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Post by Vincent R. on Oct 14, 2021 4:41:13 GMT -6
Looking forward to this.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 15, 2021 11:51:40 GMT -6
I have a friend in Wellington who's been working on it. Just talked to him a couple of weeks back and he's really been enjoying it.
If he's not careful, Peter Jackson is going to get a reputation as an excellent documentarian (much like Werner Herzog). If you haven't seen his WW1 project "They Shall Not Grow Old", it's most definitely worth a couple of hours. The film restoration and sound are nothing short of amazing. And it's an important part of history that's now left living memory.
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Post by Johnkenn on Nov 28, 2021 23:10:13 GMT -6
Omg - this is so good. Although, if you’re not a Beatles fan, this won’t make you one. Lots of deep weeds and rehearsal stuff to get through.
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Post by Johnkenn on Nov 28, 2021 23:12:02 GMT -6
When you come back to it all - it’s the songs. The melodies that make the Beatles different. And Paul really comes across as a genius in this.
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Post by gravesnumber9 on Nov 28, 2021 23:46:35 GMT -6
I was just about to post something about this. I'm halfway through episode two and really loving the inside look on this stuff. But I have a few takeaways on the personalities so far that surprised me.
Paul - Exactly what I expected. I've played with a million guys like this (and have been that guy too). Not as good as Paul obviously. But the manic need to get the song right even if it means doing a poor job of respecting the other players. Constantly stopping the music to start over with a new idea. Again, this is what I would have guessed and definitely lines up.
Ringo - Tears of a clown? Maybe it was the era but seemed way more moody than I would have guessed. Seems to really love the Beatles music though. When Ringo sits next to you it means the song is good. Otherwise he generally looks like he wants to inject himself with a lethal dose of morphine.
John - Second biggest surprise to me. Way more human than I would have guessed. So much less of the pompous John that you see in later 70's docs. And in the hidden recording with Paul he sounds positively like an empathetic and caring human being caught between two friends. He even says negative things about himself and means it. This the first time I've ever thought "I could see how someone would like that guy as a person." That's just me maybe, always loved his music but thought he was the world's biggest a**. (Incidentally this is the opposite of how I felt about Dylan the first time I saw Don't Look Back... "who could spend more than five minutes with this prick?" And this is coming from a Dylan lover. He's more likable in other docs but it was shocking when I first saw it as a 16 year old.)
Which leaves us with... George.
Dude. I'm sorry. I've always loved George. But even before he walked out he was driving me nuts. Seemed really passive aggressive and immature to my ears. Dude, we get it. You want to sing songs but you're not confident in your own (yet)... so you don't need to sit here telling John Freakin' Lennon that other people write better songs than he does and The Beatles should cover them. Maybe if you tried writing something other than a meditation slogan you could get somewhere.
Harsh I know... but George has always been one of my favorites. I found his lack of confidence in his playing and his immaturity so shocking that it was almost angering.
Anyway, I've spent way too much time thinking about this!!!
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Post by Johnkenn on Nov 29, 2021 0:03:48 GMT -6
I was just about to post something about this. I'm halfway through episode two and really loving the inside look on this stuff. But I have a few takeaways on the personalities so far that surprised me. Paul - Exactly what I expected. I've played with a million guys like this (and have been that guy too). Not as good as Paul obviously. But the manic need to get the song right even if it means doing a poor job of respecting the other players. Constantly stopping the music to start over with a new idea. Again, this is what I would have guessed and definitely lines up. Ringo - Tears of a clown? Maybe it was the era but seemed way more moody than I would have guessed. Seems to really love the Beatles music though. When Ringo sits next to you it means the song is good. Otherwise he generally looks like he wants to inject himself with a lethal dose of morphine. John - Second biggest surprise to me. Way more human than I would have guessed. So much less of the pompous John that you see in later 70's docs. And in the hidden recording with Paul he sounds positively like an empathetic and caring human being caught between two friends. He even says negative things about himself and means it. This the first time I've ever thought "I could see how someone would like that guy as a person." That's just me maybe, always loved his music but thought he was the world's biggest a**. (Incidentally this is the opposite of how I felt about Dylan the first time I saw Don't Look Back... "who could spend more than five minutes with this prick?" And this is coming from a Dylan lover. He's more likable in other docs but it was shocking when I first saw it as a 16 year old.) Which leaves us with... George. Dude. I'm sorry. I've always loved George. But even before he walked out he was driving me nuts. Seemed really passive aggressive and immature to my ears. Dude, we get it. You want to sing songs but you're not confident in your own (yet)... so you don't need to sit here telling John Freakin' Lennon that other people write better songs than he does and The Beatles should cover them. Maybe if you tried writing something other than a meditation slogan you could get somewhere. Harsh I know... but George has always been one of my favorites. I found his lack of confidence in his playing and his immaturity so shocking that it was almost angering. Anyway, I've spent way too much time thinking about this!!! Ha! I can totally see those takes. This really humanized John to me too. I didn’t think Paul was overbearing…But I could see how it might have been building up from the past with George per their fighting in part 1. Paul - to me - really seemed like he heard it in his head and he wanted it to come out that way. And who could argue with the results? All the disagreements are very British though - super polite. More than once I thought “shit, I would have been throwing the f bomb there.” I do think John was somewhat more interested in Yoko (inexplicably) but you could see him warming up through the first two parts. Just some other thoughts - Watching the moment Paul started Get Back is just amazing. George playing I Me Mine for the first time and the chord voicings - man, a lot of their sound comes from that. I could see with him being younger, he didn’t stand up for himself. And this was the end of his rope. Their complete refusal to be in a box is awesome. Billy Preston immediately solidified all the songs. Wouldn’t have been nearly as good without him.
