At times, I thought it would never end. At other times, I wished it wouldn't end.
Man, I still love the Beatles but two hours and 45 minutes for one part out of three is a lot to ask of a fan, especially when a lot of that time is spent watching them noodle around and avoid making big decisions. Unless the decision involves whether or not to travel to Tripoli and put on a concert there.
I didn't finish watching all of the Beatles' Get Back documentary until this afternoon - three days after the last part premiered. I had fully expected to watch each one on the day that it was available, and to write about it soon after. But Part Two took more than two sittings for me to watch. After two of those sittings, I needed a Beatles break.
Peter Jackson did a good job of playing up the drama in the start of Part Two. When we last left the lads at the end of the last part, George had walked out on them. A meeting at his house "did not go well" as it was explained on the screen. Back at Twickenham Studios on the following Monday, Ringo was the only person - at first. (Yes, folks, the drummer was the one you could depend on to arrive early!) During a long, drawn out sequence Paul finally arrives. Peter Sellers (who would start filming The Magic Christian with Ringo in a few weeks) drops in for an uncomfortable visit. We see Ringo appearing to tear up as everyone sits and waits anxiously. Paul just stares off into space, probably feeling nervous that there's nothing to do but wait for John to show up.
This issue isn't addressed but by this point in time, the Beatles have gotten so big, scaled so many artistic peaks, that they really have no idea how to proceed without being prodded. The whole impetus behind this project was that they enjoyed playing "Hey Jude" on a tv show so much that they decided it was time to get back onstage again. But they had no idea how to really do it.
There was a time when they could record a whole album in a few days but that was because Eppy wouldn't let them out of the studio until they were done. (Don't take that statement literally, Beatle fanatics.) But now, the prospect of writing and learning 14 songs in a few weeks, with a big concert at the end seems preposterous. This was before the Music Industry (insert trademark sign here) was fully developed, with promoters who could jump in and set all of that up for them. They might have been the biggest thing since sliced bread in 1969 but when it came to business stuff, they were no more focused than an indie rock band.
The story eventually moves along to Apple, where an eight-track studio is jerry-rigged to record the band, who has scrapped the television show by now. With that weight lifted, they work on songs. And ham it up. Ringo seems to be most aware of the cameras in the room and he continually mugs into them throughout the next few days.
Get Back doesn't capture full songs, if there were any played, but many fragments of them. Between Part Two and Part Three, there are umpteen versions of "Two of Us" which John and Paul sing in a variety of accents. One or two would have been enough. Yes, those cheeky Beatles can be funny but anyone whose been in a band will probably grow weary of the way the songs get continually sabotaged by John's tomfoolery.
But there are great moments, many of them coming when Billy Preston shows up. The stories have abounded over the years that George invited the pianist/organist to come over but the film makes it look like Preston just happened to be in London and just dropped by. Maybe it's a coincidence that, just a few days earlier, George was raving to the band about how great a player Preston was. Now we see it on film. He sits down and elevates the music, holding a cigarette in one hand while he's playing with that same hand! I thought only Thelonious Monk could do that. It's kind of funny to hear the band talk about how they "should probably pay" Preston, but no one knows how much.
Therein lies part of the problem here. Without Brian Epstein there to steer the ship, there's little consensus to be made by all the cooks in the kitchen. Paul seems more than willing to call the shots, but he doesn't want to be seen as the dictator. Plus, the whole project was unraveling as they continued and no one knew how to fix it.
Get Back clears up the misconception that the band was breaking up and that they were miserable when the cameras were on. There are plenty of moments when they are having a good time. The Billy Preston moments were part of that. Linda Eastman's daughter Heather runs wild through the studio, grabbing microphones and wailing into them, but no one seems to phased by it. They seem happy to have her.
Part Two again ends with suspense, with the idea being floated of the band playing on the roof of Apple Studios, so the final installment slowly moves towards that end that we all know will come. An interesting risk comes up - about whether the roof can withstand the weight of all the people and equipment. But then the decision is made..... and they noodle around more, as they try to figure out what they'll play. Billy Preston shows up again and even takes a vocal break in a jam that would eventually become "I Want You (She's So Heavy)" which at that time was built on a Lennon vocal riff based on Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech. ("He could have been president," the Chief Beatle opines at one point.) During planning talks, George Martin pulls out a list of songs that they've been working on. Throughout the project, 14 songs has always been the goal (the number of songs on a British Beatles LP) and though I didn't count, Martin's tally comes close.
The payoff to watching this whole thing comes in the final hour of Part 3. If you ever need to point to an example of why the Beatles are so revered 50 years after they broke up - and you don't have time for a long oratory - point to the rooftop concert. It was freezing up there. At least one of them (George) didn't relish the idea of doing it. They left any animosity or anger inside, came out of the building, still probably wondering what would happen, and they rock so hard. So hard, the Irish blood in me gets teary just typing about it.
Even before they play, the energy is infectious. Paul does a jump before the music starts and his body language says, "Oh my god, we're going to play live again. I can't believe it." If he was uncertain about doing it, that inhibition blew away in the cold wind. Incidentally, that bass line to "I Dig A Pony" is crazy. It's fast with a lot of jumps and Paulie plays it with ease, like it's an open E boom-boom line. This is probably naïve to say, but after that, you'd think they'd want to stay together and play out more.
The concert portion is where Jackson's skills come into play. Director Michael Lindsay-Hogg used 10 cameras to film that day - five on the roof, three on the street, one on the building across the street and one hidden in the lobby of Apple. Jackson uses that to create a triple screen effect, giving us the performance and the two hapless bobbies (who look they're about 14 years old) coming into the office and politely trying to shut things down. These gentlemen are even ID'ed when they first appear. The older ladies who are interviewed on the street are a hoot too, several of them calling the Beatles "very nice, indeed."
The synchronicity of the police in the lobby and the show on the roof adds some comic relief to the program. The Beatles aren't maliciously ignoring the authorities. In fact they seem like they had no idea they would disrupt things so much. (Later, when they're listening to playbacks inside, George is heard asking what, exactly, was the reason the concert had to be stopped.) If they did know, they were still charming about the whole thing.
A few random thoughts after seeing the whole thing: Mal Evans deserves special kudos for being the guy who was always there for the Beatles, bringing them food and drink, transcribing lyrics that John or Paul would dictate to them, and dealing with the fuzz during the concert.
Glyn Johns, who was recording and overseeing most of the project, might be the sharpest dressed dude in the whole picture. A friend online said he looks a lot like Ronnie "Z-Man" Barzell, the whacked out character in Beyond the Valley of the Dolls portrayed by John LaZar and he's right. His shag, big round shades and fuzzy coat would have Mick Jagger green with envy.
In Part One, George sells himself short by saying that all three of his new songs are really slow. It's funny when you consider the title track of the album that would eventually come out of these sessions, not to mention "The Long and Winding Road," which even with Phil Spector's string section, is still lugubrious. George brings in "Old Brown Shoe" in Part 3, playing it on the piano. Despite his limited keys skills, it sounds awesome.
SPOILER ALERT, sort of. The epilogue of the concert comes a day later when the band was filmed inside again playing "Let It Be," "Two of Us" and "The Long and Winding Road." These highlights play on one side of the screen while the credits roll on the other. When they finish last song, John says he thinks they finally has a master take. Paul, on the other hand, thinks they should give it one more shot. Then it ends.
Fading after that difference of opinion had to be intentional.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment