• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

All Things Must Beat. Share Anything Beatles!!

#1,401
.
I have been a staunch, though not rabid, Beatles fan for about 58 years now. I even ran out a couple weeks ago and bought myself the Target Edition of "The Beatles: Get Back" book for Christmas. Mrs. Dog was glad to have something to wrap and put under the tree for me this year, other than clothes.

Now, having watched the movie(s?), I regret that I must paraphrase the 19th century lawyer-poet, John Godfrey Saxe, who said “Laws, like sausages [and Beatles music], cease to inspire respect in proportion as we know how they are made.” Having been in several (admittedly "cover") bands myself, I thought I had a good feel as to how bands can work. Of course, I had put The Beatles on a pedestal in that regard, despite reading much to the contrary. But this cinematic event was an eye-opening education for me!

Here is a link to the first review of Peter Jackson's "The Beatles: Get Back" I've found that I feel accurately expresses my feelings about it.

Invalid Link Removed
.​
 
  • Like
Reactions: ricardol
#1,402
Mushroo said:
I'm about an hour in to it. I wish more drummers were like Ringo for not bashing on the drums in between takes. He quietly sits there, pitching in on backing vocals as needed, until it's time to play. Ringo is my favorite Beatle and I'm admiring his patience of character and musicality on display in this footage.
Click to expand...

This is something which has struck me now two episodes in. I choose to see his demeanor as professionalism (and in that regard, I am impressed no end), rather than him just checking out and getting through what is sometimes a pretty rough slog.

The group process is really fascinating. I would say it defines "serious fun". They constantly lampoon their own (and others) songs, singing in funny affected voices, converting them to waltz, country and every other style they can think of---and there is Ringo---dutifully playing the drums to all of it, smiling, but never losing focus or getting carried away with the fun. I think it's because he knows that the "fun" is the band's way to eventually get to what they want, and it all matters even if it's goofing around. He never takes his job for granted.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Ikkir, Patrice B, RedVee and 4 others
#1,403
I'm going to watch part 3 today, enjoying it overall, but I wouldn't mind some additional judicious editing. I love the parts reading the newspapers with all the bull crap, to me the main purpose of this documentary is to dispel all that. It's very obvious they got on very well, yes with angst at times as any close long term relationship will have. Seeing how George came back and in a much better mood shows clearly how they really got along.
 
  • Like
Reactions: RedVee and Michael Favata
#1,404
Mushroo said:
I'm about an hour in to it. I wish more drummers were like Ringo .... He quietly sits there, ... ... Ringo is my favorite Beatle and I'm admiring his patience of character and musicality on display in this footage.
Click to expand...

consectaneus said:
... ... I choose to see his demeanor as professionalism (and in that regard, I am impressed no end), rather than him just checking out and getting through what is sometimes a pretty rough slog. ... ... ---and there is Ringo---dutifully playing the drums to all of it, smiling, but never losing focus or getting carried away with the fun. ... ... He never takes his job for granted.
Click to expand...


I DO think that Ringo was checking out, or zoning out, instead of excessively hitting the skins between takes. Remember, Ringo had "quit The Beatles" just 5 months before, in the White Album sessions. I think his checking out of these "Get Back" sessions was the coping mechanism that was his takeaway from his own Beatles resignation. Sure, call it "professionalism," or whatever else, but it was essential to his part in this creative process.

Interesting, though, that Ringo wrote the song "Octopus's Garden" during his vacation from The Beatles. George also got creative and wrote "Wah Wah" the afternoon he quit The Beatles! Maybe they had to "get out of the Lennon/McCartney pressure cooker" to release their own creativity, which George had obviously been doing a lot between sessions. But, I don't think he had the courage of his convictions in his own compositions yet to risk playing them live.
.
 
#1,405
I've been debating in my own mind the documentary value of these films as a window into the way the Beatles worked. First there is the artificiality of the concept---recording in a film studio and playing to the cameras, having that expectation to be "on" and to entertain while working is not exactly business as usual. Still I think there is enough in the sheer volume of film over so many days that we can often "read between the lines" so to speak and learn an awful lot about them.

There are a few startling admissions (at least to me). Number one, the surreptitious recording of John and Paul admitting that they are to blame for making George feel undervalued. Two, they way they felt about Yoko's presence or about her in general. Paul's quip about how in the future she will be blamed for breaking up the group as a joke is ironically prescient. I got a big dose of that theory growing up, and watching the dynamics among all the members it's even more obvious to me how unfair that is. If anything, this film shows a group of guys who are so ready to call it a day, though Paul will later relate his devastation at the breakup.
 
#1,408
consectaneus said:
I've been debating in my own mind the documentary value of these films as a window into the way the Beatles worked. First there is the artificiality of the concept---recording in a film studio and playing to the cameras, having that expectation to be "on" and to entertain while working is not exactly business as usual. Still I think there is enough in the sheer volume of film over so many days that we can often "read between the lines" so to speak and learn an awful lot about them.

There are a few startling admissions (at least to me). Number one, the surreptitious recording of John and Paul admitting that they are to blame for making George feel undervalued. Two, they way they felt about Yoko's presence or about her in general. Paul's quip about how in the future she will be blamed for breaking up the group as a joke is ironically prescient. I got a big dose of that theory growing up, and watching the dynamics among all the members it's even more obvious to me how unfair that is. If anything, this film shows a group of guys who are so ready to call it a day, though Paul will later relate his devastation at the breakup.
Click to expand...

