that greet you.
Yes, Here, There and Everywhere is a masterpiece about studio events and funny details. Love and read it over and over again. Geoff, another great reason The Beatles and many others were successful. Rest in peace, Geoff.
It's a wonderful book. One of the very best rock bios.
Geoff, is Fantastic, a Genius in everything he did with the Beatles, this was a fantastic video of a great man , will always be the Fifth Beatle Thank You
I always love listening to Geoff tell the stories. He always looked though, like he was in a police interview when he was telling how he did this or that. Like someone was going to scold him. What a groundbreaking guy he and Richard were, it was a perfect storm of a band, a producer and engineers who gave us the great music we have forever.
Fate:
1) Decca turned them down...THANK GOD!!...Else no George Martin and team
2) Geoff got turned down...and ended up at EMI
3) the ability for someone like John to come in and describe some abstract concept like "the Dalai Lama..." and this recording team not only made it happen, but invented new technology to do so.
The Beatles and the George Martin/EMI team were the perfect storm.
The perfect storm? Yes. The Beatles have been often defined that way but by far more than just the three aspects you mentioned.
Or divine intervention, if there ever was one?
Smufter16 I don't think you understand what 'perfect storm' means
In the early 60s the ships between NYC and Liverpool was like a shuttle service. Liverpool never had a recording studio. London was archaic as Geoff describes. The Beatles would have been better off going to record in NYC. That would have been wow!
John Lennon desperately tried to sound “smart” and “artistically educated” by rattling off names and shitting on the work of his contemporaries and colleagues. Bitterly jealous of Paul’s ear for tasteful and catchy melodies, he knew he couldn’t compete. Geoff Emerick was too polite for such a low class, lice ridden hypocrite of a little man like John ono Lennon. Emerick created most of the sound that usurper George Martin takes credit for. India is not the only country that has a caste system. England does as well. George Martin stiff upper lip British upper class qunt.
Geoff Emerick is a genius. It really cool to hear about how it was from someone that was there.
You’re genius! Everyone is a genius!
@@profile2047Geoff Emerick was a genius. You can mock that statement all you want, but it doesn't disprove the fact.
Thank you to all who made this interview possible with Geoff. I can't get enough info about the Beatles. Growing up with them we really knew Nothing of the behind the scenes stuff. Also, I knew Nothing about recording and could not fully understand what was going on in their music. Who was singing - when it was a perfect two part vocal. Who was playing what instrument or effect.? The Beatles were such a joy and such a mystery.!!
Rest in peace Geoff. Your interviews and techniques have always inspired me.
For fans, not of the cute four mop-tops, but of the innovative and incredible songwriters,singers, and ultimate group, these various interviews and talks found on TH-cam now, are so rich and detailed. I eat up every word, despite the sometimes less than competent interviewers (as in this case). I was so completely caught up with the Beatles for I guess it was 6 -7 years, that had this kind of info been available, I probably would never do anything else but devour it. As it turned out, I did get into guitar which I still play 2- 3 hours per day some 60 years later. Probably everyone who got into professional rock music will tell you that it was the Beatles who pushed them over the edge. Geoff, here and elsewhere, explains the elements of what that magic was and still is. So great Geoff!
Thank you, Geoff... for everything you did to make all the Beatles music possible. Your contributions are noted and super appreciated by anyone who knows anything about what it takes to do the creative and the nuts and bolts studio work. Great to finally see you doing interviews.
I'm currently reading, "Here, There, and Everywhere" and I can't put the book down! Seriously, if you guys haven't read this book yet, you're missing out...
Yeah, great book
It's fascinating to listen to there Beatles songs after reading each of Emerick's accounts on how they were recorded.
@@johnman3272some reviewers on amazon HATE his book! and explain why in a quite articulate manner!
Loved that it also included some "Band on the Run" material. It was like a bonus at the end of the book.
Every guy who records music should read this one ! Totally amazing how EMI used to work back then, with strct rules, dress codes,... and the tape machine out of the control room, using a "button pusher" to do the job ! Hard to believe today as we have DAW and plugins...
Rest in peace, Geoff. How I love your work and reading the book. Thanks.
