Hey everyone. About the Peter Sellers bit. When I was recording my video I forgot which actor came to visit. I actually thought it was more than one actor who visited during the 8-hour doc. So I just said, "some actor." When I was adding the footage after the fact I then saw it was Sellers but had already recorded my dialog so I just put his name up on the screen and left it. No disrespect to the man.
John was very upset when Peter Sellers died of a heart attack in 1980 July 24th aged 54. Coincidentally,his son died of a heart attack exactly 26 years later on the same day !
We are in a ridiculous world if you gotta apologize for not remembering the name of an actor who died 40+ yrs ago… Never forget someone released that Nirvana tab book you and I both purchased as teens.
The Peter Sellers bit was strange in the documentary, but the uncut footage of the encounter tells a different story. I can't imagine why Jackson cut it in such a nonsensical way. They were old friends and had a nice chat with a lot of jokes. John as bipolar is an interesting idea. Maybe so. He was using heroin during that time which probably explains his dramatic mood swings and behavioral changes. There is an old video on RUclips of Peter Sellers doing a dramatic recitation of A Hard Days Night which is hilarious.
As a 9 year old back in 1979, I got into the Beatles after my dad passed from a congenital heart problem. They became my solice. As I grew up, listening to my heroes, reading about their lives, listening to all the 'Beatle Hours" on the radio, they became a guiding force in my life. Knowing about all the arguments, struggles, misdirection and calamities, that can happen in a group (I was in the high school band, and we were a small group, and tight after years of playing) it was refreshing to see it handled mostly professionally, and like friends would. I still listen to the Beatles nearly everyday and still am in awe of their imaginations. Yes, they were not the most gifted musicians, but songwriting, nobody came close, NOBODY.
IMO, 2 times is not enough times to watch this thing. I’m on my 5th pass, and there are so many nuggets and details to catch. It keeps getting better. This doc is really a treasure.
One thing not discussed in the documentary was the domestic difficulties George was having that contributed to his quitting the band -- during those early sessions, Patti (George's then wife) had discovered an affair George was having when the girl showed up at their house because George offered to let her stay there... so a lot of George's agitation and irritation prior to him walking out had a lot to do with that. [Edited To Add] And John was all over the place because he was using heroin rather heavily during that time.
@@mightysmith1Charlotte Martin? Another lover Eric Clapton and George had in common, I guess. She moved on to Jimmy Page and is the mother of his first child, Scarlet Page who was born in 1971.
Peter Sellers (The Pink Panther) was a popular British actor, and Ringo was trying to get done in the studio to go make a movie with Peter at the end of that month. Peter was probably checking in to make sure Ringo was still going to be available.
@@RobBCactive You are wrong. Sellers had already been in The Pink Panther, A Shot in the Dark in 1962 and 1963, which along with Strangelove and several other movies, put him into A level of acting and celebrity. He was very famous for his radio work, in the 50’s.
@@johnp515 With how easy it is to find the truth, I don’t understand why people just spout something they’ve heard, about one moment in someone’s career/life, instead of actually reading a short article.
Watching that whole film a while back was such a wonderful experience. As a fan since my youth it was magic to see them so clearly, in color, moving and playing together. Amazing. So happy to revisit it with your terrific analysis. Thank you!
The Beatles were the biggest and greatest group in the last hundred years of recorded music what a fantastic post I don't think people will ever get tired of The Beatles I will always be fascinated by them great music never dies 🎉
Get Back is one of the few documentaries where one gets to see the creative process of how songs get made, very much like seeing all the drafts of a book before publication. Also within the group while all the members cared for each other you can see a special bond between John and Paul, and a similar bond between George and Ringo. This is a documentary I will definitely be watching over and over throughout the years.
FYI, The Beatles would play 8 hours a night, 6 nights a week, and they made a point early on to never repeat a song each night. By the time they got their recording contract, they had the most stage experience of any rock and roll band in the world. I think it was 1962, they played over 340 shows.
The Beatles became a great cover band on their way to becoming a fantastic original band informed by all that music that they covered in their early days.
In just 18 months, I remember my college band going from bumbling through a three chord song to effortlessly playing 50 song setlists, writing our own music, improvising, changing styles mid song, etc. I’m a more sophisticated player now, but never developed like I did in that year and a half.
@@jeffrey.a.hanson Me the past 18 months. I went from not knowing 4/4, what an A chord was, or even what the fuck a bass was to writing/recording nearly completed songs. All it took was just fucking around til the sound was cool and boom, the progress just kept going. Im confident now that if I had the tools in front of me I could record, easily (maybe) an album's worth of material. It may not be good, but I know how to play moderately - really good (the bass, lol) on most of the instruments i learned.
Thanks for the video! My biggest take-away from the movie was that those guys put 12 songs together in about 3 weeks and we got to watch the creative process (bands take years to put an album together). Three months earlier, they finished recording the White Album, and 8 months later they would record Abbey Road. Most bands have gaps of many years between albums. I guess the take-away is how prolific they were as song writers. In the movie they play iconic songs that would be on Abbey Road and songs off their solo albums. IMHO there will never be a band as prolific.The Let it Be album was not produced by George Martin, that is why he wasn't there. If you get a chance, watch the original 1970 movie Let it Be. That was a depressing movie. Get Back, in general, showed them laughing, having fun, and be creative.
Just went to the Cavern literally a few hours ago and it was incredible to imagine that they played there hundreds of times to lunch and dinner crowds, honing their skills.
Great video. They were not renting the soundstage. Peter Sellers and Ringo were to start filming Magic Christian in this "room." The Beatles got in for free, and had a hard-stop deadline to vacate so filming could start. (They missed that deadline, and Ringo was not available on time.) I think that the "eight hours a night" bit comes from their time in Hamburg. Many of the Cavern dates were lunch-time shows.
It was really cool to see the creative dynamic between the band. It was also interesting to watch the cracks show in the most popular band in the world.
The Beatles weren't the kind of jam band that this situation required. By this time they were pure studio musicians, but the Let It Be project was supposed to have a live feel. But Billy was a great musician (and really good songwriter btw), so it was perfect for this album. They could lean on him to provide rhythm, solos and fills in most of the songs.
My favourite part was where the 5th member joined, and was apparently accepted as a member by the 'original' bandmates. Billy Preston 'joining' changed the landscape utterly and irreversibly. I think the joy and vivacity he brought allowed them the mental space to have new ideas, and maybe also highlighted the divisions which needed addressing after they'd all said their goodbyes after the project's completion.
BP was the literal 5th Beatle for that time ... The label of Fifth Beatle belongs to George Martin, who played instrumental (usually piano) on every recording they produced ... Sometimes during the session, sometimes added later ... And he was the one speeding up tempo, slowing down melodies, taking out percussion, adding harpsichord ... And lyrics ... This list could go on with over 200 items ... His hand was involved in every song .
There was never any chance that the Beatles were going to be carted off to jail from the rooftop, or even shut down. First, the police officers threatening to arrest the band (Ray Dagg - only 19 at the time - and Ray Shayler) claimed in Daily Express UK that they were "running a bluff.". Even if the officers were so inclined, the Beatles were on private property . Everyone has seen the guys in their wives' girlfriend's fur and leather coats ... Fun fact: it was 45 degrees on the roof, not including the chill factor of the high winds (which were obvious). Great concert
It is crazy to think of BP as the “5 Beatles” just because George invited him to sit in “. He was an old friend from Hamburg. The Beatles had others sit in from time to time. There are so many other contenders for 5th Beatle. People who were much more integral to who the Beatle were.
