Irving
Martin? Perhaps not a name to set most 60s music fans blood racing, but
it should! He is responsible for some of the best UK pop productions in
a variety of styles; Pop-beat, Harmony Vocal and dramatic Spectorian Productions,
to name just a few.
One reason for his name not being better known is....a lack of hits! The
one Top Twenty charter, (Number 12, August 1973, 13 weeks in the top Forty)
Guy Darrell's, "I've Been Hurt" was a hit on Santa Ponsa (PNS 4), but
it had originally been released in 1966. Who knows what might have hapened
if this had hit the charts then?
My
first encounter with the credit "Production: Irving Martin", came on a
CBS demo, white label with the big orange "A". (I was later to find most
of my 'Irvings' looked like this!) The record, still a firm favourite,
was Dave Walton's "Every Window In The City".
Irving Martin's name meant nothing to me, but the songwriter credits "Kenny
Young & Arthur Resnick" did, as well as remembering that Jack
Nitzsche had produced this title with Jerry Cole. It seemed worth paying
the 50p at Notting Hill Gate's "Record & Tape Exchange". Few investments
have paid, such a rich reward!
The production is glorious, sounding as if it was recorded in an empty
Royal Albert Hall. The music is HUGE, bass guitar, piano and tamborine
accompany Dave's voice on the intro, then a short cavernous roll on the
drums and the tempo increases, never losing control as the music continues
to build. All the while, Dave's voice stays with the terrific lyrics,
clearly heard. How the record manages to reach such a dramatic climax,
I don't know, but it does! Surely one of the best and biggest Spector
styled ballads this side of The Righteous Brothers. How about Nitzsche's
original? Great, but Irving gets the gold star!
This was the start of actively looking for the Irving Martin production credit and, in most cases, I was not to be disappointed.
Thanks to Irving Martin for opening his archives and Phil Chapman, Toshinari Mitsutomo, Al Williamson, John Kioussis and Geoff Ashford for additions to the discography, mp3s and label scans.
Martin Roberts
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| Sweet Floral Albion said of this record "A super super Brit rarity! Amazing that a beauty of this quality remains almost totally unheard and unknown." | Geoff Ashford, the writer as well as performer on this goodie contacted me with the label scan and mp3. Thanks Geoff, checkout his web site. | A cover of the Bob Crewe & Gary Knight song, first recorded in 66' by The Ronettes but not released untill '76. From '69 an enjoyable brassy version. | Lord Sutch didn't only make great records with Joe Meek. This Sutch written, Irving Martin production is one of his best. Play it with the lights out! |
If I wondered if my admiration for Irving Martin's work was just a quirk in my make-up, I needn't have worried. I'm very pleased to be able to offer some first rate reviews written from the US side of the Atlantic by Jeffrey Glenn.
Irving Martin - Top Pop Picks by Jeffrey Glenn
Jeff has written on many aspects of popular music with the emphasis being on vocal harmony recordings from the 60s/70s. His large and extensive record collection formed the basis for an extensive compilation of CD-R's, "Lost Jukebox" put out in the 90's. Writer, arranger and producer credits were included and they introduced many folk to obscure artists and recordings.
He doesn't just listen and collect but with his band The Retros plays live and releases records in a similar vein.