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General => General Music Discussion => Topic started by: MirrorMask on August 10, 2020, 02:42:24 AM
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As if 2020 wasn't sucky enough, we lost today Martin Birch.
It was already obvious that the music that he helped to make immortal would have long outlasted him, but it's sad to know that a fundamental piece of heavy metal history is no longer with us.
Spin one of the albums he produced in his honor - the choice is definitively not scarce!!!
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Yeah I just read that in the Maiden thread.
RIP Mr Birch :'( Thanks for all the great albums you've been involved in through the years. Those run of Maiden albums from 1981-1992 are just incredible, and he had a big part of it.
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I usually do not pay too much attention to the producers, to be honest. But when a guy produces Machine Head, Rising, Heaven and hell and Powerslave, he must be a genius. Rest in peace, Martin.
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Legendary producer. RIP.
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I usually do not pay too much attention to the producers, to be honest. But when a guy produces Machine Head, Rising, Heaven and hell and Powerslave, he must be a genius. Rest in peace, Martin.
My list would include Fire of Unknown Origin as well.
Damn, got so good music to listen to in his honor.
Edit: I see he also produced MSG Assault Attack. I'll need to listen to that as well.
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Yeah I just read that in the Maiden thread.
RIP Mr Birch :'( Thanks for all the great albums you've been involved in through the years. Those run of Maiden albums from 1981-1992 are just incredible, and he had a big part of it.
Especially early on; we literally would not have what I consider the best scream in heavy metal (the "yeahhhhhhhhhH!" at the beginning of The Number Of The Beast) if it wasn't for Martin Birch telling Bruce over and over, "you can do better!". (This is all in one of the docs on "The Early Years".)
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And confirmed by Bruce in his autobiography as well! he made him go over and over and over and over on those initial lines of the song, telling him that Dio had the same problem for the beginning of Heaven and Hell.
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Yeah I just read that in the Maiden thread.
RIP Mr Birch :'( Thanks for all the great albums you've been involved in through the years. Those run of Maiden albums from 1981-1992 are just incredible, and he had a big part of it.
Especially early on; we literally would not have what I consider the best scream in heavy metal (the "yeahhhhhhhhhH!" at the beginning of The Number Of The Beast) if it wasn't for Martin Birch telling Bruce over and over, "you can do better!". (This is all in one of the docs on "The Early Years".)
Reminds me of that hilariously corny scene in the Def Leppard movie where dude keeps telling Joe "you can go higher! just one more time!" and then he finally hits the high notes in the studio after getting fed up. lol
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I suspect he produced one or two albums on all of our top ten lists. He was also the sort of guy to retire at 45 and never look back. :tup
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Yeah I just read that in the Maiden thread.
RIP Mr Birch :'( Thanks for all the great albums you've been involved in through the years. Those run of Maiden albums from 1981-1992 are just incredible, and he had a big part of it.
Especially early on; we literally would not have what I consider the best scream in heavy metal (the "yeahhhhhhhhhH!" at the beginning of The Number Of The Beast) if it wasn't for Martin Birch telling Bruce over and over, "you can do better!". (This is all in one of the docs on "The Early Years".)
Reminds me of that hilariously corny scene in the Def Leppard movie where dude keeps telling Joe "you can go higher! just one more time!" and then he finally hits the high notes in the studio after getting fed up. lol
Was Martin Birch the inspiration for the SNL Bruce Dickinson sketch? He produced Blue Oyster Cult, right?
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Yeah I just read that in the Maiden thread.
RIP Mr Birch :'( Thanks for all the great albums you've been involved in through the years. Those run of Maiden albums from 1981-1992 are just incredible, and he had a big part of it.
as were all the Purple albums he helmed.
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Yeah I just read that in the Maiden thread.
RIP Mr Birch :'( Thanks for all the great albums you've been involved in through the years. Those run of Maiden albums from 1981-1992 are just incredible, and he had a big part of it.