Ringo quit the group during the White Album sessions and the other three made it clear that they wanted him to come back, George even covered the studio in flowers when he (Ringo) did finally return after being away for nearly two weeks. So he had already gone through something similar to the way George felt during these sessions. I have no doubt Ringo played a significant role in convincing George to return, the two of them were close friends for years during the band's tenure and after the breakup.
As a big Beatles fan, a musician, and haved watched Get Back documentary two or three times, you nailed it and made me laugh numerous times! I loved your video man
💉💊John's mood swings were mainly due to HEROIN use. Yoko got him started and supplied him. He and Yoko were also in a minor auto accident during this time.
Enjoying your insights. Some background as to why Peter Sellers came in. Ringo was about to star in the The Magic Christian (film) with him. Which is why the timeline for the Get Back(Let It Be) project was so tight I think I heard them saying that Ringo was supposed to start shooting the film at the end of January. Actually it started shooting 1st of March. The Beatles had borrowed the Sound Stage which the film was going to use and he probably came in for a meeting and to met Ringo. They were probably in awe of Peter Seller as he used to be in The Goon Show and George Martin had produced comedy records for The Goon Show and for Peter Sellers. The Beatles humor was inspired by The Goon Show. In their world he was a big star. Maybe adding to awkwardness. the role Ringo played was originally written with John Lennon in mind.
My college band played a show on the rooftop of our dorm in '95 or so. Unlike the Beatles, though, we did get shut down and kicked off after only a few songs. Good Times. 😊
I know the "Yoko Syndrome". At my local casino,our friend's ex is there like white on rice, being annoying and even displaying passive-aggressive behavior! Paul,George and Ringo were very stoic for enduring her
I think when spend as much time with people, as the Beatles did with each other, they become more like family than friends. The problem for a band is… now you’ve gradually entered into a creative and business venture with people who are tantamount to family. It’s really hard to do these types of endeavors with people that have so much influence in your life, because the nature of creative work is constant conflicts of opinions.
I was so glad to see this footage with such clear audio and video. Great insight. Paul (imo) steered the ship after Brian's untimely death. I really admire him for that. I think he was probably the most invested in keeping them going and definitely the most driven. I much prefer this to the Let It Be film, which seemed to portray that period totally different. Not that there weren't issues, but I noticed there were a lot of lightheaded and even tender moments. They were definitely on their last legs. I'm so glad they went out with Abbey Road. A SPECTACULAR swan song and a fitting end to their recording career. Well, minus Now snd Then...which was a great final song...❤
I think what struck me most watching that documentary was that despite the Beatles being "who they were", in the end, they were just a band. I say that in the most respectful way possible. They had the same kinds of ups and downs that any of us who have been in a band experience. So many things happened that I went "Yep, I know that feeling" . . . "Oh yea, that happens all the time".
I enjoyed your takes on what was happening. I was born in England in the very early 60's and had [literally] half a dozen older sisters who were Beatles fans, so by the time the film 'Let It Be' was released we were all gagging for it, but I was still too young to see the nuances or realise how much had been omitted from it. For me the rooftop concert was the most thrilling thing, because of the police getting involved, and the new Peter Jackson 'Get Back' film helped me re-live that all again...but even better this time. You may not know this but The Beatles had a rule, which was basically that all 4 of them had to agree, which to me helps explain the multiple elaborate/extravagant suggestions for the live 'concert' falling by the wayside until the rooftop was agreed on. If any one of them had held out and said 'nope, not playing on the roof' it would not have happened and we wouldn't have this iconic final 'public' performance P.S it was in Hamburg, Germany not the Cavern, Liverpool that the boys [George was only 17!] had to be present for exceptionally long days. IIRC they played two 'shifts' of between two and three hours each separated by some other performer/s, which added up to eight-hour shifts. For me, that's at least part of where those very deep musical and collaborative roots were formed. They had to have a huge repertoire and spend many, many hours a day in each other's company.
When the police showed up at the rooftop concert Mal Evans completely took over in his job as road manager. He engages the officers in a friendly, respectful way and manages to stall them without creating a scene. I later heard that the police who arrived were not really crazy about shutting the performance down. They were willing to drag their heels a bit until the guys got through at least a couple more songs.
John brought in Yoko, so it seemed like Paul brought in Linda and later her daughter, Heather, for probably the same reason. I suspect George brought in the Hare Krishna dude. The Yoko primal scream was after George quit, so it was therapy for John, Paul and Ringo, as they were all jamming very chaotically and loud.
"...some actor..." Three time Oscar nominee Peter Sellers. Helped inspire Monty Python, Rowan Atkinson and Sasha Baron Cohen with The Goon Show. Starred in two brilliant Stanley Kubrick films (Lolita, Dr. Strangelove) and was Inspector Clouseau.
I thought you gave a very nice and pretty honest and thorough assessment of the film. I also think the Let it Be film does zero in on McCartney as the bad guy and Yoko for being so IN YOUR FACE, but after watching the Get Back Documentary, I didn’t really see that. I thought the Peter Jackson documentary was much more honest of what it was like. Even Julian watched it and said he began to Love his father again. Cuz he saw John being more fun and happy than what Let it be film portrayed.
I agree that Get Back is an infinitely more rounded portrait than Let It Be, even taking into account the differences in runtimes, but this was also a project which had to be passed by Yoko. It's clear in unused sound tapes that she was much more "apparent" than she is is in "Get Back". For example her input on what form the proposed stage show should take was very vocal and must have been extremely frustrating for the others, including Michael Lindsay-Hogg, who after all was the director of the film. The others had to tiptoe on eggshells because her influence over John was such that she could have derailed the project altogether - then and now.
What a fantastic analysis of the “Get Back” film! I loved the deep dive into band chemistry, and your own experiences and how that relates to the situations in the film. Thank you for making this insightful video.
Lennon is who I came to relate to. He wants the experience to be enjoyable, but he wrote through intuition, so George’s analytical approach frustrated him. He wasn’t comfortable with conflict like Paul so used jokes and Yoko’s presence as ways to alleviate that ADHD feeling of, ‘What’re we doing here? I’m losing interest…” For him he knew the song would come and he had that faith in Paul as well. I do think he saw George’s comment about not being fast like Clapton as, “Why not?! You’re the lead guitarist…go practice.” But couldn’t say it. He was a ‘Figure it out…’ kind of guy without the need for a plan.
When I was 18 I decided to join an international touring band as the second guitarist that played a variety of genres. I had limited live experience and was a teenage metalhead. My guitar tone went from buzzsaw to somewhat clean IMMEDIATELY due to the types of songs we covered. It was a very hard adjustment because every flaw in my playing was on display for the world to hear. Distortion covers a lot. I was stuck up in Canada so there was no bailing out of the situation despite my embarrassment so I had to sink or swim. It was VERY empowering too. Once I adjusted after a few days my playing improved exponentially. We played classic country, oldies, blues and show tunes. When you speak about the proverbial “musical toolbox” to pull from, you ain’t kidding! I became the principal songwriter in every original band I was ever with afterwards. I was just a more rounded musician than my local contemporaries due to having to play 5 sets of multiple genres every night for two full years of touring.
I don't think the documentary mentioned this, but George was having marital problems and I believe Patty went out of town (to give each other space) when he quit. So, George was not in the best frame of mind.
