Interview: Geoff Emerick

[@dagocrazy1]

Geoffs book is outstanding as is his work for the Beatles and other notable rock bands of that era. What a loveable and humble gentleman, not to mention a brilliant example to our youth what hard work and determination can do. God Bless you Geoff!

[@GregoryKeithe]

R.I.P. Geoff Emerick, Thanks for writing your book and sharing your insights with us!

[@alexyamach3635]

Emerick was born in London in 1946, and joined EMI at the age of 15. He sat in on The Beatles' first EMI session on 6 June 1962, in his first week at work. In April 1966, at the age of 20, Emerick was promoted to engineer on the first session for Revolver. The first song to be recorded was Tomorrow Never Knows.

[@RichRod66]

Don't get the negative comments. All four Beatles expressed exactly what Geoff said. John: impatient, insecure about his voice, and impulsive. Paul: Complete musician striving for perfection (An engineer and producers dream) George: Did not blossom into a great writer and singer till later and Ringo: Complete natural who just played great without thinking about it!

[@dr.buzzvonjellar8862]

Geoff probably knew more than anyone else about the lads. He was in the room, getting the sounds, getting the performances and dealing with the personalities over time. In the musical world, Geoff is so respected for and credited with the sound of the records.

[@diasehmai]

Amazed that there are only 3 comments on this video. This book is probably the most riveting, revealing Beatles bio of them all, and I have read virtually all of them. If you're a fan of the fabs, pick up Emerick's book right away. I can't put it down, either, and have been listening to the Beatles records with a renewed awareness. Big thumbs up.

[@hungfao]

I was fortunate to make his acquaintance shortly before he died. RIP Geoff. And thanks.

[@MrRobmull]

It was an absolutely brilliant read,I couldn't put it down,a must for any Beatles fan!

[@Ben-Wah]

Emerick was a brilliant recording engineer. He got the cherry job at 18 years old and really rose to the task. To this day, few have his level of aural perception. He was all about excellence and I can see why he respected McCarteny's tenacity so much.

[@geraldhills41]

This man made those guitars sound sublime !

[@Dios67]

A great engineer. Being able to take John wanting to 'sound like a wise man on top of a mountain' for Tomorrow Never Knows and making it come true with early 60's technology and a Leslie amp, genius. The rest of the comments here are about on par with what I'd expect with people liking one Beatle over another. Lighten up.

[@sallykohorst8803]

Wonderful new info and thanks alot.

[@osodearagua]

Just visited Liverpool. The Beatle spirit is alive and rounding out the story isn't a negative to the guys who were out front, but it's amazing to learn about how those amazing recordings were made! Thanks so much for writing the book and for sharing your story w/ the world!

[@chrisnewman7281]

I think the audio engineers are the unsung heroes of the Beatlesrecord success. When John Lennon said 10 years later that he thought he could’ve done better with the recordings that’s a load of bs. You just have to look at him as producer of the walls and bridges album and the Harry Nilsson album, Pussy Cats

[@vampyros1]

Just crammed the entire book (nearly) into my weekend; terrific read, and unique in that you know it's a first person account coming from one who was ACTUALLY there, as opposed to nearly every other book on the group. Makes it ultra-special. So articulately written, and this is a very humble man, which makes it that much better. Great read.

[@gipperbanana]

The book is excellent , especially his description of the early years.How hard the beatles worked on the harmonies and how professional they were but also how cold at a certain point.She loves you and I want to hold your hand recorded on the same day.I think it is clear from Geoff's book and other sources that the end of touring lead to a year of absolute harmony or joy but then the boredom took over..cynthia lennon said the same.

[@jaybird321]

Ok, i'm going to say it. This is the real genius behind many artists during the 60s and 70s.

[@JohnnyMatherson]

best beatle book ever written--ive read it 6 times. of all beatle books ive read, ive read this one the most. amazing.

[@McLen194042]

@FreeSociety1 But see, I never said it wasn't. It's just that when someone says Paul was worth a lot to the band, someone always has to wonder what the ulterior motive is for saying that. They were all important, but in Emerick's eyes and experience, he enjoyed working with Paul the most, for all of the reasons he states in his book. No one ever argues that John wasn't important because he definitely was, but people shit on Paul all the time for no good reason other than he is good at everything

[@thebrazilianatlantis165]

To the best of my understanding Ken Scott's claim (White Album engineer) that Geoff took material from a variety of sources for his book, thus getting details such as how "A Day In The Life" was put together wrong, because he happened to suffer from a poor memory after all those years, is accurate.

