"Get Back" film

[LBS-bass]

I won't argue about the quality of the songs (a subjective judgment) or their rooftop performance. But a better-organized group would have worked out much more material in that amount of time (assuming that members brought viable ideas).

The creative process is different for everyone. They worked how it worked for them. Can't argue with their results.

 

[Beej]

Have there been interviews with Paul and/or Ringo about the finished documentary?

There are a few, but note that they were both producers and relatively heavily involved in the production of the documentary itself. An interview about it would partially be commenting on their own work. Just a point that this may affect what kinds of interviews they would give.

 

[LBS-bass]

There are a few, but note that they were both producers and relatively heavily involved in the production of the documentary itself. An interview about it would partially be commenting on their own work. Just a point that this may affect what kinds of interviews they would give.

Well it would also affect what kind of movie they made. If they wanted to portray the fun they had, this would have been the opportunity, so there's no reason to believe they are lying. Yoko was also a producer on it.

 

[Beej]

Well it would also affect what kind of movie they made. If they wanted to portray the fun they had, this would have been the opportunity, so there's no reason to believe they are lying. Yoko was also a producer on it.

I agree, what I meant was, I don't think we are going to hear a very deeply honest commentary on the documentary the way we might if it was done without their consent or involvement.

 

[Fishheadjoe]

Let me start out by saying that I am not, nor have I ever been a Beatles fan! I have to date, watched the first of the three shows. My take, well, I am surprisingly captivated by what I have seen so far. Again, not being a Beatle fan, I had per-conceived ideas as to who those guys were and I could not have been more wrong!
I really never liked John, I always thought he was just a miserable curmudgeon! To see him smiling and being friendly, well, my impressions have changed. I also have grown to respect Paul as a writer and player and a man charged with herding the cats!
What surprised me most was my growing dislike for George. His nonstop noodling was driving me crazy! Add to that his whining, I was pretty happy that he walked out in the first epi!
I will watch the other two epi's as I find their creative process fascinating.
Fishheadjoe

 

[StereoPlayer]

Let me start out by saying that I am not, nor have I ever been a Beatles fan! I have to date, watched the first of the three shows. My take, well, I am surprisingly captivated by what I have seen so far. Again, not being a Beatle fan, I had per-conceived ideas as to who those guys were and I could not have been more wrong!
I really never liked John, I always thought he was just a miserable curmudgeon! To see him smiling and being friendly, well, my impressions have changed. I also have grown to respect Paul as a writer and player and a man charged with herding the cats!
What surprised me most was my growing dislike for George. His nonstop noodling was driving me crazy! Add to that his whining, I was pretty happy that he walked out in the first epi!
I will watch the other two epi's as I find their creative process fascinating.
Fishheadjoe

I noticed the noodling too. But by the end I saw some of the parts he was working on in the finished songs.
Ringo was the patient hero…just waiting his turn.
Yoko was less obtrusive than I thought other than her singing. Although she was a producer and could have easily turned the story into her version. I never really thought she broke them up anyways. I could watch it all again…but it was very long!

 

[Lesfunk]

What surprised me most was my growing dislike for George. His nonstop noodling was driving me crazy! Add to that his whining, I was pretty happy that he walked out in the first epi!
I will watch the other two epi's as I find their creative process fascinating.
Fishheadjoe

George was bitter and it’s understandable considering the arc of their career by that point.
He was coming into his own as a songwriter and artist and I’m sure he felt smothered by the Lennon/McCartney machine. He was ready to express himself and wanted out of the “one song per album side” limitation he was dealt.
His subsequent work shows that he did indeed have a lot to say.

 

[WI Short Scaler]

Given what I know about the dynamic of the group at that point in time, I can't envision any of them doing "homework" between sessions for the betterment of the mission.

They totally needed leadership, as you describe very well.

These comments all ring true with me. Leadership would have been very helpful to keep them on track. But after the success they had who would they really have listened to? Maybe George Martin could have stepped in more to steer them but we'll never know. I'm no expert on the Beatles but I do think they have an amazing catalog of music and believe there was a lot of talent in that room.

