It would be hard to find a British producer with a more impressive resume than Martin Birch. The man worked with numerous prominent names, such as Black Sabbath (Dio era), Fleetwood Mac (Peter Green era), Deep Purple, Whitesnake and Iron Maiden. Among others. He took Iron Maiden to the top of the world from ’81 to ’94. Even appearing in the music video for ‘Holy Smoke’ on the ‘No Prayer for the Dying’ album. He was integral in giving rise to the legendary Whitesnake. And was a key figure in digging Black Sabbath out of the trenches in ’80 and ’81. Needless to say, the man was impactful.
Born in December of 1948, Birch started his career relatively early at 20 as an engineer for Fleetwood Mac’s earliest works. Years before Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham showed up. By the time they did show up, Birch had moved on to producing a David Coverdale fronted Deep Purple. When Coverdale was booted unfairly, he took Birch with him. They ended up creating some of the most classic hard rock albums that we know today. Including the amazingly produced ‘Saints and Sinners’ and the legendary ‘Slide it In.’ Around this time he also laid down the foundation for Iron Maiden’s sound. Capturing their ferocity and energy on such albums as ‘Number of the Beast,’ ‘Powerslave,’ ‘Somewhere In Time’ and ‘No Prayer for the Dying.’ Among other classics. ‘He just had a knack at getting the best out of you,’ Steve Harris remarked on Facebook. ‘He was also a really nice man, great fun with a terrific sense of humor, and that made him easy to work with.’ Bruce Dickinson notes ‘He was not a puppeteer. He did not manipulate the sound of the band, he just reflected it in the best possible way.’
I think that’s the best way to describe the work he did. One of the reasons why Iron Maiden is so well respected across the hard rock, metal and alternative world is that they’re so authentic. And that comes thru with Martin Birch’s production of their 80’s and early 90’s heyday. Those albums aren’t over produced. They’re just mixed really, really well to capture the band at its best. Same with the early Whitesnake works. I was always blown away at how crisp and full the drums sound on ’82’s ‘Saints and Sinners’ album. The drums really do sound about 8 to ten years ahead of their time. Not to mention the quality of the song writing. It contains the original version of the now legendary ‘Here I Go Again.’ To say Martin Birch has worked on some legendary albums is an understatement.
So celebrate the genius. Crank out some Martin Birch produced, kick ass rock ‘n roll. They certainly don’t make ’em like this anymore.
