The Beatles: Get Back

[Deleted User] wrote: »

I adored Eight Days a Week and can't imagine anything better, but I'd watch Beatles docs all day long so will pick it up at some stage

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Looking forward to checking this out. The footage restoration looks fantastic.

Watched the first half of the first part earlier today. Fascinating stuff but hard to see it appealing to non-fans in the way that previous material on the band has. Seven hours of studio interplay and forty mins of a rooftop gig. Catnip for me though.

Pretty decent so far, but I find the constant shoehorning of b-roll where it's not necessary to be really annoying. It's one thing (and often a necessary evil) to cut to a shot from a totally different song, different tempos, even when it's painfully obvious, I think it's generally accepted in a film like this. But cutting to a half second shot of Linda for example, 20 feet away from the others in the conversation, mouthing a different word to what's on the audio, it's like a bad home movie in places. There are even times where it's clear it's Paul saying something on the audio and they've cut in a shot of John mouthing a similar word.

I thought this production would be above all that and let the footage they do have and the matching audio speak for themselves.

I agree re the B-roll stuff, they made that clear at the start and in all interviews about the doc. First part fascinating but you've really got to be a devotee. I can't see this appealing to many of my pals, heavy music fans though they are. Some observations:

• Macca is running it, but trying to include everyone. George is cranky, Lennon still in his heroin phase and not engaging much. Ringo just looks bored staring down from the drumkit all day.
• The director's pushing of the Libya gig is pretty hilarious.
• Macca enjoyed his cigars.
• The creativity on show is astounding. Only the first part but rehearsals already have several tracks from both Let It Be and Abbey Road as well as solo stuff such as Gimme Some Truth, All Things Must Pass, Another Day. The development of Get Back was stunning.
• They're decent guys who interact well with all those about them.
• Linda is cute.
• Yoko has infinite patience sitting there all day long listening to blokes jamming and bantering. Maybe she has John's stash and he needs her close.
• The footage is extraordinary. Astonishing that it exists.

Yeah, it was amazing to see them tossing out songs like All Things Must Pass and Gimme Some Truth like they were nothing - "oh I've been working on this one, what do you think?"

Makes me think about Noel Gallagher has been patting himself on the back for nearly 30 years for writing Live Forever - it wouldn't have even got beyond a jam session with the Beatles.

Just watching Harrison saying to Ringo I was watching this thing on the BBC last night and I wrote this small song do you want to hear it and then he starts I Me Mine

more trivia - I Me Mine was the last song they ever recorded, in early 1970 (without Lennon) - they only went back to record it because that clip was featured in the original Let It Be movie and they wanted the song on the "soundtrack" album.

Just finished up with part two, a compelling watch. Lennon was very obviously out of it in parts and you'd have to have a degree of sympathy for Paul, George and John had checked out of the band but he was desperately trying to cling to the past.

Just on Yoko. Its oft been reported that she wasn't to blame for the break up but fcuk me pink, she is stuck to Lennon like a barnacle. He obviously wanted it that way but there is no way in hell that she wasn't someway responsible for the wedge, even if it was indirectly. Can you imagine what it would be like, being there with the closest people in your life for more than a decade, trying to create something but having an omnipresent interlopper watching every single thing and interjecting in conversations that are of no concern to them.

Won't get to watch part 3 til Sunday but I'm dying to see it.

How many casual viewers would be interested in it, even in a truncated form?

It's unequivocally something for fans of the band and it would be doing a disservice to them to leave out alot of the stuff. At the end of the day, there are 10s of millions of fans of the band in the world that appreciate the unique insights.

Forgot to mention last night, Billy Preston was an effin genius. Coming in completely cold, listening to them play rough cuts of the tracks and syncing his piano perfectly with them. Ridiculous talent and him only 25 at the time.

Easy to say now I suppose, and I'm only on the first episode but I love all the Beatles before and after the split but I just felt I wanted to hear Lennon and McCartney just occasionally give a bit of praise to George for the ideas of his early versions of songs. I've always been of the opinion that the best of George's songs easily equal the best of Lennon and McCartneys songs. It's just that they were more plentiful over the years they were together. And yes, as some have said how the hell did they pretty much disregard George doing his early version of All Things Must Pass!