And it just didn't seem that any of them had their "wholeheart" into the group anymore. So there's no way they were putting any extra effort into things as they were. As soon as I saw Yoko walking in early on I wondered why they didn't all just say "let's do this as JUST us."

I barely made it through the first episode and probably won't watch the rest.

 

[micguy]

I've seen most of part 1. They sure are passing around that Bass VI. I had no idea they used that thing. So that's mostly what I got out of it.

Solid proof that a bunch of no talent hacks can, with that one right piece of gear, make great music.


Or so we all want to believe.

 

[QORC]

maybe someone can tell me why I should keep going in this documentary? I'm in "days 1-7" and I'm thoroughly bored with the obvious tedium of these guys just sitting in a circle and can't figure out one new song to play (except for Don't Let Me Down, which appears to be the only developed song there is), 2 weeks later, so instead just noodle around with other peoples' songs or old songs from their deep past, or throwing around bizarre ideas of how the audience is supposed to enter the place, or even IF they are going to play in this warehouse? Surrounded by various sychophants to validate their lack of direction and bizarre ideas, while bringing them sandwiches, drinks and smokes.

While it's interesting see them as kind of regular guys, not the Gods that they were portrayed as (even they read Beatles club newsletters and get a chuckle out of them), they seem utterly dysfunctional and unable to get almost anything done.

it's like I know these guys - no rudder, no direction, muddling around like the dysfunctional, drug-addled musicians that they appear to be. Its frustrating to even watch this. I keep waiting for something to actually occur.

does it get better?

 

[StereoPlayer]

maybe someone can tell me why I should keep going in this documentary? I'm in "days 1-7" and I'm thoroughly bored with the obvious tedium of these guys just sitting in a circle and can't figure out one new song to play (except for Don't Let Me Down, which appears to be the only developed song there is), 2 weeks later, so instead just noodle around with other peoples' songs or old songs from their deep past, or throwing around bizarre ideas of how the audience is supposed to enter the place, or even IF they are going to play in this warehouse? Surrounded by various sychophants to validate their lack of direction and bizarre ideas, while bringing them sandwiches, drinks and smokes.

While it's interesting see them as kind of regular guys, not the Gods that they were portrayed as (even they read Beatles club newsletters and get a chuckle out of them), they seem utterly dysfunctional and unable to get almost anything done.

it's like I know these guys - no rudder, no direction, muddling around like the dysfunctional, drug-addled musicians that they appear to be. Its frustrating to even watch this. I keep waiting for something to actually occur.

does it get better?

It was tedious to watch. I guess it gets better…the rooftop concert. Define “better”.
It’s still amazing to me how much interest they still get. Really?…I want to watch it again!

 

[Mushroo]

maybe someone can tell me why I should keep going in this documentary? I'm in "days 1-7" and I'm thoroughly bored with the obvious tedium of these guys just sitting in a circle and can't figure out one new song to play (except for Don't Let Me Down, which appears to be the only developed song there is), 2 weeks later, so instead just noodle around with other peoples' songs or old songs from their deep past, or throwing around bizarre ideas of how the audience is supposed to enter the place, or even IF they are going to play in this warehouse? Surrounded by various sychophants to validate their lack of direction and bizarre ideas, while bringing them sandwiches, drinks and smokes.

While it's interesting see them as kind of regular guys, not the Gods that they were portrayed as (even they read Beatles club newsletters and get a chuckle out of them), they seem utterly dysfunctional and unable to get almost anything done.

it's like I know these guys - no rudder, no direction, muddling around like the dysfunctional, drug-addled musicians that they appear to be. Its frustrating to even watch this. I keep waiting for something to actually occur.

does it get better?

You pretty much summed it up! "Get Back" allows us to be flies on the wall, to watch the sausage get made. That might not be appealing to everybody! If you are bored with Ep. 1 it might be worth just skipping ahead to the rooftop concert.

