Neil Fein's Blog

Here, There and Everywhere
by Geoff Emerick and Howard Massey

"The Beatles exist apart from my Self. I am not really Beatle George. Beatle George is like a suit or shirt that I once wore on occasion and until the end of my life people may see that shirt and mistake it for me."
George Harrison

While it's George Martin, the Beatles' producer, who is often called the "fifth Beatle", the contribution of Geoff Emerick, engineer on most of their albums, is not as well known or understood. Here, There and Everywhere is Mr. Emerick's memoir of his career as audio engineer.

Stories of the Beatles in the studio are, of course, the mainstay of the book. Much of them require a knowledge of -- or an appreciation of -- basic recording techniques to fully appreciate, but understanding is not hampered by a lack of studio knowledge. Studio politics, outdated "state-of-the-art" recording facilities, the British concept of knowing your place socially are all important themes in this fascinating volume.

The authors deftly avoid one of the most common errors when writing about celebrities -- they do not presume to know John, Paul, George, or Ringo beyond their actions in Mr. Emerick's sight. (With the possible exception of Sir Paul.)

When the authors speculate on motives, it's always very clear that this and a pound will buy you a cup of coffee. The book also avoids crucifying the lads -- and the producer, for their flaws. The closest to a vile villain in this is the studio management, although Mr. Emerick is obviously grateful to them for his first studio job as a boy just out of school.

Mr. Emerick is at once the very visible and insecure main character of this story, an unquestionably reliable narrator, and a multitrack monkey in the control room, utterly out of the way save when his experience is needed for a thorny problem. This is a difficult and fragile balance, and it's impressive writing on the part of this team.

Recommended to Beatles fans, and to anyone who's every recorded on a portastudio. (Also of interest: Ticket to Ride by Larry Kane.)

books, music

Labels: music