The Crane Pool Forum

On the verge of disbanding, the world's greatest rock band returns to the studio attempting to compose (largely), arrange, and record an album in a matter of three weeks, live with no overdubs, with plans to end the session with a concert. Filmmaker Michael Lindsay-Hogg documented in the proceedings with 1970s Let It Be film, but Peter Jackson returns to the 55 hours of footage (and 140 hours of audio) to re-cut and re-tell the story.

To air in three two-hour parts over Thanksgiving weekend.

I watched the first half of the the first episode and:

1) Good God, the beginnings of the sessions at Twickenham are a slog.

2) The lack of authority is palpable — over the songwriting, over the recording, over the alleged concert this is supposed to end with.

3) They refer to Brian Epstein as "Mr. Epstein." At first, you think the deference is somewhat ironic, but it’s clearly not, as they all continue to do it. They acknowledge they didn’t all agree with his decisions but appreciate that it gave the four of them a unified direction.

4) Perhaps not having a proper studio to operate out of, George Martin is mostly absent, robbing the group of another authority figure, and perhaps the organization and direction they’d have in a proper studio.

5) Glynn Johns tries to step up and give them musical feedback. It’s mostly solid direction, but he’s young and doesn’t project the authority for them to listen to. He’s more of an engineer than a producer at this point in his career.

6) David Lindsay-Hogg is both young and posh, and his overtures for them to commit to the direction of the project — as they rebut that they can’t commit to anything if the sessions aren’t productive — is fruitless. Even Paul rebuffs him.

7) Paul is the centerpiece, as he’s trying to establish a process in the absence of another leader. They even acknowledge what has happened to them as boys in the absence of a father, and he’s trying to step up. He’s even grown a beard for the occasion. But officious Paul is nobody’s favorite Paul, including himself, and he’s very sensitive about how the others are reacting to him, and constantly tugging at his beard, as if he’s not sure he’s fit for his new role.

8) Nobody’s communicating very well. There are a lot of incomplete sentences and empty pronouns. They’ve been together for the better part of 15 years, so sentences like “That’s … you know … if you do the other thing … like that …” probably makes more sense to them than myself, but I have no idea what the fuck they are getting at.

9) Ringo is mostly mute as the other three try to hammer out a process for getting their songs together.

10) It’s terrific to hear John spontaneously coming up with a countermelody lyric for “I’ve Got a Feeling” and Paul liking it right away. It’s also astounding how, on Day Two, John is a little late, and Paul starts fooling with a bass lick that germinates into “Get Back” really quickly. George and Ringo immediately recognize that a genuine song is happening (it would in fact be a single), and start focusing on what they can add. By the time Lennon arrives, seemingly 20 minutes later, they’ve got a good chunk of the song finished, though the chord-change hook isn’t there yet, and neither are the verse lyrics. They put the song away quickly, like they don’t want to lay it on John until Paul’s got his lyric down, and it’s almost like a secret among the three of them.

11) It’s kind of sad to hear George’s early contributions to the song, because he would later walk away from the sessions, and one of the results is that John ends up playing the lead guitar in the rooftop concert version.

12) They instead work on “Maxwell’s Silver Hammer.” Paul seemingly thinks it’s a real forward-thinking piece, but John thinks it’s more granny music despite the serial killer lyric. Nonetheless, everybody is committed to it, and the arrangement quickly has more structure than the songs they were working on the previous day.

13) Massive roadie Mal Evans is brought in to bang a hammer against an anvil during the song. He also transcribes the lyrics for “I’ve Got a Feeling” as John is coming up with them. You could re-cut the whole film to just tell the story of how badly Evans wants to be in on the group’s creative process, but is kept just outside the circle, with the men fetching sandwiches and drinks and lighting cigars and ciggies.

14) It’s old hat to blame Yoko for the breakup, but her presence here is almost spectral — like she’s the abstract representation of the new directions pulling them apart (the pull on George is also represented by a Hare Krishna disciple sitting in the corner, who at some point seems to undergo mitosis and split into two Hare Krishnas). She’s inside the circle, but always sitting over John’s shoulder, often sewing or knitting, shifting seats when he shifts from guitar to organ to piano. She’s not always my bag, but I love her jumpsuit. Whatever her presence was in the White Album sessions and the later Get Back session joining the four of them on the recording studio floor, here in the big film studio, with a big gap of space in between the group and the world, her presence among them is almost comical.

