I can understand how people who are not fans or are casual fans would find it a bit boring, however I found the whole thing fascinating. I felt throughout like I was there in the studio with them. An amazing job Peter Jackson did putting this together.
@@ZaphiroAnejo I couldn't say he is "not a good man." I think he was a good person. He went down some wrong paths ... but he was far from "bad" or "evil." He had a strange upbringing losing his mother ... I think he was just a bit off at times.
The “I’ve Got a Feeling” performance on the roof was amazing. It’s the one that ended up on the album. Paul looks like he’s about to lose consciousness after he nails the high note on the middle break in the song. And George nailed the bendy guitar line he was having trouble with. Just a perfect Beatle moment.
if I'm not mistaken(I can always watch it again)Paul's most raucous singing moment since 'Helter Skelter,' ironically takes place when the 'Bobbies' reach the roof . they seem to be thinking "the mop tops have turned into raging hippies"
The most interesting thing to me is the amount of power George really had, even if he was ignored. He was the one who forced them to leave Twickenham, he lent them his personal 8 track which the album was recorded on, he was the one who brought in Billy Preston, and his quitting the band forced John and Paul to recognize how badly they've been treating him. After he returned, you can see that they really started to include him, and not be so condescending. It's also interesting to note that his playing got better after that - his leads on One After 909 and Dig a Pony, and his subtle playing on Don't Let Me Down are great. Also interesting is when they're talking about signing Billy Preston to Apple, John says he's going to make an album, "and George is going to produce it;" and he wasn't talking about George Martin. At that point, they were finally acknowledging George's ability. George did, in fact, produce Billy Preston's two critically acclaimed albums for Apple Records.
I'm with you, man, I was mesmerized every minute. As a songwriter and as a Beatles fan, it was just a gift. The only thing that left a bittersweet taste for me was that I wished footage like this existed for Abbey Road - or - well, any other album. It's very common these days to see bands in the studio and documentary footage of albums being made, but to have THIS....it's just a miracle.
I love Get back its my got to for karaoke. Then seeing thr conception I cryed my wife thought I was crazy but man. Even now the intense awesomeness of it is making me tear up
their "output" from the end of the let it be sessions til the final track on abbey road, a period of about 8months is 6 songs, three of which will feature all the beatles. this is the end of their busy period.
Simply put this was one of the greatest things ive ever seen. I'm so thankful for it all. To see the happier times they had together as well as the tense moments and arguments. Just that one private conversation between paul and john reveals so much about the dynamic of the band and why they eventually broke up. It all just feels like a showing of the truth. Having been such a big beatles fan all my life, this documentary has given me a sense of peace and well being. Thank you Peter Jackson!
I think the documentary puts many things in their place: Paul was the one who worked to make the band work; George had good songs but they wouldn't listen to him; John was no longer interested in the band, and he was a clown; Ringo hardly spoke. In short: Paul in the end (with his mistakes or not) was the one who wanted the band to work.
"Paul was the one who worked" and "John was a clown". Come on... You seem not the know the history of the band or you just chose to believe that. This particular album and movie project was Paul's initiative and yes, he had more input in this album than in any other else. But that was not the case for the rest of their discography. Abbey Road is much more balanced, and A Hard Days Night is like 70% John's songs, just to put things in perspective. This album is a particular look of a difficult moment for Paul because he had to take control of the band but he wasn't happy about it, he simply had no choice.
Paul's mom died just before he became a Beatle. John's mom died while he was a Beatle. The band was always going to mean more to Paul than it would John.
I can't say that I really thought John Lennon was 'out of it' at all. Although I noticed that when they were at Twickenham studios, he always seemed to be showing up late and more 'moody'. In Apple headquarters he was there on time and contributing more. I agree with most of the rest of your thoughts, especially Billy Preston giving the whole band a creative lift. That was a big moment in the movie for me. It seemed like these unfinished songs suddenly sounded almost like I remember them.
I was 10 on Feb 9 1964… this documentary made me cry. How can I ever put into words how my mind, heart, soul and the world I have known was impacted and shaped by these men? I cannot. Peter Jackson has blessed us with a gift of incalculable proportions. What would our lives have been like without our heroes? I am sure we all ask ourselves that question and the answer is too horridble to consider.
Paul was and still is so aware of what he is, who he is and who/what The Beatles were. It’s astounding how he was so predictive - he just knew how important The Beatles were to the World then and how important they’d still be in 50 years. Blows my mind!
I was a teenager in the 1960s, I lived through that whole scene and the music was epic. The Beatles exploded onto the scene with Love Me Do and Please, Please me and we travelled with them right throught til they broke up. I remember at my boarding school we had a bout of food poisoning among us students(cadets we were called, it was a ship run on Royal Naval lines, a school for "officers and gentleman") I Digress, wehad a transistor radio and this show came on and they played the new Beatles White Album, the wholem damn thing, we were in absolute ecstasy on hearing their nbrand new album. Back then a new album by the Beatles, Cream, Hendrix, in fact any band we werer crazy about. We would be in a room of us teenagers, get the new album out and play side one, then side two, then repeat that a few times. When Sargeant Peppers came out we played it to death, the album covers were great for making "funny" cigarettes on too. Yes, we had the best of times, I could write a book about it, in fact I think I will. Really though, a new Beatles album was an event, ask anybody who is around 70 years old, they will probably tell you the same.
Don't you KNOW it! I had the same experience, glued to the radio listening to the entire white album (the guitar on "While My Guitar ...) sounded SO present, little did I know who it was :). And Ed Sullivan of course, and all of it. Kind of a magical time that way.
Something that really struck me is how there is this narrative of so much acrimony and what I see is almost zero disrespectful words not only to each other, but directed at all the other people in their studio universe. Just mostly polite, courteous and thoughtful "blokes" making amazing music for the ages.
I loved watching all those rough cuts turn into modern masterpieces in such a shortperiod of time. That really stands out. There was one little moment that jumped out at me. Ringo plays the first lines of Octopus's Garden on piano. George walks over and joins on guitar and starts helping. Just amazing.
Is there any other band where the minutiae of hour to hour off the cuff conversation and recording technicalities could be so hypnotically fascinating? I think not.
Watching the rooftop performance again. We've all watched it many times but this new version after all we've been through in the past 8 or so hours is quite stunning and a real tear-jerker.
They should have just not had the audio cutaways on the street while they were performing, and too much of the police in the reception area because we got the point especially while they're performing on the roof at that point that's what we want to see and hear the Beatles not the police that much in the building
There is a lot of things in this documentary that just blew my mind, how Paul waiting for John writes Get Back, and how George explain how the last nigh he saw a movie and after that he wrote I me mine, how Yoko is a more likely person of how is portrayed in the first movie, this frase that Paul said "I'm in a leader position and I'm afraid", or something like that, but the to me show how Paul just want to be with the Beatles, and if he don't be the leader then the Beatles will desappear, one scene that I love is when the daughter of Linda starts to sing like Yoko and John just laugh, there is a lot of moments that just humanize the Bealtes for me, how in the start are just friends that are in a tense position, and I'm surprised how in this video Michael is not mention as the one that made all the tension for the group insisting and insisting in the worst way posible, he made the group tense, and he is the reason John was like I don't give a ef about all of this, ef that show, but when George leaves the grupo decided they want to do a show, simple, and the roof was like a fun place, I love those 7 hours of jusr pure Beatle magic and I'll watch again in a future
I never appreciated just how amazingly talented songwriters the Beatles were....until I became a songwriter. I am blown away at how much of the creative process happens by accident instead of by purpose. Very inspiring to watch this happen in front of my eyes. WOW
Being a retired "dime store psychologist", it occurred to me while watching them goof around that all of them, particularly John and Paul, were operating out of their mind's "child" state, or id. Just playing and free associating lyrics and riffs. That's when the good stuff happens!
I always imagine that whoever the songwriter was brought an almost completed song and the rest added some minor tweaks here and there. Seeing the real process where they often just had one or two lines and just kept working till they had a song.
I really enjoyed this series. Some of my favorite moments of the series was any moment with Billy Preston, moments where the Beatles were goofing around and jamming (especially in episode 2), and when Linda’s daughter Heather came into the studio and played with the group.
I think Paul, out of all of them, really recognized the enormity of who they were, not only musically and to the world, but to each other, and what this slow separation truly meant,.
It’s funny that Lennon would tell George “we’re a rock and roll band” regarding doing “I Me Mine”. George should’ve told him: It rocks as much as Revolution #9, but he didn’t want to rock an already “rocking” boat.
I was thinking when I heard that a good reply would be Well is Strawberry Fields Forever a Rock and Roll band song??? It surely was not exactly a Johnny be Good type. So why not the Waltzy type rhythm. One thing we got to realize in this time period apparently John is still sometimes doing Heroin, which is bad news. And George was dealing at this time with his MOTHER dying of Cancer, and some kind of problems with Pattie Boyd, too. They were trying to do a throw back to their earlier days of Music, and the methods they used to use. One person pointed out that what was really lacking in the original idea for this project was there was no real Layout for Goals in it. To just say we need x amount of Songs out by or in 14 days or so puts undue strain right from the start, plus not all in on any Live show. But it did bring out some Old songs which were never used in the past. Two of Us and One after 909, I enjoy the 1963 version of One after 909, because it is Their OLD sound from those days.