She was not a calming presence. She was an enabler, dragging Lennon deeper into a drug addiction while simultaneously trying to isolate him from his bandmates.
One thing I noticed about every band I've been in that applies with this video.... The longer a band goes and the more successful they become, the less focused and less cohesive they become. An example would be my last original band. When we first started, we would all hang out at the end of the bar after our set being loud, cracking jokes, and being the larger than life assholes just enjoying being together and playing music. By the time life events forced me to leave, we were headlining most shows (opening some, still). As we waited for our set, we were no longer hanging out together. We had our own group of friends/family/fans who would come to hang out. If we were at a venue that was new to us, we would be sitting at the same table, but just hanging out as bandmates, not friends. It was very subdued. You can notice that with theBeatles. In the beginning, they were young and exuberant. During this documentary.... that was gone.
"I was born in Liverpool but grew up in Hamburg..."(Lennon) The Cavern was more of a concise set compared to the 'speed' fuelled Hamburg period- that was the 8 hour nights.
I just started watching this last week, still have a lot I haven't seen yet (my girlfriend already got tired of it, I'll have to watch the rest by myself, lol). In regards to George Martin, I read that leading up to the White Album, the Beatles resented him getting a lot more of the credit for the overall success than they thought he deserved, and as a group chose to not rely on him so much in the studio.
Yeah, George Martin was never supposed to be the producer of this album. That would be Glyn Johns. The Beatles had to convince Martin to come back and produce the Abbey Road album. They had to promise to him that they would let produce the way he did before Let It Be.
There's an interview that was done last year with the head police officer, Daniele Hamamdjian, that was on the roof and he explained, that the Police had been getting calls from citizens complaining because it was causing cars to stop and people gathering and blocking traffic in the whole west end part of town (yeah, some people had jobs they had to get to while the Beatles were playing music on a roof in the middle of town, lol). Anyway, he was assigned to come out tell them to quit. When the guys let them in the building he he told them, they had been called out there and there were complaints about the noise and the blocked streets. When they got up to the roof to tell them they had to shut it down, Malcolm Evans said ok, let me do this and he pulled the plug on the amps. Lennon and McCartney got upset and went over to ask why he did it. After some conversation Evans went back to the officer and asked could they do just one more. He said, ok, just one more song, then you've got to shut it down. That last song was "Get Back"! That's when McCartney made the little snide lyric change in the middle of the song "You've been out too late Loretta and you've been playing on the roof again and your mama doesn't like that. She's gonna have you arrested, get back"
Nice wrap up. I agree with your assessment of this doc. It goes to show, it’s hard to document art being created. I think the recording stifled creativity, but we would have never witnessed this and it was very cool.
My 3 disc dvd arrived the other day, i just finished watching it.. absolutely brilliant. I have let it be on vhs that i haven't watched in 15 years, so I'll have to watch to compare. But, get back was great. Disc1 John was 'high' on H you can tell or i could tell (ex H user) but there were times, john was up and down with his mood, you're correct on that. Yoko most of the time looked bored even when John was feeling"good" its like if you're bored just fucking go home stay home. Its a bit annoying seeing her there, another thing was Paul, he was messing with his hair like every 2 seconds, like a nervous tick...that made me wanna scream..lol..bloody hell paul stop with the hair thing.smh...😅but whatever. Still a brilliant documentary 👍🏻 Happy Holidays everyone cheers.
And then there was two that are releasing a new Beatles song as we speak. Mind blowing. I think I was seven or eight years old when paperback writer can out. Before that I whore out let it be. I wanted to play drums when I was younger, my mom put a complete stop to that. I got a guitar for Christmas that same year along with an amp. I think that was probably worse than having a drum set. As far as sounding horrible for the first few months as a beginner. I didn’t have a tuner. They didn’t make them yet. Pitch pipe, tuning fork was what I had to deal with. Strings were what ever gage was on the shelf. I learned songs by playing the record over and over and over and over again. Drove my brother and my mom crazy. That’s all I ever did from age eight to forty sit in my room hunched over my guitar plinking away. Putting the time in. It paid off. I don’t usually worry if I get the gig anymore. Not being egotistical either. I’m very humble. Players out there these days are scary, mind blowing how good they are. What helped me the most when I was seventeen I went on a summer tour with a band that took me under their wing. We traveled around from Texas to Kentucky to Wyoming and everywhere in between. Playing almost every night. That’s how a band becomes telepathic and tight. Happy holidays.
Think about this. The Beatles released the “White Album” on November 22, 1968. The Get Back sessions began on January 2, 1969. Any other band with an upcoming concert/tv special would rehearse tracks from their latest release (put out a month earlier) to promote the LP. The Beatles decided to create 14 new tracks! Why not just do the best of the White Album?
SOME ACTOR? 😂😂😂 you made me laugh. Man, Peter Sellers was a mega star back then, Pink Panther, Dr. Strangelove, The Party, Lolita. It was the equivalent of having Robin Williams visiting them. .
One thing people tend to forget about Peter Jackson's "Get Back": at the very beginning of the film, it is written that the movie was subjected to montage modifications. So there may be scenes which are in someway modified from the existing footage.
Modified? Montage just means editing. What they said was that they had a lot of extra audio footage without any visuals so when they wanted to use that audio they would add visuals from the same day but not necessarily the exact same moment
15:38 "Some actor came in and left. .... What was the whole point of that?" LOL, It's Peter Sellers, the actor from the Pink Panther movie series. He was making a movie with Ringo Starr right on the spot of the "Get Back" sessions in Twickenham studios called "The Magic Christian".
Instant watch! I dig the Beatles! Great points made on subject matter. BTW, Mike you have created a informative and helpful channel. My son gets a kick out of the episode w/ the Osmond’s Crazy Horses . As a young one then, I remember that album! I just forgot all the amazing songs and riffs on this record!
I never noticed Alan Parsons was in there. Who could have imagined he would go on to become one of the greatest musician, composer, producer, and sound engineers ever
When the original Let It Be was released, Parsons was not a public world wide name, and stayed that way until he started doing the Alan Parsons Project recordings about a decade or so later...
Between Sgt Pepper and Abbey Road they were literally just winging it. Magical Mystery Tour was just filmed on the fly. White Album had no cohesive plan, just winging it with whatever they came up with. Get Back (and the Let it Be movie and album) were just done spur of the moment. Abbey Road was one last try before it was over, a return to a group dynamic. John had pretty much been the leader of the band before Brian Epstein died. Afterwards Paul took over. Paul was already in ascendence with Sgt Pepper, the concept being a Paul idea.
I think John was taking heroin at the time, so that might have been part of why he was so up and down sometimes. He wasn't full on junkie mode or anything, but he was definitely taking it for a year or two. I don't think he shot it up though or anything. Could be wrong though.
ADHD is possible but he was not bipolar. Anyone who has lived with a person who suffers from bipolar will know there is a marked difference.@@carl_anderson9315
Thank you for this posting. I enjoyed it. I’m embarrassed to say how many times. I’ve watched the Peter Jackson get back film. I could be wrong, but I don't think the four Beatles were entirely in agreement about the rooftop performance. George never wanted to do it. And the other three went back and forth. they almost didn’t do it. They were arguing about it right up until minutes before they did the performance. I think on the day of the event only John and Ringo were excited about it.
"Some actor" Mike, Mike, Mike.... Peter Sellers is one of the greats! Aside from being Inspector Clouseau (Pink Panther film series), he is the shining star behind THREE roles in Stanley Kubrick's Dr Strangelove (or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb). It was pretty weird seeing how awkward his time hanging with The Beatles was here, but he's one of the greats.