15) I bailed at that point because my wife was growing disengaged. I know they will be turning a corner, but I know from reports that Paul thought he had a single in “Maxwell’s Silver Hammer” and he poured everything into it until the others were ready to take a hammer to him. It’s pretty funny to now realize that this all took place while they had a genuine hit single simmering on the back burner.

Second half of first episode.

1) I'm starting to get the notion that the division of the three episodes is going to make them distinct from one another, with ONE covering the Twickenham sessions, TWO covering the Abbey Road Studio sessions, and THREE covering the Abbey Road rooftop performance.

2) The group is starting to get tighter as a band and warmer with each other. This appears to be in part due to them being surrounded by such a bunch hangers-on looking to capitalize that they bond in resistance.

3) Dick James swings by to chew the fat. James was the music publisher who had the Beatles by the short-and-curlies, having signed them to an exploitative deal very early in their careers. The Beatles had tried to wrest control of their catalog a year and a half earlier after Epstein died, but came up short. George even went so far as to write and record with the Beatles a complaint song about the situation with James, so it was really a dick move of him to come by and interrupt the sessions, but again, being surrounded by tools and exploiters is seeming to help them bond. Paul plays nice, reading the songs in the Dick James publishing catalog, with the Beatles material alongside music hall standards from the twenties, but George takes a look at the list and passes it on to Ringo, saying, "Here, want to see what you own one half of one percent of?"

4) Yoko Ono becomes less of a symbol and more of a character after Linda Eastman arrives, giving her someone to talk to, and an excuse to sit outside the inner circle. Maureen Starkey also arrives shortly before the end of this episode.

5) Yoko even takes a turn at the piano when John gets up for a break, and she begins to do her ad-libbed shrieking vocals, and the band are delighted to join in behind her. They keep with her changes, holding the song together musically, but goof around and add their own vocal improvisations. I understand, of course, the animus for Yoko and her music, but this isn't zero-calorie entertainment. In a small way, it can get its hooks into you.

6) John reasserts himself as alpha, sings his heart out on his leads, stays engaged, plays the clown, and does his funny British fishwife voices when backing up Paul.

7) Paul, despite trying to be the Dad in the first half of this episode, and despite being a better musician and more productive a songwriter than John, is kind of a suckup to John, deferential to John's elder status, his authenticity, and his independence.

8) A lot of weird foreshadowing happens. Director Michael Lindsay-Hogg mentions appearing in a film as a child with Orson Welles. It turns out that he'd find out decades later (2006, I think) that Welles was quite possibly his father. That may not be true, but it kind of has a poetic appropriateness to it, as Welles was famous as a director for historically over-ambitious projects that fall apart when neither the other principals nor the money men are interested in supporting the scale of his vision.

9) Further weird foreshadowing happens, when Hoggo can't pin the band down on a location for the concert, and Paul says, "We'll probably end up doing it on a farm in Scotland."

Linda overhears and says something like, "That sounds like it would be nice."

10) Despite the general bonding, Paul's sucking up to John tends to further marginalize George. The last straw for George seems to silently come when Paul asks George not to vamp on a song, because it conflicts with John's vamping.

11) George quits in the most George-like way possible, just standing up mid-day and saying, "Well, I'll be leaving now."

"Leaving for where?"

"Leaving, you know, the Beatles. See you round at the clubs."

12) The band has had dustups before, so they continue the session without him, but they seem to be playing for the sake of playing, having a little fun, but not trying to do any serious work in the afternoon. At the end of the day, the three of them huddle away from the sycophants and mics, apparently deciding that this is more serious than they were letting on for the cameras, and they would have to pull together and recruit George back.

13) The music is generally a delight compared to the first half of the episode. "Get Back" is rolling into shape and takes on a temporary status as a protest song. Paul also does a piano version of "Another Day." It's not everybody's favorite Paul song, but along with "All Things Must Pass," "Gimme Some Truth," and "Child of Nature" (the song that would become "Jealous Guy") these are four songs (so far!) that the Beatles reject in these sessions that would ultimately become classicks for them as solo artists in the seventies. It's amazing to think of these as their throwaways. If you take any old band — say, Jesus Jones — and add those four songs to their catalog, they are suddenly fringe candidates for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. For the Beatles, this is their debris.

So, I guess I'm slogging through this on my own.

"Much opprobrium has been cast at Yoko Ono for her constant presence at Beatles’ recording sessions, but, after this, you marvel at her fortitude for sitting through them." — The Guardian

Edgy MD wrote: ↑Sun Nov 28, 2021 3:26 pm So, I guess I'm slogging through this on my own.

