Astrakhan
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8/11/07 showCongratulations on another excellent broadcast.
Like you and Joe, I'm not an afficianado of Lee Hazlewood, but it was quite impressive how you pulled the show together into a last minute tribute to the man.
While listening, I found myself thinking about how Hazlewood was a something unique to that era--a writer/producer/arranger who also became a performer (and in this case, something of a star).
Another person of this kind I'm thinking of is David Axelrod. I've been listening to a compilation of his work for Capitol Records, and he seems to fall into this category as well. He was a producer and arranger, working with artists from Lou Rawls to David McCallum. He also released some records as an artist.
He and Lee Hazlewood both enjoyed something of renaissance since the 1990s, with reissues, compilations and new material being released, and critical re-assessments of their work as autuers.
George Martin may also fit in to this category. Or perhaps not.  His reputation rests mainly on the Beatles, and not the albums of orchestral Beatles music released under his name, which in my opinion, leaves him as rather a fuddy-duddy. 
Enough about that. A fine show, and I'm looking forward to the next one.
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Joe_Stax
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I kind of agree on the matter of George Martin. He didn't stand out as a "solo artist" (although his incidental music for Yellow Submarine is pretty good), and other than a Jeff Beck album, I can't tell you who he produced other than the Beatles.
On the other hand HE PRODUCED THE BEATLES. No one else can say they did that. That's all you really need, besides love. I've heard some of his pre Fabs work with the Goons and Peter Sellers, and they're fun and weird comedy/novelty records, but it's down to the Beatles in the end. He helped them develop their sound in ways they couldn't have done on their own, or with another producer, and he built a reputation that's still solid 40 some years on.
George Martin exists on his own level.
Although, if you're looking for an auteur, look no further than the mighty Murry Wilson. As a producer/manager, he led the Beach Boys to success. He produced the Sunrays, and had a (brief) solo career with his classic album, The Many Moods of Murry Wilson.
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JimENight
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Joe has encapsulated the essence of George Martin quite well.
Simply put: George Martin was the 5th Beatle.
End of story.
Murray Wilson, on the other hand, also exists on a level of his own - it's called Hell! 
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Joe_Stax
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Lest we forget...Alan Lorber is often overlooked nowadays, but he was an active producer/arranger, and basically invented the hype of the Bosstown Sound.
He also had at least one album out with his name on it, too. It was credited as The Alan Lorber Orchestra, and titled the Lotus Palace. Kind of a songs for swingin' sitars collection, a lot of contemporary pop hits, like Up Up And Away, Lucy in the Sky, and the Look of Love interspersed with some original "groovy" sitar driven orch-psych. Did I mention the sitars? They're on everything.
Still, it's pretty good. No 101 Strings, but it holds up.
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