George Martin - In My Life
|
Our Price: $25.74 Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $2.79 (click here) Category: Music CD See more new music releases 
|
|---|
Buy this Music CD at online store in your country
Canadian Music Store
Canadian Music Store
Free Music Notes for In My Life
Free Music Review: "AMUSINGLY LIGHT HEARTED / ENJOYABLY CREATIVE"!
Hit: 4 Stars
George Martin, has created an incredibly creative collision of personalities, material in a new and totally unique way to select Beatles songs. Extremely light hearted and enjoyable, reviving twist to some old material, "CAUTION" there is no middle ground here ! You will either 100% enjoy this album or Music Review: The Beatles,Jim Carrey......what more could one ask for?
Hit: 4 Stars
I LOVE the Beatles. They come on Oldies 102, a local radio station. The morning show with Eggs and Ashley always play their songs. And Jim Carrey! He is only the best actor on earth! The 2 of them put together is a euphoria for any listener! Great job!!!
Free Music Review: The Video Tells The Story
Hit: 4 Stars
One has to watch the video to get a true appreciation of what Sir George was trying to accomplish and the performances that he attempted to elicit from his eclectic band of performers.Free Music Review: Hit-or-miss
Hit: 3 Stars
I mostly see either complete bashing of or complete adoration for this album, and it really deserves neither.
First of all, the general praise. The concept is George Martin giving his last hoorah proxy a compilation and revisiting of his collaborations with The Beatles. Okay; a safe enough prospect. Years ago, I would have thrown a fit at the mere suggestion that any Beatles songs may ever be changed in any way, shape or form. Now, I am a little older and wiser, and see the value in this. This album is not saying "Here is how it should be." This album says, "Let's get a bunch of people together to have some fun with a recording of some good songs." In My Life accomplishes this.
Now, the specifics:
1. Come Together: The main difference (aside from Robin's showy interpretation of the vocals) is that the bandmates here decided to rock this song out quite a bit more than the original. Deny it all you like, but the original song is really quite bare. The majority of the noise is the bass, drums and John singing. In this rendition, more instruments play, and the instruments are cleaner and louder -- and they have more people singing, which seems somehow appropriate. I have no complaints.
2. A Hard Day's Night: This took me a few listens to adjust, but it is fun, at the least. This song really showcases the attitude of the album, that of a group of adults enjoying their childhoods. Not my favorite, but still quite well-done.
3. A Day in the Life: This will sound strange, but my main complaint here is the lack of anything new. More or less, Jeff Beck plays the melody from the original while a new orchestra plays the old music from years ago. The music from way back when was (and is) fantastic, but faithful reproductions are not the aim of this album. I am surprised at Jeff Beck, in that he did not experiment much with this. Thumbs down, gentlemen, for reading the music right off the page.
4. Here, There, and Everywhere: This song was saccharine-sweet at its inception, and was only made acceptable for public consumption by the fact that a then-rocker was singing it sweetly. When you put a pop diva behind it, the song becomes quite simply unbearable. I will grant her this: she is a skilled vocalist. However, unless you are a fan of her standard fare, this will induce vomiting (I mean this in the best way possible).
5. Because: This version takes the original and Spector-izes it further. Big choir, strings, the works. I cannot say bad things about it because this song shows off his composition skills well. However, avoid this if you want the original trippy fare; this version of Because removes any LSD and replaces it all with Mozart.
6. I Am the Walrus: The only way I can get an honest opinion about this out of my friends is how anyone ought to listen to the entire album -- don't look at the names. Everyone I know who has heard the new Walrus enjoys it thoroughly and are embarrassed at having enjoyed Jim Carrey. Again, Martin & Co. rock instead of tripping.
7. Here Comes the Sun: Another symphony, but with an acoustic guitar shining front and center. My main complaint here is that this adaptation (for the first time on the album) feels inappropriate for the song. The warm strings and gentle brass and woodwinds are theoretically correct, but not so fantastic in practice. Sorry, John Williams; you created a fantastic composition, but you weren't the right man for the job, I don't think.
8. Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite: This adaptation is correct, but that doesn't mean I like it. I agree with a previous review in that this is definitely what John had in mind. He wrote Mr. Kite envisioning a gigantic circus with an equally gargantuan ringleader belting out fun invitations at the crowd. However, it makes me laugh in that I'm-going-to-cry sort of way that is all chalked up to personal taste and does not reflect on the work itself.
9. The Pepperland Suite: I am so embarrassed to say this, but I do not own the original Yellow Submarine vinyl. I have it on CD, but apparently this leaves out this Suite. At any rate, coming into it fresh, this is a lovely little symphony, and an inviting soundtrack, followed by an entertainingly intense chase section. Good instrumental fun.
10. Golden Slumbers/Carry That Weight/The End: Oh, Phil Collins. If I liked you or the noises you make, maybe I would have enjoyed this. More or less, Collins takes the suite at the end of Abbey Road and turns it into a Phil Collins song. The band plays very well, but they still reproduce the song with their style that has that aftertaste of 80s, the kind that accumulates in your ear and clogs your eardrum like plaque in your arteries. And you were expecting something good for you.
11. Friends and Lovers: Here, George Martin says, "Hey, I'm not dead yet!" and composes a lovely piece. I don't have much to say, because it is finely crafted and a nice ease-down from Collins's 80s drumming.
12. In My Life: I've never been much of one for the whole narrating-over-music genre, but it is a good idea for this. As it is one of my favorite Beatles songs, I wasn't sure what to expect from this. However, Connery's adaptation creates a warm tearjerker. The high-energy strings playing the middle-eight feel incredibly out-of-place, though. I am sure Martin wanted that to be a change of pace, but that is beside the point. At any rate, I am man enough to say his old, charming voice makes this endpiece work.
So there you are. My personal view of the album. Listen to the previews and decide if you really want this, instead of buying it and complaining about it for the rest of your years.
Free Music Review: Uneven, surprising, scary at times
Hit: 3 Stars
I decided to buy this album mainly for the Bonnie Pink song not included on the U. S. version. So, I imported it myself through someone on Ebay. I think the main problem with this album is it struggles across too many genres of music and does it with only Beatles songs for a medium. It jumps around from symphony to rock to spoken word. No one will like the whole album and it seems to me, true Beatles fans will be the most disappointed by it. I am only a somewhat Beatles fan. I understand their contribution to rock music, but don't usually find their music what I choose to listen too.
That said, it was worth it to me to add Bonnie Pink's version of Blackbird, which is legendary in JPop circles, to my collection of her work. It's quite good. It's a shame they left it off the U. S. version. It makes me curious what the song on the South American version was like.
Other surprising high points to this album are Jim Carrey's truly inspired vocals on I Am the Walrus, Goldy Hawn's version of A Hard Day's Night (very lounge retro fun. Imagine 60's James Bond. She even laughs at one point. Total camp.) and Jeff Beck's A Day in the Life. I can do without the Disneyesque Williams and Martin symphonies. For some reason the Celine Dion song didn't bug me too much, but I'm not into the Diva scene. But the song reads like something out of James Bond again. Collins would have done better to cut his drum solo. It's incredibly self indulgent and the song needed to be a lot shorter. Sean Connery's reading was reminiscent of Shatner's Lucy in the Sky. It's frightening that 25 years later Martin would try this.
An album truly all over the place. Unless there's something specific on here you have to have, it probably isn't worth it. I'd suggest downloading individual songs from iTunes, but it's not there.