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Post by Johnkenn on Nov 29, 2021 0:13:33 GMT -6
Lindsay-Hogg has an infinitely punchable face lol
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Post by gravesnumber9 on Nov 29, 2021 0:20:25 GMT -6
Is it just me or does Glyn Johns look like the actor Cillian Murphy?
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Post by Johnkenn on Nov 29, 2021 0:28:17 GMT -6
And Ringo is perfectly placed simplicity
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Post by Johnkenn on Nov 29, 2021 0:29:14 GMT -6
Is it just me or does Glyn Johns look like the actor Cillian Murphy? Peaky ****ing Blinders
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Post by wiz on Nov 29, 2021 2:20:32 GMT -6
Awesome…riveting
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Post by the other mark williams on Nov 29, 2021 2:34:59 GMT -6
Haven’t had a chance to start it yet, but really looking forward to it…
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Post by kcatthedog on Nov 29, 2021 5:19:21 GMT -6
It is excellent, one big takeaway is how much they were a performance band, after all the angst and agro , they nail the performance and seem to be genuinely rising to the occasion and enjoying it.
I wondered if all the negative stuff was just fear about performing live that no one articulated?
The billy Preston affect I have read same thing happened with while my guitar and Clapton, the other Beatles had just been sort of fun king around half heartedly with the song and then george walks in with Clapton and it’s right mates let’s focus and be pros !
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Post by Ward on Nov 29, 2021 6:43:26 GMT -6
I'm willing to shell out good money for a 56 hour box set DVD version, should it become available!
(not so Secretly, I'm hoping he'll also tackle the Stones!)
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Post by Martin John Butler on Nov 29, 2021 8:00:59 GMT -6
A friend called McCartney a "pushy asshole and control freak". He's way off IMO and does a great musician a disservice. At every juncture McCartney tried to resolve issues to keep it together and get things done. It always looks bad if there's only one grownup in the room. John was incredibly passive aggressive, undermining the rehearsals constantly. George was being a pouty baby while Paul was generous enough of spirit to join in the playing around when he really wanted to get to work on the music.
George got his due when "Something" and "Here Comes the Sun" became one of the top five most successful Beatle hits. It's really simple, without McCartney's efforts much of the best music of Abbey Road and Let it Be wouldn't have happened. I've had to be "that guy" on too many occasions, and I promise you, it isn't fun. Meanwhile Paul was bouncing his girlfriend's little girl around showing love and affection, while John wasn't including his son Julian in anything.
As a musician who has been in numerous professional bands I think I can say with some credibility that McCartney wasn't overbearing. In band situations, someone has to stop fucking around and push to get things done or it's just a shitshow. Usually it's the best musician, which McCartney clearly was.
Abbey Road was the last album they recorded even though Let it Be was released afterwards. Let it Be was a train wreck, Abbey Road, a masterpiece, ending with Paul's line "and in the end, the love you take is equal to the love, you make". That's practically the meaning of life in a sentence. George's dissatisfaction is natural, the band was growing up and they all needed their own space to be creative. McCartney comes across as the most mature, the most professional, the most empathetic and by far, the most talented.
* almost forgot to say Yoko was like a frickin' parasite. I've never seen anything like it and it shows how deeply needy and emotionally wounded John was to let things be that way and inflict her on his bandmates. McCartney was incredibly diplomatic about that very weird shit. Yes, Lennon was a brilliant writer and an important figure in the movement for world peace, but deeply troubled it seems to me.