My takeaways from the doc were: 1. They would've benefited from the modern approach of releasing fewer albums with longer breaks. They were putting out new stuff for 8 years straight, and that's bound to wear you out. 2. Group dynamics set up when they were boys (literally, when Paul and George joined the Quarrymen, they were like 15 and 14 to John's 17) were grating 10 years later. They went from boys to men, but it was clear that they were stuck in their boxes. It was John's band, even though John wasn't taking the leadership, George was the ignored little brother and Paul was taking charge, something he was prone to from the beginning if stories are to be believed. Only before John was more invested to keep him in line, so to speak. 3. Death by a thousand paper cuts by slights real or imagined. 4. They should've gone on hiatus and let each other breathe for a while. Despite the good moments, it was clear they had personal issues, and maybe some time apart would be a good idea. 5. They should've replaced Brian with someone else. Every team needs a leader. John should've stepped up but didn't. Paul did and got the short end of the stick. It's hard to be one of the boys if you're playing the boss - especially when the band leader is right there. 6. Mind altering substances did not help. I do wonder how they would get along if hard drugs were not part of it... they managed long shows in Hamburg because of the 'prellies' that made their eyes roll. Later, they tried LSD. At this point, I think Paul was off cocaine, but John was doing heroine. Add weed, smoke, and drink, and you get a volatile mix that doesn't aid anything. 7. They all would've benefited from therapy. And I mean it in the kindest sense. They made it big young, had demanding schedules, and bonkers social lives. John would definitely benefit from a modern psychiatric help. In this, he is constantly up and down, but he was either on drugs or coming off drugs. But looking at this life as a whole, there is a strong hint of at least ADHD but most likely BiPolar disorder and narcissistic tendencies. If he could benefit from ways to manage it, it would work in everyone's favour to that point and later in the 70s.
5. They actually were trying to replace Brian, but they were at loggerheads over who to pick. John, George, and Ringo wanted Allen Klein to be the manager. Paul did not trust Klein(rightfully so) but he wanted his father-in-law to manage instead. The other three saw that as a conflict of interest that served Paul better. 6. John did go to Primal Scream therapy, but he flaked out and never finished. I suspect he would have behaved similarly with more modern therapists.
You summed it up succinctly. I think Paul did the best he could to hold together a band he truly believed in. But George and John had already checked out. The drugs didn’t help.
Great video, I thought there was one thing you may or may not have noticed. But I felt that when they where on the roof performing, that John was definitely in his element and he took more control, and they looked to him for guidance. I wonder, what if John never made that comment about the Beatles being bigger then Jesus? Would he of become so introverted and let Paul take more control of the band? I think he reverted back to his pre-fame, wounded child personality after the death threats and bad press. The Beatles may have continued to tour and have fun playing together and subsequently stayed together
One thing I got out of it was how paul was in such a creative mindset. You can see him walk in and first thing go right to the piano trying to expand on ideas he was obviously working on at home. He seemed like he didn’t want to loose the ideas. He wanted to pull out whatever was going to be there from those ideas.
Billy Preston first met the Beatles in 1962. Preston played keyboards in Little Richard’s band. Richard had turned his back on rock’n’roll for awhile to become a minister. Preston ended up playing in his gospel group. Then Richard decided rock was no longer the devil’s music and set up a comeback tour in Europe. The Beatles, Little Richard and several other bands played a huge concert together in the Liverpool area. Richard was impressed enough to ask the Beatles to be his opening act for a 14-night engagement at the Star Club in Hamburg, Germany. (That would be their next to last trip to play clubs there.) Funnily enough, just as George Harrison was underage during the Beatles first trip to play in the Hamburg clubs, Billy Preston was on this later excursion (more so, in fact). Plus, the tour was his first experience with rock’n’roll. He’d only played in gospel groups before finding himself playing rock in Hamburg’s red light district.
The Shaggs “Philosophy of the World” was noted as some sort of unintended brilliance. Curt Cobain and Frank Zappa said it was accidental genius or something along those lines. Many say the album was basically terrible.
I don't know where you got the idea the Beatles played the Cavern Club for 8 hours. Baloney. The Beatles' performances at the Cavern Club in Liverpool typically lasted around 90 minutes to 2 hours. During their early days at the Cavern, they often played multiple times in a day, sometimes performing at lunchtime and then again in the evening. This was a regular occurrence as they built their reputation and following in the early 1960s. They did play 8 hours give or take, in the sleazy German Clubs in Hamburg 1960 - 62 and wound up using Benzedrine to stay awake....
It was all the doc I've seen where they show them at The Cavern and then reading Outliers where he talks about them playing for 8 hours a night. Easy to mix the two together.
Peter Sellers was a huge star in England at that time, so his appearance on set was probably the director just thinking it would be great to have him in the film, so he told him to go "hang out" with the guys. Which may be why we was a bit awkward on camera, not knowing what to say. But he did have a friendship with Ringo at this time, so Ringo may have just said "drop by".
If I recall John was resentful of George Martin at that time. He felt George ruined Strawberry Fields and was taking credit for what the Beatles accomplished. John had Yoko in his ear saying “it’s all you John”. George Martin was essentially kicked to the curb.
Good call on Paul drifting off as a defense mechanism. Probably built into him with his meditation training and trying to hold his tongue and keep John close?
Hey everyone. About the Peter Sellers bit. When I was recording my video I forgot which actor came to visit. I actually thought it was more than one actor who visited during the 8-hour doc. So I just said, "some actor." When I was adding the footage after the fact I then saw it was Sellers but had already recorded my dialog so I just put his name up on the screen and left it. No disrespect to the man.
Sellers had been a labelmate on Parlaphone, solo and with The Goons, produced by George Martin. Good chance they were friends.
John was very upset when Peter Sellers died of a heart attack in 1980 July 24th aged 54. Coincidentally,his son died of a heart attack exactly 26 years later on the same day !
We are in a ridiculous world if you gotta apologize for not remembering the name of an actor who died 40+ yrs ago…
Never forget someone released that Nirvana tab book you and I both purchased as teens.
@@jeffrey.a.hanson He's not apologising. He's adding context.
The Peter Sellers bit was strange in the documentary, but the uncut footage of the encounter tells a different story. I can't imagine why Jackson cut it in such a nonsensical way. They were old friends and had a nice chat with a lot of jokes. John as bipolar is an interesting idea. Maybe so. He was using heroin during that time which probably explains his dramatic mood swings and behavioral changes. There is an old video on RUclips of Peter Sellers doing a dramatic recitation of A Hard Days Night which is hilarious.
As a 9 year old back in 1979, I got into the Beatles after my dad passed from a congenital heart problem. They became my solice. As I grew up, listening to my heroes, reading about their lives, listening to all the 'Beatle Hours" on the radio, they became a guiding force in my life. Knowing about all the arguments, struggles, misdirection and calamities, that can happen in a group (I was in the high school band, and we were a small group, and tight after years of playing) it was refreshing to see it handled mostly professionally, and like friends would. I still listen to the Beatles nearly everyday and still am in awe of their imaginations. Yes, they were not the most gifted musicians, but songwriting, nobody came close, NOBODY.
because guitar heroes and proficient musicians rarely make the best music
IMO, 2 times is not enough times to watch this thing. I’m on my 5th pass, and there are so many nuggets and details to catch. It keeps getting better. This doc is really a treasure.
