Monday, November 29, 2021

Peter Jackson, "Get Back" and Beatlemania Redux. Count Me In.


 

 

I was 13 years old when I first played in a band that wasn't a family gathering of pots, pans, an Optigan organ and a couple of kazoos. It was a trio, with the bassist and guitarist both ten years my senior. We played in a tiny studio in midtown Manhattan called M&R that was slightly bigger than an elevator. I recall playing a lousy version of Cream's arrangement of Skip James' "I'm So Glad," and a most unlikely choice of Stones' covers, "Citadel," which was even lousier. My memory of that first band rehearsal is of a band who hadn't actually heard either song, but played what they thought songs called "I'm So Glad" and "Citadel" might sound like.

I think I had fun.

Since then I've been in countless bands, playing everything from classic rock and heavy metal to hardcore punk, soul music and power pop. It's never been easy, though I have always felt that playing music is the most fun when there are no expectations and no rules.

After finishing the three part, almost eight hour Peter Jackson film "Get Back," I had many takeaways and a few revelations, which I will get to. But over the course of the three part documentary, I couldn't help but flashback to all of those rehearsals with all of those bands and all of those frustrating hours of stubbornness, miscommunication, underpreparedness, disagreements and unnecessary anxiety. If there is a musician out there who cannot relate, then you are definitely not from planet Earth.

Not even a genius like Paul McCartney could properly convey to his genius bandmates how he wanted them to play what he was hearing in his head.

"You know, just kinda go bip bip dit dit dit sshhwiiish, like there's some, you know space, you know?" 

No. That is not a directive. 

Neither is, "I want it to just, you know ~mimes a drummer, if the drummer was a flying scarecrow~ be like that, you know?"

No Paul. I don't know. Please shut up.

Maybe George's frustration and walkout were justified.  I've done it more than twice. It's not easy being in a band.

I'm sorry The Beatles broke up. But I get it.

Conversely, without Paul McCartney, The Beatles may not have made it out of The Cavern. McCartney was the visionary leader. Even when he refers to Lennon as the leader twice in the film, it's hard to believe he believes it himself. Without Macca's discipline and love for the band, and of course, the one adult in the room, Sir George Martin, I really believe things would have ended much sooner than 1970, like after the third verse of "Hallelujah I Love Her So," on that steamy Saturday night in Hamburg, 1961.

That said, "Get Back" was everything I wanted it to be and more. I certainly didn't need to be reminded of the brilliance of The Beatles. But I do think we have taken those Beatles harmonies for granted for over 50 years. Watching John, Paul & George casually coming in and out of numerous live takes of numerous songs and always nailing those three parts was miraculous. That magic is usually associated with siblings like the Louvins, Everlys and Gibbs. But you know, John, Paul and George really were brothers, weren't they?

For a "quiet Beatle," George had a lot more to say, in both words and music, than I expected. One should not dismiss George's middle harmony, a part that is usually the most challenging. It is as important as any other component of a Beatles tune, and he nails it, live for Pete's sake, every time. His vocal contributions, just like those of his two brothers, always seemed effortless. This wasn't work. Not for George and not for John and Paul. This was something else. I can't even begin to understand it.

And what about John's guitar playing? We've loved his rhythm playing for years, but I truly had no idea what he was capable of on an electric guitar. Or on the bass, for that matter. Or that he played piano on "She Came In Through The Bathroom Window?" That was new to me. But the kicker? Hearing Lennon reference The Move. That might be the greatest 20 seconds of film I have ever seen.

And here is Ringo. 

Again, it feels as if Ringo has just been there since 1962. But he truly is the secret weapon. While the others are working out chord changes and structure, he sits quietly, occasionally nodding off, saying very little. He wakes to play the most basic beats, adding nothing but the most simple rhythm. But then, once the tape begins rolling, he explodes, with creative smacks and fills that can only be from the mind and heart of Mr. Starkey. No one sounds like Ringo Starr, and those that try, fail. Trust me.

