Sep 14, 2014 we recently purchased a nice, used hardback copy of geoff emericks fantastic beatle book here, there and everywhere my life recording the music of the beatles not having read it before its currently our favourite, especially given the release in the last week of the the beatles in mono vinyl lps as a boxed set and also as individual albums. Why did the beatles recording engineer geoff emerick have. A unique version of i am the walrus was released in september of 2011. The beatles while my guitar gently weeps sound on sound. Thanks to the thread for reminding me to pick up ken scotts book. A massmarketed book may be unable to contain lots of technical info, but i think many members here on sh forum would be enthralled with what you have to say. As one of the preeminent recording engineers and producers of the 20 th century, ken has garnered gold, platinum and diamond record sales awards. Mar 05, 2012 ken scott book coming studio engineer and later, producer ken scott follows in the footsteps of geoff emerick and norman smith by publishing a book. Geoff emerick gives such great detail about song after song, album after album, and that is the strength of this book. I know that geoff emerick s book has some controversy with it. I seem to remember some interviews with ken scott being critical of emerick and saying many things in his book were not.
His reputation precedes him, and if his memory of events 40 years ago is somehow less than. Abbey road to ziggy stardust shares the intimate memories of ken scott s days working with some of the most important artists of the 20th century while crafting a sound that has ken scott holds a unique place in music history as one of only five engineers to have recorded the beatles, but his experiences as a producer may be just as profound. The newly remastered versions of the songs were used on these pressings. With no other choice, stagge gave him the rest of the week off and pressed ken scott into service as his replacement. Geoff emerick became an assistant engineer at the legendary abbey road. Ken scott born 20 april 1947 is a british record producer and engineer known for being one of the five main engineers for the beatles, as well as engineering elton john, pink floyd, procol harum, mahavishnu orchestra, duran duran, the jeff beck group and. Apr 30, 2012 ken scottone of a handful of recording engineers to have worked with the beatleshas stories to tell. Hes seems to be wellliked by all hes worked with and what a list.
The idea that ken scott somehow knows geoff emericks life better than emerick does is ludicrous, and geoff emerick doesnt have to defend himself to you, me, ken scott, or anybody. Geoff emerick bookday 3 after reading page 4 steve. According to the geoff emerick book, ken scott followed him in the promotional chain, and it was ken who cut the all you need is love single hardly a less important release for emi. Ken scott is a genius and perhaps the greatest rock engineer ever. Peppers, whereas it is more likely referencing accounts from others such as engineer ken scott that it was an accumulation of tossing ideas around the engineering. Interview with geoff emerick march 24, 2006 ear candy. Brian epstein, george martin and geoff emerick at the worldwide satellite broadcast of. The tone here is light and very selfeffacing, scott seems like a very nice chap. Here, there and everywhere geoff emerick beatles blog. Geoff emerick was george martins righthand man in the control room at emis abbey road studios in london.
He later worked with the beatles as they recorded their singles she loves you and i want to hold your hand, the songs that would propel them to international superstardom. Geoff emericks book on the beatles discussion in the. The world famous frank show talks with the beatles sound engineer geoff emerick. Nov 22, 20 scott quickly segued into sound engineering at abbey road, eventually manning the board for several of the beatles magical mystery tour sessions and creating mono and stereo mixes for the band. Ken scott speaks of recording the beatles, david bowie and. Beatles engineer ken scott abbeyrds beatles page message. But a pivotal moment came when he replaced geoff emerick in the. Oct 04, 2018 it caused some controversy for alleged factual errors and negative remarks about george harrison, with another beatles engineer, ken scott, rebutting some of emericks claims in his own book. Sometimes this feels a little too selfcongratulatory, and an engineer who worked alongside him, ken scott who later went on to be a famous producer, bestknown for his work with bowie, completely disputes emerick s version of events and largely dismisses the book as fantasy. Jan 04, 20 sometimes this feels a little too selfcongratulatory, and an engineer who worked alongside him, ken scott who later went on to be a famous producer, bestknown for his work with bowie, completely disputes emerick s version of events and largely dismisses the book as fantasy. But a pivotal moment came when he replaced geoff emerick in the engineers seat during the 1968 sessions for the beatles, better known as the white. The book recounts the events of what scott calls his blessed life working. Untold beatles stories emerge as white album climbs charts.
Rebuttal from ken scott regarding geoff emericks response addressing criticism to his book. Not too fond of his negativity towards george, but whatever, hes a human. I am a big fan and i just finished the emerick book yesterday so i am fascinated by all this. Edited by magical mystery tour book edited by tony barrow engineer principal geoff emerick, ken scott. Apr 30, 20 woody allen famously said 80% of success is showing up. Abbey road engineer ken scott says the beatles white album. Like the red album, the blue album was released in the wake of a pair of widely advertised quadruplelp bootlegs, alpha omega, vols. Arguably none were as influential and crucial as geoff emerick, who worked with the beatles between 1966 and 1969. Peppers lonely hearts club band 1967 and abbey road 1969. I might have something to add in a bit but for now i am happily subscribed to the thread.
