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The Beatles - Get Back (by Peter Jackson)


Mileslong

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1 minute ago, atomheartbevo said:

No matter what you think about the documentary, it's a great time to go out on reddit, Facebook, social media in general, etc. and make your opinions known, about how John McCartney was the true driving force of the Beetles and the band broke up because they were all jealous of George Lennon's talent.

Nah, that quiet fucker Dingo broke 'em up.

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This show is amazing. I had to stop after part 2 and decompress and will watch part 3 tomorrow. I don't want it to be over! But damn it's a good week...this show, XM free week with channel 18...this thread...so much Beatles. So good. 

For anyone that doesn't have XM, the Beatles channel 18 always has some great stuff not heard as much or commentary that's new to me. It's free/turned on in your car until Dec. 6. You can also use the app and cast it to your better speakers.

And they have ongoing commentary between songs from Peter Jackson with interesting takes. And there is a podcast on the XM app I'm listening to as I read though all of the above titled "The Let It Be Story hosted by Kevin Howlett," that is concurrent with the Jackson documentary. It actually sheds a bit of light on some of the stuff debated/opined on in this thread with some additional audio from the larger recordings Jackson didn't use and from commentary from the Beatles spliced in. George just flat out explains why he walked out. The XM app also has some video of Howard Stern interviewing Paul when he released 3 that I hadn't seen.

Someone said it above, but I thought John's drastically improved mood was chemically enhanced more than excitement for the band or the project. I was struck by how nice they were to each other and their ladies. They all said good morning and happy new year to each other and greeted people's plus one (except George's meditating buddy). And it was clear there was no overt hate or angst toward Yoko. Maybe it's just 60s English passive-politeness, but they all seem to try to get along and be civil despite strained ongoing issues. And the flowerpot conversation was highly reasonable. Despite this being the backdrop as the beginning of the end, it was a far cry from dysfunction for a rock band of 20 somethings with no manager.

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3 minutes ago, Cheeseweasel said:

Damn right. His background vocals on I Wanna Hold Your Hand (man) made the song.

And John and Paul conspiring to get rid of him was the beginning of the end.  "Paul, we should get rid of Clarence and steal all of his good ideas."

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That and it was an SNL sketch featuring a 20-something Eddie Murphy claiming to be Clarence, the 5th Beatle from 20 years earlier.  But yeah, the Canon Discography is what totally ruined the illusion for me.  

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23 hours ago, UTCzech III said:

Couple of quick bits, first all 4 Beatles (or their proxies) have veto power, if one says no, it's a no go.  Now, Yoko is said to be in poor health (she's freaking 88 years old!  Will be 89 in February), last year she turned all business dealings over to Sean, who is certainly protective of both his parents but is also pretty open-minded.  There may have been a few clips that they asked to be removed, haven't heard of any, I certainly didn't see anything that showed her in a bad light (other than the singing, ugh).  George did NOT like here being there, going back to the White Album sessions, but he dealt with it.

Finally, one last bit about George leaving, it was kind of hard to hear on Part 1, haven't re-watched it yet with the captioning on, but is a trranscript of the fight that led to George leaving, just Paul pushing a little too far...

PAUL: It's not together, so that it's not sounding together.
GEORGE: So we keep on playing until we find the bit.
PAUL: Or we can stop and say it's not together.
GEORGE: Yes. Then you've got to carry on until you get it together. I mean, that's all I'm going to play until it's found the blending with the rest.
PAUL: Okay, well, you know, I never know what to say to that, because what I want to say is, “Now, come on” and play, you know. But I can't, you know, and we get into that one.

