The “God” of modern music, according to Al Kooper
When you begin to analyse the legacy and history of some musicians, it can often be difficult to work out who had a significant impact and who was merely adding to the chorus of voices singing the same thing. In the case of Al Kooper, however, when you consider the amount of time he spent making music, what that music consisted of, and how it impacted the grander scale of things, it is difficult to deny his unrelenting impact.
When pondering the evolution of music, you need to think about more than just how songs were put together and how they sounded. A lot more goes into the industry than that. There is also the way that music is discovered, recorded, and published.
Al Kooper, as someone who started making music in 1958, was subject to a number of these changes and was in a unique position to see how they were accepted initially and how they went on to impact the genre. As such, when he praises someone and what they have done for music, he isn’t just saying they’re good as individuals but have done good for other artists and creators later down the line.
With this in mind, who is the “God” of modern music, according to Kooper? When he was listing some of his favourite albums, he dished out praise to a variety of different artists. He praised the escapist nature of The Beach Boys on Pet Sounds, saying, “Put this on and go away for a while.” He said that Frank Sinatra was an example of “smooth perfection”. But, there is only one person he assigned the benevolent label to, and they aren’t even a musician.
When talking about The Beatles album Sgt Pepper Longer Hearts Club Band, Kooper addressed the man behind the recording process instead of the Fab Four themselves. Rather blatantly, he proclaimed, “Sir George Martin is God. Could not have been made without him.”
This is a statement that the Beatles themselves wouldn’t turn away from. It’s well known that without someone like Martin at the helm, many of the Beatles’ records wouldn’t have come out as polished and cutting-edge as they did. Commonly referred to as the fifth Beatle, George Martin’s ingenuity and know-how were just as pivotal to the band’s success as the songwriting partnership of John Lennon and Paul McCartney was.
Not only was he good at his job, but he was adaptable and willing to engage with whatever ideas the band was putting forward. This particularly came in handy around the time of Sgt. Pepper, given that the sound that the band was going for was so far removed from what was popular at the time. He was able to make it work by working closely with each musician and using his intricate knowledge of the complexity of sound to his advantage.
“The Beatles wanted something unusual, although at the core of it is an orchestration that I liked to do,” he said. “I liked to have clean orchestration. I’ve got various theories about orchestration. I don’t think the human brain can take too many notes at once.”
His innovative recording techniques and producing intellect meant that the Beatles could reach the heights they did and have the impact they were destined for. In cementing those who were sometimes considered bigger than Jesus, maybe Al Kooper is onto something when he says George Martin is God.