Yeah, thought that was amazing too. “Here’s one I wrote last night, what do you think ?” Then launches into a pretty fully formed I Me Mine. Fascinating, as was McCartney with fledgling versions of Let it Be, Long and Winding Road (with Mal Evans helping him with the lyrics !) Two of Us and Another Day. Not to mention the evolution of Get Back and a couple of tunes that ended up on Abbey Road, She Came in Through Bathroom Window and Golden Slumbers. What was striking was the emergence of George (All Things Must Pass has been mentioned already) and the relatively meagre contribution of Lennon (so far, have only watched episode) All we’ve really heard from him so far is Gimme Some Truth, Don’t Let Me Down and his part in I’ve Got a Feeling (Loved Georges sarky “Is this one called I’ve Got a Feeling ?”). McCartney by contrast was right at the top of his game and in the middle of a purple patch. (We’ll excuse him Maxwells Silver Hammer !)

Interesting too that while we’ve heard so much about Yokos presence over the years ( and you can see how much it must have annoyed the others- Christ, the bit where she joins in on “vocals”) she wasn’t the only one hanging around. George had a couple of his Hari Krishna buddies there, and Linda also makes an appearance.

Lyndsey Hoggs fixation with Libya was amusing alright, and some of the suggestions, such as playing on a cruise ship and bring a boatload of Brits over with them were bonkers.

The bit with Dick James talking about buying publishing for Northern songs was interesting too, given what later transpired. He seemed like a real snake oil salesman and you could see that the band were barely tolerating him, McCartney particularly.

I’m lapping it up anyway. Someone earlier mentioned the casual viewer, but frankly, to hell with him (or her) 😀 This is for us Beatles nerds

Just started episode 2.

I'm amazed by some of the footage: McCartney sitting in silent thought contemplating the potential break up of the band, his eyes glassy with tears.

And the captured conversation between Lennon and McCartney is revalatory: "You were always the boss and I was the secondary boss."

I'm glad this exists this way. It's not a film as such, more a historical document.

I loved how polite the people were when they were being interviewed about what they thought of the live music even if they didn’t like it.

Also the police officer was so funny, All I could think was man if he could see the world today a band playing on the roof would be a nice break from everything else the police face today.

I agree re Lindsay-Hogg (Irish actress mum btw and his passport is ours - and after years of rumours her friends confirmed that he was Orson Welles' son after her death) but we've got to give him credit for getting all that work done, particularly the filming for the rooftop gig. Amazing work having all those cameras on the Apple roof alongside the other roof, the street stuff and the hidden one for the hapless police. They got every angle you'd possibly want to cover that event.

And btw George Martin sounds posh but isn't. He grew up during the great depression in a house in Highbury without electricity and running water, his mum a maid and his dad a carpenter in and out of work. He did well at school and became a Royal Navy officer during World War II. I guess he altered his accent to fit in with the posh officers but had much more in common with The Beatles than many others they dealt with. Far less posh than John Lennon for starters. And how suave does he always look? In this doc, as always, he comes across as the consummate gentleman.

Would suggest giving All Things Must Pass a listen (loud) after watching the doc. Havent really listened to it in a few years but it really brings a lot of stuff into focus. Totally different album after seeing the doc.

There's a touching moment early in the first part where George is telling Paul how great it is for him to be involved in the creative process of getting the songs together and that prior to the previous album (the White Album I guess) he hadn't been that involved. Paul just shrugs.

George obviously idolised John and Paul and really want to work more closely with them on his and their songs, but they were only interested in working with each other and begrudgingly allowed George a couple of songs per album.

I saw a later interview with George where it was suggested that Paul may want to write some songs with him (this was around the time Paul was collaborating with Elvis Costello). George answered to the effect that Paul had had 30 years to ask him to write a song and he wasn't going to start now.

I actually found the entire thing quite surreal. Amazed how creative yet loose everything was and how it all came together so quickly. Basically the making of Let It Be and most of Abbey Road. In 22 days. From scractch.

Does anyone know if this will be available on Blu Ray?

The comment about George Martin delegating to Glynn Johns is true, but also because he was fed up with their antics in the studio.

Remember he had been told by John that this next album (the "live" album) was going to have "none of your trickery".