Especially early on; we literally would not have what I consider the best scream in heavy metal (the "yeahhhhhhhhhH!" at the beginning of The Number Of The Beast) if it wasn't for Martin Birch telling Bruce over and over, "you can do better!". (This is all in one of the docs on "The Early Years".)
Reminds me of that hilariously corny scene in the Def Leppard movie where dude keeps telling Joe "you can go higher! just one more time!" and then he finally hits the high notes in the studio after getting fed up. lol
Was Martin Birch the inspiration for the SNL Bruce Dickinson sketch? He produced Blue Oyster Cult, right?
Hmm interesting I always thought that that was based on an actual producer named Bruce Dickinson and not IMs Bruce for some reason. I found this quote though from Will Ferrell: "Ferrell himself based the character on Iron Maiden's frontman of the same name". So apparently not a reference to Birch but Bruce himself.
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Yeah I just read that in the Maiden thread.
RIP Mr Birch :'( Thanks for all the great albums you've been involved in through the years. Those run of Maiden albums from 1981-1992 are just incredible, and he had a big part of it.
Especially early on; we literally would not have what I consider the best scream in heavy metal (the "yeahhhhhhhhhH!" at the beginning of The Number Of The Beast) if it wasn't for Martin Birch telling Bruce over and over, "you can do better!". (This is all in one of the docs on "The Early Years".)
Reminds me of that hilariously corny scene in the Def Leppard movie where dude keeps telling Joe "you can go higher! just one more time!" and then he finally hits the high notes in the studio after getting fed up. lol
Was Martin Birch the inspiration for the SNL Bruce Dickinson sketch? He produced Blue Oyster Cult, right?
Hmm interesting I always thought that that was based on an actual producer named Bruce Dickinson and not IMs Bruce for some reason. I found this quote though from Will Ferrell: "Ferrell himself based the character on Iron Maiden's frontman of the same name". So apparently not a reference to Birch but Bruce himself.
Looks like Birch didnt produce Dont Fear The Reaper, so its probably not a direct reference. But it is ironic since Dickinson had a producer like that in his ear as well.
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Copied from Wiki:
Fleetwood Mac
1969 Then Play On (engineer)
1970 Kiln House (engineer)
1972 Bare Trees (engineer)
1973 Penguin (producer, engineer, mixing)
1973 Mystery to Me (producer, engineer, guitar)
Deep Purple
1969 Concerto for Group and Orchestra (engineer)
1970 Deep Purple in Rock (engineer)
1971 Fireball (engineer)
1972 Machine Head (engineer)
1972 Made in Japan (engineer)
1973 Who Do We Think We Are (engineer)
1974 Burn (engineer, mixing)
1974 Stormbringer (co-producer, engineer, mixing)
1975 Come Taste the Band (co-producer, engineer, mixing)
1976 Made in Europe (co-producer, engineer, mixing)- recorded live in April 1975
1977 Last Concert in Japan (co-producer, engineer) recorded live in December 1975
Jon Lord
1971 Jon Lord Gemini Suite (engineer)
1976 Jon Lord Sarabande (producer, engineer, remixing)
1974 Tony Ashton & Jon Lord First of the Big Bands (engineer)
1977 Paice Ashton Lord Malice in Wonderland (engineer)
Wishbone Ash
1970 Wishbone Ash (engineer)
1971 Pilgrimage (engineer)
1972 Argus (engineer)
Rainbow
1975 Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow (co-producer, engineer, mixing)
1976 Rising (producer, engineer, mixing)
1977 On Stage (producer, engineer, mixing) recorded live in 1976
1978 Long Live Rock 'n' Roll (producer, engineer, mixing)
1986 Finyl Vinyl (producer) collection
Whitesnake
1978 Snakebite (producer)
1978 Trouble (producer)
1978 Live at Hammersmith (producer)
1979 Lovehunter (producer, engineer)
1980 Ready an' Willing (producer, engineer, mixing)
1980 Live... in the Heart of the City (producer, engineer) recorded live in 1978 and 1980
1981 Come an' Get It (producer, engineer, mixing)
1982 Saints & Sinners (producer, engineer, mixing)