The man who made the The Beatles.....Thank you Sir.....🥰🥰
There wasn't the word "no" in Beatle vocabulary and THIS interview truly proves that. "Finding an answer to their questions". They were all pioneering and experimenting their way into the future of sound. An amalgamation of existing and new technologies pushed up by creative efforts and we only usually think of the artists and George Martin. THIS shows otherwise. It's so important that these interviews were made. VERY important. "There were no sounds that cluttered or covered other sounds." "Mr. Kite - four track to four track to four track." They mixed Pepper in three days!!! Incredible.
Geoff's book is excellent. A real treat for Beatles fans. Probably one of the best books on the Beatles around.
My favorite books about the group or ones written by someone who was around the Beatles. Exceptions are Lewisohn's books and McDonald's book. Paul McCartney's recollections with Barry Miles are very good. Hunter Davies work is a great read. Surprisingly, George Martin' two books are not especially insightful.
More obscure reads can be rewarding. For example, the book by the Apple staffer the longest cocktail party and a book by an Apple scruff are good
Totally agree. One of the best books on the Beatles out there. You won't be able to put it down...
The Memoirs of Billy Shears (Pepper Press 2009) ?!
(Memoirs.. was releases on 09/09/09. Same day as Beatles back catalogue was re-issued. Reason being if you invert the 9s it becomes 666. Same reason for Rev 9 and same reason we dial 999 for an emergency!)
I was wondering what the name of Geoff Emerick book please
I enjoyed Tony Barrow's book.
We love you, Geoff!
I worked on a couple of Ringo Starr records. Both mixed by Geoff at Henson’s (former A&M) studio 1, on the Montserratte Neve (brought over after AIR Montserrate was hit by a hurricane. Learned a few tricks on those days.
There was a greater diversity of tone and timbre on the Revolver album than across the entirety of pop music today. Hope everyone gets tired of the sameness soon.. I know I am. Cheers, Geoff. Well done and quiet slumbers.
I think technical limitations breed creativity. When we have all the tools at our disposal to make certain sounds which are easily replicated and duplicated, I think it's easy to get into that thought process of "wash, rinse, repeat." Also, I think when one finds something that works, others will do the same, then it's overdone because everyone else did it...but that's an argument less relevant here. To be a devil's advocate, though, Geoff did break "the rules" with recording techniques at EMI, and if it weren't for the rule breakers, we wouldn't be as far as we are technologically. Anyway, thank goodness for Geoff's ingenuity and willingness to experiment.
@Steev Thompson I think that's a valid argument about mono. It does force everyone to live in their own space and really understand how they occupy areas sonically. I've heard and read from a few engineers (apologies, I don't remember who and where from) that they mix in mono to make sure everything lives in its place, then they image to stereo. I can't say I've done that. Perhaps phase checks would be a lot easier that way, too. It's something I didn't really think about until now. I think I'll try that from now on.
My take away from this interview is Mr. Geoff Emerick was a genius.
He was certainly an amazing problem solver. Beatles were lucky to have him and others around them. They were blessed.
RIP Geoff. Engineering pioneer headed up to the Great Gig in the sky to make some good stuff I'm sure
What an amazing life he led. RIP.
Yes, Geoff's book is amazing in how he explains things. I like it a little better than this interview because I can't understand his accent. But, I do love to hear him talk.
But, to be 19 or 20 years old and be thrust into this situation and balancing the structure of EMI and the requests of the Beatles as well as George Martin. But, Geoff and George were a very good fit for this, with both of their minds working overtime to make this wonderful music happen. Everybody involved were part of this perfect match that couldn't have been accomplished nearly as well, if any of the parts weren't there.
Can you imagine if another engineer and producer had been selected to work with the Beatles? And maybe they wouldn't have been as bold as Geoff and George were, to go against the structured EMI system to give the Beatles what they wanted...what the Beatles themselves didn't even know what that was, and could only express through a musician's mind, like John wanting to smell the sawdust in the song.
Geoff talks about the wall breaking down between the structured symphony musicians and the pop musician's requests. Geoff and George were also breaking down the wall between the EMI system and the Beatles musician requests. Just another aspect of this unique combination that fate brought together. And what wonderful music was the result...music that will live on forever. RIP Geoff Emerick and George Martin.
Mr. Geoff Emerick, probably in-charge of recording the heavenly choirs with celestial studio techniques for them all up there (and even boot-legged down) right now.