More times than not throughout this epic film, I found myself questioning what I was watching. How is it possible that this footage, telling this story of the greatest rock and roll band of all time, has never been seen? How is it possible that the Fab Four allowed us to believe the story originally told by Michael Lindsay-Hogg? Did no one want to set the record straight in the last 52 years? Maybe I missed something along the way.

Of course I can't help but be skeptical over Peter Jackson, his editors and the surviving Beatles and their immediate families. But even if this was all pieced together into an epic document of manipulation to show a happier band who truly loved each other, it worked. I'll take it. No amount of manipulation and editing could hide the smiles on the faces of John and Paul as they kibbitzed like they were teenagers in Liverpool ten years prior, or the genuine satisfaction on their faces when a song would finally start to come together.

And while we can never know how anyone truly felt about Yoko's presence, she certainly didn't seem to bother anyone on the surface. As Paul tellingly uttered in January of 1969, "In 50 years people will say The Beatles broke up because Yoko sat on an amp." "Get Back" shows us that Yoko was the least of the problems.

Something that absolutely tickled me throughout, were the various snippets played, or comments made about the band's catalogue. I would have thought by 1966, The Beatles were no longer thinking about 1965. So by 1969, songs like "Run For Your Life" or "Every Little Thing" should have been forgotten blips on their radar. At least, that is my perception. But,"Ask Me Why?" Really? Why? Why that song? I want to know! What made John reference "Ask Me Why" of all songs? Yet, these early songs kept popping up, not necessarily as suggestions for the live show, which was strictly about new material, but maybe as...what... excuses to jam? Or was it something else?  I found it all incredibly endearing. I am also convinced that The Beatles could have played and sung anything. Those January days at Twickenham and then Apple showed amazing singers and players who were beaten by endless distractons. Can you blame them? The talent never waned. The music was always there. The Beatles, as a fab foursome though, were not. Not completely. How frustrating is that shit?

I am ready to go back in and do the eight hours all over again. There was a stretch, early on in Part Two, where Paul is at the piano, half serious and half piss-taking songs like "Woman," the song he wrote for Peter & Gordon under the pseudonym Bernard Webb, or "Back Seat Of My Car," two years before it appeared on "Ram," that I found completely mesmerizing. As an old friend put it, "It's almost dreamlike to see Paul knocking out bits and pieces of so many songs that went on to become legendary." This is how I feel about the entirety of "Get Back." Nothing is real. It can't be.

For years, the songs "Get Back" and "Let It Be" were on my very short list of Beatles' songs I never liked that much.  This film changed that. The evolution of both blew my mind. (Watch Lennon's guitar playing on "Get Back" and be thrown for a loop.) And Jeebus, that rooftop concert rocked! Those hours....DAYS of anticipation...paid off big time, even if a total of only five songs were played. Some of them, twice. Next time one of those pain in the ass, ardent non-supporters who say The Beatles were overrated gets in your face, just keep walking. Or smack'em in the teeth. I dont care. 

The Beatles, on that roof at 3 Savile Row, were badasses.

How is it possible that just two years earlier, The Beatles were in "Pepper" mode, influencing the entire music world, and now, two years later, they can walk freely along Savile Row and gather a crowd of only, maybe a few hundred, mostly bored looking Londoners, as they performed on a rooftoop? What the hell really happened in 1968 and 1969, aside from no internet? Can it really be that no one knew or cared about The Beatles by that point? A Krispy Kreme opened in my neighborhood and 1000 people stood in line for hours just to get a free jelly donut, for the love of Todd!

If I have one complaint about "Get Back" it is the lack of full performances. Too often, the band starts to cook on songs like "Oh Darling" or "Mean Mr. Mustard" and the film cuts, leaving us to imagine the magic. I realize this isn't a concert film, but eight hours is a long time to not feature one complete performance. The Beatles were so good live, it hurt physically to be teased this way.

