The Giles Martin Interview on SDE...Let It Be and Beyond

Fascinating interview about the process of putting together the new reissue, his father's involvement in the original, and what comes next

• Everything was done from digital
• Paul is still stuck on 'fixing' the Long and Winding Road
• The surviving family members were heavily involved
• Glyn Johns remastered his original mix
• Revolver and Rubber Soul will likely not get remixed but they are likely next to get their box set treatment.

 

He hasn't really said no, has he? He just keeps asking whether they need to be..

It will be done. I have no doubt.

 

It’s odd that Paul from SDE wouldn’t have pointed out (to Giles) the Yellow Submarine Songtrack which (arguably) made the case for remixing RS and Revolver and the possibilities. (Not to mention the ‘1’ remixes) Of course, I love those YSS remixes.

 

Got a link?

 

Giles Martin on remixing The Beatles – SuperDeluxeEdition

 

Thanks.

 

Maybe he didn’t point it out because it doesn’t (arguably) make the case...

Nonetheless, contrary to what Giles says, there’s no reason why a stereo remix needs to be a pre-requisite for doing a surround mix. Convenient? Yes. Necessary? No.

 

Why doesn’t it make the case? Or are you just being contrarian?

 

So, Abbey Road needed a remix but Rubber Soul doesn't? And Glyn Johns remastered his original mix which apparently was cobbled together from his 70 version with bits inserted from the 69 version? This sounds incoherent to me...

 

Many people don’t like them besides me.

 

Abbey Road didn’t need a remix, but ok

What does remastering the Glyn Johns mix have to do with remixing?

.

 

It's not that Rubber Soul doesn't need a remix. In another recent interview (Why the Beatles Haven't Remixed 'Rubber Soul' or 'Revolver' Yet), Giles pointed out that several of the Rubber Soul and Revolver session tapes had a lot of instruments recorded on one track, in an effort to minimize the number of reduction "bounces" (and thus improve sound quality). For instance, on "Taxman," "the guitar, the bass and drums are all on one track." He wants to wait until the technology allows him to separate the instruments. Abbey Road, however, was recorded on eight-track tape so there was much better separation to begin with.

 

This.

 

I think Revolver needs remixing most of all, more than the twintrack albums even!

It also didn't come across to me yesterday when I read it that he was saying he wouldn't remix them, just that he was being a bit funny about it.

 

Revolver has some balance issues (partly due to multiple instruments per track), the drums are way too far in the background on "Got To Get You Into My Life," and issues like that. The 1 remix of "Eleanor Rigby" is a major improvement over the original stereo, with the strings spread out instead of smooshed together, so one can see the potential if the whole album were remixed. Giles' answer isn't "no," it's "not yet." I feel kinda bad for the guy, because some of the fans are howling for his blood that the existing remixes aren't to their taste, while others are moaning that he hasn't already tackled the 1965-66 albums. But I agree with his attitude about these albums. The separation technology is improving, pretty quickly I think, but it's not quite there yet, and I'd rather they wait and get it right rather than rush something out now that will be obsolete or redone in five years.

Some mono separation projects have come out already, like Ravi Shankar's performance at Woodstock, and Giles used the technology very subtly on projects like the Hollywood Bowl tapes where the objective was to balance out sounds without altering their stereo placement (which would make artifacts more noticeable). I noticed that, on the 2015 remix of 1, the credits say that "Love Me Do" and "She Loves You" were "remixed in mono." There are no surviving multi-tracks, so they only way to "remix" those songs (as opposed to remastering them) would be to pick apart the elements and tweak them a little bit, bringing this instrument forward and toning down that one, before putting everything back into mono to hide the seams.

 

I just want Paul in both ears for Eleanor rigby.

 

Giles also centered George's vocals in "Savoy Truffle," so he's aware of the clamor for such treatment.

 

The mono tracks on 1 were just the 2009s although I believe She Loves You had some extra EQ to hide the edits.

About Martin, I really want a remixed MMT and YS, and since I would imagine it's much more technically feasible (At least in the case of MMT) I hope it's the next one down the line.

 

He's saying that he is going to wait until extraction technology improves so a phony multi-track can be prepared for one of his patented "immersive" experiences. So far, the results of this technology have proven to be primitive and unpleasant, so he is going to be waiting a long time. There is nothing wrong with the original multi-tracks that cannot result in a tasteful remix, as past releases such as Yellow Submarine Songtrack will attest to. But tasteful isn't good enough these days.

 

After reading the Giles interview, I was thinking how difficult it must be to be in his shoes regarding interviews. Meaning, he probably knows things that he can and cannot talk about. He gets criticized (and some praise) but he has to choose his words so carefully, and be careful not to slip or to give his own opinion on the Fabs work. It's a difficult line to walk...

 

Fine, but in this interview he proudly talks about his work ethos being he only remixes something if it needs to be remixed...

 

Read the interview. Two examples of him talking bs imo.

 

'Paul from SDE' doesn't want to risk access on ANY front by seeming 'impertinent'

 

Maybe they need someone more talented to remix Rubber Soul and Revolver.

 

These albums could sound spectacular remixed and I'm someone who has generally been against the remixes so far. Revolver and Rubber Soul are two that I most wanted remixing if any had to be. The White Album and especially Abbey Road didn't really need it, though I did like the White Album remix when I heard it.