May 12, 2012 jw najarian interviews ken scott at alfred music publishers corporate offices about his new book abbey road to ziggy stardust 120501 ken scott edit 02. Recently i obtained an autographed hardback copy of the book and i decided to give it another read. Some say that geoff thinks paul can do no wrong and that george is a terrible guitarist. What happened from there is 100% kens scotts doing and it involved far more than just showing up, though of course. Nov 15, 2018 scott, also 71, says he started at emi recording studios at abbey road aged 16 and worked with the beatles for some years before being promoted to a full engineer when geoff emerick left the. Scott, also 71, says he started at emi recording studios at abbey road aged 16 and worked with the beatles for some years before being promoted to a. Oct 19, 2010 geoff emerick s book on the beatles discussion in the sound hound lounge started by zestystrat, oct 19, 2010. One thing i remember about seeing a ken scott session was 87s everywhere, on just about everything.
Pepper and abbey road albums, considered by many the greatest rock recordings of all time. With a vast track record that spans engineering for the beatles and elton john to producing supertramp and david bowie, ken has an enormous wealth of experience. Also, emerick says that there were actually two different promotions between assistant engineer buttonpusher and balance engineer, at least when he was. We recently purchased a nice, used hardback copy of geoff emerick s fantastic beatle book here, there and everywhere my life recording the music of the beatles not having read it before its currently our favourite, especially given the release in the last week of the the beatles in mono vinyl lps as a boxed set and also as individual albums. Here is the article i referred to in my post above that rips emericks book. Mar 16, 2006 emerick would also engineer the monumental sgt. When emerick s book was first published he drew considerable criticism. The idea that ken scott somehow knows geoff emerick s life better than emerick does is ludicrous, and geoff emerick doesnt have to defend himself to you, me, ken scott, or anybody. Ken scotts rebuttal, from abbey road to ziggy stardust, countered emericks version, particularly in its description of harrisons personality and musicality. Of course, much of it was from beatles fans, but even some who were directly involved such as abbey road studios engineer and later famed producer in his own right ken scott. When emericks book was first published he drew considerable criticism. In fact, on one of the sites, geoff emerick said he got the letter from ken scott before the final publication of the book and made some corrections before publication.
For all of beatles historiographys numerous debates, the fab fours stratospheric amount of fame both as a quartet and as individuals is unquestioned. A year earlier, the former tape logger and second engineer had his first big break when he manned the. It caused some controversy for alleged factual errors and negative remarks about george harrison, with another beatles engineer, ken scott, rebutting some of emericks claims in his own book. In 1968, at the advanced age of 21, ken scott sat dead center in what was regarded as the epicenter of the world studio two at emi studios in london when he replaced geoff emerick as the beatles engineer for the sprawling double album that would become known as the white album. This book was published in 2006, and i borrowed a copy from the library back then and read it. A few years ago, i spoke with early bowie producer ken scott about the 5. Here there and everywhere recording the music of the. Geoff emerick became an assistant engineer at the legendary abbey road studios in 1962 at age fifteen, and was present as a new band called the beatles recorded their first songs. The white album anniversary recording debate geoff.
Woody allen famously said 80% of success is showing up. My life recording the music of the beatles by geoff emerick. Picking up where 19621966 left off, the doublealbum compilation 19671970, commonly called the blue album, covers the beatles later records, from sgt. Remember, this was november of 1965 a little more than a year after his unlikely start at emi. Spent the evening with geoff emerick last night rickresource. Scotts telling of that part of his career was rather flat.
Scott quickly segued into sound engineering at abbey road, eventually manning the board for several of the beatles magical mystery tour sessions and creating mono and stereo mixes for the band. The story of the beatles, which had appeared early in 1973. Even ken scott whose book is not all beatles, but much better took emerick to task over this book, and his remarks about the lovely george. Sometimes this feels a little too selfcongratulatory, and an engineer who worked alongside him, ken scott who later went on to be a famous producer, bestknown for his work with bowie, completely disputes emericks version of events and largely dismisses the book as fantasy.
The publication led to an internet flame war, as former beatles engineer ken scott challenged the accuracy of emericks recollections and. Turn on any classic rock station and youll soon hear a song that ken scott has worked on. Geoff emericks book on the beatles page 2 the gear page. Its an interesting spat, which you can read about here. Join facebook to connect with ken scott and others you may know. He passed the audition and was rewarded with a job in emis tape library. The beatles were in the right place at the right time. The book caused controversy for its factual errors, and for its allegedly unfavourable. There was an antiestablishment thing in the air, and everybody was looking for a youthful leader to latch onto.
I just ordered the ken scott book and the george martin book to further my education. Ken scottone of a handful of recording engineers to have worked with the. I enjoy any first hand accounts even if their memory may be swayed. Dec 02, 2019 to declare that the beatles were, from 1963 on, famous, is a mindnumbingly obvious statement. For geoff, the mere notion that he had been liberated from the toxic. Emerick 5 december 1945 2 october 2018 was an english sound engineer who. He confirms on a number of occasions in his book that a lot more time was.