The Beatles rise was impossibly quick. The amount of quality music in such a short span of time is inconceivable by today's standards. And the end of it all seems just as inconceivable. To those involved, especially Paul who loved the band deeply, the end had to be nothing short of devastating, despite the aloof behavior put on display for the public. But to witness a mere eight hours of film, which is barely a snapshot of the years of history making work, the end felt about as climactic as snuffing out a birthday candle with wet fingertips. 

The Beatles, this time via Peter Jackson, have left me somewhat speechless and most definitely in the throes of Beatlemania once again.

33 comments:

Shriner said...

I also thought it was great (though I can't see ever watching it again as 8 hours is a bit too much, it didn't dull my love for "I've Got a Feeling" or "Don't Bring Me Down")

The evolution of "Get Back" from what seemed like noodling by Paul was one of the highlights. As was what you called out -- the effortlessness of Paul at the piano. George helping Ringo with Octopus. Dick James discussing music publishing rights and how much money was to be made from it.

It is odd that the group left all those myths be canon from the original film. I'm guessing they just didn't care that much about the project overall (which shows a lot).

All this footage still leaves a bunch of "why didn't they...?" questions out there. Why not a Beatles version of "All Things Must Pass", for goodness sake!

cmealha said...

I can’t wait for the 16 hour director’s cut . Eight hours weren’t enough.
My favorite moment was Ringo discussing what the film should be about with Lindsey-Hogg and he said that he could just watch Paul at the piano for an hour. That he was just so good. It was said with such sincerity and love. It just melted my heart and crystallized what was at the core of the band’s relationships.

JAYESSEMM said...

Certainly THE event of my November.

Great essay Sal -- you capture the magic.

Sal Nunziato said...

cmealha,
I took that Ringo comment about Paul at the piano the complete opposite way. It felt like Ringo was tired of sitting around and sarcastically commented that it should just be about Paul. I hope I am wrong. I like your take better.

Carlos Henrique Xavier Endo said...

Hope "Get Back" documentary will be released in some sort of recorded media so I can watch it more than 8 hours, over and over! What kind of band was "The Beatles" whose importance and magic still are prompt to these days, even past more than fifty years of its dissolution?

cowculator said...

The thing you have to remember about filmmakers is that they make music films, which are way different than making a film about music.
That said as a friend of mine said "the Beatles are the ruler that makes the ruler that eeveryone else is judged by".

Great Piece Sal

John

daudder said...

IT is a great, wonderful and insightful documentary, that reveals the Beatles love for each other (and their families!), turns the breakup stories on its head, their self awareness and documents how they created their music. That they were so nervous and hesitant to play live...they are human after all.

I was entranced from minute one, and was thoroughly amazed at their musicianship. They worked together wonderfully, and even the moments of irritation, boredom and frustration were captured as real things that contributed to the creative process.

My favorite moments: Billy Preston's arrival and his contributions throughout (smiling all the time, except when the cops come on to the roof) Ringo writing Octopuses Garden with George; when they played with Heather; John kissing Yoko and announcing her divorce was final (he loved that woman!, all the songs that were demoed (Back Seat of My Car and Something (I was on the edge watching them write it!)and then the complete rooftop...what magic.

lemonflag said...

Sal I have not seen it yet but I look forward it.
George died 20 years ago today. 29 Nov 2001.
I still miss them, but we have the music and now the movie.

Noam Sane said...

I'm only up to part 2, but my thoughts:
- I want to go back in time and pants Michael Lindsay-Hogg. By torchlight.
- It's remarkable how Glyn Johns whipped that studio into shape so quickly. Alex: not so magic.
- The general good cheer of the 4 throughout is notable, of course. We were lied to.
- I wish the George meeting(s) were on tape.
- Linda is gorgeous in her brief appearance. Yoko is mellow and apparently fun-loving. Huh.
- Billy Preston for MVP.
- Ladies and gentlemen, your hosts for the evening, The Rolling Stones.

I laughed, and I cried. Such a gift. Sure to be expanded when released on disc.


Sal Nunziato said...