John was an ass.. he later called Abbey Road "junk". Like WTF... jealous much?? Oh.. and this is from the Beatle who put his screaming 😱 screeching wife on a whole LP side... gross
@@stevekaspar1396 exactly, Lennon was always dismissive of truly great music by the Beatles (and also solo Beatles) but his screeching, caterwauling, screaming, howling, wailing, moaning wife could do no wrong. Amazing what p*ssy can make a man do.
Since I watched now over 5 Hours , I am kind of living with them in this Rooms. It feels like Marty McFly seeing his Parents as youngsters. Thats weird. And it's a gift for me to have this now whenever I want it. A Time Machine in my Home. Great.
Simply put, this documentary for me was waaaaaaaaay too short. Anyone complaining about the run time just doesn't understand that this doc is a goldmine. We are so lucky that there is actual footage from inception to completed songs of arguably some of their biggest masterpieces. So yeah, definitely can go for another 10 hours of bonus footage not included in the final cut of the Doc. Great review JT.
there was tons of endless padding that adds nothing to the story. they are creating sure but writing ? not so much, other than get back everything else is brought in some state ready to go, and at no point do we see them work out a song lyrically so its finished we see them come up with lyrics they wont keep.
I loved this so much. It was quite special to me for a few reasons - 1) I'm a big Beatles fan, along with my two younger brothers. We are all musicians. 2) I was born in 1969 3) The release day was one day after my 52nd birthday (24th November) 4) During Covid/lockdown managed to watch synchronized streaming with my brothers and cyberchat together while all living in different cities
Someone that got completely overlooked was Maureen Starkey. On the roof she was rocking out. I wish they left the camera on her for10 seconds longer. Then afterwards downstairs in the playback room she's feeling it big time. More Maureen!
Surprises from the doc: How much they goofed offed. How little Yoko interfered contrary to belief. How few songs they played on the roof: They played Get Back, Don't Let Me Down, I Dig a Pony, One After Nine O' Nine, I Got a Feeling .... that's it. And they played some of them twice. Loved it!
On the Yoko thing, while it's true she didn't really talk at all when The Beatles were actually playing, she did talk quite a bit in between takes, which you can hear in the bootlegs of these sessions. In fact, it's even mentioned in part 2 by Paul and Lindsay Hogg how Yoko seems to be talking for John, although interestingly Paul defends John and Yoko. I feel like Peter Jackson chose to cut most of her moments out of the doc because that's not really something most Beatles fans want to see.
I really enjoyed the split-screen editing during the rooftop sequence. It not only added a much wider perspective to the performance as an impactful live event on that fateful day, but it also helped break up the monotony of the repeated songs. It was the best the band sounded throughout the entire doc as well.
one amazing moment... Paul started messing around with a rock and roll line on his bass..and, almost in real time, we see and hear how it turned into "Get Back". and yeah...I do wish they'd done a behind the scene on cam thing with Abbey Road, too.
And that would have been in Abbey Road studio where they were most comfortable. Probably why that was a more polished recording to begin with, plus George Martin having a greater role in it.
The combination of intuitive musical ability with real harmonic/musical knowledge is the most interesting aspect to this given the overall duration. Sure, the revelation about the relationships clears up the myths and historical record but to see how McCartney has a song and does the arrangements and can tell Lennon how to sing melody vs harmony parts while George works out guitar parts is the most interesting. George showing Ringo how to use basic harmony to make Octopus's Garden work, for instance.
JT, my brother introduced me to your videos, and I really enjoyed your "History of Rock'n Roll" series, and have since moved on to your playlist videos. Once again, my brother and I love your content, so thank you.
I was five when they hit the Ed Sullivan Show, and my life was shaped by the feeling of euphoria that rolled off of them. Watching this actually kicked off a grief process of missing them SO MUCH. it is impossible to explain to anyone that didn't live through it how hard they hit. It's like the world was in black and white and they brought it into color (of course this was literally happening with tv technology at the time). It's fascinating to see them in their "bubble" making fun of the bullshit in Housego's columns. The scene of them going apeshit after George left, and the moment of the three of them huddled, gripping each other's arms is so revealing of the love they had for each other, which permeates the whole thing. I'll watch it again and again.
@Luna Lisa Hart _It is impossible to explain to anyone that didn't live through it how hard they hit. It's like the world was in black and white and they brought it into color._ So true. And they were just singing and playing. Nowadays artists try to have that kind of impact by using various types of *spectacle* involving sex/sexuality, fancy lights and sets, elaborate dancing and dancers, outlandish costumes, etc. But the Beatles just sang and played, dressed in their modest uniforms on the Ed Sullivan show, and it was enough to turn the world upside down in a good way.
What was it about them that captured people's imaginations? Was it the group dynamic? Was it the sound of their music? Their personalities? I love the Beatles but I've always been fascinated by their ability to absolutely grab the American conscience in 1964
@@bucksdiaryfan It makes more sense if you start with the foundation of where western culture was in the early sixties: sexual repression, strict gender roles, music that was whiter than white. I'm an empath, so it all comes down to energy for me. The sense of euphoria, excitement, bliss, joy, camaraderie, intelligence, and love just rolled off them. It was an alchemy that blended--like their voices--into something greater than the sum of its parts. If you watch the press conference when they landed in New York the first time, you get a sense of how rigid and unimaginative we were at the time. The reporters just don't know how to take them. It's like they were the only ones awake in the room.
I had a very different impression after watching it over the last 3 days: Twickenham was an awful place to be in as a band and they were filmed THE WHOLE TIME. Everybody would be miserable there! Things improve in a big way in the Apple basement - also not a great 'studio' but you get the sense that they are relieved and getting back on track. I didn't get the impression that John was 'not there' - far from it, about 2/3 of the whole movie is them goofing around while working on the songs at the same time. The creative process is so fascinating to watch, like when 'Get Back' seems to materialize all of a sudden from Paul's strummed bass. Billy Preston adds so much to the music and the vibe, it really takes off when he gets involved. And the rooftop concert is killer, while Ringo seems a bit detached and bored through the sessions, he really shines during the performance - everybody does. The moment when the all sit together and listen back to 'One After 909' is so great and there's no doubt that they enjoy each other's company.
i noticed things stopped improving the closer to the end it gets, with paul hectoring lennon and starr on just what to play on his slow songs you see the two of them turn right off. on the final day (not shown in the film cause, reasons?) lennon is back to endlessly snarking after pauls numerous takes of his songs. its so obviously over and none of the beatles seem to have no doubt that this is the end.
Nice analysis JT, if one is not a musician or extreme Beatles fan, the final episode might be enough. They totally transform from hard working and frustrated artists to fabulous performers glowing with the results of their efforts and just enjoying making music, at last.
Really great and honest review! One of the most surprising things is that sound and picture quality is amazing! Looks like it was shot yesterday. It be hard to recommend to a non hardcore Beatle fan but for someone who can never get enough this is pure gold.
Just finished watching it. The rooftop show is amazing, especially with the coppers in the lobby and more street footage. It adds an element of dramatic tension and humour. Also, it really struck me how much John lifts his game when it counts! You always know Paul is going to be brilliant in performance, but they are all terrific when the rubber hits the road. I wonder what would have happened if they had used it as a stepping stone to a full-on world tour?
I was fascinated watching the process and how they were able to turn one line into this fantastic, beautiful audio masterpiece. And I especially love how, even though they’re all kind of ‘done with this’ at first, there’s no denying their connection and their just pure delight in themselves and each other when it’s all clicking. You can tell they really did have a soul connection. Oh, and Yoko is just annoying as f--.
The scene where Paul just hammers away at his bass until he comes up with Get Back just gives me chills. The way he starts off strumming away and then just catches the song's bass line in passing, realises "Aha! That's interesting..." and then carves out the song as if he's a sculptor, until he's got pretty much the song in outline, all done while George and Ringo watch on in awe.
It's funny how John attacks George for writing a waltz when his song Dig A Pony is also a waltz...as is Baby's In Black. It's like a waltz is fine if he writes it but not if George writes it. I could understand if he thought it would be too much having 2 waltzes on the album but to dismiss the waltz all together while writing his own seems a bit hypocritical.
As a musician and writer, the part of "Get Back" where we are privileged to see the creation and evolution of brilliant, iconic, classic songs right in front of us in real time is the best part, along with "off mic" conversations between them. True "fly on the wall" experiences. Overall, "Get Back" made me think of what it might have been to be that fly in the room where and when Beethoven wrote, say, his 7th Symphony, creating those timeless melodies and harmonic structures. The casual (or seeming to be) way these geniuses constantly fooled around, played snippets of so much classic rock and R&B, and seamlessly segued into their original music astounded me. "So, that's how they did it!" were my thoughts all the way through it. Relaxing and letting everything except music just disappear to let the mind create. Of course. How much of this was "for the camera" and how much was natural we can never know, but the hidden cameras were strokes of genius to prevent them from "being on" all of the time. They were, after all, master performers. This film was overwhelming to me and more than I ever expected to observe and learn about the greatest band of all time. Oh, and this film did nothing to change my mind about Yoko, who, with all respect to John, I do not like, to be polite. You can fill in my "polite " space with much vitriol.