I got the impression that Paul was the least willing to let the band go.
The others seemed more willing or at least accepting of the inevitable split.
Also, McCartney seemed to be more accepting of Yoko at the time than has been reported.
I haven’t finished the series yet.
Another impression I’ve been getting is that even though there is palpable friction between them, they still have love for one another
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: Ikkir and Alkali Ike
#1,410
  • Like
Reactions: The Owl
#1,415
It’s been 20 years, November 29, 2001 since George departed.

3CFE4830-7F57-4C3E-A8D2-E82CBD7F5C83.png
 
  • Like
Reactions: ElectroVibe, RedVee, Alkali Ike and 2 others
#1,419
Here’s my take on part 2 for what it’s worth:

I think the series should be shorter.
6 hours instead of the almost 8 hours it is.
It also should have come along with a movie edited down to 2.5 hours for the more casual Beatles fans who are not musicians.

Look I’ve sat at my recording console with a lot of tracks I recorded and their all my children. So I can’t get rid of them. So I use them all. And then it sounds like nothing because I included everything.
That’s the genius of a great producer right? Knowing what to leave in but more importantly what to leave out. Peter Jackson could done a better job of leaving some stuff out.

All of that said I’m still loving being a fly on the wall here to see how my beloved Beatles interacted as humans and what their process was for writing and recording songs and what they had to endure to get there.

Some observations:

Ringos snare drum and other drums at times are covered by a towel. Wow! I was a drummer for a long time. That must have been crazy hard to play on them like that! It makes me appreciate him all the more. His drum stands were horrible single braced stands. By the time I started playing those were the cheap beginner stands. The reason being single braced stands tended to fall over. The cymbal or drum was on a shaky foundation on single braced stands and it felt like it so you played them like they would. It fundamentally altered how you were able to play. Double braced stands made playing so much more pleasant. His drum “throne” looked horribly uncomfortable! And he had to sit on it for hours on end! Now drums thrones are very comfortable for the right price. Hydraulic. Thick cushions that swivel with cushioned back rest etc.
No one ever said, at least in these films, Ringo play it this way or that way. He just figured it out. At first his playing on “Get Back” didn’t work and he knew it. He figured it out and came up with that brilliant playing on that song. Perfect.
I’ve come away with much more respect for Ringo from this and that surprises me. I did not expect that.

That “studio” was better than Twickingham but geez it’s the Beatles. Money wasn’t an issue. That’s the best they could do?!

They were superstars trying to do everything themselves. That’s not good. I get it they were sick of being ripped off (Dick James) and being used and abused. They needed a Brian Epstein. A George Martin who they seem to generally ignore through this. They needed direction.

A lot of Abbey Road was written during these sessions. Mean Mr Mustard. Carry That Weight. Polyethylene Pam. Came in Through Bathroom window. Oh Darling. Maxwells Silver Hammer.

For those who think Paul was being overbearing I think he was trying to fill that leadership gap that John obviously didn’t want at first. And isn’t it interesting that John got 6 songs on the album and Paul 4 and George 2. Five of the seven on side one were John’s. For you young people not familiar with albums being on side 1 used to mean something. Paul seems to have decided to lay back a little once they got to Apple Studios.

John and Paul always had a mic in front of them. Why not George?! Odd. Is it because they got used to sharing two mics on stage?

Billy Preston was just dropping in to say hello and found himself a member of the band lol. And wow what a great addition he was to those songs. He really brought it all together. I think it focused them more too having him in the room. The smiles on the guys faces when he first started playing on the songs was priceless. They knew that he was the perfect person at just the right moment.

This is for the younger people here. They had to decide whether to record or not because there was only so much tape to go around! Think about that the next time you are recording to unlimited tracks and virtual unlimited tracks to unlimited space in the cloud or a hard drive. It was hard to record back then. And yet their tracks stand the test of time and are better or at least equal to anything recorded since in my view. Hats off to Glyn John’s and Geoff Emmerick and George Martin (Alan Parsons was a tape operator lol) etc. and the Beatles for overcoming the horrible gear. Mic stands we’re floppy and wouldn’t stay in place! They were monitoring themselves through a live PA in the studio! Ringo had to deal with towels on his drum heads. Paul’s Rickenbacher had the wrong nut for a lefty so the strings kept popping out of place. They had to do live takes while playing their instruments and singing. George played brilliantly on “For You Blue” while singing live and recording. And John did a hell of a job on that new slide guitar they just brought in on that song!

George seems engaged happy and inspired at Apple Studio as opposed to Twickingham.

I wish they had done a cover of “Bye Bye Love” by the Everly Brothers on that record. That would have been awesome. The harmonies they did just jamming on that were amazing.

A Primrose Hill Concert would have been amazing! They never said why they couldn’t do it there. It seemed like they all wanted to.

Anyway that’s my observations for what it’s worth.

Part 3 (for me anyway) coming up soon!
 
  • Like
Reactions: Rumble Thunder, ElectroVibe, RedVee and 1 other person

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back