Thank you. This whole thing is so interesting, hearing #GeoffEmerick explain his work w/ The Beatles, Costello and all. Amazing!
Ah yes, the radio. I Want To Hold Your Hand, Love Me Do, started so innocent (lol) and then: Rain, Strawberry Fields Forever etc, amazing- a musical journey that still has its hold on us.
As others here there and everywhere ( sorry, couldn't resist )
have stated, Thank You, Geoff.
This comment is best read in Mono not Stereo.
Close miking, high compression and other techniques are delineated in his book, "Here, There and Everywhere." Recommended.
Fantastic book. Reading it prior to to seeing this interview added so much context. Lovely human being
It was Englebert's 'Release Me' that stopped Strawberry Fields from #1 in the UK but it still sold 2 million..
Great insight. RIP
Master, eternal love, Applause from #Argentina
Greatly missed Geoff. Without your engineering who knows how the Beatles would have progressed.
What a joy to listen to you. Thanks!
So many musicians and studio personnel involved in the success of the Beatles
Geoff Emerick- 6th Beatle
RIP GEOFF EMERICK.
"see the funny side of miserable situations" ... sums it all up for 2020 huh?
Unfortunately he does need an introduction for most but happy that you have this interview among others out there as a classic archive for generations to come. So interesting to hear his story. I would have thoroughly enjoyed a pint with him. Interesting guy!
Absolutely outstanding . Genius
At 22:48 he mentions ATOC which stood for Automatic Transient Overload Control.
Excellent
Had to get this on both channels. I don't use the other too much. Great stuff. Thanks again.
Revolver and pepper in Mono are completely different albums to the Stereo versions, the remasters and remixes are too clean and they have even removed some of the original sounds, It's like taking a Picasso and rubbing out some of the lines to make it look better
43:05 "This was on the Sunday and it was gonna be in the shops on the following Friday." Nowadays in the Internet and digital era, it would take 18 months to reach the shops plus a delay of 12 months for streaming, followed by a recall of a faulty disc batch.
I went to the premiere of the Beatles Sessions at the RAH & it was a great show, but the guys they got in didn't sound like the Beatles.
I thought it was just me thinking this but in the bar in the intermission it was the main topic of conversation. The chap in the seat next to me
Suggested I go & see Let It Be, as did the people sitting behind me. Most of the tribute Beatles bands have better soundalikes. Now some of you will disagree or not. I did go & see Let it be & they nailed it. My son favours the Fab Four as the best soundalikes.
Chicago Touch yeah yeah yeah . 👍
"I want my voice to sound like the Dali Lama" no small request! In trouble because of "position mike on The Kick Drum" I Love it! What a great chance happening he was wanting to do a great job, for a great band. The Confluence of Genius all meeting at the same time in the same place!
Geoff Emerick always has great stories. One thing I've never heard is what kind of speakers did he work on. I tend to mix with earbuds at times to check tones.
Great audio engineering pioneer, RIP.
The message here to me is, it doesn't matter what equipment you have it is how you use it
RIP Geoff xxx
He knew exactly what was coming out of the Beatles minds and was able to create it. Especially when Lennon advanced the sounds he wanted on Revolver.
Sorry to hear Geoff passed. R.I.P.
Fantastic!
The 24:00 ballad was Release Me by Englebert Humperdinck
I think it's been determined that the drums on "Tomorrow Never Knows" is a real 3 minute performance NOT a loop. Geoff's memory is known to be very faulty.
The loop is shown here. th-cam.com/video/WGeF5RxlpaI/w-d-xo.html
The performance was looped from a live take.
My take away from watching a number of Geoff Emerick videos is that he had an awful lot of checked shirts
They're actually striped shirts put through a mixing desk.
I’ve read easily over 100 books on the Beatles and have to say in my opinion that Lewishom’s book is an amazing piece of work with Ian McDonalds also very very good. It’s all opinions but I can’t agree with the comments below
Rip the greatest
I'm Emerick!🤖
Thanks for this... (!)
Obviously that was pretty cool, obviously ;)
The legendary Mr Emerich, integral to The Beatles' music. Could have given these guys comfy chairs and a bigger table here though.
What a wonderfully down to earth, matter of fact man, no side, no showing off and wonderful achievements - a certain mr trump could use some lessons from him.
With great respect to Geoff, St John’s Wood is not outside London. The address is NW8 in the City of Westminster.