One thing not discussed in the documentary was the domestic difficulties George was having that contributed to his quitting the band -- during those early sessions, Patti (George's then wife) had discovered an affair George was having when the girl showed up at their house because George offered to let her stay there... so a lot of George's agitation and irritation prior to him walking out had a lot to do with that.
[Edited To Add] And John was all over the place because he was using heroin rather heavily during that time.
One of Patti's friends, Charlotte Martin. Patti actually left him, so he was basically freaking out about his marriage falling apart at the time.
i didn't know any of that. it's interesting
@@mightysmith1Charlotte Martin? Another lover Eric Clapton and George had in common, I guess. She moved on to Jimmy Page and is the mother of his first child, Scarlet Page who was born in 1971.
Peter Sellers (The Pink Panther) was a popular British actor, and Ringo was trying to get done in the studio to go make a movie with Peter at the end of that month. Peter was probably checking in to make sure Ringo was still going to be available.
He was more famous as a comedian back then from radio and TV, The Goon Show was a big hit for example though he had done Dr Strangelove.
@@RobBCactiveNo, he had become an internationally famous movie star by this point.
@@RobBCactive
You are wrong.
Sellers had already been in The Pink Panther, A Shot in the Dark in 1962 and 1963, which along with Strangelove and several other movies, put him into A level of acting and celebrity.
He was very famous for his radio work, in the 50’s.
@@johnp515
With how easy it is to find the truth, I don’t understand why people just spout something they’ve heard, about one moment in someone’s career/life, instead of actually reading a short article.
@@johnp515 Sellers also had worked extensively with George Martin, and may have thought he'd see him there.
Watching that whole film a while back was such a wonderful experience. As a fan since my youth it was magic to see them so clearly, in color, moving and playing together. Amazing. So happy to revisit it with your terrific analysis. Thank you!
The Beatles were the biggest and greatest group in the last hundred years of recorded music what a fantastic post I don't think people will ever get tired of The Beatles I will always be fascinated by them great music never dies 🎉
Get Back is one of the few documentaries where one gets to see the creative process of how songs get made, very much like seeing all the drafts of a book before publication. Also within the group while all the members cared for each other you can see a special bond between John and Paul, and a similar bond between George and Ringo. This is a documentary I will definitely be watching over and over throughout the years.
FYI, The Beatles would play 8 hours a night, 6 nights a week, and they made a point early on to never repeat a song each night. By the time they got their recording contract, they had the most stage experience of any rock and roll band in the world. I think it was 1962, they played over 340 shows.
The Beatles became a great cover band on their way to becoming a fantastic original band informed by all that music that they covered in their early days.
In just 18 months, I remember my college band going from bumbling through a three chord song to effortlessly playing 50 song setlists, writing our own music, improvising, changing styles mid song, etc.
I’m a more sophisticated player now, but never developed like I did in that year and a half.
I think a lot of rock musicians used to start this way. I found it invaluable as well.
@@jeffrey.a.hanson Me the past 18 months. I went from not knowing 4/4, what an A chord was, or even what the fuck a bass was to writing/recording nearly completed songs. All it took was just fucking around til the sound was cool and boom, the progress just kept going. Im confident now that if I had the tools in front of me I could record, easily (maybe) an album's worth of material. It may not be good, but I know how to play moderately - really good (the bass, lol) on most of the instruments i learned.
Thanks for the video! My biggest take-away from the movie was that those guys put 12 songs together in about 3 weeks and we got to watch the creative process (bands take years to put an album together). Three months earlier, they finished recording the White Album, and 8 months later they would record Abbey Road. Most bands have gaps of many years between albums. I guess the take-away is how prolific they were as song writers. In the movie they play iconic songs that would be on Abbey Road and songs off their solo albums. IMHO there will never be a band as prolific.The Let it Be album was not produced by George Martin, that is why he wasn't there. If you get a chance, watch the original 1970 movie Let it Be. That was a depressing movie. Get Back, in general, showed them laughing, having fun, and be creative.
Not just 12 songs. THREE #1 HITS!!!!!
From one Beatles fan to another… thank you! ❤
Excellent distillation of the series, LOVE that jacket🖤
Just went to the Cavern literally a few hours ago and it was incredible to imagine that they played there hundreds of times to lunch and dinner crowds, honing their skills.
I love their approach to song writing.
Great video. They were not renting the soundstage. Peter Sellers and Ringo were to start filming Magic Christian in this "room." The Beatles got in for free, and had a hard-stop deadline to vacate so filming could start. (They missed that deadline, and Ringo was not available on time.) I think that the "eight hours a night" bit comes from their time in Hamburg. Many of the Cavern dates were lunch-time shows.
Finally someone who knows what they are talking about...
It was really cool to see the creative dynamic between the band. It was also interesting to watch the cracks show in the most popular band in the world.
I actually burst out laughing when you described Peter Sellers as "some actor", lol
I think Billy Preston really energised the band when he turned up. Great review!
George is my favorite Beatle but Billy Preston’s versions of My Sweet Lord (studio and live) are awesome!
The Beatles weren't the kind of jam band that this situation required. By this time they were pure studio musicians, but the Let It Be project was supposed to have a live feel. But Billy was a great musician (and really good songwriter btw), so it was perfect for this album. They could lean on him to provide rhythm, solos and fills in most of the songs.
I saw the Beatles was the magic of Paul Mccartney. The other guys are cool, but Paul was/is a very special artist/human being.
My favourite part was where the 5th member joined, and was apparently accepted as a member by the 'original' bandmates.
Billy Preston 'joining' changed the landscape utterly and irreversibly.
I think the joy and vivacity he brought allowed them the mental space to have new ideas, and maybe also highlighted the divisions which needed addressing after they'd all said their goodbyes after the project's completion.
BP was the literal 5th Beatle for that time ... The label of Fifth Beatle belongs to George Martin, who played instrumental (usually piano) on every recording they produced ... Sometimes during the session, sometimes added later ... And he was the one speeding up tempo, slowing down melodies, taking out percussion, adding harpsichord ... And lyrics ... This list could go on with over 200 items ... His hand was involved in every song .
There was never any chance that the Beatles were going to be carted off to jail from the rooftop, or even shut down. First, the police officers threatening to arrest the band (Ray Dagg - only 19 at the time - and Ray Shayler) claimed in Daily Express UK that they were "running a bluff.". Even if the officers were so inclined, the Beatles were on private property . Everyone has seen the guys in their wives' girlfriend's fur and leather coats ... Fun fact: it was 45 degrees on the roof, not including the chill factor of the high winds (which were obvious). Great concert
It is crazy to think of BP as the “5 Beatles” just because George invited him to sit in “. He was an old friend from Hamburg. The Beatles had others sit in from time to time. There are so many other contenders for 5th Beatle. People who were much more integral to who the Beatle were.
Ringo quit the group during the White Album sessions and the other three made it clear that they wanted him to come back, George even covered the studio in flowers when he (Ringo) did finally return after being away for nearly two weeks. So he had already gone through something similar to the way George felt during these sessions. I have no doubt Ringo played a significant role in convincing George to return, the two of them were close friends for years during the band's tenure and after the breakup.