Great review. I watched the first episode right after its release. I must say, I came away with the feeling that it was George who was the main riff in the Beatles breakup. He had really gained confidence and had outgrown being the third wheel. Watching John and Paul collaborate and flashing over to George's face was heart breaking. He really wanted the respect that was not being given to his talent. John and Paul really seemed to enjoy each other, even with Yoko attaching to John like a big herpes sore. Ringo was a good soldier and looked bored half of the time. The story to me was really watching George crawl out of the pod known as the Beatles....only to fly away on his own. Pretty remarkable piece of entertainment and music history.
@@magnificentTVchannel lifetime George fan. I will admit after watching part two. I don’t think Paul was that bad now on George. But I need to keep in mind that they are still kids in their late 20s. That are still maturing
Definitely one of my favorite programs on Disney+! It’s worth the 8 hours watching our favorite band making their songs, having a conversation, and the music. You know for a fact that the music is the highlight of this documentary. Overall, I love it.
I'm expecting that the Blu-Ray/DVD release will include all full performances. I was surprised that no one has mentioned this song that John experiments with: "The Road To Marakesh" - which would later become "Jealous Guy."
It was also called Child of Nature and was something he was working on since India and there is a demo version on the 50th anniversary release of the White Album
And the lyrics were terrible! He wisely revamped them completely to produce one of his greatest songs. The time in India was very creative and they wrote a phenomenal amount of songs that would resurface later.
I have always wanted to actually see when Lennon suggested they get Clapton after George leaves because I had always heard about it and everything when Harrison left.
For us old (I'm 65) Beatlemaniacs the film is TOO SHORT ! heehee I hope Let It Be gets re-edited with additional unseen footage that remains and which Jackson didn't use, a 3-Part Let It Be with scenes of them playing what would become songs on Abbey Road and their solo albums (for example, Let It Down was worked on three times in that January, but Jackson didn't include it), and including more of EVERY LITTLE THING, conversations, jams, and oldies, etc. Jackson used part of the Suzy Parker jam, but Let It Be has all of it, and Paul's operatic rendition of Besa Me Mucho, whereas Jackson didn't include any of that (and Paul's classical piano stuff that opens the film Let It Be), I can 'imagine' more to come, there's probably film of The New Mary Jane (had a pain at the party), Not Guilty, Suicide, Maybe I'm Amazed, Teddy Boy, etc.,. As for your observation regarding John's 'reaction' to I ME MINE, George also said (in the film) that John and Yoko waltzing should be in the film, and of course it did end up in Let It Be. It reminds me of how many people reacted to Let It Be at the time, including the group themselves, when they said it's a Paul McCartney film, but in the Get Back clips we see Ringo say that he could watch Paul at the piano "all day" and that "THAT could be a film in itself".
Huge Beatles fan here. 50 years later and we are still discussing them, they are still relevant.. And as you said, they were live on the roof and after all that had happened they were an absolutely bad ass band. still are. :)
That rooftop stuff got me choked up. They were on the edge of greatness. They shred through all those eventual album versions of I've Got A Feeling, Dig A Pony and One After 909. After those the repeated takes didn't really improve on anything they'd already recorded. Interestingly it seemed that Paul never remembered the rap at the end of Get Back. I wish they'd had more prepared, but just seeing the whole operation including the tapes rolling in the basement was worth the wait.
Indeed, you could see that they could muster the magic when they performed and could all hear one another. The looks between Lennon and McCartney are priceless
Having been involved in a wide variety of collaborative projects, I can safely say that if you have 5 people in a room, and the new person is just sitting there not involved really but just sitting there silently while the other four try to make something, it absolutely has an effect on mood in the room and chemistry. The people in the room all need to be working toward the same goal and collaborating to build synergy and cohesion. So even when Yoko wasn't actively doing anything wrong or bad or anything, I can understand how it would have affected things simply by her sitting right next to John in silence. Same way if Linda sat stone faced right next to Paul or Pattie next to George whispering to him between takes. It's not about Yoko so much as the chasm between her extreme physical proximity and her creative distance from the band. If she had sat in the control room or over by the cameras and director, the vibe would have been completely different among the four Beatles. I think in some ways Billy not only gave the band a lift with his great keys, he also helped shift the balance/focus back on the band, with 5 musicians all working together, it was easier to capture a good chemistry while Yoko just sat there.
@@joegordon2915 except a lot of those people are saying that in response to Beatles fans boiling down the many complex reasons for the breakup - burnout over the White Album; lingering grief over Brian Epstein's death; Paul becoming a de facto leader; Allen Klein being a dirtbag, which only gave Paul fuel to bring in Linda's dad as their manager; the wildly different directions the band's individual writing was going; a lot of the business dealings that made Apple Corps a pain to work with; the Get Back sessions having to be reworked last minute because the band was so tapped out of ideas that they were digging through their Hamburg residency catalog and works intended for solo albums just to get some material; the intense racist reaction towards Yoko not from the band but from the fans - into "well, John always invited Yoko to rehearsals and that bugged the band." It's a plainly sexist way of thinking - that John was too horny to keep Yoko in the house while Paul, George, and Ringo were too angry-horny to rehearse hastily-arranged songs (which George brings up several times in the lead up to him leaving the band for a week - his concern was that Paul was arranging the songs in such a concrete way that there was no room for band members to add their own spin to vaguely defined tracks) for a hastily-arranged TV special meant to capitalize on the good time they had filming the "Hey Jude" video. To realize that Yoko was just knitting, occasionally chatting about the setlist, and talking to Linda throws a wrench in this belief that the woman John married is actually some evil harpy hell-bent on destroying the Beatles. "Yoko killed the Beatles" has the exact same sentiment as "Paul is dead" - they try to explain why John and Paul's priorities began to drift apart after the death of Brian Epstein, but do so in such the most cynical and meanspirited way that they have sinister motives (the Yoko theory leans really heavily into xenophobia, anti-intellectualism, and sexism [because she's a Japanese conceptual artist who deals primarily with feminist themes and does the funny scream at art galleries], plus a sanctification of Cynthia Lennon as the only true wife; "Paul is dead" seems to think Paul's increased Brian Wilson and prog-rock influence in his songwriting actually negatively impacted his output, greatly favoring his standard rock tunes and ballads, so he obviously must be a different person I MEAN THE BEATLES HAD A LICENSE PLATE THAT SAID 28IF THAT'S TOTALLY A CLUE MI6 WERE ON IT JUST TO ENSURE THE WORLD WOULD BE TRULY DOMINATED BY THE BEATLES). They act as ways to uphold the status quo so that people side with them and, maybe, down the line, they can sell you on believing anything, like the Earth being flat and a piece of carefully engineered space tech being a meth addict's hastily-constructed tent.
Yoko is a blight. This woman is alleged to be an “artist”, but hasn’t the decency to allow the four creators room to create. Some even imagine that Yoko is a “feminist”, but that is belied by the fact that she has to cling to her husband 24/7 at work, instead of creating something of her own offsite.
My introduction to the Beatles started this September. Watched Hard Day’s Night, listened to the Album, watched HELP!, listened to the Album, watched Magical Mystery Tour, listened to the Album, watched Yellow Submarine, listened to the Album, watched Let it Be, listened to the Album, and then I watched Get Back and I fucking adored it. I’m really lucky that I was able to be introduced to the series in a time where there’s a 7 and a half hour documentary woven together brilliantly and used revolutionary tech. As someone as interested in the history as I am, this was brilliant, and basically the day after finishing Get Back I decided to just listen to all of their Albums in order and fucking hell now my list of favorite songs is basically a Beatles greatest hits album…
I’m an old, original fan since I saw them on Ed Sullivan! My love and appreciation for them and their Genius talent started then and has been part of every aspect of my life. GET BACK is like being there in person and watching the creation process behind the music. I love how Paul is just killing time till John gets there and in, what seemed like 10 minutes, using his Bass guitar, starts playing chords which evolve into words, with chords, then becomes the beginning of GET BACK! I knew he was great but to bring that song out from strumming a bass guitar? There were so many moments like that. A discussion about Brian Epstein, John playing slide guitar, and George and Ringo could also play piano! I never knew that! It’s a wonderful documentary for fans and a chance for those who are not fans but just curious about them to see how they created so much music in 7 years, that are listened to and appreciated by so many people here in the 21st Century!!
Yoko's wailing, placed into context, happened as John, Paul, and Ringo are flailing away at their instruments working out their frustrations and emotions in the wake of George's departure. It makes sense in the timeline. It's also clear that from the very beginning George was in a MOOD.
This documentary is truly the Beatles fans wet dream. I only used to seeing the sessions through photographs with short descriptions on the internet but seeing it now in a full length documentary with sharp videos and audios in a clear narrative form is totally a different experience.
Great summary of the 7+ hours of the video. Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts. One of my favorite parts was watching Paul create "Get Back", from inception. It was like witnessing Michelangelo sculpt David from a raw piece of marble.