1984 Slide It In (producer)
Black Sabbath
1980 Heaven and Hell (producer, engineer)
1981 Mob Rules (producer, engineer)
Blue Φyster Cult
1980 Cultφsaurus Erectus (producer, engineer)
1981 Fire of Unknown Origin (producer, engineer)
Iron Maiden
1981 Killers (producer, engineer)
1982 The Number of the Beast (producer, engineer)
1983 Piece of Mind (producer, engineer, mixing)
1984 Powerslave (producer, engineer, mixing)
1985 Live After Death (producer, engineer, mixing)[12]
1986 Somewhere in Time (producer, engineer, mixing)
1988 Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (producer, engineer, mixing)
1989 Maiden England (producer, engineer, mixing)
1990 No Prayer for the Dying (producer, engineer, mixing)
1992 Fear of the Dark (producer, engineer, mixing)
Other artists
1969 Jeff Beck Beck-Ola (engineer)
1970 Peter Green The End of the Game (engineer)
1970 The Groundhogs Thank Christ for the Bomb (engineer)
1971 Stackridge Stackridge (engineer)
1971 Canned Heat and John Lee Hooker Hooker 'N' Heat (Mixdown Engineer) recorded in 1970
1971 Skid Row 34 Hours (engineer)
1971 Toad Toad (engineer)
1971 Faces Long Player (engineer)
1971 Rock Workshop The Very Last Time (engineer)
1971 Jodo Guts LP (engineer)
1972 Silverhead Silverhead (producer)
1972 Toad Tomorrow Blue (engineer)
1972 Flash Flash (engineer)
1972 Flash In the Can (engineer)
1973 Gary Moore Grinding Stone (producer, engineer)
1978 The Electric Chairs The Electric Chairs (producer)
1978 Wayne County & the Electric Chairs Storm The Gates Of Heaven (producer)
1978 Wayne County & the Electric Chairs Blatantly Offensive E.P. (producer)
1978 Roger Glover Elements (producer)
1979 Cozy Powell Over the Top (producer)
1982 Michael Schenker Group Assault Attack (producer, engineer)
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I usually do not pay too much attention to the producers, to be honest. But when a guy produces Machine Head, Rising, Heaven and hell and Powerslave, he must be a genius. Rest in peace, Martin.
Pretty much. But there are a few producers who stand out: George Martin, Terry Brown, Mutt Lange. And Martin Birch is absolutely on that list. And those four albums mentioned just scratch the surface.
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Noob question but why did he just decide to stop working after so many great albums (with so many yet to come)?
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snip
Sarabande, Rising, Heaven and Hell (I think those three were in my Top 10? Two of them definitely were), Argus, Assault Attack, The Number of the Beast, Concerto for Group and Orchestra... holy shit. RIP.
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Noob question but why did he just decide to stop working after so many great albums (with so many yet to come)?
I kind of assumed it was simply because he could. If he was earning points off of all of those albums, and he probably was, then he had a very nice revenue stream in perpetuity. Maiden, Purple, and Whitesnake would have afforded him a nice life, I imagine.
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According to Wikipedia he retired after producing 'Fear Of The Dark' in 1992.
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Yeah I just read that in the Maiden thread.
RIP Mr Birch :'( Thanks for all the great albums you've been involved in through the years. Those run of Maiden albums from 1981-1992 are just incredible, and he had a big part of it.
Especially early on; we literally would not have what I consider the best scream in heavy metal (the "yeahhhhhhhhhH!" at the beginning of The Number Of The Beast) if it wasn't for Martin Birch telling Bruce over and over, "you can do better!". (This is all in one of the docs on "The Early Years".)
Reminds me of that hilariously corny scene in the Def Leppard movie where dude keeps telling Joe "you can go higher! just one more time!" and then he finally hits the high notes in the studio after getting fed up. lol
Was Martin Birch the inspiration for the SNL Bruce Dickinson sketch? He produced Blue Oyster Cult, right?