Mike is always HERE. Great vid man
As a big Beatles fan, a musician, and haved watched Get Back documentary two or three times, you nailed it and made me laugh numerous times! I loved your video man
💉💊John's mood swings were mainly due to HEROIN use. Yoko got him started and supplied him. He and Yoko were also in a minor auto accident during this time.
came here to say this yes
Enjoying your insights. Some background as to why Peter Sellers came in. Ringo was about to star in the The Magic Christian (film) with him. Which is why the timeline for the Get Back(Let It Be) project was so tight I think I heard them saying that Ringo was supposed to start shooting the film at the end of January.
Actually it started shooting 1st of March. The Beatles had borrowed the Sound Stage which the film was going to use and he probably came in for a meeting and to met Ringo. They were probably in awe of Peter Seller as he used to be in The Goon Show and George Martin had produced comedy records for The Goon Show and for Peter Sellers. The Beatles humor was inspired by The Goon Show. In their world he was a big star. Maybe adding to awkwardness. the role Ringo played was originally written with John Lennon in mind.
My college band played a show on the rooftop of our dorm in '95 or so. Unlike the Beatles, though, we did get shut down and kicked off after only a few songs. Good Times. 😊
I know the "Yoko Syndrome". At my local casino,our friend's ex is there like white on rice, being annoying and even displaying passive-aggressive behavior! Paul,George and Ringo were very stoic for enduring her
I think when spend as much time with people, as the Beatles did with each other, they become more like family than friends. The problem for a band is… now you’ve gradually entered into a creative and business venture with people who are tantamount to family.
It’s really hard to do these types of endeavors with people that have so much influence in your life, because the nature of creative work is constant conflicts of opinions.
I laughed at the bit about the monk meditating in the background. That sounds like the 1960s!
I was so glad to see this footage with such clear audio and video. Great insight.
Paul (imo) steered the ship after Brian's untimely death. I really admire him for that. I think he was probably the most invested in keeping them going and definitely the most driven.
I much prefer this to the Let It Be film, which seemed to portray that period totally different.
Not that there weren't issues, but I noticed there were a lot of lightheaded and even tender moments.
They were definitely on their last legs. I'm so glad they went out with Abbey Road. A SPECTACULAR swan song and a fitting end to their recording career. Well, minus Now snd Then...which was a great final song...❤
I think of George as the kid, John as Pop, Paul as Mommy, and Ringo as the cool uncle that will let you smoke ;- )
I think what struck me most watching that documentary was that despite the Beatles being "who they were", in the end, they were just a band. I say that in the most respectful way possible. They had the same kinds of ups and downs that any of us who have been in a band experience. So many things happened that I went "Yep, I know that feeling" . . . "Oh yea, that happens all the time".
Ringo doesnt have an ego, just loves what he does
Great video! Very cool you waited a while. Now I want to see the documentary again.
Good points!
Very thought provoking. Well done, thank you.
Absolutely a fantastic review, kudos................
I enjoyed your takes on what was happening. I was born in England in the very early 60's and had [literally] half a dozen older sisters who were Beatles fans, so by the time the film 'Let It Be' was released we were all gagging for it, but I was still too young to see the nuances or realise how much had been omitted from it. For me the rooftop concert was the most thrilling thing, because of the police getting involved, and the new Peter Jackson 'Get Back' film helped me re-live that all again...but even better this time.
You may not know this but The Beatles had a rule, which was basically that all 4 of them had to agree, which to me helps explain the multiple elaborate/extravagant suggestions for the live 'concert' falling by the wayside until the rooftop was agreed on. If any one of them had held out and said 'nope, not playing on the roof' it would not have happened and we wouldn't have this iconic final 'public' performance
P.S it was in Hamburg, Germany not the Cavern, Liverpool that the boys [George was only 17!] had to be present for exceptionally long days. IIRC they played two 'shifts' of between two and three hours each separated by some other performer/s, which added up to eight-hour shifts. For me, that's at least part of where those very deep musical and collaborative roots were formed. They had to have a huge repertoire and spend many, many hours a day in each other's company.
When the police showed up at the rooftop concert Mal Evans completely took over in his job as road manager. He engages the officers in a friendly, respectful way and manages to stall them without creating a scene. I later heard that the police who arrived were not really crazy about shutting the performance down. They were willing to drag their heels a bit until the guys got through at least a couple more songs.
John brought in Yoko, so it seemed like Paul brought in Linda and later her daughter, Heather, for probably the same reason. I suspect George brought in the Hare Krishna dude. The Yoko primal scream was after George quit, so it was therapy for John, Paul and Ringo, as they were all jamming very chaotically and loud.
"...some actor..."
Three time Oscar nominee Peter Sellers. Helped inspire Monty Python, Rowan Atkinson and Sasha Baron Cohen with The Goon Show. Starred in two brilliant Stanley Kubrick films (Lolita, Dr. Strangelove) and was Inspector Clouseau.
I thought you gave a very nice and pretty honest and thorough assessment of the film. I also think the Let it Be film does zero in on McCartney as the bad guy and Yoko for being so IN YOUR FACE, but after watching the Get Back Documentary, I didn’t really see that. I thought the Peter Jackson documentary was much more honest of what it was like. Even Julian watched it and said he began to Love his father again. Cuz he saw John being more fun and happy than what Let it be film portrayed.
I agree that Get Back is an infinitely more rounded portrait than Let It Be, even taking into account the differences in runtimes, but this was also a project which had to be passed by Yoko. It's clear in unused sound tapes that she was much more "apparent" than she is is in "Get Back". For example her input on what form the proposed stage show should take was very vocal and must have been extremely frustrating for the others, including Michael Lindsay-Hogg, who after all was the director of the film. The others had to tiptoe on eggshells because her influence over John was such that she could have derailed the project altogether - then and now.
What a fantastic analysis of the “Get Back” film!
I loved the deep dive into band chemistry, and your own experiences and how that relates to the situations in the film.
Thank you for making this insightful video.
Lennon is who I came to relate to.
He wants the experience to be enjoyable, but he wrote through intuition, so George’s analytical approach frustrated him. He wasn’t comfortable with conflict like Paul so
used jokes and Yoko’s presence as ways to alleviate that ADHD feeling of, ‘What’re we doing here? I’m losing interest…”
For him he knew the song would come and he had that faith in Paul as well. I do think he saw George’s comment about not being fast like Clapton as, “Why not?! You’re the lead guitarist…go practice.” But couldn’t say it. He was a ‘Figure it out…’ kind of guy without the need for a plan.
Woohoo, been looking forward to this! Congrats on 844k Subscribers🤘🏻🔥
When I was 18 I decided to join an international touring band as the second guitarist that played a variety of genres. I had limited live experience and was a teenage metalhead. My guitar tone went from buzzsaw to somewhat clean IMMEDIATELY due to the types of songs we covered. It was a very hard adjustment because every flaw in my playing was on display for the world to hear. Distortion covers a lot. I was stuck up in Canada so there was no bailing out of the situation despite my embarrassment so I had to sink or swim. It was VERY empowering too. Once I adjusted after a few days my playing improved exponentially. We played classic country, oldies, blues and show tunes. When you speak about the proverbial “musical toolbox” to pull from, you ain’t kidding! I became the principal songwriter in every original band I was ever with afterwards. I was just a more rounded musician than my local contemporaries due to having to play 5 sets of multiple genres every night for two full years of touring.
I don't think the documentary mentioned this, but George was having marital problems and I believe Patty went out of town (to give each other space) when he quit. So, George was not in the best frame of mind.
She was not a calming presence. She was an enabler, dragging Lennon deeper into a drug addiction while simultaneously trying to isolate him from his bandmates.
Spot on
One thing I noticed about every band I've been in that applies with this video....