I may not have liked him either if i knew him personally. The publication led to an internet flame war, as former beatles engineer ken scott challenged the accuracy of emerick s recollections and stated that, before writing the book, emerick had contacted him and other emi technical staff saying he had limited memory of the events. In here, there and everywhere he reveals the creative process of the band in the studio, and describes how he achieved the sounds on their most famous songs. If you want a book that slobbers over mccartney,and is biased against harrison,read geoff emericks book. Abbey road engineer ken scott says the beatles white.
Discussion in music corner started by yellowballoon, mar 26, 2006. I recently got to interview fourtime grammy winner and beatles engineer geoff emerick in regards to his new book here there and everywheremy life recording the music of the beatles. We recently purchased a nice, used hardback copy of geoff emericks fantastic beatle book here, there and everywhere my life recording the music of the beatles not having read it before its currently our favourite, especially given the release in the last week of the the beatles in mono vinyl lps as a boxed set and also as individual albums. Ken scott born 20 april 1947 is a british record producer and engineer known for being one of the five main engineers for the beatles, as well as engineering elton john, pink floyd, procol harum, mahavishnu orchestra, duran duran, the jeff beck group and many more. My favorite is when, and im paraphrasing, hes talking about how ringo couldnt get the drums to i am the walrus right so paul put down the bass and guided him with a tambourine. Geoff emericks here, there and everywhere came in for substantial criticism for its errors, as well as its negative depiction of george harrison. Emerick 5 december 1945 2 october 2018 was an english sound engineer who worked with the beatles on their albums revolver 1966, sgt. To declare that the beatles were, from 1963 on, famous, is a mindnumbingly obvious statement. Instead, it was flown into the twotrack, live, as the mix was occurring. I would love to have a ken scott book detailing not only recording the beatles but all the folks that you. Target stores in america carried capitol beatles vinyl singles paired with tshirts to sell for a limited time, the records mimicking the capitol label and picture sleeves of the original releases. To emphasize the point, scott will be publishing a 500page memoir, abbey road to ziggy stardust, on june 6 through alfred music publishing. Production legend ken scott on 10 careerdefining records.
Here, there and everywhere, written by geoff emerick with howard massey is a fascinating insight into what took place at beatles recording sessions during geoff emericks time as assistant, and later, balance engineer after i bought the book i couldnt put it down. Then, in march 1967, while ken scott s comprehensive apprenticeship included work as a mastering engineer, he assisted geoff emerick on the recording of the sgt pepper tracks shes leaving home and getting better, before debuting as a fullscale engineer that september on the magical mystery tour ep cuts i am the walrus, the fool on the. Jun 23, 2016 geoff emericks here, there and everywhere came in for substantial criticism for its errors, as well as its negative depiction of george harrison. Heres what ken scott another great beatleengineer says about it. What happened from there is 100% ken s scott s doing and it involved far more than just showing up, though of course he.
The book recounts the events of what scott calls his blessed life working with innumerable rock legends. Beatles recording engineer ken scott reveals behind the. Ken scott s rebuttal, from abbey road to ziggy stardust, countered emerick s version, particularly in its description of harrisons personality and musicality. But despite these gripes ken scotts or my own i feel that emericks. Jw najarian interviews ken scott at alfred music publishers corporate offices about his new book abbey road to ziggy stardust 120501 ken scott edit 02. The book is a fascinating read, especially in regards to the revolver and sgt. Thanks to the thread for reminding me to pick up ken scott s book. Unlike other books detailing the groups recording history, emericks provides the. Ken scottone of a handful of recording engineers to have worked with the beatleshas stories to tell. I will never forget the story, for instance about the recording of the two orchestral effects in a day in the life.
Jan 15, 2016 a few years ago, i spoke with early bowie producer ken scott about the 5. Then, in march 1967, while ken scotts comprehensive apprenticeship included work as a mastering engineer, he assisted geoff emerick on the recording of the sgt pepper tracks shes leaving home and getting better, before debuting as a fullscale engineer that september on the magical mystery tour ep cuts i am the walrus, the fool on the. Engineer principal geoff emerick, ken scott liner notes historical notes kevin howlett, mike heatley. The beatles books gathered dust on the shelf as i started reading. The way emerick describes them in this book you could be forgiven for thinking that he was solely the ideas man for coming up with new sounds for albums such as revolver and sgt. A year earlier, the former tape logger and second engineer had his first big break when he. Geoff emerick s here, there and everywhere came in for substantial criticism for its errors, as well as its negative depiction of george harrison. John ended up repeating the exercise, with ringo twiddling the dial, when the mono mix was donethats the reason why i am the walrus can never be remixed. Ken scotts rebuttal, from abbey road to ziggy stardust, countered emericks version, particularly in its description of. Geoff emerick biohere there and everywhere steve hoffman. Ps ken, hopefully youll be able to join us in the future without needing to talk about emerick s book and offer some of your unique views of the beatles at work in the studio. Beatles sound engineer geoff emerick part 1 youtube. His fellow engineer, ken scott, wrote a scathing open letter emericks response is here accusing his former colleague of inaccuracies. The book received some criticism for its dismissal of the contributions of george.