As long as the only way to view this involves paying (even more) cash to the Mouse/ESPN conglomerate, this will remain unseen by me.

I'll get to it sometime, but my viewing time is limited right now.

Frayed Knot wrote: ↑Sun Nov 28, 2021 5:48 pm

Edgy MD wrote: ↑Sun Nov 28, 2021 3:26 pm So, I guess I'm slogging through this on my own.

As long as the only way to view this involves paying (even more) cash to the Mouse/ESPN conglomerate, this will remain unseen by me.

The weird part is that it comes free with the subscription. I guess that's at least partly due to the comprehensive length of it making it such a slog for even the most ardent fanboi.

I'm enjoying it, but if I paid 60 quid for it, I'd be pissed.

Edgy MD wrote: ↑Sun Nov 28, 2021 3:26 pm So, I guess I'm slogging through this on my own.

Not at all. I’ve been digesting it at about the same pacing as you are and I think your analysis is spot on.

It amazes me that all of this footage was hiding for so long and never leaked…not even many specifics of the story much less the pictures. I’ve heard people debate the lore of this period. I think it’s giving a different perspective for all fans on the period and the individual personalities.

My daughter was VERY interested in watching this when the trailer came out, but she tapped out after the first hour. She couldn’t keep up with the accents or the subtitles and got frustrated.

It seems pretty clear that the real producer (or the closest thing to a producer) here is Glyn Johns, despite what the album credits say. It isn't all together clear what George Martin's role is, but as the adult in the room, he's managed to be the voice of realism a few times (against Michael Lindsay-Hogg's absurd ambition, as well as the Beatles' indifferent faith in incompetent others). Most notable is the return to Abbey Road Studios, when he immediately suggests Alexis Mardas' equipment won't work and makes clear that the sooner they get a traditional setup in there, the better.

I got the idea that they might have wasted several days futzing around with Magic Alex's bullshit (and perhaps lost Harrison again) if Martin hadn't asserted himself there.

It's great to watch the project slip away from Lindsay-Hogg and his stature declining by the hour once they get to Abbey Road.

I only just discovered that this is 471 minutes long. It may be a while before I have nearly 8 hours free to spend with The Beatles.

Director Peter Jackson claims that Disney wanted the release scrubbed of the Fab Four smoking and swearing.
Paul, Ringo, and Olivia Harrison refused to go along.

Edgy MD wrote: ↑Sun Nov 28, 2021 9:28 pm

Frayed Knot wrote: ↑Sun Nov 28, 2021 5:48 pm

Edgy MD wrote: ↑Sun Nov 28, 2021 3:26 pm So, I guess I'm slogging through this on my own.

As long as the only way to view this involves paying (even more) cash to the Mouse/ESPN conglomerate, this will remain unseen by me.

The weird part is that it comes free with the subscription. I guess that's at least partly due to the comprehensive length of it making it such a slog for even the most ardent fanboi.

I'm enjoying it, but if I paid 60 quid for it, I'd be pissed.

I don't have the service but I think you can sign up for like seven or eight bucks a month and watch the doc in the first month and then cancel.

That's pretty much our strategy.

Frayed Knot wrote: ↑Mon Nov 29, 2021 9:02 pm Director Peter Jackson claims that Disney wanted the release scrubbed of the Fab Four smoking and swearing.
Paul, Ringo, and Olivia Harrison refused to go along.

So ... Yoko would have been cool with that?

Edgy MD wrote: ↑Mon Nov 29, 2021 10:38 pm That's pretty much our strategy.

Frayed Knot wrote: ↑Mon Nov 29, 2021 9:02 pm Director Peter Jackson claims that Disney wanted the release scrubbed of the Fab Four smoking and swearing.
Paul, Ringo, and Olivia Harrison refused to go along.

So ... Yoko would have been cool with that?

The brief account I read made no mention of her so I don't know if/to what extent Yoko was involved in the process.
You'd think she'd have the same right of input as the others but is increasingly infirm in recent years (nearing 90)
and maybe just wasn't available for comment while the other three parties went on record.

She's listed as producer with the other parties.

Yeah, I'm sure it's that she wasn't available for comment and/or wasn't returning calls.