I am with you. It was outstanding. I’ve been waiting forever for this to come out. My brother worked at the movie theaters back in 1970 and he let me get into the theater and I watched it. It’s just 12 years old but this documentary Peter Jackson needs an award, The Beatles rule
got the Disney channel for a month to watch it for 8 bucks ...glad I didnt have to shell out big bucks for a DVD package ... I love the cleaned up clarity of it and found myself pausing it alot to stare at the lads and the gear they were using
I was struck by how normal they were. There were no temper tantrums or demands for the red M&M's to be removed, golden tea mugs or fancy catered food. At this time in history, they were the most famous personalities on the planet and yet they were eating stale toast and changing their own strings. They seemed so very grounded within their own bubble and for the most part very polite and undemanding of the people who were working for them. This documentary showed just how good they were as musicians. It proves that they can never be accused of being overrated, they really were as good as all of the mania they caused.
Excellent description of this documentary. I've always been a big fan of the Beatles, and I've been looking forward to the release of it. I saw all 3 parts, and found that Parts# 2 & 3 were much more watchable.
This series blew me away. I had to watch it twice! I came away with even more respect for the Beatles, and I didn't think that was possible. My impression of John in this doc: one-third class clown, one-third jerk, and one-third straight-up genius (and a much better guitar player than I had given him credit for). Paul is simply a musical god.
The scences after George left were insane. They shown helplessness and frustration. You can only start to imagine how painfull this was for every member.
Phil Spector once pointed out that while Paul McCartney complained about the orchestration on "The Long and Winding Road" Paul himself would go on to use the same arrangement in pretty much all of his live performances of it.
I love the Spector arrangement. It's the only time they sounded like that on record so it's fairly unique. In fact, it's now one of my 5 favourite Beatle songs. Go figure.
Great summary. I haven't seen part 3 yet, but I have to say that I'm pretty amazed at what I've seen so far. Actual Beatles Legend moments on film, such as George quitting and how they came up with the rooftop idea. Paul's reaction is brilliant at that, he got all giddy. It's interesting to see how the mood lightened somewhat when they moved out of Twickenham Studios, and how they perked up when Billy Preston came on board. And, sigh, yep couldn't agree more about the Yoko aspect, including to be fair how she seemed to enjoy it sometimes. But I really didn't like how when George left she was on the mic. I mean, the body was still warm, yknow what I mean? Can't wait to watch part 3.
I was in the 1st grade the winter of 1969 and had teenaged siblings so I grew up listening to the Beatles. I thought that after all these years I would be used to their stuff and "hardened" to it but I found myself stunned watching them sit there and write those classics. I kept thinking "how the hell are they doing this? They make it look entirely too easy". You need a strong background in knowing Beatle's music and history to REALLY appreciate this....I think.
same story, I was in the first grade as well with older sisters who were really into them. I've always had an appreciation for their music but this just added so much to grab on to, I can ride this wave forever.
You are wrong though, I am a 33 year old millennial and was not a fan of Beatles , finished this back in December and now Im obsessed with Beatles, Im a believer now, lol,
As a Beatles and documentary fan, I was not bored at all. I loved it, and I teared up a few times. What got the most is when (I think) Paul says "We may break-up, but we can always come back, play with each other forever".
George had already walked out .Paul and Ringo sitting waiting for John.Not knowing if he'll show .. Paul says. " And then there were two". Who knew years later it would be Paul and Ringo left ....Paul saying " people 50 years later blaming Yoko for breaking up the Beatles because she sat on an amp "
I like the points you made. I really was in awe the whole time. I could watch just them doing just about nothing for hours upon hours. I honestly don't know what to think really with Yoko. Not that I'm avoiding it, but the pros, and the cons literally even right out. My biggest reward of the whole thing, as a fairly newer fan, is watching the magnificent magnitude of George Harrison's blossoming of a brilliant songwriting machine. I waited and waited to listen to the band albums over and over. I waited to listen Harrison's solo stuff and so glad I waited till last. His stuff is beyond the best stuff I've ever heard. Hearing his first few songs off All Things Must Pass told me why he was so resentful and upset. I totally got why he walked out and his music is truly beautiful and angelic to listen to.
Loved every minute of it. Will probably watch it again at some point. My husband of 29 years discovered how big of a Beatles fan I am. I think there was a key moment that was mentioned, but not explored in the documentary. The trip to India. I think that was a thing they all needed as individuals at that moment in their lives and careers. What that trip WASN'T was "teambuilding." They (especially the little brother George) discovered their self worth. They all grew ... and that can sometimes lead to growing apart. But what a wonderful thing that for a brief moment in time these people found each other and produced such an amazing body of work - and that we got to experience it.
It was long but full of things that kept my attention. I hear you on a non-musician might find it tedious but a real Beatle fan would revel in it. The quality of the film/video product was fantastic. I heard AI was very useful...the conversations from across the room was amazing....so very clear. Two thumbs up!
Hi, JT! Longtime Beatles fan (and keyboard player) but first-time viewer of yours ... and you nailed it! You pretty much summed up my thoughts/reactions as well. Very nice job, especially given the "challenging" circumstances under which you recorded this. I'll definitely be seeking out more of your videos.
You have to had a link with these four from when you were young to appreciate the documentary. For me, it was never boring. It can be emotional too to see these guys in their youth and know two of them have died and that the other two are not young anymore. In time, we will lose all of them and that would bring a tear to my eyes. The documentary is so appreciated because it allows you to be in the studio with the lads as their music was being crafted for the first time. This is history we are being a part of.
Fantastic overview JT . Get Back is an absolute must see .It’s a privilege to watch it . Billy Preston is pure genius. Yoko just sucks the energy out of the room. I’ve been listening to the Let it Be album in a complete different light since watching ,it has actually reenergised my love of the Beatles .
I can understand how people who are not fans or are casual fans would find it a bit boring, however I found the whole thing fascinating. I felt throughout like I was there in the studio with them. An amazing job Peter Jackson did putting this together.
Anyone who thinks that watching hours of the greatest band of all time at work is boring doesn't deserve considering. Stupid is as stupid does.
Agreed. I would have watched the entire 60 hours if he had just posted that.
i am a huge beatles fan and found a ton of it dull as dishwater. watching the beatles faf around was kinda boring at times.
That scene where Paul shows some tears saying “and then there were two” hits harder now that George and John are gone
A sign of things to come… sadly
Yeah that was definitely an emotional moment.
Proving only the good die young.
@@deniseg812 John wasn't really such a good man, but it's obviously a tragedy regardless
@@ZaphiroAnejo I couldn't say he is "not a good man." I think he was a good person. He went down some wrong paths ... but he was far from "bad" or "evil." He had a strange upbringing losing his mother ... I think he was just a bit off at times.
The “I’ve Got a Feeling” performance on the roof was amazing. It’s the one that ended up on the album. Paul looks like he’s about to lose consciousness after he nails the high note on the middle break in the song. And George nailed the bendy guitar line he was having trouble with. Just a perfect Beatle moment.
I believe I actually listed it as an honorable on my "Best of" Playlist.
if I'm not mistaken(I can always watch it again)Paul's most raucous singing moment since 'Helter Skelter,' ironically takes place when the 'Bobbies' reach the roof . they seem to be thinking "the mop tops have turned into raging hippies"
manic blues .
@@tonym994 definitely the most raucous between Helter Skelter & Oh Darling. Hey Jude was no slouch either.
@@jayburdification and 'Long tall Sally' .we could go on and on.
The most interesting thing to me is the amount of power George really had, even if he was ignored. He was the one who forced them to leave Twickenham, he lent them his personal 8 track which the album was recorded on, he was the one who brought in Billy Preston, and his quitting the band forced John and Paul to recognize how badly they've been treating him. After he returned, you can see that they really started to include him, and not be so condescending. It's also interesting to note that his playing got better after that - his leads on One After 909 and Dig a Pony, and his subtle playing on Don't Let Me Down are great.
Also interesting is when they're talking about signing Billy Preston to Apple, John says he's going to make an album, "and George is going to produce it;" and he wasn't talking about George Martin. At that point, they were finally acknowledging George's ability. George did, in fact, produce Billy Preston's two critically acclaimed albums for Apple Records.
Great recap of the documentary.
I'm with you, man, I was mesmerized every minute. As a songwriter and as a Beatles fan, it was just a gift. The only thing that left a bittersweet taste for me was that I wished footage like this existed for Abbey Road - or - well, any other album. It's very common these days to see bands in the studio and documentary footage of albums being made, but to have THIS....it's just a miracle.
You’ve written nearly word for word, my exact sentiments.
Same here. To be a fly on the wall on the Beatles recording sessions was insane
I agree, it was amazing!!!
I was hoping for more footage from the “abbey road sessions” as well… but I guess it won’t be. Happy with this though.
@@LaMusicade4 did they even tape them in those sessions outside of them having some of the ideas being worked on during the get back sessions
I love the documentary. My favorite moment is watching Paul come up with Get Back from nothing.
That was amazing.
