Editorial Review
"George," he said, "I don't know if you'd be interested, but there's a chap who's come in with a tape of a group he runs. They haven't got a recording contract, and I wonder if you'd like to see him and listen to what he's got?"
"Certainly," I said, "I'm willing to listen to anything. Ask him to come and see me."
"O.K., I will. His name's Brian Epstein..."
All You Need Is Ears is the story of George Martin, the man who spotted the Beatles' talent, who recorded and produced them from the start, and who brought their musical ideas to life. In this witty and charming autobiography, he describes exactly what it was like to work in the studio with the Beatles--from the first audition (and his decision to scrap Pete Best on drums) to the wild experimentation of Sgt. Pepper (complete with sound effects, animal noises and full orchestras in evening dress at the direct request of Paul McCartney).
This is a singular look at the most important musical group of all time, and how they made the music that changed the world: No other book can provide George Martin's inside look at their creative process, at the play of genius and practical improvisation that gave them their sound; it is an indispensable read for Beatle lovers and anyone interested in the music world.
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Customer Reviews
Beatles 
2007-01-18
A must read for anyone involved in the making of music as it pertains to production and recording. It however exhibits George Martins conservative nature and is someone bias from his perspective. A much superior book is Here,There, and Everywhere by Geoff Emerick. It is the same subject matter but much more detailed and objective.
Okay but not all that I wanted 2007-01-05
I wish there were more technical specifics in the descriptions of various sessions. Sir George gets you into Abbey Road studio #2 and lets you know about his experiences with various artists.
George Martin REVEALED! 
2006-09-03
This is a truly amazing book. I had just finished reading "Here, There and Everywhere" by Geoff Emerick (the Beatles recording engineer) and decided I wanted to know more about George Martin, their producer. It was a great decision because the introspect gained from reading both of these books together tells a big picture that I before could only guess at.
George's personality really comes out in this book and it makes it far easier to understand what went on during the Beatles many many recording sessions. It has been said that the producer is a major contributer to the outcome of any project and this book definately confirms and educates about that process.
It is an easy read and the edition that I purchased has fairly decent sized type and makes it easy on the eyes. It is a paperback and tucks easily into your daybag or briefcase for those times when you can read a few minutes - but if you are like I am - you may devour the whole thing in one seating!
The early life of George Martin is also detailed in this book with it's different perspective of growing up in Britain. I had no idea that George Martin was in pop music groups as he was growing up and that came as a terrific surprise. I might have known, though.
The classical side of George Martin comes out strong also. This came into very significant play as he produced the Beatles.
Great book. Don't hesitate to buy this!
Is George Martin really a genius? 2006-08-13
First off I'd like to answer the title, the genius who made the Beatles. Okay, George Martin gave the Beatles their 1st break he gave them a tryout. He didn't even sign them he just gave them an opportunity to make a single and if it did anything they'd make another. Second, okay he recognized Pete Best played in the studio as if he was playing in a loud barroom which the beatles did nothing but that, but it wasn't unsual for stage drummers to be replaced in the studio by session drummers, many bands of the day did that practice including the Byrds. Third where does his genius come into play? From what I could see he was a journeymen type producer who did alot of work with some big acts and some big acts that were on the down side and a mistake or two along the way. Obviously he was one of the better producers in the UK who did give the Beatles some good advice such as not signing with RCA over in America because they had Elvis, which in itself is debatable because greatness sooner or later comes through. It's only bad luck on Vee Jay's part they went broke due to the owner having a cashflow problem. Anyway, where does the genius come in? Okay he may have been a good arranger? Maybe even great, but does George Martin get credit for inventing a new kind of music which is associated with genius. Ray Charles is a genius because not once but twice he invented a new kind of music, what did George Martin invent? The Beatles sound of course was revolutionary but how much of it is George Martin's doing? From what I gathered from stories the Beatles came in with all these ideas and George Martin did the best he could to make his young bosses happy. Afterall George Martin did work for the Beatles not the other way around.
The Book itself doesn't bring a whole lot of new Beatle material to the fold. It does varify alot of information. Martin's reflections at facts is sort of weak and he assumes the reader knows almost nothing about the Beatles. Far as the aspects about his own career it does spell out how he did it and rose in the music business to this enormous stature due to the Beatles success. I had no idea he produced alot of Bee Gee records and it makes sense now that I think of that. I don't know how he recorded such fast tempos. I was disappointed in Martin when he stuck to that English class system, that George Harrison didn't know his place in the band. Harrison made his life on fighting the establishment and not adhering to what a so called society adheres to. Harrison in the end may have been treated like a 3rd class citizen by McCartney which is why the band broke up. Harrision had too much talent to be McCartney's lackey. Lennon often said he had no interest in the other 2 Beatles but was very interested in working with Paul again, he even mentioned that on the day he died in his very last interview. Still, Harrison will go as a very under-rated guitar player because he played in the Beatles, a group that dispised solos of anykind. My advice on the book all you need is ears...is get it if you want to know about George Martin only...but don't get it if your looking for Beatle material...it's about 25% Beatles anyway, the rest is about him and his career other than the Beatles which was very much more than people realize, for only 7 years did he work with the Beatles...a very small percentage considering he worked roughly from 1950-1999? obviously he slowed down when he got older and his hearing problems became very severe.