I personally am enjoying it most, from a gear perspective. It's fun to watch John play the Bass VI for example.

 

[Jeff Hughes]

maybe someone can tell me why I should keep going in this documentary? I'm in "days 1-7" and I'm thoroughly bored with the obvious tedium of these guys just sitting in a circle and can't figure out one new song to play (except for Don't Let Me Down, which appears to be the only developed song there is), 2 weeks later, so instead just noodle around with other peoples' songs or old songs from their deep past, or throwing around bizarre ideas of how the audience is supposed to enter the place, or even IF they are going to play in this warehouse? Surrounded by various sychophants to validate their lack of direction and bizarre ideas, while bringing them sandwiches, drinks and smokes.

While it's interesting see them as kind of regular guys, not the Gods that they were portrayed as (even they read Beatles club newsletters and get a chuckle out of them), they seem utterly dysfunctional and unable to get almost anything done.

it's like I know these guys - no rudder, no direction, muddling around like the dysfunctional, drug-addled musicians that they appear to be. Its frustrating to even watch this. I keep waiting for something to actually occur.

does it get better?

I agree with some of your observations. At times it felt like watching a really bad band practice where the people who sing the songs have the most fun.

I think this series is for the Beatles academic though. It is perhaps best appreciated in one hour doses.

I think that we are perhaps becoming conditioned to bingeing one hour programs with a definite one hour pacing. I started looking at my phone after about an hour and 15 of each episode.

I watched it all over about five or six nights. It is worth it to finish. Just take your time.

 

[LBS-bass]

You pretty much summed it up! "Get Back" allows us to be flies on the wall, to watch the sausage get made. That might not be appealing to everybody! If you are bored with Ep. 1 it might be worth just skipping ahead to the rooftop concert.

I personally am enjoying it most, from a gear perspective. It's fun to watch John play the Bass VI for example.

I finally finished it yesterday. It was interesting from a songwriter's and musician's perspective to see how they worked together and realize that in some ways my process is a bit similar; that stuff Paul was doing to come up with Get Back is a lot like how I play around with chords and melodies in my studio in order to get to something worth keeping. Words flow afterwards. Gosh, it'd be fun to have a collaborator I could write with like that.

But I'm no Paul, that's for sure. Nobody but Paul is Paul. What struck me most was that everyone had a whole lot of general ability; the scenes where they were trying to sort out who was going to do what because someone wasn't on their usual instrument, George struggling with the piano and finally giving it all up to Billy, and I also feel completely vindicated for drinking wine at rehearsals now They're also pretty casual about how they sound for the most part, right up to where they're tightening it all up for the recording and show.

In Part 1 I was a little miffed at George for being a bit of a downer and he seemed a bit... how should I put this? Slow on the uptake? I thought it might be hard to be around him. But after a period of time I saw that he was just emotionally checked out and tired of the John and Paul playroom; he wanted to get on with it and had a whole lot of music simmering in there with no place to go.

As for who broke up the Beatles, seems to me it was Allen Klein; all the significant others were a presence from time to time, Yoko was there because John wanted her there, she seemed pretty quiet unless she was invited to join in on their goofing around, and it was nice seeing how they all interacted with Heather.

But the thing as a whole was a bit of a slog, and we all knew how it ended. I ended up fast forwarding through much of the music in part 3; I can only hear "Get Back" so many times. By the time we got to the rooftop I was pretty over it.

It did make me want to read a little more about each of them individually. It's clear that certain things were glossed over; John seems pretty functional for a junkie. I've read some of the biographical stuff but I'd like to read more. I was never a huge Beatles fan back in the day and have grown to appreciate them as an adult.

 

[13bass]

I wasn't surprised at all in how they interacted after reading "The Beatles: All These Years: Volume One – Tune In" by Mark Lewisohn. Whether a fan or not, it seems to be the most accurate portrayal of the these guys as teens and who they really were, with the myths swept aside. It is planned on being 3 parts, and this first book take them right up to just before they make it big worldwide. I for one was always a Beatles fan, but this book is the first of anything to really change the way I see each of them, and why they did the things they did, why they thought the way they did, etc.
Now when I watch Get Back, after they have been through the rocket to stardom, they're lives made public, the drugs, etc. It all makes sense to me, even George, and keep in mind we have NOT seen as flies on the wall the private moments over the last year or two leading to this to give even more insight of where they each were in dealing with everything.