[@McLen194042]

It may seem like his head is up Paul's ass, but really, has anyone thought that maybe the things he says is true. Why would he AND George Martin lie about Paul being the leader in the studio? Why would he lie about Paul being nice to him when the others weren't? It's a tough thing, I guess, to find out that the always shit-upon McCartney was worth A LOT to The Beatles, which was never up for debate at all until after John died. Geoff was there! He knew them and their abilities.

[@FreeSociety1]

Except that a great deal of characteristic "The Beatles Sound" was John's actually guitar playing, and he never got the credit he deserved for that. For example, the Dear Prudence guitar intro...that's John, Norweigian Wood...that's John, the blistering "Revolution" lead guitar...that's John, the great "I Feel Fine" guitar riff...that's John, the "Across The Universe" guitar intro....that's John, the great "I Want You/She's So Heavy" guitar intro...that's John, etc. John's guitar work rocks!

[@RavenMadd9]

thank you

[@Shadowplaying]

Why would they? How often do you offer work colleagues lifts home? The fact that Geoff would point something like that out reveals how incredibly petty he is.

[@ausfan100]

Some of these armchair experts here are so ready to call this man a liar, when they were not even there and had nothing even remotely to do with The Beatles. WTF does Geoff have to gain by praising McCartney's influence on the group!!! Emerick confirms what others have said about the individual members including John's failings. A number of posters here clearly don't want to hear or believe any negative comments whatsoever about Lennon's time with the group.

[@JeffaHensley]

Yeah? They might like to hear a little something about Paul McCartney's failings, instead of just one long "He's a genius" ass kissing session.

[@barkulator]

Yep here's another Beatles guy who had so much to do with the work. Fantastic body of work to be proud of.

[@sachmotee]

@diasehmai totally agree. Also surely his involvement must be acknowledged to! Although George Martin interpreted the idea and crystalised it, Geoff was the enabler. He has a massive contribution that I hope the The Beatles or Apple Corp would help acknowledge the others involved. For instance more props for Billy Preston, Klaus Voorman, Tony Barrow and Dick James. Poor Derek Taylor too is often forgotten. It was surely the ensemble that encouraged the genius.

[@joe44850]

@FoxyFreedomvideo In Geoff's defense, he was with the Beatles for 7 years, won 2 grammy's, and continued working with them on solo projects, and you're a dude on youtube...

[@bobspie4]

i read the book for a project preety cool :) thanks, geoff

[@aerialkate]

Good interview.

[@joejoe3011]

@powerleg Are you talking about the CDs? Because Geoff Emerick had nothing to do with the transfers to CD and he calls them "unlistenable"

[@wiki3wiki3]

I believe it was George Martin who said that Geoff was ready to record. Paul did always support Geoff though. I don't think a lot of people trash Paul in so much as they simply like Lennon songs better. Maybe because Paul's were so disciplined? Personally, I just liked the way it all came together including George Harrison's brilliant guitar work imho and Ringo's timeless drum fills. Martin has a better opinion about Ringo's "orchestrated" fills. Just watch the Ed Sullivan show and others!

[@steventaranto2183]

Heyho gotta go

[@donclark4685]

I bought and read Jeff's book and its Great! He was a recording Engineer as a Teenager.

[@herbertwells8757]

+Don Clark With no qualifications whatsoever.

[@MJC1124]

That's how it used to be done. These days a recording engineer would need a degree. Are they better for it?

[@norinobu84]

is there a version with subs? >__

[@evertvdb000]

I read the book. I respect the guy, but his fued with George infiltrates too much in the book (George could have illogical grudges). He clearly forgot a lot and used Recording Sessions of Lewishon. He mis-remembered a lot, like the drum part story on Polythene Pam/Bathroom Window.

[@WeaponsEducation]

I am reading the book for the second time, it is amazing

[@gaetanpelletier7029]

Yes, it is . I am reading the book too. The recording in that time was in kind of machines eveyone, .... would not want today. :-)

[@MusicMonsterW]

I just started reading the book today. Fascinating stuff.

[@gaetanpelletier7029]

Hi Ronin, I am at the Sgt-Peppers section. Which is long. But we learn a lot of things we did not know about the atmosphere in the studio. The way Geoff "plays" with tapes is astonishing. I got two old four track studios. I did not used them a lot. There are easy ones that you can have on a computer. But the sound is not the same. Good Day!

[@powerleg]

@joejoe3011 the production and engineering on The Beatles albums are not in the same league as what Brian Wilson was doing. The stereo mixes are awful and need to be redone from scratch, but they refuse to do it and instead just remaster the vintage stereo mixes for some reason that is totally beyond my understanding.

[@genuineuni]

Maybe someone can ask Geoff, who's idea it was to distort the sound of Ringo's drumming on numerous, early Beatles songs. This is why I believe a lot of Beatles songs has awkward sounding stereo mixes.