Yes, improvisation is amazing sometimes! You are in a different mode and great stuff can just come, as if given by the Gods...
yep that was amazing and thats how almost all beatles songs materialized, were just lucky to have that one on tape
I love Get back its my got to for karaoke. Then seeing thr conception I cryed my wife thought I was crazy but man. Even now the intense awesomeness of it is making me tear up
Yeah that’s a magical moment.
The Beatles songwriting output from 1963-1970 is astounding ... and they're kids in their 20s.
Yes...! Great comment...
Help... released on 6 August 1965.....Revolver....released on 5 August 1966.
That is outstanding.
All great popular music song writing is done by kids in their 20s
their "output" from the end of the let it be sessions til the final track on abbey road, a period of about 8months is 6 songs, three of which will feature all the beatles. this is the end of their busy period.
@@simonjames1604 No shit, Einstein.
Simply put this was one of the greatest things ive ever seen. I'm so thankful for it all. To see the happier times they had together as well as the tense moments and arguments. Just that one private conversation between paul and john reveals so much about the dynamic of the band and why they eventually broke up. It all just feels like a showing of the truth. Having been such a big beatles fan all my life, this documentary has given me a sense of peace and well being. Thank you Peter Jackson!
I think the documentary puts many things in their place: Paul was the one who worked to make the band work; George had good songs but they wouldn't listen to him; John was no longer interested in the band, and he was a clown; Ringo hardly spoke.
In short: Paul in the end (with his mistakes or not) was the one who wanted the band to work.
"Paul was the one who worked" and "John was a clown". Come on... You seem not the know the history of the band or you just chose to believe that. This particular album and movie project was Paul's initiative and yes, he had more input in this album than in any other else. But that was not the case for the rest of their discography. Abbey Road is much more balanced, and A Hard Days Night is like 70% John's songs, just to put things in perspective. This album is a particular look of a difficult moment for Paul because he had to take control of the band but he wasn't happy about it, he simply had no choice.
Paul's mom died just before he became a Beatle. John's mom died while he was a Beatle. The band was always going to mean more to Paul than it would John.
I can't say that I really thought John Lennon was 'out of it' at all. Although I noticed that when they were at Twickenham studios, he always seemed to be showing up late and more 'moody'. In Apple headquarters he was there on time and contributing more. I agree with most of the rest of your thoughts, especially Billy Preston giving the whole band a creative lift. That was a big moment in the movie for me. It seemed like these unfinished songs suddenly sounded almost like I remember them.
I was 10 on Feb 9 1964… this documentary made me cry. How can I ever put into words how my mind, heart, soul and the world I have known was impacted and shaped by these men? I cannot. Peter Jackson has blessed us with a gift of incalculable proportions. What would our lives have been like without our heroes? I am sure we all ask ourselves that question and the answer is too horridble to consider.
Paul was and still is so aware of what he is, who he is and who/what The Beatles were. It’s astounding how he was so predictive - he just knew how important The Beatles were to the World then and how important they’d still be in 50 years. Blows my mind!
I was a teenager in the 1960s, I lived through that whole scene and the music was epic. The Beatles exploded onto the scene with Love Me Do and Please, Please me and we travelled with them right throught til they broke up. I remember at my boarding school we had a bout of food poisoning among us students(cadets we were called, it was a ship run on Royal Naval lines, a school for "officers and gentleman") I Digress, wehad a transistor radio and this show came on and they played the new Beatles White Album, the wholem damn thing, we were in absolute ecstasy on hearing their nbrand new album. Back then a new album by the Beatles, Cream, Hendrix, in fact any band we werer crazy about. We would be in a room of us teenagers, get the new album out and play side one, then side two, then repeat that a few times. When Sargeant Peppers came out we played it to death, the album covers were great for making "funny" cigarettes on too. Yes, we had the best of times, I could write a book about it, in fact I think I will. Really though, a new Beatles album was an event, ask anybody who is around 70 years old, they will probably tell you the same.
Don't you KNOW it! I had the same experience, glued to the radio listening to the entire white album (the guitar on "While My Guitar ...) sounded SO present, little did I know who it was :). And Ed Sullivan of course, and all of it. Kind of a magical time that way.
Something that really struck me is how there is this narrative of so much acrimony and what I see is almost zero disrespectful words not only to each other, but directed at all the other people in their studio universe. Just mostly polite, courteous and thoughtful "blokes" making amazing music for the ages.
I loved watching all those rough cuts turn into modern masterpieces in such a shortperiod of time. That really stands out. There was one little moment that jumped out at me. Ringo plays the first lines of Octopus's Garden on piano. George walks over and joins on guitar and starts helping. Just amazing.
'paradise' ;)
Glad The Beatles got the right director to honor the most important moment in history. I did enjoy Get Back a lot. Thanks for the video.
Is there any other band where the minutiae of hour to hour off the cuff conversation and recording technicalities could be so hypnotically fascinating? I think not.
Watching the rooftop performance again. We've all watched it many times but this new version after all we've been through in the past 8 or so hours is quite stunning and a real tear-jerker.
They should have just not had the audio cutaways on the street while they were performing, and too much of the police in the reception area because we got the point especially while they're performing on the roof at that point that's what we want to see and hear the Beatles not the police that much in the building
I hope the Blu-ray has the uninterrupted rooftop concert without the audio cutaways
the loved each other deeply.
There is a lot of things in this documentary that just blew my mind, how Paul waiting for John writes Get Back, and how George explain how the last nigh he saw a movie and after that he wrote I me mine, how Yoko is a more likely person of how is portrayed in the first movie, this frase that Paul said "I'm in a leader position and I'm afraid", or something like that, but the to me show how Paul just want to be with the Beatles, and if he don't be the leader then the Beatles will desappear, one scene that I love is when the daughter of Linda starts to sing like Yoko and John just laugh, there is a lot of moments that just humanize the Bealtes for me, how in the start are just friends that are in a tense position, and I'm surprised how in this video Michael is not mention as the one that made all the tension for the group insisting and insisting in the worst way posible, he made the group tense, and he is the reason John was like I don't give a ef about all of this, ef that show, but when George leaves the grupo decided they want to do a show, simple, and the roof was like a fun place, I love those 7 hours of jusr pure Beatle magic and I'll watch again in a future
Thanks again JT!!!
I never appreciated just how amazingly talented songwriters the Beatles were....until I became a songwriter. I am blown away at how much of the creative process happens by accident instead of by purpose. Very inspiring to watch this happen in front of my eyes. WOW
Being a retired "dime store psychologist", it occurred to me while watching them goof around that all of them, particularly John and Paul, were operating out of their mind's "child" state, or id. Just playing and free associating lyrics and riffs. That's when the good stuff happens!
I always imagine that whoever the songwriter was brought an almost completed song and the rest added some minor tweaks here and there. Seeing the real process where they often just had one or two lines and just kept working till they had a song.
I remember Paul saying "give us a good sounding title and we'll write a song around it."
I’m with you! When you Write music you can see what BEATLES were !!! UNIQUE!!!!
Fell in love with the Beatles when I first saw them on the Ed Sullivan show in 63. That musical love affair has lasted 57 years.
First appearance on E.S. was Feb. 9th 1964.
@@histubeness I was 11. Thanks for the correction,
I really enjoyed this series. Some of my favorite moments of the series was any moment with Billy Preston, moments where the Beatles were goofing around and jamming (especially in episode 2), and when Linda’s daughter Heather came into the studio and played with the group.
Heather was definitely the unexpected star of the series. When she’s singing and John says “Yoko?” I about died laughing.
Billy came in and it was like the sun just broke through the clouds.
I love how instantly he gets in the groove
Almost done with the second episode. As a huge fan of the Beatles, this is EPIC
I think Paul, out of all of them, really recognized the enormity of who they were, not only musically and to the world, but to each other, and what this slow separation truly meant,.
Life long hard core Beatles fan here (66 years old). Very good review! Dude you are so right on about Yoko! Thanks for posting.
It’s funny that Lennon would tell George “we’re a rock and roll band” regarding doing “I Me Mine”. George should’ve told him: It rocks as much as Revolution #9, but he didn’t want to rock an already “rocking” boat.
I was thinking when I heard that a good reply would be Well is Strawberry Fields Forever a Rock and Roll band song??? It surely was not exactly a Johnny be Good type. So why not the Waltzy type rhythm. One thing we got to realize in this time period apparently John is still sometimes doing Heroin, which is bad news. And George was dealing at this time with his MOTHER dying of Cancer, and some kind of problems with Pattie Boyd, too. They were trying to do a throw back to their earlier days of Music, and the methods they used to use. One person pointed out that what was really lacking in the original idea for this project was there was no real Layout for Goals in it. To just say we need x amount of Songs out by or in 14 days or so puts undue strain right from the start, plus not all in on any Live show. But it did bring out some Old songs which were never used in the past. Two of Us and One after 909, I enjoy the 1963 version of One after 909, because it is Their OLD sound from those days.
But John was just putting on a funny voice- playing the a kind of stupid simpleton rock n roller- not really his opinion. He was just joking around
Its probably just playful banter. Maybe a reply to an ongoing back and forth we're not privy to.