PAUL: See, if we can get it simpler and then complicate it where it needs complications. But it's complicated in the bit-
GEORGE: It's not complicated. I mean, all I'm playing is the chords.
PAUL: No, no, come on, you always gotta knock me when I say that. I'm trying to help you, but I always hear myself annoying you.
GEORGE: No, you're not annoying me.
PAUL: It gets so that I can't say...
GEORGE: You don't annoy me anymore.
PAUL: You know what I mean. But doesn't everyone agree that it's confused at the moment? So all I'm trying to say is let's get the confusion unconfused, then confuse it. But that's what we've been doing all afternoon. This is why we're not getting anything done. We're just rolling on with it, and we've only got twelve more days. So we've really got to do this methodically.

PAUL: I really am trying to just say, “Look, lads, the band, you know. Should we try it like this?” You know.
GEORGE: It's funny, though, how it only occurs when we record the, um-
PAUL: I know, on this one, it's like should we play guitar all the way through “Hey Jude”, and I don't think we should.
GEORGE: Okay, well, I don't mind. I'll play whatever you want me to play. Or I won't play at all if you don't want me to play. Whatever it is that will please you, I'll do it.

Fairly recently, Sean interviewed Paul for some BBC thing, and it was fun to listen to.  Stuff like Sean asking Paul what John's mother was like and Paul describing the kids grandmother..."you and she would have gotten along so well...".

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18 hours ago, DCLonghorn said:

This show is amazing. I had to stop after part 2 and decompress and will watch part 3 tomorrow. I don't want it to be over! But damn it's a good week...this show, XM free week with channel 18...this thread...so much Beatles. So good. 

For anyone that doesn't have XM, the Beatles channel 18 always has some great stuff not heard as much or commentary that's new to me. It's free/turned on in your car until Dec. 6. You can also use the app and cast it to your better speakers.

And they have ongoing commentary between songs from Peter Jackson with interesting takes. And there is a podcast on the XM app I'm listening to as I read though all of the above titled "The Let It Be Story hosted by Kevin Howlett," that is concurrent with the Jackson documentary. It actually sheds a bit of light on some of the stuff debated/opined on in this thread with some additional audio from the larger recordings Jackson didn't use and from commentary from the Beatles spliced in. George just flat out explains why he walked out. The XM app also has some video of Howard Stern interviewing Paul when he released 3 that I hadn't seen.

Someone said it above, but I thought John's drastically improved mood was chemically enhanced more than excitement for the band or the project. I was struck by how nice they were to each other and their ladies. They all said good morning and happy new year to each other and greeted people's plus one (except George's meditating buddy). And it was clear there was no overt hate or angst toward Yoko. Maybe it's just 60s English passive-politeness, but they all seem to try to get along and be civil despite strained ongoing issues. And the flowerpot conversation was highly reasonable. Despite this being the backdrop as the beginning of the end, it was a far cry from dysfunction for a rock band of 20 somethings with no manager.

I particularly enjoy Peter Asher on that channel, because he was fucking THERE at the time and has first-hand knowledge.  I also enjoy when Randy Bachmann and his kid do the show and break down the songs, explain the chord progressions, etc. 

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A couple of my favorite lines in episode 2.

 

On whether they think George will come back.

John - "I think the fact that he left his favorite guitar here is a sign."

 

Trying to fix a line in "Get Back."

Paul - "Tucson, Arizona. That's where they make High Chaparral."

 

Wow, that made night. I love High Chaparral. I never would have imagined a Beatles connection. Now it's even more awesome.

Edited by DougO
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Slowly making my way through this thing in between taking care of my 9-month-old and I'm loving every minute of it.

I think I'm about half way through Episode 2. The George leaving stuff was absolutely fascinating.

The bit when Peter Sellers showed up and John was clearly high AF on something (heroin?) was interesting. :D I loved how visibly uncomfortable Paul was as John was talking about getting high and he finally cuts him off with, "Do we want to be talking about that in public, Mr. Lennon?" LOL

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The other thing that was interesting was that you could really see how Paul was just DRIVEN.

