George Martin’s Most Regrettable Would-Be Swan Song

Poor George Martin – Sir George for our friends in the UK, right? The guy produces some of the finest albums in rock history, gets pushed aside for a bit, gets to come back and put a perfect finishing touch on his work with The Beatles on the songwriting-spotty Abbey Road, and then spends the rest of his producing career with the likes of America, Jeff Beck, the occasional McCartney production, and a possibly shark-jumping Cheap Trick. He did, however, do some nice work with The Muppets.

Martin’s reputation with The Beatles is sterling. He was the perfect producer for the band, managing to stay out of their way creatively while being attentive to their every sonic need. The two albums with Beck, Blow by Blow and Wired are among the greatest of fusion’s scant body of listenable works. I can’t – and won’t – speak for most of those other productions, although his work with Stackridge is funny in an although-intentionally-not-intentionally-not-intentionally funny way.

In 1998, an old, hearing-impaired Martin released what was to have been his swan song, In My Life, a “re-imagining,” if you will, of Beatles favorites by friends in both music and comedic acting. I guess the input of the comedic actors was a nod to his early Goon Show work. Nice idea, but as a recent posting of Jim Carrey singing “I Am the Walrus” demonstrated, Oh, my lord!

Robin Williams and Bobby McFerrin combine forces on a version of “Come Together” that shows off both contributors’ ability to mimic the sounds of a full band with nothing but their elastic vocal chords!

Robin Williams & Bobby McFerrin, “Come Together”

Goldie Hawn does some kind of Fabulous Baker Boys version of “A Hard Day’s Night.” (Oh, Goldie!)

Goldie Hawn, “A Hard Day’s Night”

Scottish funny man Billy Connolly murders “Being For the Benefit of Mr. Kite,” a song that was born on life support, if you ask me.

Billy Connolly, “Being For the Benefit of Mr. Kite”

Sir George’s actual musical contributors don’t do half bad, including creepy Jeff Beck on “A Day in the Life,” creepy Phil Collins on “Golden Slumbers/Carry That Weight/The End,” and the extremely creepy Celine Dion on “Here, There & Everywhere.”

Celine Dion, “Here, There & Everywhere”

I doubt you’ll thank me for allowing you to download this version of a tender Beatles classic, but at least the pro musicians separate themselves from the pack of comedic actors and future American Idol contestants.

The most astounding performance of all, though, is turned in by an actor not known for his comedic skills, although he has been the butt of many a comedic actor’s impressions.

The Most Astounding Performance on George Martin’s In My Life!

Thankfully, George Martin’s In My Life would not be the last we would hear from the man. With his son he re-imagined the soundtrack for that Las Vegas/Cirque du Soleil extravaganza, Love. I found the soundtrack for that thing annoying, but it had brief moments of interest. To his credit, Martin declined the chance to sign on as producer of the soundtrack of this planned exercise in poor taste. Maybe the coolest thing the retired producer has done in his twilight years is sign on as Chairman of the Advisory Board to Garageband. This brief promo clip for GArageband is a bit more fitting the legend!