A big shout out to Peter Jackson for his remarkable Beatles documentary Get Back.
Most of us got to know the Beatles first through their albums, then maybe the movies like Hard Days Night and Help! After that were the many documentaries with grainy footage and black and white video from the likes of Ed Sullivan, and interviews with surviving members of the group.
But these were all packaged artifacts, productions by and about the Beatles. It’s not like I've ever actually like hung out with them to get to know them as people rather than icons. Well, not until now.
This is an incredible technical achievement — the result of a happy confluence of well-preserved film stock and cutting-edge digital enhancement. The result is a "shot yesterday" "you are there" feel. It's the closest I'll ever get to time travel. It really feels like you're one of the people in the room.
So what did I witness? Four guys, not icons, famous for sure but real humans, trying to put together a live album in one month. Yes, there is drama and signs of trouble in the group (George leaves the group for a few days) but there is also a lot of fun and excitement about performing and recording together again. There is a lot of collaboration and noodling new songs and a lot of horsing around (You see John's riff "I dig a pygmy by Charles Haughtry and the deaf aids." as it happened. On "Two of Us" John quips, "They'll think we're lovers".).
Then among all the noodling and riffing you hear something brilliant, and very familiar. There are songs parts from Let It Be and Abby Road but also later solo efforts, John plays a bit of a tune he calls "On the road to Marrakesh" that is clearly "Jealous Guy". George pitches "All Things Must Pass" and Ringo sings a few bars of “Octopus's Garden”. They haul in an anvil for "Maxwell's Silver Hammer".
There is a lot of collaboration on lyrics. George is a bit stuck on "Something" and Paul starts “Get Back” as a song against white supremacy. Things really start to jell when Billy Preston drops by and gets asked to play keyboard so John and George can both play guitar. After a solid take on "Get Back" John says, "You're in the group."
Some have complained the doc is too long, tedious. It does go on a bit but I think that adds to the feel that you are witnessing this moment in music history in real time. I wouldn't cut any of it. Well, maybe the three minutes where Yoko "sings".