John was an ass.. he later called Abbey Road "junk". Like WTF... jealous much?? Oh.. and this is from the Beatle who put his screaming 😱 screeching wife on a whole LP side... gross
@@stevekaspar1396 exactly, Lennon was always dismissive of truly great music by the Beatles (and also solo Beatles) but his screeching, caterwauling, screaming, howling, wailing, moaning wife could do no wrong. Amazing what p*ssy can make a man do.
Since I watched now over 5 Hours , I am kind of living with them in this Rooms. It feels like Marty McFly seeing his Parents as youngsters. Thats weird. And it's a gift for me to have this now whenever I want it. A Time Machine in my Home. Great.
Simply put, this documentary for me was waaaaaaaaay too short. Anyone complaining about the run time just doesn't understand that this doc is a goldmine. We are so lucky that there is actual footage from inception to completed songs of arguably some of their biggest masterpieces. So yeah, definitely can go for another 10 hours of bonus footage not included in the final cut of the Doc. Great review JT.
there was tons of endless padding that adds nothing to the story. they are creating sure but writing ? not so much, other than get back everything else is brought in some state ready to go, and at no point do we see them work out a song lyrically so its finished we see them come up with lyrics they wont keep.
The vibe check was Billy for sure, you see them just bloom into good vibes as soon as he comes in and jams with them.
I loved this so much. It was quite special to me for a few reasons -
1) I'm a big Beatles fan, along with my two younger brothers. We are all musicians.
2) I was born in 1969
3) The release day was one day after my 52nd birthday (24th November)
4) During Covid/lockdown managed to watch synchronized streaming with my brothers and cyberchat together while all living in different cities
Someone that got completely overlooked was Maureen Starkey. On the roof she was rocking out. I wish they left the camera on her for10 seconds longer. Then afterwards downstairs in the playback room she's feeling it big time. More Maureen!
Paul said "Thanks Mo" at the end of the concert.
@@remtenhove Ha, I always wondered what he said there! Thanks for clearing that mystery up. I had been thinking for years he was saying "Satchmo".
Surprises from the doc: How much they goofed offed. How little Yoko interfered contrary to belief. How few songs they played on the roof: They played Get Back, Don't Let Me Down, I Dig a Pony, One After Nine O' Nine, I Got a Feeling .... that's it. And they played some of them twice. Loved it!
On the Yoko thing, while it's true she didn't really talk at all when The Beatles were actually playing, she did talk quite a bit in between takes, which you can hear in the bootlegs of these sessions. In fact, it's even mentioned in part 2 by Paul and Lindsay Hogg how Yoko seems to be talking for John, although interestingly Paul defends John and Yoko. I feel like Peter Jackson chose to cut most of her moments out of the doc because that's not really something most Beatles fans want to see.
I’m just thrilled that so many of you are reacting as passionately as I am. Changes so much that I thought I knew for 50 years. So very meaningful.
I really enjoyed the split-screen editing during the rooftop sequence. It not only added a much wider perspective to the performance as an impactful live event on that fateful day, but it also helped break up the monotony of the repeated songs. It was the best the band sounded throughout the entire doc as well.
one amazing moment... Paul started messing around with a rock and roll line on his bass..and, almost in real time, we see and hear how it turned into "Get Back".
and yeah...I do wish they'd done a behind the scene on cam thing with Abbey Road, too.
And that would have been in Abbey Road studio where they were most comfortable. Probably why that was a more polished recording to begin with, plus George Martin having a greater role in it.
The combination of intuitive musical ability with real harmonic/musical knowledge is the most interesting aspect to this given the overall duration.
Sure, the revelation about the relationships clears up the myths and historical record but to see how McCartney has a song and does the arrangements and can tell Lennon how to sing melody vs harmony parts while George works out guitar parts is the most interesting. George showing Ringo how to use basic harmony to make Octopus's Garden work, for instance.
It was incredible. The insight into their brilliance as individuals and a band is what stood out to me, not the infighting
JT, my brother introduced me to your videos, and I really enjoyed your "History of Rock'n Roll" series, and have since moved on to your playlist videos. Once again, my brother and I love your content, so thank you.
I was five when they hit the Ed Sullivan Show, and my life was shaped by the feeling of euphoria that rolled off of them. Watching this actually kicked off a grief process of missing them SO MUCH. it is impossible to explain to anyone that didn't live through it how hard they hit. It's like the world was in black and white and they brought it into color (of course this was literally happening with tv technology at the time). It's fascinating to see them in their "bubble" making fun of the bullshit in Housego's columns. The scene of them going apeshit after George left, and the moment of the three of them huddled, gripping each other's arms is so revealing of the love they had for each other, which permeates the whole thing. I'll watch it again and again.
@Luna Lisa Hart _It is impossible to explain to anyone that didn't live through it how hard they hit. It's like the world was in black and white and they brought it into color._
So true. And they were just singing and playing. Nowadays artists try to have that kind of impact by using various types of *spectacle* involving sex/sexuality, fancy lights and sets, elaborate dancing and dancers, outlandish costumes, etc. But the Beatles just sang and played, dressed in their modest uniforms on the Ed Sullivan show, and it was enough to turn the world upside down in a good way.
What was it about them that captured people's imaginations? Was it the group dynamic? Was it the sound of their music? Their personalities? I love the Beatles but I've always been fascinated by their ability to absolutely grab the American conscience in 1964
@@bucksdiaryfan It makes more sense if you start with the foundation of where western culture was in the early sixties: sexual repression, strict gender roles, music that was whiter than white. I'm an empath, so it all comes down to energy for me. The sense of euphoria, excitement, bliss, joy, camaraderie, intelligence, and love just rolled off them. It was an alchemy that blended--like their voices--into something greater than the sum of its parts. If you watch the press conference when they landed in New York the first time, you get a sense of how rigid and unimaginative we were at the time. The reporters just don't know how to take them. It's like they were the only ones awake in the room.
And then that woke world flickered and died at the end of the century, the end
I had a very different impression after watching it over the last 3 days: Twickenham was an awful place to be in as a band and they were filmed THE WHOLE TIME. Everybody would be miserable there! Things improve in a big way in the Apple basement - also not a great 'studio' but you get the sense that they are relieved and getting back on track. I didn't get the impression that John was 'not there' - far from it, about 2/3 of the whole movie is them goofing around while working on the songs at the same time.
The creative process is so fascinating to watch, like when 'Get Back' seems to materialize all of a sudden from Paul's strummed bass. Billy Preston adds so much to the music and the vibe, it really takes off when he gets involved. And the rooftop concert is killer, while Ringo seems a bit detached and bored through the sessions, he really shines during the performance - everybody does. The moment when the all sit together and listen back to 'One After 909' is so great and there's no doubt that they enjoy each other's company.
John was as present as present could be! Yes! (Astounded by what he wrote!)
i noticed things stopped improving the closer to the end it gets, with paul hectoring lennon and starr on just what to play on his slow songs you see the two of them turn right off. on the final day (not shown in the film cause, reasons?) lennon is back to endlessly snarking after pauls numerous takes of his songs. its so obviously over and none of the beatles seem to have no doubt that this is the end.
Great overview. Billy Preston saved the day!
Billy was so cute on the documentary, he was always with a smile on his face
He had so much respect = keyboards for Little Richard for whom Beatles opened. Time to get it together !!
Every time you see Alan Parsons in the doc, he’s got a look like he’s thinking ‘yes, my plan is coming along perfectly’ haha
It may be Long and Winding, but I think it's worth it
Nice analysis JT, if one is not a musician or extreme Beatles fan, the final episode might be enough. They totally transform from hard working and frustrated artists to fabulous performers glowing with the results of their efforts and just enjoying making music, at last.
Really great and honest review!
One of the most surprising things is that sound and picture quality is amazing! Looks like it was shot yesterday. It be hard to recommend to a non hardcore Beatle fan but for someone who can never get enough this is pure gold.
Musicians will see themselves in this.
Never was a big Beatles fan,seen this doc,now I want every album,lol.
The last hour of the last episode is just pure joy to watch
Just finished watching it. The rooftop show is amazing, especially with the coppers in the lobby and more street footage. It adds an element of dramatic tension and humour. Also, it really struck me how much John lifts his game when it counts! You always know Paul is going to be brilliant in performance, but they are all terrific when the rubber hits the road. I wonder what would have happened if they had used it as a stepping stone to a full-on world tour?
I was fascinated watching the process and how they were able to turn one line into this fantastic, beautiful audio masterpiece. And I especially love how, even though they’re all kind of ‘done with this’ at first, there’s no denying their connection and their just pure delight in themselves and each other when it’s all clicking. You can tell they really did have a soul connection.
Oh, and Yoko is just annoying as f--.
“Yoko is there, all the time”. Thank you. She made this the most painful experience for me.
The scene where Paul just hammers away at his bass until he comes up with Get Back just gives me chills. The way he starts off strumming away and then just catches the song's bass line in passing, realises "Aha! That's interesting..." and then carves out the song as if he's a sculptor, until he's got pretty much the song in outline, all done while George and Ringo watch on in awe.