The trouble with this book............................. 2006-03-16
Maybe I am a softee, but some books are too good to come to an end. My way of reading them is to read other books in the meantime; books on my bed, books in the bathroom, by the coffee pot. This way I won't have to say goodbye to a friend in the end. I know it's going to happen, but I don't want it to.
It's harder for this book because I grew up with the Beatles and all involved. As I started this book, I could see the man, hear his voice, it was as if I were right there with him. Here was this atomic force in his control and he helped mould it into something we can appreciate for a lifetime.
This book has taught me a great deal about recording at the time of the Beatles. But it encompasses much more. If you don't believe me, read about the monkey! I almost peed my pants! This book is filled with little gems like that, and you'll have to read them for yourself.
George Martin Book - Excellent 2008-03-24
This book by George Martin is excellent. He walks through the history of recording music and includes with it the story of the Beatles. As a music lover, I found this book to be fascinating. I would imagine that younger people, who are merely familiar with CD recordings and itunes, would enjoy the technical challenges that were dealt with in earlier days of the recording industry. I found it extremely interesting to listen to the Beatles songs after I heard the methods used to create the sounds. Enjoy!
Ears is all you need. 2007-12-03
To be fair, I read this book years ago and my memory has faded considerably. Sir George Martin seemed to have written this book with one sole purpose in mind: to encourage people to take care of their ears, so to enjoy music to the fullest. Along the way he offers unique insights into the Beatles' recording career. A Must read for musicians as it explains many unthought of perspectives relating to sound waves and the like. For example, put your speakers on carpet, the sound will no doubt be muffled when compared with putting them on a mirror. Read and enjoy.
One of the VIP's in Contemporary Music 2007-10-10
The book is full of insights and is very fun to read.
It also has a lot of good pictures too.
I strongly recommend it.
Posted Bio 2007-04-04
Just to point out --
The biography posted is for George Martin, the sci-fi writer,
who isn't the same person (as far as I know!) as the Beatles'
producer. FYI.
A good book that should have been great 
2007-03-04
George Martin was the 5th Beatle. He gave them their first break after they had been turned down by all the labels. Without the break he gave them, Martin muses that the Beatles may have just given it up and gone their separate ways. Apparently George Martin was the only one around that was willing to take a chance on these scruffs from Liverpool that would change the world.
It seems that Paul was the one Beatle that could have made it on his own, but if not as one of The Beatles, then as what? Could he have been a backup for Tony Sheridan, or a bass player for Little Richard? Thankfully, we will never know. Would the other Beatles have likely gotten working class jobs, and/or just self-destructed? As always, the whole was greater than the sum of its parts.
It is hard to imagine a world without the Beatles, but that just underscores the importance of George Martin in giving them their lucky break. George Martin played all positions with the Beatles, except for vocalist. He produced, directed, arranged, and even played piano and harpsichord on many records. He brought that classical influence of strings and horns into the Beatles music, starting with Yesterday. Any die-hard fan will want to read this book, however, beware: it is diluted a bit with stories about other recording artists that have little relation to the reason why I bought the book in the first place, i.e., The Beatles. Nevertheless, it does have a few anecdotes that have not been seen elsewhere, so yes, it is worth buying and reading. You can always skip the parts that you don't care about.
George Martin is very informative on the evolution of multitrack recording technology, so that should be of interest to anybody that wonders how they got all those "layer cakes" out of the primitive equipment of the day.
I enjoyed the book immensely, but I think George Martin could have done better given his intimate knowledge of one of the greatest cultural phenomena of all time. Sometimes he seems a little aloof in the book, as if he hardly cares, but it is probably just old-school English understatement at its best, or maybe a futile attempt to downplay that he is probably their biggest fan, if not one of their oldest.
On a side note, it is too bad that George Martin was never rewarded financially (at least up to 1979 when this book was published) on a level that would have been commensurate with the important role he played in not only discovering, but also developing the greatest band of all time. As always, the Beatles come off as cheap, uncharitable and self-indulgent on this score. As the book explains, Martin was offered some royalties under the table, (as a kickback from an unscrupulous publisher) but he never compromised his ethics. Eventually I'm sure he made a nice living through his long association with the Fab 4, but not what one might expect, according to the book, at least up to 1979. A lot has happened in the financial world of The Beatles since this book was written, including the huge Vegas production of Love, in which Martin played an integral role along with his son, Giles. It's nice to see a music producer that is more driven by quality and innovation than the lowest common demoniators. I wish we had more like him.
My rating says 3 stars, but that was a mistake. I really gave it a 4.
