Editorial ReviewsFrom Publishers Weekly
Emerick was a fresh-faced young engineer in April 1966 when producer George Martin offered him the chance to work with the Beatles on what would become Revolver. He lasted until 1968, when tensions within the group, along with the band members' eccentricities and the demands of the job, forced him to quit after The White Album, exhausted and burned out. In this entertaining if uneven memoir, Emerick offers some priceless bits of firsthand knowledge. Amid the strict, sterile confines of EMI's Abbey Road studio, where technicians wore lab coats, the Beatles' success allowed them to challenge every rule. From their use of tape loops and their labor-intensive fascination with rolling tape backwards, the Beatles—and Emerick—reveled in shaking things up. Less remarkable are Emerick's personal recollections of the band members. He concedes the group never really fraternized with him—and he seems to have taken it personally. The gregarious McCartney is recalled fondly, while Lennon is "caustic," Ringo "bland" and Harrison "sarcastic" and "furtive." Still, the book packs its share of surprises and will delight Beatle fans curious about how the band's groundbreaking records were made. (Mar.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From AudioFile
The Beatles' fans still have an unquenchable thirst for everything Beatles: music, books, film--everything. Geoff Emerick weighs in with his years as the engineer on most of the Beatles' hit albums and singles. Narrator Martin Jarvis tells Emerick's first-person account of working with "the boys" in the famous Abbey Road studios. A British accent makes everything sound better, and, in this case, the voice is perfect. It's great to hear the little pitch of excitement when Jarvis talks about the relationship of the four musicians and Emerick's unusual studio tricks to help make that special sound. Emerick is in his 60s now, but Jarvis's youthful presentation captures the heady days of his youth spent with the greatest rock band of all time. M.S. © AudioFile 2006, Portland, Maine--Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Booklist
Emerick was only 15 when he began working with the Beatles as an assistant engineer at Abbey Road Studios. Later, as a 19-year-old full engineer, he was on board for the seminal Revolver and Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. Always aiming for perfection, the Beatles never took no for an answer, and he did his best to oblige by developing innovative recording techniques, some simple (e.g., using a loudspeaker as a microphone), others more sophisticated. Being the Beatles' engineer wasn't entirely pleasant. Eventually, during the tense and uncomfortable White Album sessions, the Beatles barely spoke to one another without anger, and Emerick quit before recording was finished. But he returned to work on Abbey Road and several McCartney solo records, including Band on the Run. Anyone interested in the Beatles and their music ought to love Emerick's as-told-to insider's account of working with the world's most famous band when they made their most famous music. June Sawyers
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Library Journal
Abbey Road engineer Emerick paints vivid pictures of a decade of intense recording sessions that quite literally shook the world.
Kirkus Reviews
Admirably evenhanded... An informative introduction to the creative process of the 20th century's most influential rock musicians... An illuminating chronicle.
“We all owe some debt to Geoff Emerick’s self-effacing work as an engineer and producer . . . there is very little that any group of scruffy musicians can throw at him that he cannot put into some kind of good sonic order. I feel fortunate to have worked with him.”
—Elvis Costello
About the Author
GEOFF EMERICK joined Abbey Road Studios as an assistant engineer in 1962 and was promoted to full engineer in 1966, leaving to build the Beatles’ Apple Recording Studios in 1969. After the dissolution of the Beatles, he continued to engineer for Paul McCartney, as well as artists such as Elvis Costello, America, Jeff Beck, and Art Garfunkel. He has won four Grammy Awards, including a Technical Grammy Award in 2003.
HOWARD MASSEY is a veteran music journalist, former technical editor for Musician magazine, and the author of eleven books.
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