 

[StereoPlayer]

I finally finished it yesterday. It was interesting from a songwriter's and musician's perspective to see how they worked together and realize that in some ways my process is a bit similar; that stuff Paul was doing to come up with Get Back is a lot like how I play around with chords and melodies in my studio in order to get to something worth keeping. Words flow afterwards. Gosh, it'd be fun to have a collaborator I could write with like that.

But I'm no Paul, that's for sure. Nobody but Paul is Paul. What struck me most was that everyone had a whole lot of general ability; the scenes where they were trying to sort out who was going to do what because someone wasn't on their usual instrument, George struggling with the piano and finally giving it all up to Billy, and I also feel completely vindicated for drinking wine at rehearsals now They're also pretty casual about how they sound for the most part, right up to where they're tightening it all up for the recording and show.

In Part 1 I was a little miffed at George for being a bit of a downer and he seemed a bit... how should I put this? Slow on the uptake? I thought it might be hard to be around him. But after a period of time I saw that he was just emotionally checked out and tired of the John and Paul playroom; he wanted to get on with it and had a whole lot of music simmering in there with no place to go.

As for who broke up the Beatles, seems to me it was Allen Klein; all the significant others were a presence from time to time, Yoko was there because John wanted her there, she seemed pretty quiet unless she was invited to join in on their goofing around, and it was nice seeing how they all interacted with Heather.

But the thing as a whole was a bit of a slog, and we all knew how it ended. I ended up fast forwarding through much of the music in part 3; I can only hear "Get Back" so many times. By the time we got to the rooftop I was pretty over it.

It did make me want to read a little more about each of them individually. It's clear that certain things were glossed over; John seems pretty functional for a junkie. I've read some of the biographical stuff but I'd like to read more. I was never a huge Beatles fan back in the day and have grown to appreciate them as an adult.

I think I read somewhere that George just had an argument with his girlfriend/wife(not sure of his martial status). And grumpy in general about the acceptance of his songs.

 

[LBS-bass]

I agree with some of your observations. At times it felt like watching a really bad band practice where the people who sing the songs have the most fun.

I think this series is for the Beatles academic though. It is perhaps best appreciated in one hour doses.

I don't remember if it was in this thread or a different one, but a good observation someone made was that they were both writing songs and getting their collective performance chops back at the same time, with a pretty tight timeframe. The goofing around with old songs was probably an important piece of their process to get used to playing live together again; they hadn't really done that for years.

 

[roccobass]

While I'd probably enjoy this series, I'm not willing to get Disney+ for one show. Hopefully it will be available somewhere down the road. That said, they did manage to pull together a classic show...

I’m with you on that regarding streaming. Haven’t seen it yet, but from all reports and reviews, it sounds like a classic. In that case, I’m willing to shell out some green for the DVD/Blu-Ray. when it is out on those formats. Right now, the marketing game plan appears to make everyone who’s anxious pay for it streaming wise first. Get those bucks initially. That’s cool. I understand business. No bigs I can wait.

 

[StereoPlayer]

I’m with you on that regarding streaming. Haven’t seen it yet, but from all reports and reviews, it sounds like a classic. In that case, I’m willing to shell out some green for the DVD/Blu-Ray. when it is out on those formats. Right now, the marketing game plan appears to make everyone who’s anxious pay for it streaming wise first. Get those bucks initially. That’s cool. I understand business. No bigs I can wait.

I’m only out 7.99. Already cancelled the service.

 

[roccobass]

I’m only out 7.99. Already cancelled the service.

I just don’t want to open up an account for this. I know. It is a good price to see it quickly, but I think this release is something I might be watching again and again. Willing to wait.