So, About George Martin

This movie's soundtrack is often panned about as much as the movie itself. Ostensibly the "legendary" George Martin was its producer.

The only cuts that usually get any respect are the ones from Earth Wind and Fire, and Aerosmith. EWAF famously refused to use Martin and insisted on using their usual producer. The result was a huge hit that's become a classic track for them, and one bright spot on the album.*

A few years ago in an interview, some of the guys from Aerosmith talked about their recording. They claim they were waiting around the studio for days for Martin to show up, and in his absence, just decided to take a crack at it themselves. When he finally did appear, he basically dropped in, gave a listen to what they had done, said, "that's good, keep doing that," then left. So in essence Aerosmith's contribution is self-produced.

Assuming Martin bothered to show up for any of the other recordings, that suggests everything he touched was a failure, and the only good stuff were the tracks he stayed away from. Just how "legendary" is he, then, really? Did he just get lucky with the Beatles? Or had he once been great but lost his touch?


*Occasionally—like here at the imdb boards—I've read people complaining "how dare they do a disco version! they destroyed it! blah blah blah!" If you're not a fan of EWAF, or that style of music, then I guess you're never going to like what they did; but anyone who is a fan generally thinks it's fantastic.
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As a reward for your bravery, you will both find permanent homes on adult contemporary radio.