I am sorry I didn't make mention of Billy Preston. A complete oversight. His presence, the way he just walks on and all four Fabs agree immediately, "Yeah, he's a Beatle" was a thing of beauty.

Mr. Baez said...

I'm only up to the second half of Part 2. I want to stretch out this Beatle gift for a little while. I was drained by the end of Part 1. I can only imagine what they were going through. It must have been exhausting being a Beatle. The joy that these four lads have brought to my life and the world is just, you know,"bip bip dit dit dit sshhwiiish", indescribable. Very well thought out piece, Sal. Thank you.

buzzbabyjesus said...

I loved "Commonwealth" which I'd never heard, and sounds like a song from "Sandanista!"

dogbreath said...

Brilliant documentary. Brilliant review. Cheers.....

FD13NYC said...

In a nutshell, In all these many years and I mean from their very beginning that I've ever heard or seen anything by The Beatles it never fails and always does put a big smile on my face. They have a very special place in my musical heart and soul.

Joe said...

Great read Sal

Gene Oberto said...

My take away, condensed.
1) Yoko had nothing to do with the band breaking up. Unless there was some nonsense going on behind the scenes, she was accepted as was George's Hare Krishna posse.
2) John was a walking petri dish of insecurities. The loss of Brian Epstein sent Lennon on an emotional muddle.
3) George's snit was eventual. Witnessing the psychic bond between the Lennon/McCartney writing team told him that no matter how hard he might try, he would never crack that connection.
4) The Beatles only existed when they played live. In the studio, they were four individuals making songs. Live, they were in their element. The muscle memory of the Star Club, the Cavern and a roof top on Savile Row came to the forefront proving that The Beatles were, first and foremost, a great, great, band.

A Walk In The Woods said...

This is probably the best essay/review I've read of yours on your site - saying a lot in 10 years of reading. Really cool. I never really gave Paul that credit, for keeping the band together per se. Somehow, the way you put it rings absolutely true.

Lennon was also a genius - but a much more bruised, damaged, VOLATILE genius.

You're right - he would have exploded out of that years earlier without Paul as a center of gravity.

OK. For about the last 25 years now, I am America's only human with no cable, satellite, hulu, netflix, tube of joy, vision of video, telereality - I got NOTHING. I have no way of even legit watching TV anymore. I've just signed off of the boob tube and haven't seen anything since about 1996.

But for the first time in years, I'm realizing I need to see something that's not in a theatre or on DVD. Anybody know the cheapest, least-committed way to get access to this bonanza?

David Handelman said...

On top of everything else about him, he was *22*! The other thing I marvelled about was that John and Ringo were 28, Paul 26 and George 25. I mean, they had lived more than we will ever live, but still! So worldly and world-weary.

David Handelman said...

Yes I could only watch Part 1 in small doses, because it was like group therapy - like Some Kind of Monster and I Am Trying to Break Your Heart, except it's the fucking Beatles! But then part 2 Billy shows up and is like this magic glue.

David Handelman said...

Just sign up for Disney Plus and then cancel. It's the best under $10 deal you will ever get. Watch Hamilton with subtitles before you go.

David Handelman said...

I had the exact same feeling about Let it Be and Get Back and almost wrote them to a musician friend but was too ashamed. Thanks for saying it. We heard Get Back a dozen times at least during the 8 hours and it's now super exciting to hear the opening riff. I, too, wondered why only two groupies hung around outside Apple. That would never be the case today. More people hang out at Jim Morrison's GRAVE.

Other footnotes not already stated here:
1) when the first episode ended I felt like the teaser released so long ago about it all being fun and jolly was misleading. By the end I did not feel that way. Jackson found classic 3 act structure.
2) george had the right idea - -each of them getting to do solo work and circle back to the Beatles. Why didn't that happen? :(
2b) george again got screwed on none of his songs being played on the roof.
3) The Allen Klein hovering is interesting. John loving him and Glyn warning against him. Of course it was Paul who hated him most importantly and the Klein/Eastman rift seems more relevant to the break up than Yoko OR George's snit.
4) the first episode was also hard to watch because John was clearly strung out. Once George quit he sobered up and was much more productive and engaged.
5) Surprised how much I loved all the Linda and Yoko glimpses we got; wish we had heard one peep from Maureen. I researched and she met Ringo at 16! Was dead by 48.
6) Surprised George was the only one who got lung cancer. Can't imagine how second-hand-smoke infested the Apple basement must have been.
5) Mal Evans another unsung hero.

neal t said...

