George Martin

In My Life

(MCA)

By Sarah Zupko

PopMatters Editor & Publisher

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As a long-time Beatlemanic, I had high hopes for this one. In My Life is famed Beatles producer George Martin’s last musical work and he has chosen to go out with a whimper instead of a bang I’m afraid. The idea of the record was to pair Beatles songs with some of the performers most admired by Martin. Sounds good so far right? Yeah, until you discover the “performers” are, by and large, not musicians but actors. I don’t really have to tell you that Goldie Hawn impersonating a chanteuse on “A Hard Day’s Night” or Sean Connery literally reading “In My Life” is an embarrassing display, do I?

Some of the folks on this record fare better—Robin Williams is a hoot leering his way through “Come Together,” but Jim Carrey shouting “I Am The Walrus” is pretty close to a musical travesty. Like me, hard-core Beatles fans will want to hear Martin’s last musical statement. All I can say is, “please, Mr. Martin, try this again with real musicians.” There’s certainly no shortage of Beatles admirers among pop’s current elite. 

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