Some people may not like it... calling it over-ambitious or something, but it just seems to me like Paul really approached The Beatles like it was his job and he wanted to do the best possible job.  I think he said something to John along the lines of, "We need to accomplish something every day," and John was like, "Um that's a tall order" (or something like that).

Paul's commitment to the work really reminded me in the Eagle documentary when Glenn Frey was talking about how he learned the making music is about "doing the work" when he heard Jackson Browne just working on "Doctor my Eyes" all day long.

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5 minutes ago, oSuJeff97 said:

The other thing that was interesting was that you could really see how Paul was just DRIVEN.

Some people may not like it... calling it over-ambitious or something, but it just seems to me like Paul really approached The Beatles like it was his job and he wanted to do the best possible job.  I think he said something to John along the lines of, "We need to accomplish something every day," and John was like, "Um that's a tall order" (or something like that).

Paul's commitment to the work really reminded me in the Eagle documentary when Glenn Frey was talking about how he learned the making music is about "doing the work" when he heard Jackson Browne just working on "Doctor my Eyes" all day long.

100%.  There's so much more Beatles material because of Paul's drive.

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21 minutes ago, oSuJeff97 said:

The other thing that was interesting was that you could really see how Paul was just DRIVEN.

Some people may not like it... calling it over-ambitious or something, but it just seems to me like Paul really approached The Beatles like it was his job and he wanted to do the best possible job.  I think he said something to John along the lines of, "We need to accomplish something every day," and John was like, "Um that's a tall order" (or something like that).

Paul's commitment to the work really reminded me in the Eagle documentary when Glenn Frey was talking about how he learned the making music is about "doing the work" when he heard Jackson Browne just working on "Doctor my Eyes" all day long.

Great point. And as much as I like George/John's songs, they are second tier to John's work. He was a genius, but he also pushed thru to make good songs great. Lennon threw a bunch of nonsense into songs to finish them. 

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27 minutes ago, Cheeseweasel said:

Great point. And as much as I like George/John's songs, they are second tier to John's work. He was a genius, but he also pushed thru to make good songs great. Lennon threw a bunch of nonsense into songs to finish them. 

Not sure I agree with your police work there Lou.  They have two totally different approaches to song writing and both are valid.  Is Lucy in the Sky... any better than...Let it Be...Someting?  Certainly George wasn't as prolific as the other two, but he was coming into his own as is shown clearly by the bulk of All Things Must Pass.  Their work habits are a completely separate issue from songwriting approaches though.  I agree that Paul has clear drive and is more of a process/method driven worker.  John was...not that. 

https://www.icce.rug.nl/~soundscapes/VOLUME02/Beatlesongs.shtml

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Finished part 1. It was kinda like I was hanging out at the music store like I used to do all the time, then the Beatles walked in and just started playing some shit.
 

I miss hanging out at the music store. Usually with a bunch of dudes I wasn’t supposed to hang out with.
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John had a more artistic personality.  He had other outlets for his creative drive when the mood struck him.  Paul was completely focused on music and he was happy playing and writing it every day.  But he also wanted to keep evolving musically.  He was obviously bored with studio albums.  He had some Jordan in him when it came to his need to make the best music possible. I stopped right before the rooftop concert last night.  I want to savor that and it was already late.

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1 hour ago, kevwun said:

John had a more artistic personality.  He had other outlets for his creative drive when the mood struck him.  Paul was completely focused on music and he was happy playing and writing it every day.  But he also wanted to keep evolving musically.  He was obviously bored with studio albums.  He had some Jordan in him when it came to his need to make the best music possible. I stopped right before the rooftop concert last night.  I want to savor that and it was already late.

The Jordan analogy is pretty apt. 

Jordan had all of the natural ability in the world, but what set him apart was the fact that in a league full of ultra-competitive people, he was the most competitive by a factor of 100.

Paul obviously is an amazing natural musician, but he was also always driven just to do more, more, more and push boundaries, evolve... or, as he put it, "accomplish something every day."