It's funny how John attacks George for writing a waltz when his song Dig A Pony is also a waltz...as is Baby's In Black. It's like a waltz is fine if he writes it but not if George writes it. I could understand if he thought it would be too much having 2 waltzes on the album but to dismiss the waltz all together while writing his own seems a bit hypocritical.
I agree with you. I found that comment interesting as well, considering how many ballads and other styles of music were in their catalogue.
As a musician and writer, the part of "Get Back" where we are privileged to see the creation and evolution of brilliant, iconic, classic songs right in front of us in real time is the best part, along with "off mic" conversations between them. True "fly on the wall" experiences.
Overall, "Get Back" made me think of what it might have been to be that fly in the room where and when Beethoven wrote, say, his 7th Symphony, creating those timeless melodies and harmonic structures.
The casual (or seeming to be) way these geniuses constantly fooled around, played snippets of so much classic rock and R&B, and seamlessly segued into their original music astounded me. "So, that's how they did it!" were my thoughts all the way through it. Relaxing and letting everything except music just disappear to let the mind create. Of course.
How much of this was "for the camera" and how much was natural we can never know, but the hidden cameras were strokes of genius to prevent them from "being on" all of the time. They were, after all, master performers.
This film was overwhelming to me and more than I ever expected to observe and learn about the greatest band of all time.
Oh, and this film did nothing to change my mind about Yoko, who, with all respect to John, I do not like, to be polite. You can fill in my "polite " space with much vitriol.
Great review. I watched the first episode right after its release. I must say, I came away with the feeling that it was George who was the main riff in the Beatles breakup. He had really gained confidence and had outgrown being the third wheel. Watching John and Paul collaborate and flashing over to George's face was heart breaking. He really wanted the respect that was not being given to his talent. John and Paul really seemed to enjoy each other, even with Yoko attaching to John like a big herpes sore. Ringo was a good soldier and looked bored half of the time. The story to me was really watching George crawl out of the pod known as the Beatles....only to fly away on his own. Pretty remarkable piece of entertainment and music history.
"Heroes sore" lol! I'll never look at her the same way again...which was already bad. Lol!
You nailed the George impersonation
I grew up with the Beatles and got Abbey Road in 1970. It was great to have them back for six hours. The rooftop concert is a crown jewel.
I learned that George had great patience with his bass player
He had no ego
@@brandonmclendon5368 George had plenty of ego. He walked out and jeopardized the entire project because his ego wasn’t being stroked enough.
If Id been Paul Id have been tougher on George - such a misery and negative Nancy. Anyone got an idea? George: No.
@@magnificentTVchannel lifetime George fan. I will admit after watching part two. I don’t think Paul was that bad now on George. But I need to keep in mind that they are still kids in their late 20s. That are still maturing
paul was a bit much several times in this, telling ringo and john what to play as well. he did more damage than good and couldnt see it.
Definitely one of my favorite programs on Disney+! It’s worth the 8 hours watching our favorite band making their songs, having a conversation, and the music. You know for a fact that the music is the highlight of this documentary. Overall, I love it.
I spent a long time being annoyed with Paul, but as the years pass, it’s clear to me now that he was the most together Beatle.
Paul is a sublime ARTIST!!!!!
I'm expecting that the Blu-Ray/DVD release will include all full performances. I was surprised that no one has mentioned this song that John experiments with: "The Road To Marakesh" - which would later become "Jealous Guy."
Yeah. Also, Gimme Some Truth was part of these sessions. I didn't know that until watching Get Back.
It was also called Child of Nature and was something he was working on since India and there is a demo version on the 50th anniversary release of the White Album
@@andybullemor-music5928 Yes. It also was On The Road To Rishakesh. I never knew it had changed to Marrakesh. I find that a bit strange.
And the lyrics were terrible! He wisely revamped them completely to produce one of his greatest songs. The time in India was very creative and they wrote a phenomenal amount of songs that would resurface later.
I love the documentary and I wish it was longer. This is a gift to Beatles Fans. Thank You Peter Jackson.
I have always wanted to actually see when Lennon suggested they get Clapton after George leaves because I had always heard about it and everything when Harrison left.
For us old (I'm 65) Beatlemaniacs the film is TOO SHORT ! heehee I hope Let It Be gets re-edited with additional unseen footage that remains and which Jackson didn't use, a 3-Part Let It Be with scenes of them playing what would become songs on Abbey Road and their solo albums (for example, Let It Down was worked on three times in that January, but Jackson didn't include it), and including more of EVERY LITTLE THING, conversations, jams, and oldies, etc. Jackson used part of the Suzy Parker jam, but Let It Be has all of it, and Paul's operatic rendition of Besa Me Mucho, whereas Jackson didn't include any of that (and Paul's classical piano stuff that opens the film Let It Be), I can 'imagine' more to come, there's probably film of The New Mary Jane (had a pain at the party), Not Guilty, Suicide, Maybe I'm Amazed, Teddy Boy, etc.,.
As for your observation regarding John's 'reaction' to I ME MINE, George also said (in the film) that John and Yoko waltzing should be in the film, and of course it did end up in Let It Be. It reminds me of how many people reacted to Let It Be at the time, including the group themselves, when they said it's a Paul McCartney film, but in the Get Back clips we see Ringo say that he could watch Paul at the piano "all day" and that "THAT could be a film in itself".
Huge Beatles fan here.
50 years later and we are still discussing them, they are still relevant.. And as you said, they were live on the roof and after all that had happened they were an absolutely bad ass band.
still are.
:)
That rooftop stuff got me choked up. They were on the edge of greatness. They shred through all those eventual album versions of I've Got A Feeling, Dig A Pony and One After 909. After those the repeated takes didn't really improve on anything they'd already recorded. Interestingly it seemed that Paul never remembered the rap at the end of Get Back. I wish they'd had more prepared, but just seeing the whole operation including the tapes rolling in the basement was worth the wait.
Indeed, you could see that they could muster the magic when they performed and could all hear one another. The looks between Lennon and McCartney are priceless
Thanks for the summary. I really like hearing people talk about the Beatles even though I am not like a massive Beatles fan myself.
Having been involved in a wide variety of collaborative projects, I can safely say that if you have 5 people in a room, and the new person is just sitting there not involved really but just sitting there silently while the other four try to make something, it absolutely has an effect on mood in the room and chemistry. The people in the room all need to be working toward the same goal and collaborating to build synergy and cohesion. So even when Yoko wasn't actively doing anything wrong or bad or anything, I can understand how it would have affected things simply by her sitting right next to John in silence. Same way if Linda sat stone faced right next to Paul or Pattie next to George whispering to him between takes. It's not about Yoko so much as the chasm between her extreme physical proximity and her creative distance from the band. If she had sat in the control room or over by the cameras and director, the vibe would have been completely different among the four Beatles. I think in some ways Billy not only gave the band a lift with his great keys, he also helped shift the balance/focus back on the band, with 5 musicians all working together, it was easier to capture a good chemistry while Yoko just sat there.
I agree. All of us musicians know what you're talking about. Billy really brightened the atmosphere big time.
I agree completely having been in a few bands myself. So tired of hearing people saying "see, she wasnt disruptive at all".
@@joegordon2915 except a lot of those people are saying that in response to Beatles fans boiling down the many complex reasons for the breakup - burnout over the White Album; lingering grief over Brian Epstein's death; Paul becoming a de facto leader; Allen Klein being a dirtbag, which only gave Paul fuel to bring in Linda's dad as their manager; the wildly different directions the band's individual writing was going; a lot of the business dealings that made Apple Corps a pain to work with; the Get Back sessions having to be reworked last minute because the band was so tapped out of ideas that they were digging through their Hamburg residency catalog and works intended for solo albums just to get some material; the intense racist reaction towards Yoko not from the band but from the fans - into "well, John always invited Yoko to rehearsals and that bugged the band." It's a plainly sexist way of thinking - that John was too horny to keep Yoko in the house while Paul, George, and Ringo were too angry-horny to rehearse hastily-arranged songs (which George brings up several times in the lead up to him leaving the band for a week - his concern was that Paul was arranging the songs in such a concrete way that there was no room for band members to add their own spin to vaguely defined tracks) for a hastily-arranged TV special meant to capitalize on the good time they had filming the "Hey Jude" video. To realize that Yoko was just knitting, occasionally chatting about the setlist, and talking to Linda throws a wrench in this belief that the woman John married is actually some evil harpy hell-bent on destroying the Beatles.
"Yoko killed the Beatles" has the exact same sentiment as "Paul is dead" - they try to explain why John and Paul's priorities began to drift apart after the death of Brian Epstein, but do so in such the most cynical and meanspirited way that they have sinister motives (the Yoko theory leans really heavily into xenophobia, anti-intellectualism, and sexism [because she's a Japanese conceptual artist who deals primarily with feminist themes and does the funny scream at art galleries], plus a sanctification of Cynthia Lennon as the only true wife; "Paul is dead" seems to think Paul's increased Brian Wilson and prog-rock influence in his songwriting actually negatively impacted his output, greatly favoring his standard rock tunes and ballads, so he obviously must be a different person I MEAN THE BEATLES HAD A LICENSE PLATE THAT SAID 28IF THAT'S TOTALLY A CLUE MI6 WERE ON IT JUST TO ENSURE THE WORLD WOULD BE TRULY DOMINATED BY THE BEATLES). They act as ways to uphold the status quo so that people side with them and, maybe, down the line, they can sell you on believing anything, like the Earth being flat and a piece of carefully engineered space tech being a meth addict's hastily-constructed tent.