The longer a band goes and the more successful they become, the less focused and less cohesive they become. An example would be my last original band. When we first started, we would all hang out at the end of the bar after our set being loud, cracking jokes, and being the larger than life assholes just enjoying being together and playing music. By the time life events forced me to leave, we were headlining most shows (opening some, still). As we waited for our set, we were no longer hanging out together. We had our own group of friends/family/fans who would come to hang out. If we were at a venue that was new to us, we would be sitting at the same table, but just hanging out as bandmates, not friends. It was very subdued.
You can notice that with theBeatles. In the beginning, they were young and exuberant. During this documentary.... that was gone.
"I was born in Liverpool but grew up in Hamburg..."(Lennon) The Cavern was more of a concise set compared to the 'speed' fuelled Hamburg period- that was the 8 hour nights.
I just started watching this last week, still have a lot I haven't seen yet (my girlfriend already got tired of it, I'll have to watch the rest by myself, lol). In regards to George Martin, I read that leading up to the White Album, the Beatles resented him getting a lot more of the credit for the overall success than they thought he deserved, and as a group chose to not rely on him so much in the studio.
Yeah, George Martin was never supposed to be the producer of this album. That would be Glyn Johns. The Beatles had to convince Martin to come back and produce the Abbey Road album. They had to promise to him that they would let produce the way he did before Let It Be.
There's an interview that was done last year with the head police officer, Daniele Hamamdjian, that was on the roof and he explained, that the Police had been getting calls from citizens complaining because it was causing cars to stop and people gathering and blocking traffic in the whole west end part of town (yeah, some people had jobs they had to get to while the Beatles were playing music on a roof in the middle of town, lol). Anyway, he was assigned to come out tell them to quit. When the guys let them in the building he he told them, they had been called out there and there were complaints about the noise and the blocked streets. When they got up to the roof to tell them they had to shut it down, Malcolm Evans said ok, let me do this and he pulled the plug on the amps. Lennon and McCartney got upset and went over to ask why he did it. After some conversation Evans went back to the officer and asked could they do just one more. He said, ok, just one more song, then you've got to shut it down. That last song was "Get Back"! That's when McCartney made the little snide lyric change in the middle of the song "You've been out too late Loretta and you've been playing on the roof again and your mama doesn't like that. She's gonna have you arrested, get back"
For me paul writing get back was eye opening one of my favorite songs by the Beatles and it was just paul fucking around
This video was outstanding.
Nice wrap up. I agree with your assessment of this doc. It goes to show, it’s hard to document art being created. I think the recording stifled creativity, but we would have never witnessed this and it was very cool.
Sorry mom and dad but when I went to college I took a history of Beatles class, I aced every test!
My 3 disc dvd arrived the other day, i just finished watching it.. absolutely brilliant. I have let it be on vhs that i haven't watched in 15 years, so I'll have to watch to compare. But, get back was great. Disc1 John was 'high' on H you can tell or i could tell (ex H user) but there were times, john was up and down with his mood, you're correct on that. Yoko most of the time looked bored even when John was feeling"good" its like if you're bored just fucking go home stay home. Its a bit annoying seeing her there, another thing was Paul, he was messing with his hair like every 2 seconds, like a nervous tick...that made me wanna scream..lol..bloody hell paul stop with the hair thing.smh...😅but whatever. Still a brilliant documentary 👍🏻 Happy Holidays everyone cheers.
Yoko had just experienced a pregnancy loss.
And then there was two that are releasing a new Beatles song as we speak. Mind blowing. I think I was seven or eight years old when paperback writer can out. Before that I whore out let it be. I wanted to play drums when I was younger, my mom put a complete stop to that. I got a guitar for Christmas that same year along with an amp. I think that was probably worse than having a drum set. As far as sounding horrible for the first few months as a beginner. I didn’t have a tuner. They didn’t make them yet. Pitch pipe, tuning fork was what I had to deal with. Strings were what ever gage was on the shelf. I learned songs by playing the record over and over and over and over again. Drove my brother and my mom crazy. That’s all I ever did from age eight to forty sit in my room hunched over my guitar plinking away. Putting the time in. It paid off. I don’t usually worry if I get the gig anymore. Not being egotistical either. I’m very humble. Players out there these days are scary, mind blowing how good they are. What helped me the most when I was seventeen I went on a summer tour with a band that took me under their wing. We traveled around from Texas to Kentucky to Wyoming and everywhere in between. Playing almost every night. That’s how a band becomes telepathic and tight. Happy holidays.
John was getting into heroine with Yoko by this time, might explain some of his behavior.
His heroine sniffing addiction was right after the end of the Get Back sessions, not at the same time. It was around his Bed-In times I think.
Excellent video. I didn't want it to end!
I think the 8 hours was more in Hamburg than the cavern club.
Think about this. The Beatles released the “White Album” on November 22, 1968. The Get Back sessions began on January 2, 1969. Any other band with an upcoming concert/tv special would rehearse tracks from their latest release (put out a month earlier) to promote the LP. The Beatles decided to create 14 new tracks! Why not just do the best of the White Album?
I loved all your takes and insight on this. Great video, thank you!
SOME ACTOR? 😂😂😂 you made me laugh. Man, Peter Sellers was a mega star back then, Pink Panther, Dr. Strangelove, The Party, Lolita. It was the equivalent of having Robin Williams visiting them. .
One thing people tend to forget about Peter Jackson's "Get Back": at the very beginning of the film, it is written that the movie was subjected to montage modifications. So there may be scenes which are in someway modified from the existing footage.
Modified? Montage just means editing. What they said was that they had a lot of extra audio footage without any visuals so when they wanted to use that audio they would add visuals from the same day but not necessarily the exact same moment
It’s amazing that was the end and they were in their twenties!? Wild
15:38 "Some actor came in and left. .... What was the whole point of that?"
LOL, It's Peter Sellers, the actor from the Pink Panther movie series. He was making a movie with Ringo Starr right on the spot of the "Get Back" sessions in Twickenham studios called "The Magic Christian".
Great video. Totally agree !
Instant watch! I dig the Beatles! Great points made on subject matter. BTW, Mike you have created a informative and helpful channel. My son gets a kick out of the episode w/ the Osmond’s Crazy Horses . As a young one then, I remember that album! I just forgot all the amazing songs and riffs on this record!
I never noticed Alan Parsons was in there. Who could have imagined he would go on to become one of the greatest musician, composer, producer, and sound engineers ever
When the original Let It Be was released, Parsons was not a public world wide name, and stayed that way until he started doing the Alan Parsons Project recordings about a decade or so later...
"We Can Work It Out". Life is very short.
love that Sgt Peppers uniform!
Between Sgt Pepper and Abbey Road they were literally just winging it. Magical Mystery Tour was just filmed on the fly. White Album had no cohesive plan, just winging it with whatever they came up with. Get Back (and the Let it Be movie and album) were just done spur of the moment. Abbey Road was one last try before it was over, a return to a group dynamic. John had pretty much been the leader of the band before Brian Epstein died. Afterwards Paul took over. Paul was already in ascendence with Sgt Pepper, the concept being a Paul idea.
The eight hours a day thing wasn't at the Cavern. It was in Hamburg at the Indra and also at the Kaiserkeller.
It ..Took me awhile to give these 4 there due…. they had something very special going on….
I think John was taking heroin at the time, so that might have been part of why he was so up and down sometimes.