Then it's outside London.
p m You’re not from London, are you, or are you being sarcastic? It’s hard to tell.
27:09 "Never the word no". Huh? No Pro Tools? Tape? What is that? hahaha
Revolver has the title because that’s what records do.
There's another interview where Geoff says how much he detests the 50th Anniversary remix of Sgt Pepper, and he's so right. I played it once or twice before returning to the original and realising how much warmer and more dynamic the original is by comparison. The new one is dynamically flat and loud and sterile. I guess fans of contemporary chart music will like the new version because everything is produced like that these days (loud and sterile), and that was probably what they were aiming for.
respectfully disagree. The new mix to me sounds amazing. I used to be that "pepper in mono or nothing" but Giles really showed respect and the drums sound like they are two generations closer.
It really does depend on the hifi and room. The original mono, played in 7m square room with high ceilings, on my system is one of the most sonically wonderful experiences I have. It's just epic and really takes you places. The remastered edition doesnt have the same character at all on my setup and it just sounds wrong by comparison - not wrong as in bad, it sounds good through headphones actually, just wrong in that you can tell it has been remastered. Its not subtle, its totally different.
@@obscurazone No, it really does not. The dynamically flat (heavily compressed) remaster has nothing to do with one's hi-fi or room. It has literally everything to do with the level of compression/limiting used for the mastering, and doesn't depend on anything else. Period.
Cool stuff :)
I wish he'd gone into the animosity with the Beatles during the White Album which made him quit. John became especially condescending, pushing incompetent Magic Alex as head engineer, and this less than two years after Emerick had engineered Pepper.
Guitar bands are on the way out
St.John's Wood is *not* outside London. It skirts the central area. It is quite central. Geoff, being from London should have known that.
But it's not like business center, Houses of Parliament Downtown London, and was probably even less so in the mid-'60's. That's probably all he was trying to allude to, as concisely as possible. He's an engineer, not an English Professor.
@@anitapalmer271
Londoners tend to know where St.John's Wood is.
@@anitapalmer271
I live there, yards from Abbey Rd studios. Paul McCartney is a neighbour, I see him regularly about the place. The district has hardly changed since the 1960s - apart from many pubs closing down.
I can walk to Marble Arch in 15-20 minutes. Russian oligarchs love the district as you can buy a big house with a garden near the centre of a major city.
I'm not losing any sleep over it. Just the fact that those studios have become a worldwide tourist destination, as opposed to a non-descript sort of office building in the days Emerick worked there, is part of it. There are countless other suburban areas that were more like small market towns 40 to 50 years ago, and have traffic jams as bad as London now half the day. Wolverhampton, where my I'm in, being not immune to it, to say the least. Just thinking Emerick remembers different traffic delays in each area basically. Whatev's
At the time when he is referring too that was suburbia.
His Strawberry fields editing memories aren't correct..Geoff makes out by slicing some tape he managed to marry together 2 half's of 2 different songs in different tempo and keys..But it was an Emi engineer called Ken Armstrong or Ken Townshend that came up with idea of dropping the voltage to the tape machine to mix together the 2 different speeds of the 2 different half's of the songs..It wasn't Geoff Emerick..
can NOT see the 'Leslie speaker' rotating horns, their inside the cabinet ! Putting vocal as well as the Hammond thru the Leslie was old school common knowledge, derrrrrrrrrrrrrr !
You can see the Top horn. Of you’re looking at it from the rear.
If you can't look at someone maybe, just maybe, the truth is being stretched a bit.
He isn't looking at the interviewer because the audience is in front of him.
This interviewer has no idea what geoff is talking about
One inch 4-track...hmmmm... That's (almost) 4-full quarter inch fat signals, folks.
Grateful Fred
Hi I am Geoff emerick
Thank you for all of your tremendous contributions towards the music industry! Popular music wouldn’t just be the same without you.
Hi Geoff. I loved reading your book. BTW: What is a "middle of the road" recording ?
The interviewer does a good job, but his demeanor and speaking style reminds me of the hippie school teacher in Beavis and Butthead.