On a different note, one of the most enjoyable things in the documentary is just watching Paul and John goof around together. I feel like so much of the "narrative" of this point in the Beatles career is that they were was all of this animosity going in different directions... and there was obviously some of that... but these guys were also lifelong friends and I think so much of that was overblown.

You can really see it when the two of them are just playing music together, fucking around, laughing at each other's cheesy jokes, etc. So fun to see that.

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1 hour ago, oSuJeff97 said:

On a different note, one of the most enjoyable things in the documentary is just watching Paul and John goof around together. I feel like so much of the "narrative" of this point in the Beatles career is that they were was all of this animosity going in different directions... and there was obviously some of that... but these guys were also lifelong friends and I think so much of that was overblown.

So much this. I was expecting much more animosity considering all that we've read over the years. In fact, them reading the "tabloids" was fantastic and great insight into how much of it was bullshit.

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42 minutes ago, Cheeseweasel said:

So much this. I was expecting much more animosity considering all that we've read over the years. In fact, them reading the "tabloids" was fantastic and great insight into how much of it was bullshit.

Yeah them reading and laughing at the tabloids was great.

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I've had a few thoughts on this since finishing it.

Paul reading and laughing about the headlines that were in pretty much real time. Whoever was leaking the info about them coming to blows and fighting, was obviously someone in the room. They didn't seem concerned with finding the leaker, so I gotta believe was that was all being put out there intentionally to tantalize the press.

Then the rooftop concert ends. They are done anyway, but on way off the roof George says something like, "We got footage of the police up here, so we can just tell people they made us stop". No stranger to manipulating the media there.

Yesterday I saw part of the Peter Jackson interview with Colbert. He says its not like any of this video was ever lost or anything. The Beatles have been aware of it and been sitting on it intentionally all these years. His guess was that after 50 years the time was right to set the record straight for history.

My take away is that they were brilliant at generating controversy, rumors and keeping their name on the tongues; think Paul is dead and all that stories that have been out there. I think they've rode those legends all these years and finally decided to let us in on the joke. 

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Casual Beatles fan here who hasn't seen the doc (don't have D+) but am fascinated by reading the synopses of fans who've found their Holy Grail. They changed the arc of the music universe like few ever have, and 50 years later people are still consumed by why they broke up, or who caused it.

It reminds me of a few pages from Springsteen's biography (who credits the Beatles performance on Ed Sullivan with changing his life). He remarks that bands are formed in a really unique place and space in time, and where else can one meet someone as an awkward teenager and then spend the rest of their life working next to them in the exact same role? It doesn't happen anywhere else, and rarely lasts more than a few years, especially with really good players. 

But maybe my favorite line is his comment about the secret to a band's longevity being dependent upon everyone on stage being able to look over their shoulder and say to themselves "hey asshole, that guy/gal playing next to you is a lot more important than you think they are." 

We're mere mortals. People with that level of talent operate on a different plane. Just gotta trust the art--not the artist--and celebrate the amazing music they created together and later as soloists.

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36 minutes ago, GhostOfTomJoad said:

Casual Beatles fan here who hasn't seen the doc (don't have D+) but am fascinated by reading the synopses of fans who've found their Holy Grail. They changed the arc of the music universe like few ever have, and 50 years later people are still consumed by why they broke up, or who caused it.

 

One of my closest friends is butch lesbian woman, almost 20 years younger than me. I was born a couple weeks before this documentary was filmed (which kinda blows m mind in a different way). We met and bonded over our record collections. Seriously, She was DJing w vinyl 45s and I was like "I have that one, and that one, and that one,... I better go meet this person." She's kind of a big deal, and executive producer at Apple Music.

Anyway, a couple of years ago her and I were at a party and ended up getting ride back to my place with another friend we both new, a very young woman who was about 23 at the time. 

