I Am

[Gray]

Hi Richard

Hope you had a good Christmas, best wishes to you and yours for the New Year!

May I ask a couple of questions, please?
Apologies if this has been asked before, but I have been listening to 'For The Present' quite a bit lately, and I adore 'I Am'.

Do you know anything about this song?
I am presuming it wasn't written for Matt, if so, who was it originally recorded by?
Also, the arrangement is wonderful, the strings are so emotive.
Would this of been directly attributable to George Martin?

Thank you!

[Rmoore]

Hi, This is everything I know about the track

Recording details:-

Thursday 29th June 1972 (from 2.30 pm)
AIR Studios, 214 Oxford Street, Westminster, London, W1
Produced by George Martin
Arranged and Conducted by George Martin
Engineer – John Middleton
Session Format: 16 Track

I Am (6 Takes)

Written by Roger Cook & Roger Greenaway

According to the MCPS it has never been recorded by anyone else.

Cook & Greenaway also wrote the B side of it's single release 'I Am In Life' (also not recorded by anyone else) so both may have been written specifically for him but i have no proof either way. Iam In Life however was recorded a whole 9 months later

Friday 2nd March 1973
AIR Studios, 214 Oxford Street, Westminster, London, W1
Produced by George Martin
Arranged and Conducted Lew Warburton
Session Format: 16 Track

Richard

[karl]

That was one of the few singles I bought by Matt, the others being Born Free & We're Gonna Change The World.

[Gray]

Wow, Richard, thank you!
Now I love the song even more to think it may of been written for Matt.

I noticed the 'Air' logo on the front of the LP and wondered what that was.
I thought it might of referred to some expansive stereo recording, or something!

So the song was recorded in the summer, just after Leeds United had just won the Cup!
(Another reason to adore the song )

Also, what is the difference between the Producer and the Engineer?

Thanks for the quick and very detailed response.

[karl]

Without stealing Richard's thunder Gray, the producer mixes the sound and gets the right balance etc ( I know this as Dusty produced many of her records but only got credit for it on later recordings)

The engineer would be responsible (I would imagiine) for actually pressing the record or cd but it will be interesting to hear Richard's statement.

I also have a question for Richard. I know the artist receives royalties for every record sold but if a full price cd is in a sale do they still receive the full royalty?

[Don Cooper]

Thunder-thief 2
Marc (Eric Hall) Bolan's Producer,Tony Visconti:
"An engineer's job is to get the sound down on tape,and to tweak the gear in a studio to maximise the sound; a producer's job is to create the complex layers of a song,and to get the best performances out of the band/artist."

[Rmoore]

Yes Don is correct.

The producer doesn't do any of the sound mixing or set up - that's the engineers job - unless of course they are a producer/engineer.

In Matt's case George Martin as producer would have chosen the material to record and then booked arrangers/conductors and contracted in the orchestra etc. At the session he would then be in charge of making sure the quality of the performance was the best it could be, choosing takes etc. He would also be in charge of budgets etc.

Dusty may well have produced some of her earlier material but she would have caused union walk outs in those early days if she had dared to even think of touching the mixing desk without permission!

Richard

[Gray]

Thank you!

[karl]

So Richard what would Dusty or any producer actually do and also what about my question above on royatlies ?

[Rmoore]

A Producer, Karl, is the person ultimately in charge. They make all the decisions about repertoire, performances, arrangers, musicians and they also run the sessions - the engineer will do the setting up and the mixing but will be guided by the producer.

An artist received whatever amount is specified in their contract per song/disc etc regardless of what amount the recording is sold for - 1p per disc in some cases! In a sale it is the shop creates it's own discounts the record companies still receives the same amount.

Richard

[karl]

Thanks Richard, until now I always thought the producer was the one that twiddled all the knobs and pushed the buttons.

Thanks also for explaining about royalties.

[Gray]

Richard, may I go back to 'I Am', please?

Who decides on the 'representation' of the song?
What I mean by that is, who 'develops', or 'expresses' the song.
Hmm, not making myself clear.
Ok, if you listen to 'I Am' here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6N51C_CzK3Q
you will note a little riff of six notes the strings play at 1.16, moving down through the scale.
Yet, at 2.03, when this 'phrase' could repeat, the strings play a single note.

To whom does one attribute this gorgeous rendering or expression?

[Rmoore]

The song would be 'routined' by Matt and the arranger to get the right feel for the song and the correct key for Matt. The arranger would then go away and score the song including all those little twiddly bits.

This arrangement is pure George Martin, absolutely typical of his arranging style. He particularly likes cello lines - such as the little bits you mention - you'll hear cello motifs littered all round his Beatles arrangements. Many arrangers concentrate on violins and maybe violas in their string arrangements but George loves to use the whole section including double basses. He is well known as a record producer but he doesn't receive enough credit for his work as an arranger which is often superb.

So, to whom does one attribute this gorgeous rendering or expression? Wholly George, although how Matt interprets the vocals is completely down to Matt.

Richard

[Gray]

Thanks, Richard.
That is exactly the answer I suspected.

[karl]

Pardon the pun Gray & Richard but I simply have to do this with all the talk of "I Am"

Are you ready for this?



"I AM....I SAID"

I now have to dig out Matt & Neil's songs and listen to them again.