He wasn't full on junkie mode or anything, but he was definitely taking it for a year or two. I don't think he shot it up though or anything. Could be wrong though.
Oh yeah. That first day of the footage, he looked very strung out on something. I noticed that too...
He was spiraling into depression back inthat year, as a result, he recorded Plastic Ono Band. John clearly had ADHD, hence his ups and downs.
Correct it is a pretty well known fact. Still good to have someone mention the fact.
ADHD is possible but he was not bipolar. Anyone who has lived with a person who suffers from bipolar will know there is a marked difference.@@carl_anderson9315
Thank you for this posting. I enjoyed it. I’m embarrassed to say how many times. I’ve watched the Peter Jackson get back film. I could be wrong, but I don't think the four Beatles were entirely in agreement about the rooftop performance. George never wanted to do it. And the other three went back and forth. they almost didn’t do it. They were arguing about it right up until minutes before they did the performance. I think on the day of the event only John and Ringo were excited about it.
The Beatles were good because they worked their asses off.
"Some actor"
Mike, Mike, Mike....
Peter Sellers is one of the greats! Aside from being Inspector Clouseau (Pink Panther film series), he is the shining star behind THREE roles in Stanley Kubrick's Dr Strangelove (or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb).
It was pretty weird seeing how awkward his time hanging with The Beatles was here, but he's one of the greats.
One great sexual deviant.
My takeaways from the doc were:
1. They would've benefited from the modern approach of releasing fewer albums with longer breaks. They were putting out new stuff for 8 years straight, and that's bound to wear you out.
2. Group dynamics set up when they were boys (literally, when Paul and George joined the Quarrymen, they were like 15 and 14 to John's 17) were grating 10 years later. They went from boys to men, but it was clear that they were stuck in their boxes. It was John's band, even though John wasn't taking the leadership, George was the ignored little brother and Paul was taking charge, something he was prone to from the beginning if stories are to be believed. Only before John was more invested to keep him in line, so to speak.
3. Death by a thousand paper cuts by slights real or imagined.
4. They should've gone on hiatus and let each other breathe for a while. Despite the good moments, it was clear they had personal issues, and maybe some time apart would be a good idea.
5. They should've replaced Brian with someone else. Every team needs a leader. John should've stepped up but didn't. Paul did and got the short end of the stick. It's hard to be one of the boys if you're playing the boss - especially when the band leader is right there.
6. Mind altering substances did not help. I do wonder how they would get along if hard drugs were not part of it... they managed long shows in Hamburg because of the 'prellies' that made their eyes roll. Later, they tried LSD. At this point, I think Paul was off cocaine, but John was doing heroine. Add weed, smoke, and drink, and you get a volatile mix that doesn't aid anything.
7. They all would've benefited from therapy. And I mean it in the kindest sense. They made it big young, had demanding schedules, and bonkers social lives. John would definitely benefit from a modern psychiatric help. In this, he is constantly up and down, but he was either on drugs or coming off drugs. But looking at this life as a whole, there is a strong hint of at least ADHD but most likely BiPolar disorder and narcissistic tendencies. If he could benefit from ways to manage it, it would work in everyone's favour to that point and later in the 70s.
5. They actually were trying to replace Brian, but they were at loggerheads over who to pick. John, George, and Ringo wanted Allen Klein to be the manager. Paul did not trust Klein(rightfully so) but he wanted his father-in-law to manage instead. The other three saw that as a conflict of interest that served Paul better.
6. John did go to Primal Scream therapy, but he flaked out and never finished. I suspect he would have behaved similarly with more modern therapists.
You summed it up succinctly. I think Paul did the best he could to hold together a band he truly believed in. But George and John had already checked out. The drugs didn’t help.
I thoroughly enjoyed your commentary and insight. Great job. Just think after this effort, they went on to record Abbey Road! Peace, Sal 💪🏼🎸
They played eight hours a day in Hamburg. Listen to Live At The BBC. That was basically their set.
Great video, I thought there was one thing you may or may not have noticed. But I felt that when they where on the roof performing, that John was definitely in his element and he took more control, and they looked to him for guidance. I wonder, what if John never made that comment about the Beatles being bigger then Jesus? Would he of become so introverted and let Paul take more control of the band? I think he reverted back to his pre-fame, wounded child personality after the death threats and bad press. The Beatles may have continued to tour and have fun playing together and subsequently stayed together
Rooftop ... Their greatest live performance, in retrospect. Every little detail has import.
This is great, watched the whole thing 🤘
One thing I got out of it was how paul was in such a creative mindset.
You can see him walk in and first thing go right to the piano trying to expand on ideas he was obviously working on at home. He seemed like he didn’t want to loose the ideas. He wanted to pull out whatever was going to be there from those ideas.
Great video! Happy Holidays 😀
Billy Preston first met the Beatles in 1962. Preston played keyboards in Little Richard’s band. Richard had turned his back on rock’n’roll for awhile to become a minister. Preston ended up playing in his gospel group.
Then Richard decided rock was no longer the devil’s music and set up a comeback tour in Europe. The Beatles, Little Richard and several other bands played a huge concert together in the Liverpool area.
Richard was impressed enough to ask the Beatles to be his opening act for a 14-night engagement at the Star Club in Hamburg, Germany. (That would be their next to last trip to play clubs there.)
Funnily enough, just as George Harrison was underage during the Beatles first trip to play in the Hamburg clubs, Billy Preston was on this later excursion (more so, in fact). Plus, the tour was his first experience with rock’n’roll. He’d only played in gospel groups before finding himself playing rock in Hamburg’s red light district.
Foot foot!!! 😂😂😂 what a classic
The Shaggs “Philosophy of the World” was noted as some sort of unintended brilliance. Curt Cobain and Frank Zappa said it was accidental genius or something along those lines. Many say the album was basically terrible.
I don't know where you got the idea the Beatles played the Cavern Club for 8 hours. Baloney. The Beatles' performances at the Cavern Club in Liverpool typically lasted around 90 minutes to 2 hours. During their early days at the Cavern, they often played multiple times in a day, sometimes performing at lunchtime and then again in the evening. This was a regular occurrence as they built their reputation and following in the early 1960s. They did play 8 hours give or take, in the sleazy German Clubs in Hamburg 1960 - 62 and wound up using Benzedrine to stay awake....
It was all the doc I've seen where they show them at The Cavern and then reading Outliers where he talks about them playing for 8 hours a night. Easy to mix the two together.
Very informative. Thx
Peter Sellers was a huge star in England at that time, so his appearance on set was probably the director just thinking it would be great to have him in the film, so he told him to go "hang out" with the guys. Which may be why we was a bit awkward on camera, not knowing what to say. But he did have a friendship with Ringo at this time, so Ringo may have just said "drop by".
George martin was partly there. From what i understand Phil spectre ultimately produced "let it be"
If I recall John was resentful of George Martin at that time. He felt George ruined Strawberry Fields and was taking credit for what the Beatles accomplished. John had Yoko in his ear saying “it’s all you John”. George Martin was essentially kicked to the curb.
They played 8 hour shows in Hamburg Germany, and they only played lunchtime shows at the Cavern in Liverpool.
Good call on Paul drifting off as a defense mechanism. Probably built into him with his meditation training and trying to hold his tongue and keep John close?
The Beatles were not as wealthy as one assumes at the end of their career together. They weren’t millionaires either.
Well spoken.
Great insight.
Been recently getting into more of the beetles (besides the hits) and im kicking myself for not getting into them sooner
"Beatles"