The Beatles - Get Back Documentary

[oldskoolsoul]

Well, speaking about The Stones…

If i want to hear something that still sounds exciting today…and…the choice would be between Let It Be or Let It Bleed…..my choice would very quickly go to the last one…

But again….taste…and….only taste that is…….

Since i think there are people who could literally kill each other for arguments like this….

 

[GretschedHive]

If i want to hear something that still sounds exciting today…and…the choice would be between Let It Be or Let It Bleed…..my choice would very quickly go to the last one…

I mean, that's like saying "If i want to hear something that still sounds exciting today…and…the choice would be between Goats Head Soup or Revolver…..my choice would very quickly go to the last one…" There's hardly a Beatles fan alive, whether casual or hardcore, who considers Let It Be the best Beatles album, or even one of their four best albums, whereas I think most Rolling Stones fans would easily consider Let It Bleed one of the four best Stones albums. (I certainly would.)

(I just quickly googled "best stones albums" and clicked on the first five results. In every case, Let It Bleed came in Top 4, and in 4 of the 5 results, Top 3. I did the same with "best beatles albums" and of the first five results, none of them placed Let It Be higher than #7, and some didn't even have in their Top 10...which, given that they only had 13 albums, is impressively low. I admit, all this proves very little.)

 

[Chris Whitten]

But thats just taste, nothing more than that..

Yup. I think Let It Be is amazing. Although The Long and Winding Road and I've Got A Feeling are my two favourite songs from that period.

 

[Chris Whitten]

There's hardly a Beatles fan alive, whether casual or hardcore, who considers Let It Be the best Beatles album,

He thought the SONG was a drag, not the album.

 

[GretschedHive]

He thought the SONG was a drag, not the album.

Oh, fair enough. The lack of punctuation threw me off--I saw that he didn't like the song first (which admittedly, blows my mind) but for some reason thought the second time he was talking about the album and not the song. I still disagree vehemently, of course, much as I love the song "Let It Bleed" — by the time I was 13, I thought the line "we all need someone we can cream on" to be embarrassing puerile — but as has been said, horses for courses and all that.

 

[ricky]

I think Let It Be is a great song and a great album and a great movie. Talking all the original with Spector, etc.

I think all of The Beatles albums are great....but I don't get why a lot of people, Beatle fans (supposedly ), don't like the Let It Be album. If you compare, to say, Beatles For Sale, okay, it's great, you've got No Reply, Eight Days A Week, What You're Doing, Baby's In Black...great Beatle stuff...but is it light years better than Get Back, Long and Winding Road, Two Of Us, Across The Universe, I Me Mine, Let It Be, I've Got a Feeling, Dig A Pony????

 

[Al Strange]

I will never criticise The Beatles or McCartney….especially not McCartney, because i believe that the guy almost on his own changed popular music into what we consider pop music now..

That said, i never really cared to listen to them…only own Revolver and The Anthology dvd set….because they are not really sounding nice to my ears…never cared for Starkey’s playing too…but again, outstanding songs for that period in time…no question about that…

Allthough, lets agree that Let It Be (the song that is), is really one big drag….actually, i would say on the whole record I’ve Got A Feeling and Get Back are the only songs that still had a little an “edge” to them…

But thats just taste, nothing more than that..

I was going to write a long and winding response but I’m going to let it be…you’re entitled to your opinion mate.

 

[Neal Pert]

Funny. I'm a Beatles fan-- I have all their records-- and I love Let it Be. I'd say it's top 4 for me.

 

[Chris Whitten]

Across The Universe = incredible.

 

[pocket player]

Theolling Stones still exist and tour- and if there were some global blackout Yesterday then The Beatles wouldn’t even exist today. So “Get Back”i think

I mean, that's like saying "If i want to hear something that still sounds exciting today…and…the choice would be between Goats Head Soup or Revolver…..my choice would very quickly go to the last one…" There's hardly a Beatles fan alive, whether casual or hardcore, who considers Let It Be the best Beatles album, or even one of their four best albums, whereas I think most Rolling Stones fans would easily consider Let It Bleed one of the four best Stones albums. (I certainly would.)

(I just quickly googled "best stones albums" and clicked on the first five results. In every case, Let It Bleed came in Top 4, and in 4 of the 5 results, Top 3. I did the same with "best beatles albums" and of the first five results, none of them placed Let It Be higher than #7, and some didn't even have in their Top 10...which, given that they only had 13 albums, is impressively low. I admit, all this proves very little.)

My take; why cant i just love both bands for what they are and not compare ?

 

[MG1127]

Set aside for just a moment his work with the Rolling Stones, the Who, Led Zeppelin and even the Eagles, Eric Clapton and the Clash—the fact that Glyn Johns recorded the album first in cavernous Twickenham, and then a cobbled-together makeshift basement studio, and then a city rooftop in winter, and it came out sounding as great as it did, should be proof all by itself that he was an engineering genius.

and how about the performances ?!!

listen to those takes of Dig A Pony , I've got a feeling, and One After 909 that are on the record from the roof

no over dubs ...nothing ...

raw performances in 45 degree weather

The musicianship on that entire record is incredible

Musicianship like that is all but gone in most circles of the industry

In my line of work I regularly see players who rely on the infinite tracks of DAWs and the seemingly endless timeframe to work with piecing together tiny increments of 10 different takes to get one good one.

Think about those vocal takes on the Let It Be record that came from the roof ... they are outstanding!

