“I do not consider myself a supertechnician,” once said Martin Birch, the producer of the rock giant who sadly died at the age of 71. “What I do is pretty simple to me, but the fact that I use to the bands I work with help me to know immediately what they want, or even what they can achieve, even if they do not realize it clearly themselves. Or maybe bands trust me for long periods just because they like me find a particularly fun character! ”
Over the course of several decades, the producer of Woking has worked with many of the hardest bands ever. From Deep Purple to Iron Maiden, Fleetwood Mac to Rainbow, here are some of the greatest hits of man ever.
Fleetwood Mac, ‘Oh Well’ (1969)
The best – and last – Fleetwood Mac record before mercurial guitarist Peter Green was lost to schizophrenia, psychiatric hospitals and resulting electroconvulsive therapy, ‘Then Play On’ also demonstrates the most methodical approach to recording that the band had practiced up to that point . While they previously relied on jamming to create blues rock magic, this time editing and exaggeration played a much more important role. ‘Oh Well’ is perhaps the best example of this new process; a stark explosion of thunderous bluesy proto-heavy metal.
Wishbone Ash, ‘Time Was’ (1972)
It’s unqualified how influential Birch’s work on Torquay band Wishbone Ash’s third, medieval album ‘Argus’ was in helping Iron Maiden shape its sound. Although The Jardbirds’ Jimmy Page and Jeff Beck may assume problems with such a statement, Andy Powell and Ted Turner’s harmony twin lead guitars are actually year zero for the British heavy metal that would rule in the 1980s and this, the recorder of nine minutes, provides an excellent showcase for that claim.
In the words of Iron Maiden founder Steve Harris: “I think if anyone wants to understand Maiden’s early thing – especially the harmony guitars – all she has to do is listen to Wishbone Ash’s ‘Argus’ album. “
Blue Öyster Cult, ‘Burnin’ For You ‘(1981)
It’s fair to say that New York rockers Blue Öyster Cult were on their ass prior to the release of ‘Fire Of Unknown Origin’, their eighth studio album. Enter Martin Birch and a resurgence of the cunning effort of writing hard-hitting pop rock, of which the Top 40 instructive single ‘Burnin’ For You ‘is an excellent example. Want to hear some bananas? Check out Lisa Marie Presley’s smokey Theater version on her 2005 album ‘Now What’.
Iron Maiden, ‘Murders In The Rue Morgue’ (1981)
The first album in a relationship with Iron Maiden that lasted until Birch’s retirement in 1992, ‘Killers’ – the last album with firebrand singer Paul Di’Anno, who would soon be discharged for a cure for alcohol and cocaine – courses with a punk influence that would diminish on future Maiden releases. Frontman Bruce Dickinson’s operatic wars would increasingly dominate and the songs would slow down, the guitar solos longer. This theatrical, macabre punk explosion is that of a band that is long gone, but serves as a document of their cheerful, impending brilliance.
Whitesnake, ‘Here I Go Again’ (1982)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KgSYGbkOmu4
Birch loves working with bands across multiple albums. He told Good magazine in 1983: ‘I think for sure you can only make the most out of a band if you know it really well, very deeply. Occasional producers who make an album with one band, then move on to another, are busy doing something pretty shallow. The results are always brilliant, excellent at the time, but you later realize that the true colors of the band do not come out and the album quickly loses its prestige. ‘
In addition to Maiden, Whitesnake was one of the long-term projects. Solid gold power ballad ‘Here I Go Again’ – first heard on the excellent Birch-produced ‘Saints & Sinners’ album from 1982; later poorly re-recorded for the band’s self-titled 1987 LP – is a testament to the depravity of said methods.
Deep Purple, ‘Mistreated’ (1974)
The first of Deep Purple’s record produced by Birch, 1974’s ‘Burn’, is an album that would introduce the world to the throaty rap of a then unknown David Coverdale. The title track would remain the band’s opener for the next two years. ‘It’s progressive blues,’ the singer said. “I was not raised in the hut by the railroads, but I still have emotional issues and that’s the only kind of blues I can interpret.”
Rainbow, ‘Stargazer’ (2016)
Notably, Hertford rockers Rainbow’s second album ‘Rising’ was recorded in one or two recordings (it was the ’70s; no one remembers the details exactly) with just some follow-up, which explains why there is no alternative or demo- versions are, just as original as raw mix. It is testament to Birch’s ability to capture the essence of its clients in a simple and effective way. The record also includes many of the greatest heavy metal singers ever; consider album launcher, the eight-minute-26-second ‘Stargazer’, in which the late, great Ronnie James Dio competes with none other than the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra.
Black Sabbath, ‘Children of the Sea’ (1980)
Speaking of Ronnie James Dio … When Black Sabbath left Ozzy Osbourne in 1979, the New Hampshire-born singer came to provide vocals for the second arrival of the Birmingham band, 1980’s ninth album, ‘Heaven and Hell ‘. The Sabbath was in chaos: bassist Geezer Butler came into a sloppy divorce and drummer Bill Ward soon followed Ozzy.
‘Sabbath was a band that floundered,’ said Dio, ‘and, with my recording on it, we pulled ourselves up through our bootstraps, carried a lot over each other and knew we could do it again – especially under the banner of a band which had been so successful. ”
He was not wrong. The record sold more than a million units in the U.S. alone. This was a less severe Sabbath, yet music driven by perimeter and pressure; the remarkable ‘Children Of The Sea’, recorded by Birch at Deeside Leisure Center on May 20, 1980, is a testament to the quality of the record.
