My wife and I recently spent three nights with The Beatles. The year was 1969 and the fab four were recording an album called Let it Be. Paul was there, sometimes with Linda Eastman. John was there, with Yoko seemingly attached at the hip. Ringo was there. George was there except when he wasn’t because he had quit the group. There was others there too, such as George Martin, the group’s producer. Michael Lindsay-Hogg was around, he was the director of the filming. Road manager Mal Evans was there, looking like someone who would be cast as the Beatles road manager in a film. Glyn Johns the recording engineer was on hand. There were also various other visitors from time-to-time including Peter Sellers and Ringo and George’s wives. It was grand to be right there with the lads as they composed, practiced and recorded their new songs. For the most part it was a happy place to be. It all culminated with their last public performance together on the rooftop of Apple Records.
Of course I’m referring to Peter Jackson’s The Beatles: Get Back which premiered on the Disney plus streaming service over the weekend. It was bloody brilliant. All seven hours and forty-eight minutes.
I’ve been in love with The Beatles since I was nine years old and saw them on the Ed Sullivan show. I bought all their albums as soon as they came out and maintained a scrapbook of photos and articles of them cut out from magazines. The Beatles have provided the soundtrack for my life ever since.
Jackson’s film is essentially, as he himself put it, a documentary about documentary, as it utilizes all the footage shot by Lindsay-Hogg’s film crew for their infinitely shorter documentary (less than an hour and a half) that was released later in 1969.
Jackson was working with over sixty hours of film footage and 150 hours of audio, all recorded for the original documentary. He used film restoration techniques that he first employed for his World War I project. They Shall Not Grow Old. The result is a pristine print that further enhances the sense for viewers of “being there.”
Some observations:
The four Beatles clearly liked one another. There were issues that eventually led to the break up but they are not seen in Get Back. True, George grew frustrated and left the group for a time but it never felt like an unresolvable crisis and was patched up rather quickly.
They had fun together. There was a great deal of fooling around, much of it done while singing and playing instruments. In one sense it was tempting to wonder how they got anything done with all the mucking about, but on the other hand it often was part of creating songs.
I learned the most about Paul. He was much more the leader than I’d imagined and the glue that held things together. He loved a good time but was serious about making good music. He also had (likely still does) a talent for voices. He’s always been my favorite Beatle (at least during my childhood it was de rigueur to have a favorite) and nothing I saw in Get Back changed that.
Yoko was there for virtually every second, almost always at John’s side and no one seemed to mind. Paul can even be heard saying he’s perfectly fine with their relationship. She did not play a role in breaking up the group.
Ringo was not heavily involved. Rich, Richie, Richard, as the others called him, is clearly loved and appreciated but he gives little input into the creation of songs. His talent as a drummer was integral to the group but he was otherwise a silent partner.
They smoked a lot. But of course that was 1969 when many people did, particularly musicians of their age group. Paul and Ringo quit smoking a long time ago.
George was almost certainly frustrated by his role. Most of the songs were Lennon/McCartney productions with George getting one of two of his creations on each album. He seemed a prolific composer but was stuck with his quota.
They were pampered and certainly well-used to it by then. It is the way with the greats in sports and entertainment. Tea was provided in the morning, snacks were readily available, wine and beer were served later in the day. They got what they wanted.
Watching a song being created is fascinating, as is any aspect of the creative process. Songs start from an idea or a chord or a few words and develop over time often as the musicians are fooling around with what they’ve got. Most earlier versions of songs sound wrong (there was one case in which I liked the original version better but can’t remember the song). They were musically brilliant.
It was an incredible case of cosmic fortune that brought the four together and our culture is the richer for it.
The Beatles loved what they were doing. It was never tedious. At most it was challenging. It was always fun. Talent is like that.
They were all either funny or possessive of a good sense of humor. This is a mark of intelligence and is often seen in creative people. It also allowed them to further enjoy their work.
Billy Preston fit like a glove. He seemed a really fun guy who loved The Beatles and was clearly loved by them. His keyboard work was instrumental (pun intended) to the album.
The Beatles referred to their late manager Brian Epstein, as Mr. Epstein. Respect.
George Martin acted and spoke exactly as you would imagine.
The bobbies who came to the studio about noise complaints during the rooftop concert were — quite unintentionally-- hilarious. Especially the one who did most of the talking. He looked to be about sixteen and was in over his head. The sergeant finally arrived and was clearly a man of experience who knew how to deal with people.
It was great to see the whole rooftop concert and the various shots of spectators, many of whom were interviewed.
As a consequence of the documentary, my appreciation, for and love of, The Beatles has increased, something I wouldn’t have thought possible.
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