There is something so transcendent and yet somewhat sad about seeing this old footage, with its incredible level of access at a time so pivotal for The Beatles. At nearly eight hours long it's like the viewer is sitting in the studio with the band as they developed songs for what at varying turns was meant to be a concert, TV show, and documentary. It's a long haul and we do hear some of the material again and again as it's honed to its final form, but seeing the interaction between the band, watching them collaborate, and getting insight into their relationships is truly special, a blessing really, and I could have watched another eight hours of this.
First of all, the band sound fantastic, and their skills as musicians are on full display from the first time they start practicing new material all the way up to their rooftop concert at the end. The presence of Billy Preston in these sessions can't be overstated either; he's brilliant too. John liked the idea of Preston being a 5th Beatle, not just for his keyboard skills but because of his positive effect on the band's energy, to which George playfully suggested getting Bob Dylan as well (shades of the supergroup, Traveling Wilburys, that he would help form in 1988).
With the absence of former manager Brian Epstein keenly felt, we see Paul attempting to help fill this void, but occasionally rubbing George and John the wrong way. Paul is clearly the leader, bringing forth the most material, pushing the band to do something bigger than another album, and seemingly most invested in keeping the band together. We see a bit of a maniacal genius behind his affable exterior, however, something I wasn't expecting.
It's interesting to think about the subsequent narrative that Yoko broke the band up, something pushed by Paul himself (e.g. In his early lyrics to 'Too Many People'), without Paul examining his own culpability. He ultimately wouldn't accept Allen Klein as the band's manager, here seen as someone John is so impressed with after an initial meeting, and is often bossy, particularly with George, which resulted in George storming off for five days. The interaction is at its lowest ebb when John flippantly quotes lyrics after a late night doing drugs while Paul stews and comments on the need for a schedule. Peter Sellers turns up and, sensing the bad vibes in the air, departs rather quickly. The growing cracks are evident, and it's a little unfortunate that this documentary came at a time when they were beginning to grow apart from each other (just imagine getting this kind of access a few years earlier!). Then again, filmed at this time, it's enlightening.
Anyway, that negativity aside, there are lots of great moments to be found here and I was mesmerized throughout. Here were some of my favorite bits for each of the lads:
Paul:
John:
John: Edit? You're talking to The Bootles!
George:
Ringo: Ringo: "I've farted." Also Ringo: "I would like to go on the roof." That came right after George said he didn't want to, and if Ringo had echoed him, the legendary performance on the roof of Apple Corps, their final public appearance, might not have happened.
First of all, the band sound fantastic, and their skills as musicians are on full display from the first time they start practicing new material all the way up to their rooftop concert at the end. The presence of Billy Preston in these sessions can't be overstated either; he's brilliant too. John liked the idea of Preston being a 5th Beatle, not just for his keyboard skills but because of his positive effect on the band's energy, to which George playfully suggested getting Bob Dylan as well (shades of the supergroup, Traveling Wilburys, that he would help form in 1988).
With the absence of former manager Brian Epstein keenly felt, we see Paul attempting to help fill this void, but occasionally rubbing George and John the wrong way. Paul is clearly the leader, bringing forth the most material, pushing the band to do something bigger than another album, and seemingly most invested in keeping the band together. We see a bit of a maniacal genius behind his affable exterior, however, something I wasn't expecting.
It's interesting to think about the subsequent narrative that Yoko broke the band up, something pushed by Paul himself (e.g. In his early lyrics to 'Too Many People'), without Paul examining his own culpability. He ultimately wouldn't accept Allen Klein as the band's manager, here seen as someone John is so impressed with after an initial meeting, and is often bossy, particularly with George, which resulted in George storming off for five days. The interaction is at its lowest ebb when John flippantly quotes lyrics after a late night doing drugs while Paul stews and comments on the need for a schedule. Peter Sellers turns up and, sensing the bad vibes in the air, departs rather quickly. The growing cracks are evident, and it's a little unfortunate that this documentary came at a time when they were beginning to grow apart from each other (just imagine getting this kind of access a few years earlier!). Then again, filmed at this time, it's enlightening.