Why we had to wait 50 years to see just an 1/8 of what Mr Jackson got to see is beyond me. Is he like Barr with the Mueller report? Disney could do 3 hours a night for 19 days in chronological order. Maybe in another 50 years we'll see the director's un cut. Great review Sal.

A Walk In The Woods said...

Great suggestion David Handelman, I should do that.

Chris Collins said...

I saw the "Some Kind of Monster" comparison here and I thought about how that movie revealed 4 guys who kind of hated each other but LOVED being in Metallica. In this doc I saw 4 guys who loved each other but faltered under the weight of being "The Beatles"

soundsource said...

I've got a about 20 minutes of Part 2 and then obviously part 3 but two quick comments. Yes i agree more compete performances would have been nice and Billy Preston. I'll get back to reading all the comments from others after I finish part 3.
Oh and yes to the if you've ever been in a band section of the piece (can I get an SF please)

Keith35 said...

I just finished the final part today. I had tears in my eyes; I was so moved. One thing that stood out for me was their affection for each other. Even with the George episode. And their sense of humor; they knew how to have a good time. Brian Epstein's death was also the death knell for the band. With no one on the outside to steer them, their breakup was inevitable. But what music they gave us

Marcelo Romero said...

The scene of them sitting with their publisher. Their distaste for him was not too subtle. I dug that.

Troy said...

I've watched the first two parts so far, and loved it. During Part 2 last night, I said to my wife "oh my God, they cannot make a decision on anything". It was, for me, a really interesting insight. I was surprised that they didn't really have a plan going in, only an arbitrary (and short) self-imposed timeline to do something. There was so much disfunction in the 'organization' part of things that the music and the joy of the four of them playing music together was the only salvation. But what a joy that was.

steve simels said...

Brilliantly written piece, Sal. Barely agree with a word of it, alas, but it’s a swell essay anyway.

Anonymous said...

Haven't seen any of it, and thanks for the review, but one caveat: their rise was NOT quick. First Beatles gig in Hamburg was in August, 1960 -- they played for 48 days before returning home. Of course, that was without Ringo, and with Stu Sutcliffe on bass ... but for the three guitarists, that is 48 days of intense work. Sutcliffe left in July 1961. Ringo joined in August 1962.

Check out the schedule those guys followed FOR YEARS ... as much talent as they had (boatloads) they worked their asses off. See, hard work CAN pay off.

Sal Nunziato said...

Anonymous,
I guess I should have been more clear regarding the Fabs quick rise--hadn't been considering the early days with Pete Best and Stu. The success and world wide stardom that began with their first three records, their initial visit to the USA and the film "A Hard Day's Night" took place in less than two years.

Unknown said...

Thank you, Sal. I am looking forward to re-viewing Get Back again...with your close and thoughtful observations to steer me in deeper. So good.

Susan Shaw

Michael Giltz said...

Are we allowed to curse? Is this a family friendly website? The Beatles doc was
F---ING AMAZING!! Mind you, I would probably watch all 50 hours in rapt fascination. But Peter Jackson did a lot of interesting things to keep it moving and mix pertinent audio with the footage he had at various times. I think it was a fascinating look at their creative process, though I wonder what the film is like for people who AREN'T obsessively interested and catching every stray song reference. It really was a joy to watch and climaxing with the rooftop concert was moving. They were a BAND and rocking out with an audience was such a release after all those hours in the studio. I've seen Paul in concert but I could cry over being cheated out of seeing them all even if just at Live Aid or something. Just...loved it.