So many take for granted what they are listening to when they roll those songs simply because they have heard them over and over for their entire life

 

[cbphoto]

I fell asleep during ep. 1 and hafta re-watch ‘cuz I wanna see George finally flex his personal boundaries. I didn’t realize it was so long.

 

[SomeBadDrummer]

I just binge watched the entire three episodes starting yesterday evening. The things that struck me most were:

• The number of cigarettes smoked
• The disorganization of rehearsals and studios
• The number of people inside the studio while they were rehearsing/recording
• The seemingly aimless song list during studio time
• George's temporary hiatus from the band while they were in studio
• The musically intimate relationship between Paul and John. Eye contact whilst rehearsing especially. They had it grooving for sure
• Billy Preston's welcome into the group without any protests from any member (John really instigated the addition)
• Ringo's unobtrusiveness and groove into the tunes (not to mention old heads and hand towels across the snare and floor tom)
• Paul's reluctance to perform on the roof as previously agreed days before (understanding that he had a larger vision than just another album), which seemed to create unnecessary friction in order to make a point that he was not satisfied with just making another album.
• How they 'came alive' once out of the confines of a studio, and how well everything came together on the roof top after so many bad takes of the same songs in studio
• John was as amicable as anyone else, and probably more of a goof off in a good natured way
• How patient the constables were - although that was obviously an extremely difficult situation for those young men. Thought they did fabulously under the circumstances to make known the complaints without rushing in and shutting it all down because someone's midday nap was disturbed
• How many older people interviewed on the street approved of and liked The Beatles
• How lax the entry into the building seemed and how few 'unauthorized' people tried to gain access

 

[davor]

I enjoyed it, but I've got to say it was just a bit too long. Almost to the point were the multiple takes of some of the tracks were making me hate on those songs (songs I love!). They could've trimmed an hour or two out and still made an excellent show/series

Loved how relaxed Ringo was overall, the man has a lot of patience!

 

[SomeBadDrummer]

and how about the performances ?!!

listen to those takes of Dig A Pony , I've got a feeling, and One After 909 that are on the record from the roof

no over dubs ...nothing ...

raw performances in 45 degree weather

The musicianship on that entire record is incredible

Musicianship like that is all but gone in most circles of the industry

In my line of work I regularly see players who rely on the infinite tracks of DAWs and the seemingly endless timeframe to work with piecing together tiny increments of 10 different takes to get one good one.

Think about those vocal takes on the Let It Be record that came from the roof ... they are outstanding!

So many take for granted what they are listening to when they roll those songs simply because they have heard them over and over for their entire life

Great points @MG1127! The rooftop cuts were absolutely amazing given the cold and windy conditions, not to mention the patchwork setup and hostile conditions with police trying to shut it down during half of the performance.
And not an IEM to be seen much less a click track. They just grooved.

 

[ricky]

I enjoyed it, but I've got to say it was just a bit too long. Almost to the point were the multiple takes of some of the tracks were making me hate on those songs (songs I love!). They could've trimmed an hour or two out and still made an excellent show/series

Loved how relaxed Ringo was overall, the man has a lot of patience!

I agree it's too long. I feel like they are appealing to no one really.

Hardcore fans like myself would sit through the raw footage without all that editing (I listened to the entire Nagra tapes a few years ago).

And normal people (like my girlfriend) get bored and even confused...the editing is often sort of ridiculous, and makes the whole thing seem even more of a mess than it was.

 

[Alain Rieder]

my favorite was george coming in "yeah i wrote this last night" and plays like 3/4 of i me mine... which is one of my favorite songs it seemed george was uncomfortable through the whole thing though

I remember seing Let it Be in a cinema when it came out, that is before the record came out I think, and I me mine was my favorite too!

 

[River19]

I have a casual appreciation for the Beatles and clearly over the years have covered a number of their tunes but this is my first time really "diving in" and I am taking this as the opportunity to go back and listen to the albums again.......it is amazing what they accomplished for pure song output over the short period they were together.

I also think in the end George turns out to write some of their strongest songs but it is clear at least in the first episode (need to watch the others) that Paul was driving things from the standpoint of trying to find someone who is trying to actually get something done.

Ringo is clearly very creative and I have enjoyed how much he just listened......and then when the time was right...."here is a drum part that could work"......it was interesting hearing him first swing a bit while Let it Be was being worked out.......meanwhile I am sitting here like "dude the song goes like THIS".....lol

Regardless of what the casual person finds from an "entertainment" standpoint, from a musical history and documentation standpoint this is 75hrs of pure gold......well it seems like it is 75hrs at least....8-9 in reality.

 

[SomeBadDrummer]

Humorous rendition of the Beatles' hit:

 

[STAXfan]

Paul made his own bed with "Silly Love Songs," "Uncle Albert" and "Ebony and Ivory" with Michael Jackson. It was pretty clear during Ep. 1 that he was determined to not get tagged with the responsibility of breaking up the Beatles. I love McCartney and, in retrospect, Lennon would probably have done more stuff we don't like if his post-Beatles work pace came anywhere near McCartney's.

I agree with you about Ebony and Ivory and the Michael Jackson

He was playing Zildjian A's afaik

Ringo has said in an interview that he still has a those cymbals. If so then he is very much like Charlie Watts was. Charlie played the same one's for years and couldn't even imagine having to replace any of them. Fascinating that Ringo used his original Jazz Festival BOP snare with the new natural wood kit. I've never heard an explanation as to why he chose not to use the cymbal mount on his bass and instead use the tom stand.