And speaking of Disney streaming and a lack of comments: it seems that their streaming service for THE SIMPSONS available in Hong Kong omits an episode where the
family is in China and a joke about Tianamen Square is made. The fam comes across a plaque stating that 'On this Spot in 1989 Absolutely Nothing Happened'

It's unclear at this point whether Disney is the one who pulled the episode or whether China did, or if it was a mutual decision. Both parties, it seems, are being
equally non-communicative about it.

Multinationals conglomerating our media is an awful thing.

Disney even getting near the Beatles is a big problem.

Start of PART THREE this evening. George Martin reasserting himself is great. The marginalization of Michael Lindsay-Hogg seems complete as he's nowhere to be seen.

Most songs have reached something like the shape they will be in when they reach the album (even if lyrics aren't complete), and in some cases, we hear what we can recognize as the take they would eventually keep, but not yet mixed for the record, so we hear of George on guitar and John on six-string bass on "The Long and Winding Road" that is either removed from the master mix or pulled so far back as to be sublimated under the orchestrations. That's fine because it doesn't really add much and John's dynamics on the bass are off. But Ringo's adding some good cymbal stuff that you might otherwise miss.

When Linda's daughter Heather See Not-Yet-McCartney enters the scene, she brings what Lindsay-Hogg might have recognized as a female lead. John and Ringo and Glyn all play with her and she plays the hi-hat during a few rehearsals and Rings seems happy to have her along for the ride. Linda is clearly exhaused as Heather spins for what seems like a half hour as the band does what now seems like their daily warmup of fifties rock 'n' roll chestnuts, but the better side of all the musicians takes over. And George Martin, again, is in charge, so process and form build off of one another.

Just as actual takes seem to be going down, Yoko grabs John and lays a big wet one on him, followed by John announcing that the occasion is that her divorce is final. It's fascinating that John and Paul are bonding just as they are going through such similar experiences — both falling for older women exiting a prior marriage and bringing seven-year-old daughters with them. But while Paul adopted Heather, Yoko's ex would flee with his daughter and change her name to hide her from John and Yoko.

Edgy MD wrote: ↑Mon Nov 29, 2021 10:38 pm

Frayed Knot wrote: ↑Mon Nov 29, 2021 9:02 pm Director Peter Jackson claims that Disney wanted the release scrubbed of the Fab Four smoking and swearing.
Paul, Ringo, and Olivia Harrison refused to go along.

So ... Yoko would have been cool with that?

As a compromise they could have the Beatles curse Sir Walter Raleigh, he's such a stupid git.

I just farted.

I just thought I should say something.

C'mon, that was a funny deep cut reference!

I finished this up in isolation. It was very, very long, but overall I really enjoyed it. The perpetual smile on Billy Preston's face in everyone of his shots is one of my favorite parts. You can tell how blown away he is that the biggest band in the world thought they needed to add another guy and that he was that guy. Great stuff!

It was a little grieving that we'd listen to 21 breakdown takes of a song, and when they finally get to a take where the subtitle reads "This was the take used on the Album Let It Be," they cut the shot after a single verse.

If they have the time for Ringo announcing his farts, surely they have enough time for the full final version of "I Me Mine" or "Two of Us."

I had always had a disappointment that the rooftop concert featured no George Harrison songs, and John gets the lead and he and Billy Preston get the solos on "Get Back," leaving George's (high-quality) solo on "One After 909" as his only chance to shine in that concert. But the multiple takes in this version of the film really gave me a chance to appreciate the impressive non-solo leads George gets to contribute — sublimated but lovely stuff that really contributes to the essence of the songs.

Edgy MD wrote: ↑Sun Dec 05, 2021 9:39 pm It was a little grieving that we'd listen to 21 breakdown takes of a song, and when they finally get to a take where the subtitle reads "This was the take used on the Album Let It Be, they cut the shot after a single verse.

If they have the time for Ringo announcing his farts, surely they have enough time for the full final version of "I Me Mine" or "Two of Us."

I had always had a disappointment that the rooftop concert featured no George Harrison songs, and John gets the lead and he and Billy Preston get the solos on "Get Back," leaving George's (high-quality) solo on "One After 909" as he only chance to shine in that concert. But the multiple takes in this version of the film really gave me a chance to appreciate the impressive non-solo leads George gets to contribute — sublimated but lovely stuff that really contributes to the essence of the songs.

Technically there wasn't a full, final version of "I Me Mine" as they reused part of it to make it long enough to even count as a song.

The most ironic thing is that the two GH compositions on "Let it Be" could never hang with all of the superior content on "All Things Must Pass," many of those songs having already been written (and rejected) by John & Paul.