Fab orchestral gear back on the shelves • CD and LP
Three of George Martin’s ’60s albums of orchestral arrangements of pop songs – Off The Beatle Track (1964), Help! (1965) and …And I Love Her (1966) – will be reissued on CD and vinyl to mark what would have been the legendary producer’s 100th birthday.
All three titles have been overseen by Martin’s son, Giles, and remastered from the original master tapes. The releases mark the first time that they’ve been reissued on vinyl for decades as well as their first CD release in the UK.
Off The Beatle Track was the first album that Martin released under his own name and, as the title suggests, was a collection of Lennon & McCartney covers. The album was released at the height of Beatlemania and Martin called upon no other than John Lennon for a witty sleeve note that began, “George Martin is a tall man”, before giving the producer his dues. This marks its first vinyl reissue since C5 Records put it out in 1988.
Help! was released in the US in September 1965, with a UK release following in mid-November. Intriguingly, the US version used working titles of Beatles songs, including ‘Auntie Gin’s Theme’ (‘I’ve Just Seen A Face’), ‘That’s A Nice Hat (Cap)’ (‘It’s Only Love’) and ‘Scrambled Egg’ (‘Yesterday’), leading to speculation that Martin’s versions were recorded before the Beatles finalised the songs – over to you Beatle sleuths! The version reissued here – its first time on vinyl since the mid-’60s – follows the UK tracklisting. For this album, Brian Epstein was on (rather more sober) sleevenote duties.
The following year, Martin cast his net a little further with …And I Love Her, adding easy listening arrangements of songs made famous by artists such as The Rolling Stones (‘Time Is On My Side’), The Righteous Brothers (‘You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling’) and Petula Clarke (‘Downtown’) to a further six Beatles covers. It also features ‘All Quiet On The Mersey Front’, a track Martin wrote for the Ferry Cross the Mersey soundtrack. The album hasn’t been reissued in the UK since its original release.
Off The Beatle Track, Help! and …And I Love Her are out on 27 November via Parlophone.
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By Jamie Atkins
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