Anyway, that negativity aside, there are lots of great moments to be found here and I was mesmerized throughout. Here were some of my favorite bits for each of the lads:
Paul:
- Seeing Paul give birth to the song 'Get Back' while waiting for John to show up one morning, with Ringo and George gradually being drawn in, is an extraordinary, goosebump type of moment. It was also fascinating to watch it evolve, including briefly becoming a song condemning rising anti-immigration sentiment.
- Paul's songwriting is brilliant across so many other titles as well. There is something incredibly profound about the rest of the band watching him perform an early version of 'Let it Be' at the piano. In another moment he's casually practicing proto forms of 'Another Day' and 'The Long and Winding Road' at the piano, referencing 'The Wizard of Oz' and working the lyrics out while his (soon-to-be) wife Linda looks on and takes photos. He's then on to 'Golden Slumbers/Carry That Weight,' and later while all the equipment is being moved, drops by to record a demo of 'Oh! Darling.' It's just a fantastic, prolific burst of songwriting from him, though you could say that about the entire decade.
- Paul reading an incendiary tabloid article about the band aloud while Lennon leads the others in a blues song gives us a little look at what it's like to read about oneself in the press. The article from Michael Housego is maddening in how salacious it is, yet there are also elements of truth in it.
- Seeing little 6-year-old Heather Eastman, Linda's daughter, playing around in the studio, and Paul and the others playing around with her.
- This quote, heard 52 years later: "It's going to be such an incredible, sort of comical thing like in 50 years' time, you know, they broke up cuz Yoko sat on an amp."
John:
- My favorite moment for John was when George was talking about doing a solo album because he had so much material, with the idea being that he would then return to work with the Beatles. John is very supportive, something we see at other times, him listening to others calmly with direct eye contact, and then simply explaining his views. Paul and Ringo were away at lunch at the time, and when interviewed recently by Stephen Colbert, Peter Jackson said that Paul told him he was unaware this conversation had taken place, and said of it "Oh, I wish I knew they had said that at the time," as it could have shown a path forward to staying together.
- It's also a joy to watch John getting animated and playfully goofing around, particularly after the band abandoned Twickenham Studios and moved to Apple. He spontaneously plays old songs from other artists for the fun of it, and at one point demonically makes faces at Paul while they sing through their teeth without moving their lips. On the final version of 'Let It Be,' the one used for the album, we see him making faces while mouthing the words.
- Hearing John talking about some of the things that had impressed him. He comments on liking what he saw in Fleetwood Mac on television the night before, and was extremely impressed by MLK's 'I Have A Dream' speech six years after hearing it, comparing it to the poetry of Tennyson.
- This exchange:
John: Edit? You're talking to The Bootles!
George:
- My favorite moment with George was when Paul and John were reflecting back on their trip to India a couple of years earlier to see Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. Jackson interleaves this beautifully with footage from the trip, and they were saying how it wasn't quite themselves, because it was like them being in school. George then simply says that the whole point of it all was to help find oneself, and to be oneself, ironically.
- George's songwriting is lovely here as well. At one point we hear him describing the science fiction show on TV and something which followed that featured waltzing as the inspiration for his ethereal song 'I Me Mine,' and then see John and Yoko dancing in the studio to it. Later we see him getting newspaper stuffed into the piano to make it sound more honky-tonk for his song 'For You Blue,' and executing it in a small number of takes. He talks about his frustration with working on the lyrics to 'Something' for six months, and it's fascinating to watch him try to work through them with the others (John: "Just say whatever comes into your head each time - 'attacks me like a cauliflower,' until you get the word, you know?"). He also stays up late to write 'Old Brown Shoe' because a decade earlier John had advised him that it's best to finish songs straight away once started.
- This quote: "The idea of the boat is completely insane." He says that while the band wrestle with all sorts of ideas, ranging from a TV show to filmmaker Michael Lindsay-Hogg pushing repeatedly for a concert at the ancient amphitheater at Sabratha in Libya on the Mediterranean coast. At one point they appear to be seriously considering getting a giant boat to take themselves and a large number of fans over, a ludicrous idea, and it's George who points this out.
Ringo: Ringo: "I've farted." Also Ringo: "I would like to go on the roof." That came right after George said he didn't want to, and if Ringo had echoed him, the legendary performance on the roof of Apple Corps, their final public appearance, might not have happened.
- Ringo, often called Ritchie by the others, bringing in his first version of 'Octopus's Garden,' somewhat bashfully playing it, and George helping him flesh it out.