Nigel Godrich on George Martin, and the book he read before Kid A

Nigel Godrich read George Martin's book All You Need Is Ears just before Radiohead recorded Kid A, and says it changed the way he thought about recording, towards simplicity and directness. He told the Guardian so for its tribute to the Beatles' producer, who died on Tuesday.

We had Joe Meek and other producers, but George Martin produced the job of producer - he made that job.

Nigel Godrich¹

Godrich's example is a story Paul McCartney told him. John Lennon turned up worn out after a night out with “Tomorrow Never Knows”, at that point one note on the guitar and some singing, and Martin set about seeing what could be made of it.

Godrich met Martin, found him kind and humble, and knows his son well. To hear what Martin gave the Beatles, he suggests putting Phil Spector's Let It Be beside Let It Be... Naked: without him, the records would have sounded messy and unfocused¹.