Hmm interesting I always thought that that was based on an actual producer named Bruce Dickinson and not IMs Bruce for some reason. I found this quote though from Will Ferrell: "Ferrell himself based the character on Iron Maiden's frontman of the same name". So apparently not a reference to Birch but Bruce himself.
You're 100% right, in that Ferrell did say that, but I think that may be Ferrell taking the piss. There IS a real Bruce Dickinson, who was an Executive Producer/A&R guy for Columbia, MCA, and later Sony/Legacy. Kind of a "John Kalodner/John Kalodner" guy. He started the "Biograph" box set for Dylan, and managed some reissues for Billy Joel and Miles Davis. Also according to Ferrell, he was listed on the CD that Ferrell used as a source for the song (likely "Workshop of the Telescopes", given the time frame). The emphasized "THE" may have been a reference to Bruce from Maiden, but the character in the skit bears no resemblance in any way (other than the name) to the real guy.
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According to Wikipedia he retired after producing 'Fear Of The Dark' in 1992.
Correct. But even then, you could say that he was in semi-retirement by 1984, because at that point, he started working exclusively with Maiden. I had often wondered why he retired at such a young age, and was hoping that someone in this thread would have produced the answer, but doesn't look like it. I did a little digging, and the best thing I could find was from a book about Maiden. From what I can tell, it looks like the book is talking about the band searching for a producer for BNW. I can't easily copy and paste the text here, but here's the link so you all can see for yourself what Bruce and Jannick said:
https://books.google.com.br/books?id=LSGtDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT119&lpg=PT119&dq=Why+did+producer+%22Martin+Birch%22+retire+at+such+a+young+age?&source=bl&ots=_uUUdYFHq_&sig=ACfU3U0GaWO-uQJpyoyZ4V-IdBHypsFUqw&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjXlriqkJHrAhXtGLkGHQaXBcQ4ChDoATARegQIChAB#v=onepage&q=Why%20did%20producer%20%22Martin%20Birch%22%20retire%20at%20such%20a%20young%20age%3F&f=false
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My favorite albums he produced:
1. Rising
2. The Number Of The Beast
3. Heaven And Hell
4. Slide It In (UK Version)
5. Killers
If I include albums he engineered as well, then Fireball and Burn go on there somewhere. Maybe just Burn, in for Killers.
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Yeah I just read that in the Maiden thread.
RIP Mr Birch :'( Thanks for all the great albums you've been involved in through the years. Those run of Maiden albums from 1981-1992 are just incredible, and he had a big part of it.
Especially early on; we literally would not have what I consider the best scream in heavy metal (the "yeahhhhhhhhhH!" at the beginning of The Number Of The Beast) if it wasn't for Martin Birch telling Bruce over and over, "you can do better!". (This is all in one of the docs on "The Early Years".)
Reminds me of that hilariously corny scene in the Def Leppard movie where dude keeps telling Joe "you can go higher! just one more time!" and then he finally hits the high notes in the studio after getting fed up. lol
Was Martin Birch the inspiration for the SNL Bruce Dickinson sketch? He produced Blue Oyster Cult, right?
Hmm interesting I always thought that that was based on an actual producer named Bruce Dickinson and not IMs Bruce for some reason. I found this quote though from Will Ferrell: "Ferrell himself based the character on Iron Maiden's frontman of the same name". So apparently not a reference to Birch but Bruce himself.
You're 100% right, in that Ferrell did say that, but I think that may be Ferrell taking the piss. There IS a real Bruce Dickinson, who was an Executive Producer/A&R guy for Columbia, MCA, and later Sony/Legacy. Kind of a "John Kalodner/John Kalodner" guy. He started the "Biograph" box set for Dylan, and managed some reissues for Billy Joel and Miles Davis. Also according to Ferrell, he was listed on the CD that Ferrell used as a source for the song (likely "Workshop of the Telescopes", given the time frame). The emphasized "THE" may have been a reference to Bruce from Maiden, but the character in the skit bears no resemblance in any way (other than the name) to the real guy.
Wow yea that's even more interesting. :) Maybe that's what i've heard before but didn't remember it.