I absolutely admire and respect that man, but I absolutely dont believe that they used a drum loop in tomorrow never knows because ringo couldnt keep time with that very inventive, but simple drum pattern. If thats true, it was because he was probably very drunk and high. Ringo was capable to keep time with much more complex things in much more adverse circunstances. Listen to the anthology 1 version of roll over beethoven, ther live at the star club recording, the bbc recordings, the live at the Washington coliseum concert, "Red Hot"...besides, Ringo is well known time keeper, hes known as a human metronome, something that not even his "enemies" can denie. Its way harder to keep the absolutely perfect time he kept in Revolution than in Tomorrow Never Knows. They problably decided to use a drum loop to create that cyclic and hypnotic sound, and Geoff just didnt remember well, since it was so long ago and they just did that song for some days or weeks, and nobody ever played it again.
this old man fell in love with Paul and hated George. He perceived Paul as the leader of the Beatles!! well, the only possible explanation is that he saw Paul through "a teenager girl eyes that fall in love for the first time"...to him PAUL WAS PERFECT AND GEORGE MEDIOCRE....
Remember Emerick was not any older than the Beatles when they were working together.
Funny you should say that. I'm halfway through reading his book and it's difficult to take. I get the same feeling, that he was like an obsessive woman when it came to Paul. Also, he seems to believe responsible for every g good thing they ever did. Innovations and creations were mainly from his doing. It doesn't feel very balanced at all.
Tennis shoes look like those George Harrison often wore...I wonder the brand.
Isn’t that funny that Ringo, according to him, couldn’t keep the time all the way through “Tomorrow Never Knows.”
Wasn't it Geoff"s cough that made the opening of "Taxman?"
Who is he talking to?
Geoff Emerick's cause of death was listening to Giles Martin's "Pepper" remix.
22:22 Wish this Tony Clark could've mastered L.A.M.F. GEOFF DIED OCTOBER 2, 2018 R.I.P. 24:13 Yeah, In England, singles weren't on the LP but here in the U.S. we wanted the hit ON the LP. If not, I would've felt cheated. In England a teen would think " what's the point.. I have the 45? Can we have both Strawberry Fields versions now so we can hear what John heard?
RIP Geoff.
At 24 mins, this is what kept Penny Lane & Strawberry Felds off number 1. It's a very powerful ballad and was massive. th-cam.com/video/gB-szamMr6s/w-d-xo.html
I don't believe he's remembering things correctly.
The Beatles rejected How Do You Do It in favor of Please Please Me, not Love Me Do.
Oh shit. Now Geoff Emerick is a genius?
Everyone is a fucking genius now just because you like their work. I'm sick of it.
Yes, he was a genius. There's a record called 'Sgt Pepper' that you may have heard of, he created many of the ground-breaking sounds on that album.
Seriously. It’s one every single video over the last few years. Genius, and underrated. People’s vocabulary is apparently terrible. Genius is a big title. Or it was. It all seems to be hyperbole now.
I respect him too. I read his book I listen to all his interviews. But the average person feels some insane need to jump all the way to 10.
Why is this Guy tied up in a chair?
You stole my thunder! I was just going to say, they obviously had to take Geoff hostage in order to interview him. Ha ha
He is not involved in "show business" in any way.
He has no concept of trying to disguise his body language to make himself look good in front of a camera, for people who may, or maybe not, have seen a real human being in conversation before.
What is important is this man helped to change history.
What have you done?
They didnt have todays technology. And because of that, both the musicians and Geoff and the gang in the studio had to be creative. I think that is the simple explanation. And as technology developed, Emerick's genious faded.
Geoff has been underpaid and overworked by Abbey Road studios that he could never buy a suit and tie, had to eat spam with lager, then more spam, and that’s why he always dressed up as a lonely lumberjack. Sir George Martin finally grew his Beatle hair and stopped wearing suits at work once the money started flowing in working with McCartney in 1982. Before that he was a British stiff upper lip upper class twat who neglected George Harrison. George Martin was never called upon to produce anything by Harrison, and the all time greatest solo Beatle record of all time All Things Must Pass was produced by Martin’s nemesis Phil Spector.
Though Geoff Emerick worked on George Harrison and Paul McCartney albums in the 70s, you couldn’t pay him enough to work with that a-hole John Lennon. And that’s why all of his albums sounded like crap, audio wise speaking.
Shape up! Get some decent grown-up music as idents for your channel! This off-the-peg nonsense dishonours the heroes you promote.
God this is boring. Every "story" has been told a million times over.