Yoko is a blight. This woman is alleged to be an “artist”, but hasn’t the decency to allow the four creators room to create. Some even imagine that Yoko is a “feminist”, but that is belied by the fact that she has to cling to her husband 24/7 at work, instead of creating something of her own offsite.
@ JEFFREY ROEDEL - Well said! I thought the same as you
My introduction to the Beatles started this September. Watched Hard Day’s Night, listened to the Album, watched HELP!, listened to the Album, watched Magical Mystery Tour, listened to the Album, watched Yellow Submarine, listened to the Album, watched Let it Be, listened to the Album, and then I watched Get Back and I fucking adored it.
I’m really lucky that I was able to be introduced to the series in a time where there’s a 7 and a half hour documentary woven together brilliantly and used revolutionary tech.
As someone as interested in the history as I am, this was brilliant, and basically the day after finishing Get Back I decided to just listen to all of their Albums in order and fucking hell now my list of favorite songs is basically a Beatles greatest hits album…
I’m an old, original fan since I saw them on Ed Sullivan! My love and appreciation for them and their Genius talent started then and has been part of every aspect of my life. GET BACK is like being there in person and watching the creation process behind the music. I love how Paul is just killing time till John gets there and in, what seemed like 10 minutes, using his Bass guitar, starts playing chords which evolve into words, with chords, then becomes the beginning of GET BACK! I knew he was great but to bring that song out from strumming a bass guitar? There were so many moments like that. A discussion about Brian Epstein, John playing slide guitar, and George and Ringo could also play piano! I never knew that!
It’s a wonderful documentary for fans and a chance for those who are not fans but just curious about them to see how they created so much music in 7 years, that are listened to
and appreciated by so many people here in the 21st Century!!
Yoko's wailing, placed into context, happened as John, Paul, and Ringo are flailing away at their instruments working out their frustrations and emotions in the wake of George's departure. It makes sense in the timeline. It's also clear that from the very beginning George was in a MOOD.
This documentary is truly the Beatles fans wet dream. I only used to seeing the sessions through photographs with short descriptions on the internet but seeing it now in a full length documentary with sharp videos and audios in a clear narrative form is totally a different experience.
Great summary of the 7+ hours of the video. Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts. One of my favorite parts was watching Paul create "Get Back", from inception. It was like witnessing Michelangelo sculpt David from a raw piece of marble.
I am with you. It was outstanding. I’ve been waiting forever for this to come out. My brother worked at the movie theaters back in 1970 and he let me get into the theater and I watched it. It’s just 12 years old but this documentary Peter Jackson needs an award, The Beatles rule
I watched whole documentary and I have no words to express how was... just fantastic!
got the Disney channel for a month to watch it for 8 bucks ...glad I didnt have to shell out big bucks for a DVD package ... I love the cleaned up clarity of it and found myself pausing it alot to stare at the lads and the gear they were using
I was struck by how normal they were. There were no temper tantrums or demands for the red M&M's to be removed, golden tea mugs or fancy catered food. At this time in history, they were the most famous personalities on the planet and yet they were eating stale toast and changing their own strings. They seemed so very grounded within their own bubble and for the most part very polite and undemanding of the people who were working for them. This documentary showed just how good they were as musicians. It proves that they can never be accused of being overrated, they really were as good as all of the mania they caused.
Excellent description of this documentary. I've always been a big fan of the Beatles, and I've been looking forward to the release of it. I saw all 3 parts, and found that Parts# 2 & 3 were much more watchable.
This series blew me away. I had to watch it twice! I came away with even more respect for the Beatles, and I didn't think that was possible. My impression of John in this doc: one-third class clown, one-third jerk, and one-third straight-up genius (and a much better guitar player than I had given him credit for). Paul is simply a musical god.
The scences after George left were insane. They shown helplessness and frustration. You can only start to imagine how painfull this was for every member.
I thought they were remarkably stable!
Phil Spector once pointed out that while Paul McCartney complained about the orchestration on "The Long and Winding Road" Paul himself would go on to use the same arrangement in pretty much all of his live performances of it.
There would have been a big difference between a George Martin arrangement and that awful mess that Spector did.
@@kitano0 I can definitely agree to that. Phil Spector should have never been given those tapes.
I love the Spector arrangement. It's the only time they sounded like that on record so it's fairly unique. In fact, it's now one of my 5 favourite Beatle songs. Go figure.
Great summary. I haven't seen part 3 yet, but I have to say that I'm pretty amazed at what I've seen so far. Actual Beatles Legend moments on film, such as George quitting and how they came up with the rooftop idea. Paul's reaction is brilliant at that, he got all giddy.
It's interesting to see how the mood lightened somewhat when they moved out of Twickenham Studios, and how they perked up when Billy Preston came on board.
And, sigh, yep couldn't agree more about the Yoko aspect, including to be fair how she seemed to enjoy it sometimes. But I really didn't like how when George left she was on the mic. I mean, the body was still warm, yknow what I mean? Can't wait to watch part 3.
I was in the 1st grade the winter of 1969 and had teenaged siblings so I grew up listening to the Beatles. I thought that after all these years I would be used to their stuff and "hardened" to it but I found myself stunned watching them sit there and write those classics. I kept thinking "how the hell are they doing this? They make it look entirely too easy". You need a strong background in knowing Beatle's music and history to REALLY appreciate this....I think.
same story, I was in the first grade as well with older sisters who were really into them. I've always had an appreciation for their music but this just added so much to grab on to, I can ride this wave forever.
Why is this guy so good at doing Beatles impressions😂
I found it helped me a lot to watch it with subtitles!
Please keep the videos coming man so good that your regularly uploading!
You are wrong though, I am a 33 year old millennial and was not a fan of Beatles , finished this back in December and now Im obsessed with Beatles, Im a believer now, lol,
As a Beatles and documentary fan, I was not bored at all. I loved it, and I teared up a few times. What got the most is when (I think) Paul says "We may break-up, but we can always come back, play with each other forever".
George had already walked out .Paul and Ringo sitting waiting for John.Not knowing if he'll show .. Paul says. " And then there were two". Who knew years later it would be Paul and Ringo left ....Paul saying " people 50 years later blaming Yoko for breaking up the Beatles because she sat on an amp "
I like the points you made. I really was in awe the whole time. I could watch just them doing just about nothing for hours upon hours. I honestly don't know what to think really with Yoko. Not that I'm avoiding it, but the pros, and the cons literally even right out.
My biggest reward of the whole thing, as a fairly newer fan, is watching the magnificent magnitude of George Harrison's blossoming of a brilliant songwriting machine. I waited and waited to listen to the band albums over and over. I waited to listen Harrison's solo stuff and so glad I waited till last. His stuff is beyond the best stuff I've ever heard. Hearing his first few songs off All Things Must Pass told me why he was so resentful and upset. I totally got why he walked out and his music is truly beautiful and angelic to listen to.
Loved every minute of it. Will probably watch it again at some point. My husband of 29 years discovered how big of a Beatles fan I am.
I think there was a key moment that was mentioned, but not explored in the documentary. The trip to India. I think that was a thing they all needed as individuals at that moment in their lives and careers. What that trip WASN'T was "teambuilding." They (especially the little brother George) discovered their self worth. They all grew ... and that can sometimes lead to growing apart.
But what a wonderful thing that for a brief moment in time these people found each other and produced such an amazing body of work - and that we got to experience it.
It was long but full of things that kept my attention. I hear you on a non-musician might find it tedious but a real Beatle fan would revel in it. The quality of the film/video product was fantastic. I heard AI was very useful...the conversations from across the room was amazing....so very clear. Two thumbs up!
Best commentary I've heard so far. Thanks.
Hi, JT! Longtime Beatles fan (and keyboard player) but first-time viewer of yours ... and you nailed it! You pretty much summed up my thoughts/reactions as well. Very nice job, especially given the "challenging" circumstances under which you recorded this. I'll definitely be seeking out more of your videos.
You have to had a link with these four from when you were young to appreciate the documentary. For me, it was never boring. It can be emotional too to see these guys in their youth and know two of them have died and that the other two are not young anymore. In time, we will lose all of them and that would bring a tear to my eyes. The documentary is so appreciated because it allows you to be in the studio with the lads as their music was being crafted for the first time. This is history we are being a part of.
Great analyses mate. I experienced excactly the same !! It felt like I was sitting with the Fab Four in the same Room during the whole Film !!
Fantastic overview JT .
Get Back is an absolute must see .It’s a privilege to watch it .
Billy Preston is pure genius.
Yoko just sucks the energy out of the room. I’ve been listening to the Let it Be album in a complete different light since watching ,it has actually reenergised my love of the Beatles .
Yoko yelling “John, John, John!!” Was really annoying.
Agree 100. If you are not a big Beatles fan may be this is not for you but i really liked it. Its amazing
You nailed this review. Couldn’t agree more….🙏