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John, Paul, George, George, and Ringo. (And a bunch of other folks.) Of the many "fifth Beatles," none have more claim on the title than Sir George Martin, who produced nearly all their recordings. Martin is back with another autobiography, "Playback," and it's going to be big. Actually, it was born big. Martin produced other artists, of course, spanning classical to pop to skiffle to comedy in his 50-odd year career. But he is remembered most for his work with the Beatles. His own imagination, technical skill, and experimental arrangements melded with the Beatles' creativity and daring during those years in the 1960's. Not only did Martin help the Four stretch their music into new places, but he touched off a revolution in studio recording. Martin retired in 1998 at age 72, with "In My Life," a Beatles tribute album. But as with many retirements, his didn't last. According to a recent article in the New York Times, he has traveled the world conducting orchestral concerts of Beatles music, annotated a series of classical recordings for new listeners, traveled the lecture circuit, and escorted the Queen of England herself to a concert at her jubilee. Martin's latest project is a whopper -- a high-end autobiography issued by Genesis Publications, known for its plush limited editions. "Playback" is an autographed limited-edition package containing a 330-page memoir (with lots of photos and illustrations) and a CD containing several of his own compositions. The $675 deluxe edition, fully bound in leather, is already sold out; copies of the $375 standard edition are still available. In the autobiography, Martin relates plenty of Beatles stories (subject matter also addressed in his three previous books), discusses his early life, and reflects on the evolution of his technique -- and the art of recording. One story involves an early (failed) experiment in using different tape speeds during a recording session, years before the piano solo in the Beatles' "In my Life." The book also tells us what Martin has worked on since the Beatles dissolved in 1970, including his final recording to top the British charts, Elton John's 1997 remake of "Candle in the Wind." Martin's career was at the center of a seismic shift in popular music [see list at bottom]. As drummer Ringo Starr says in the book's forward, "Without George Martin, the world would have been a different place." Examine the new autobiography, Playback, at the publisher's site (Genesis), which includes pictures, extensive blurbs, audio of some of Martin's compositions, and some video. Visit Genesis' American distributor, Govinda Gallery in Washington, DC Discover the "George Martin Presents" series of classical recordings Can we blame a man for name-dropping if, as his publisher's site reminds us, his professional associations have included:
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