[@michaelandrew964]

We all heard the tunes in mono. Stereo didn't count until Sgt.Pepper.

[@shippy555]

The stereo mix of Sgt.Pepper was very rushed and whoever did it couldn't be bothered to add all the extras that the mono mix had. When I first heard the stereo mix of "Lucy", I was appalled, as there is no phasing! Listen to the choruses on the mono version. After about 5 or 6 years of hearing it in mono,(as stereo wasn't popular yet, esp. the UK) it sounded "naked" and thin. Other disappointments were the "too loud" vocals on fixing a hole. . . .it sounded like he (Paul) was shouting! His vocal sits nice and just right on the mono mix.They even, must have, forgot that the mono mix of "She's Leaving Home" was speeded up! When they had finished each stereo mix they should have listened to it in "mono" to make sure that it matched the actual mono.(in my opinion)

[@genuineuni]

shippy555 Nice info, Shippy!!! She's Leaving Home - sped-up in mono, eh? I'm not sure I heard it in stereo, until RockBand multi-tracks. Did Geoff Emerick actually mix (and/or master) PM + Wing's "Band On The Run"?

[@shippy555]

genuineuni I know he was the engineer at Lagos from 1st Sept (exactly 41 years ago yesterday) - 23rd Sept 1973. And then other bits and bobs (strings/vocals etc) were added and mixed and mastered at AIR in London, late 1973. But not sure whether he was there, but I would presume so. I believe he won an award for engineering that album. The comments I made about Sgt. Pepper also apply to the White Album, but by then they had 8 track so the stereo doesn't sound so naked (i think) However, there are lots of little bits that were left in because the Beatles were there to direct the mono mixes but not the stereos. Handclapping at the intro of Ob La Di and George singing "yea yeas" at the end of "While My Guitar" for example, but there are loads more. None of this applies to John's "Revolution 9" though as he mixed this in stereo as he was well into all the panning etc. The mono version is just his stereo mix in mono, if you see what I mean.

[@genuineuni]

Shippy, I'm glad YOU notice these things!! Thank You! While I liked McCartney's solo material, sound quality wasn't impressive. Found multi-tracks to Band On The Run. Me, being an amateur, but demanding better sound, mixed it so even a HD Radio station wanted a copy. That "orchestral" piece in it that is suppressed, actually has bold, dynamic sound! Why, whoever, mixed it like they did, I would never hire at any studio. But, really, though some believe it, audio quality never sold music. The "weird" stuff comes with The Beatles material, and how SOMEONE obliterated Ringo's drumming. Why it and always will be in lopsided stereo (vocals not centered), there's no excuse for it, but to conceal!! I feel Geroge Martin was behind this maneuver. Great meeting you! Stay in touch ;-)

[@broadband0118]

Much of what you say maybe true. In fact, I read the book too, and he does seem to be up McCartney's arse. BUT, he was there while history was being made. I for one would trade anything to have been part of that. Wouldn't you?

[@oldskoolfool141]

RIP

[@matsellah]

As people should expect, many books have been written on the Beatles, and a good many of those deal with the actual nuts and bolts of their studio work. And what you state is a recurring theme. It's understandable; everyone has their favorite Beatle and doesn't want to read anything that paints them in a bad light. But... the truth is what it is. Your post is accurate. Expect the negative replies.

[@JeffaHensley]

The "truth" in any situation involving humans is always in the mind of the person telling the story, isn't it? Geoff Emerick clearly happened to like Paul McCartney a good deal more than he liked the other Beatles, therefore his interpretation of events is going to favor him. Everyone has warts, if you more or less happen to overlook someones, and over emphasize their good qualities in a particular situation, repeatedly, then you're interpretation of events is going to come across as a bit suspect,... Don't you think?

[@matsellah]

Um... Emerick didn't take over as Engineer until Revolver. That thin, metallic sound you refer to was wanted... by the Beatles themselves.

[@jraemerich1]

I'm glad too. I don't know why our name is so interesting for so many people. JR Emerich

[@wiki3wiki3]

I loved the book but he certainly is presumptuous to say that George Martin was thinking this or thinking that when at odds with Paul or John. That little tempo change suggested by John on Obla Di Obla Da was huge. A few Billy Joel early hits sound like that song. Jamaican Oompah?? John complained about not getting enough time on his songs. It seemed like Paul was the one who was impatient and wanted to just get things done. That's a good thing but a few eggs probably got broken with that.

[@troysandiford]

its truely an insperational read.

[@Irishharper]

I found the book a love letter to Paul, he has his head so far up McCartney's ass it's a wonder he could get it out... This book is only a good read if you are interested in the tech side of things. This is a man has no problem blowing his own horn. He is insulting not only to George Harrison and John Lennon but George Martin and almost anyone else that contributed to the Beats.. You should read the reviews on Amazon...

