“Jackson’s Get Back showed the sparks fly, the joy flow and made me wonder why they broke up..It’s sad it’s taken us 50 years to see it, and if not for Peter Jackson’s determination, we may never have.”
“I …wished I could have spent more times with these chaps. They seem to know how to have a lot of fun and write some killer songs.”
Con Nats 4 /5 Mop tops
Well, the much vaunted Peter Jackson re-edited documentary about the making of Let it Be, and a few songs for Abbey Road, has dropped onto Disney and at eight hours, it’s going to be an epic journey getting through all three episodes.
You know the story: A group of guys get together to record an album and want to put on a show in about two weeks. But they don’t have any fully formed songs, know where the show should go on and don’t all agree if it should. Will they make it in time??
The original Let It Be film, directed by Michael Lindsay-Hogg was quite depressing and focussed on the conflict. Having over 8 hours to represent 150 hours will give the real story more balance.
It’s one for fans, as I have to say a lot of it is pretty boring. There’s a lot of sitting around and jamming. Even Paul gets annoyed at how unstructured it all is. George is annoyed by the show idea and at Paul’s impatience, but there isn’t as much friction as a family dinner. They’re English… they don’t show their anger. And there is more joking and hamming than grumpiness. These guys still had fun, even when they admit they’re getting annoyed.
But there are also lots of nuggets of gold. While waiting for John to turn up, Paul strums a riff from nowhere, George joins in with some rhythm, Ringo jumps onto the drums, and that riff eventually becomes Get Back. It’s all captured. While warming up, Paul plays the piano and the beginnings of Let it Be are born. When struggling for new songs, they go back to old unrecorded songs from their childhood and rediscover One After 909. (Lennon wrote it at age 15.)
If you’re fascinated by the creative process, this is compelling. So much can be hit or miss, and they do churn through a lot of chaff to discover the gems, which are the boring bits. I love the scene when they think they have one, and George says: “I think it’s awful.” It was.
I’m also struck at how unobtrusive Yoko is, even though she’s sitting by John’s side the whole time. And how fresh faced Linda was. They were supports, not distractions. And Paul was the driving force, although he complains about being the one who does all the talking. You can tell George and John are contributing but also going through the motions. Episode one ends when George suddenly quits. (The way they returned after lunch and kept rehearsing was quite interesting. They could have started punk if they’d recorded their fierce jamming and Yoko’s screams.)
Episode 2 is a much more joyous and enjoyable episode. It goes from the depths of emotion to the highs of creativity. Spoiler alert: George Harrison returns to the band and they move to Apple Studios, but not without some drama first. We actually see Paul’s eyes watering after saying “And then there were two” when John wasn’t answering his phone.
Once Lennon comes in, everything changes. John and Paul have a heart to heart (which is recorded without their knowledge, which ethically is quite questionable) where Paul’s controlling nature is discussed. It was all about creative differences, not personalities. Paul even jokes about people thinking the band breaking up because “Yoko sat on an amp.” He’s very accepting of her, and she apparently only raises her opinion during meetings, which is the only time there’s any disquiet.
Once they’re in the studio, things start to work, and I was struck at how well they got along. As Paul had said earlier, there were no blazing rows. These guys genuinely were mates, cracked a lot of jokes and played up a lot. When Billy Preston dropped by and was drafted into the band, the dynamic went up two gears. You can see the delight on their faces, and he lifts the quality of their work and tunes. Billy is so cool and can’t believe his luck.
All of a sudden, they’re churning out songs – polishing and laying down a song or two a day. The way they react to the final recording of Get Back showed they knew they had a hit on their hands. Watching them work out the structure shows how haphazard the creative process can be.
And as one of their options for an outdoor concert falls apart, they decide to play on the roof. Will they make it? Do they care?
Episode three shows the perfectionist side of the band. The constant re-recordings of Get Back (I think it was Take 15 that made the final cut). And we finally see the infamous rooftop concert. I have seen the edited version, so I was surprised to see this version featured the multiple takes Get Back and One After 909. Instead of it being a mini concert, every song had a break, a chat with the director and another take. But didn’t the lads look like they enjoyed themselves? Well, maybe not George…
I was disappointed that the final day of recording was cut down and played over the credits. So many takes of such greats like Let it Be and Long and Winding Road were left on the cutting room floor. I much preferred this to a meeting about a grandiose show that was never going to happen.
This highlights my one criticism: I don’t like many of Jackson’s editing choices. A lot of the polishing and playing of their songs are edited down with quick cuts, while too many scenes talking about the live show are allowed to ramble on. The move to the Apple studios is tedious. It seems Jackson is using the pressure of the concert deadline to create tension. Fair enough, but I found it and director Michael Lloyd-Hogg annoying. It detracts from the focus on their dynamics and how they create songs and added too much pointless time.
And as for Michael Lindsay-Hogg, where do I start? He seems to say and feature more than George Martin Glyn Johns (sound) do. His constant whines about the concert not being grand enough annoyed me more than it annoyed George, and poncing around with a cigar, talking to the talent is not the role of a director or producer.
Hogg’s Let It Be left me deflated and glad the Beatles broke up. They could barely tolerate each other and the spark had gone. Jackson’s Get Back showed the sparks fly, the joy flow and made me wonder why they broke up, although you could see they had matured and life was taking them in different directions. Surely, if you want to present truth, you don’t impose your view and your pretentious presence throughout a documentary. Get out of the way and watch the magic. It’s sad it’s taken us 50 years to see it, and if not for Peter Jackson’s determination, we may never have.
While it might seem too long at eight hours (just a few months ago, it was only six) I hated how quickly it ended and wished I could have spent more times with these chaps. They seem to know how to have a lot of fun and write some killer songs.
Con Nats, On The Screen