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Post by enlav on Nov 29, 2021 8:48:08 GMT -6
I know it takes an initial interest in the band (or even just music/recording), but I don't understand how this doesn't make bigger waves vs. something like Tiger King... or whatever it's called.
Is this only available on Disney++?
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Post by phantom on Nov 29, 2021 9:03:35 GMT -6
The documentary is about a band that should have already broke up.
Like a falling marriage, they were clearly not in love anymore. Having the band only made sense to one person, and it was McCartney. He was the captain of the ship, he had total creative control, he was almost the manager of the band at this point. He was even ordering lunch for everybody at one point. "George will eat salmon, John steak and Ringo will have salad, please".
If you look into the artistic side, Paul was the hero. It was only because of him that the world have those two last albums from the Beatles.
But on a human perspective, Paul was a bit selfish. Forcing the others to his personal project at that point.
George was clearly not there anymore. He was searching satisfaction outside the band, with religion, monks and other musicians and genres.
John the same thing, but he had more creative control over the band. While for George breaking wasn't loosing much, for John would be loosing a lot.
And Ringo... Well, I don't think he had much to say about all this. He was more like a guest musician, that lighten the mood for everyone but didn't have decision power.
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Post by thehightenor on Nov 29, 2021 9:33:19 GMT -6
Everytime I hear McCartney start singing I just think .... now there's a star.
What a great voice.
I'm so looking forward to this film.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 29, 2021 9:34:38 GMT -6
I do hope this documentary becomes available in ways outside of Disney+ (Bluray, perhaps). Just not much on Disney I want to see.
I can share one little story that I haven't seen elsewhere. My wife worked in radio for years and broke a number of recordings from an English producer (he'll remain nameless here, but he's been gone a few years now). He and I got on well. This producer was in the studio with Lennon a few times after the Beatles had broken up. They were in the control room together when Yoko was singing (that sound that would make a dog beg for death). Lennon looked at our friend and just rolled his eyes.
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Post by phantom on Nov 29, 2021 12:06:05 GMT -6
I think Yoko gets too much hate, and the "she broke the Beatles", never seemed true to me, and the documentary for sure shows other things that could have resulted in the end of the band. The Yoko thing feels very unimportant.
But it's very funny seeing them create a bunch of the most beautiful popular songs in history and Yoko on her cellphone like it was the most boring thing ever.
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Post by gravesnumber9 on Nov 29, 2021 13:12:31 GMT -6
But it's very funny seeing them create a bunch of the most beautiful popular songs in history and Yoko on her cellphone like it was the most boring thing ever. Hey cmon now. That heroin ain’t gonna buy itself!
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Post by bossanova on Nov 29, 2021 14:12:22 GMT -6
One can see why Paul was getting frustrated when he was churning out a whole album’s worth of classics (his LIB contributions + the Abbey Road tracks), and John showed up with one new song + “Across the Universe” which had been in the can for almost a year. At the same time, Paul appears insufferable to work with a lot of the time, and Lennon calls him (and himself) out in a beautifully honest way during the hidden mic conversation.
Knowing how bad Lennon and Yoko were into heroin, my wife and I both cringed at the “Continuity Clothes” explanation for why they were still wearing the same clothes a day or two later.
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Post by bossanova on Nov 29, 2021 14:19:42 GMT -6
Did anyone else get driven crazy by the obvious continuity breaks on the day when Billy Preston shows up? I know they only had so much video, but there are times when they switch from footage taken with the KM56s up for vocals to shots where the skinny Neumanns [correction: AKGs] have been set up in their place later that day, often several times within the conversation or performance being “filmed”.
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Post by Johnkenn on Nov 29, 2021 16:12:08 GMT -6
I think Yoko gets too much hate, and the "she broke the Beatles", never seemed true to me, and the documentary for sure shows other things that could have resulted in the end of the band. The Yoko thing feels very unimportant. But it's very funny seeing them create a bunch of the most beautiful popular songs in history and Yoko on her cellphone like it was the most boring thing ever. They talk about her in that first episode...not very flattering. I'll tell you this - I'd have a problem with my band member if he insisted having his pet girlfriend by his side the whole time. Paul was nicer about all this stuff than I ever would have been.
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Post by Johnkenn on Nov 29, 2021 16:14:32 GMT -6
Did anyone else get driven crazy by the obvious continuity breaks on the day when Billy Preston shows up? I know they only had so much video, but there are times when they switch from footage taken with the KM56s up for vocals to shots where the skinny Neumanns have been set up in their place later that day, often several times within the conversation or performance being “filmed”. If it were up to me, I would've just paused video when there was none...Sometimes it feels like you're being tricked when they lips don't sync up with the dialogue.
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