We decide to have a nightcap and ended up discussing and listing to all my Beatles albums until 7am. Not just like, "Sure, i like the Beatles". Completely nerding out on them. Each one of us could name our favorite albums, why it was better than the others, knew track lists, backstories, etc. What a wonderful night of sharing music. Hell, i still have a sketch of myself drawn by the younger woman that she drew that morning and left with a note. 

So the next day I was telling my friend about it, 20years older than me - A HUGE Beatles fan who got to live through that era. He owns stacks of rare Beatles albums and photographs, including 4 copies of the butcher cover.

I said to him, "A 50 year old dude from San Diego, a 34yo lesbian from Ohio, and a 23youyoung lady from the East Bay, and we STILL talking - hell, raving about them 50 years later." There may be a few bands in that stratosphere, but not many. 

 

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23 minutes ago, AnotherUTFan said:

One of my closest friends is butch lesbian woman, almost 20 years younger than me. I was born a couple weeks before this documentary was filmed (which kinda blows m mind in a different way). We met and bonded over our record collections. Seriously, She was DJing w vinyl 45s and I was like "I have that one, and that one, and that one,... I better go meet this person." She's kind of a big deal, and executive producer at Apple Music.

Anyway, a couple of years ago her and I were at a party and ended up getting ride back to my place with another friend we both new, a very young woman who was about 23 at the time. 

We decide to have a nightcap and ended up discussing and listing to all my Beatles albums until 7am. Not just like, "Sure, i like the Beatles". Completely nerding out on them. Each one of us could name our favorite albums, why it was better than the others, knew track lists, backstories, etc. What a wonderful night of sharing music. Hell, i still have a sketch of myself drawn by the younger woman that she drew that morning and left with a note. 

So the next day I was telling my friend about it, 20years older than me - A HUGE Beatles fan who got to live through that era. He owns stacks of rare Beatles albums and photographs, including 4 copies of the butcher cover.

I said to him, "A 50 year old dude from San Diego, a 34yo lesbian from Ohio, and a 23youyoung lady from the East Bay, and we STILL talking - hell, raving about them 50 years later." There may be a few bands in that stratosphere, but not many. 

 

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3 hours ago, AnotherUTFan said:

I've had a few thoughts on this since finishing it.

Paul reading and laughing about the headlines that were in pretty much real time. Whoever was leaking the info about them coming to blows and fighting, was obviously someone in the room. They didn't seem concerned with finding the leaker, so I gotta believe was that was all being put out there intentionally to tantalize the press.

Then the rooftop concert ends. They are done anyway, but on way off the roof George says something like, "We got footage of the police up here, so we can just tell people they made us stop". No stranger to manipulating the media there.

Yesterday I saw part of the Peter Jackson interview with Colbert. He says its not like any of this video was ever lost or anything. The Beatles have been aware of it and been sitting on it intentionally all these years. His guess was that after 50 years the time was right to set the record straight for history.

My take away is that they were brilliant at generating controversy, rumors and keeping their name on the tongues; think Paul is dead and all that stories that have been out there. I think they've rode those legends all these years and finally decided to let us in on the joke. 
 

The rumor was always that Yoko was the one holding up the footage after John died. She had to sign off on the rights. That all may be bullcorn, like a lot of other things, but I do think there was something legit about the rights thing for whatever reason. The original Let It Be movie stopped being released some time in the early 80s, or something like that, on VHS and the original laser disc. It was such a downer that only die-hard Beatles fans really missed it, and a new story about the possibility of it's re-release would pop up somewhere every five or 10 years. I don't think any of them were really excited to see it out again until somehow Peter Jackson got them to let him look through the footage and possibly preserve it. 

I remember renting a copy of Let It Be on VHS at Blockbuster video way back when. I decided to dub it on another VHS recorder, and to my surprise it did not have the usual copyright protection that made it go dark or blank out. So I still have that copy stashed away. It can still be found online from laser disc burn, but the resolution is really small.

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