[@JamesTKirkCobain]

The thing that made the Beatles so great is they completely and utterly busted their arses to make a good record, plain and simple. It's very similar to Thomas Edison and his insomnia crew; Edison and his gang would spend months working 18 even 23 hour days until they got the light bulb invented. It's the same principle here. They set the bar so high and wouldn't quit until they reached it. Today it's a different story isn't it? Rip off someone elses record and do karaoke to it.

[@Twotontessie]

I enjoyed this guy's book a lot but quite honestly he seems like a bit of a dickhead. Obviously has some kind of personal thing against George and Ringo.

[@thebrazilianatlantis165]

"Obviously has some kind of personal thing against George and Ringo. " Well, that's not obvious from this interview. He claims that he would ask Ringo to hit the snare harder, and that Ringo would decide when the session was over. He calls George "brilliant" and a "true artist."

[@genuineuni]

+Twotontessie Not sure you other contributors are familiar with The Beatles multi-tracks that escaped to the public, via RockBand interactive video game, but they surely do make me question what happened to Ringo's drumming, they are mutilated. It may explain why everything (music) is mixed to one Stereo side to mask what was done. Makes decent stereo mixing an impossibility. Maybe, Giles Martin mutilated them, but then there would be no good reason to offer them as one track (for the game). VERY interested to know what went on.

[@thebrazilianatlantis165]

Martin and Emerick have both said they didn't pay much attention to how good stereo mixes were until about The White Album because few people had stereo yet anyway (in addition to what Martin said about record players having speakers near each other anyway). As of about _Pepper_ they were doing a lot of bouncing and that was making the earliest tracks recorded degrade (as heard on "Penny Lane" e.g.).

[@genuineuni]

+Joseph Scott Joe, back in the late 50's they advertised Stereo Jukeboxes in Billboard magazine. Quality of Beatles mixes? I don't think there has ever been Audiophile Beatles, nor Blu Ray Beatles. Sounds like a lame excuse about distance of Stereo speakers.

[@abynormlbrain]

It was a different time and place, stereo had not caught up in the U.K. it was still considered a novelty. George at one point asked why they needed two speakers when one worked just fine. He wasn't a dickhead, very humble and modest really. His closest relationship was with Paul and John, he still works for Paul at times.

[@RubberPAUL1966]

George could do solo's but the taxman solo was too difficult for his level of guitaring.

[@nicorayo195]

Geoff Emerick is a McCartney mole and brown noser, He seemed to have a heavy slant against all the other Beatles, while safely hiding in Paul's corner. He did say in another interview that John Lennon was always mean to him, so I suppose he got his revenge in his book. Still the way this weasle put down the other Beatles is just insulting. Interesting that he waited til Lennon and Harrison passed away before he got out from under a rock to throw mud at them.

[@gardenmom6180]

Agreed!! His book infuriated me. Geoff was an ass kisser and an ass kicker. Didn't Paul read it before he wrote the forward? How could Paul lend his name to a book that trashed the others? Especially John and George, who, as you pointed out, by that time could not defend themselves. George was under so much pressure to get his songs recorded in a certain amount of time, while John and Paul were given carte blanche in the studio. Is it any wonder the stress made him unable to play the Taxman solo!?! At least Paul made George smile by putting in an "Indian thing" in there for him. According to Geoff, Paul could do it all himself, without any need of the others.

[@thejigantics2641]

Nico Rayo Like you know what happened. You weren’t there, don’t know what was done or said. Better to tell it like it was than what you might want to hear. A friend of mine worked at EMI and then Apple. He knows more about it you too

[@tracyyy99]

How come when someone says how it is or was , it is somehow interpreted as muck slinging. I have read his book, and i took from it a real story from someone who lived and lived through it, and it is a fascinating read BTW...anyway, ALL four beatles had their strengths and weakneses...if anyone has the rite...geoff did, to tell any story about the fab 4.

[@Shadowplaying]

*pukes*

[@Shadowplaying]

Pffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffft.

[@Perutti1]

Esse cara é um babaca, PUXA-SACO do Paul. "Escreveu" um livro mentiroso. Denegriu a imagem do George Harrison só para puxar o saco do Paul, ele deve esperar que o Paul arrume alguma coisa para ele. É um idiota. Tenho certeza que nenhum beatlemaniaco gostou do "livro" dele. Esse babaca, a Yoko, o Klein, o magic alex é o timinho que só quis se aproveitar dos Beatles e esse idiota do emerick até hoje que se aproveitar.

[@powerleg]

The Beatles albums sound awful. Emerick is simply not a good engineer, the albums sound thin and metallic, sort of nauseating.