Five of the best: George Martin

Image: The Beatles

No one has a better claim to the cliched term of "fifth Beatle" than Sir George Martin, news of whose death at the age of 90, has further depleted the ranks of those who helped create rock music's finest back catalogue. 

Back in 1962 he changed the course of music history when he managed to capture the early thrill of the Fab Four, helping create Beatle mania and a literal revolution in sound and culture in both the UK and America. 

Thank you for all your love and kindness George peace and love xx😎✌🌟💖 pic.twitter.com/um2hRFB7qF

— #RingoStarr (@ringostarrmusic) March 9, 2016

When the studio became the Beatles' priority from 1966, Martin was there at the helm, facilitating, cajoling and encouraging the band in their quest to find new sounds and even newer ways of how to make those sounds a reality.

Martin's legacy is assured and his production work was legendary - as way of a tribute here's five of his very best Beatles creations.

The Beatles - Please Please Me (1963)

The Beatles' first worldwide hit was originally a John Lennon ballad which Martin dismissed as "dreary". He suggested increasing the tempo and predicted it would be a huge chart success. He was right. 

The Beatles - Tomorrow Never Knows (1966)

The first session for what was to become the Revolver album on Wednesday 6th April would arguably change the course of popular music history. Less than three years after they recorded 'She Loves You', and LSD-influenced Lennon presented Martin with his vision of "4,000 monks chanting", prompting Martin and 20-year-old engineer Geoff Emerick to create a masterpiece of overdubs, compressed drums, tape loops and seagull noises. Just listen to The Chemical Brothers' 'Setting Sun' to realise the influence it had 

The Beatles - Strawberry Fields Forever (1967)

One of the defining works of psychedelic music, Strawberry Fields Forever is probably the most complicated of all the Beatles' recordings. How many other songs manage to incorporate backwards guitars, tape loops, mellotron and the editing together of two separate versions of the song which are in different keys and tempos?  

The Beatles - Within You Without You (1967)

The most Indian-sounding of all The Beatles recordings, George Harrison's composition saw Martin arrange the song's orchestration based on little more than Harrison's spoken instructions. Using eight violins and three cellos played by members of the London Symphony Orchestra, Martin successfully imitated the slides and bends of the Indian instrumentation. He was paid £33 for composing the score. 

The Beatles - A Day In The Life (1967)

The incredible climax of the Sgt Pepper album saw 40 musicians fill the 24 bar gap at the middle of the song with Martin handing out famous instructions to "start very quietly and end very loud; start very low in pitch and end up very high and make your own way up the scales, independent of your neighbour". Martin and Paul McCartney took turns to conduct the orchestra on what is considered by many to be one of the finest of all Beatles songs. 

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