Monday, November 22, 2021

The Beatles: Get Back


'The Beatles: Get Back' is an upcoming three-part documentary series directed and produced by Peter Jackson. It covers the making of The Beatles' 1970 album 'Let It Be', which had the working title of 'Get Back', and draws from material originally captured for Michael Lindsay-Hogg's 1970 documentary of the album. Conceived originally as a feature film, each episode of 'The Beatles: Get Back' is about two hours in length, making up a total of six hours.

Jackson characterized 'The Beatles: Get Back' as "a documentary about a documentary". Commentators have described it as challenging longtime beliefs that the making of 'Let It Be' was marked entirely by tensions between the Beatles, showing a more upbeat side of the production. It will premiere on Disney+ consecutively on 25, 26 and 27 November 2021. (Wikipedia)

Photo Source - 60 Minutes
Peter Jackson down in the Apple Corp film vault
Sometime in 2018, Peter Jackson met with The Beatles company, Apple Corp in London. They just said, "we've got it all. We've got-- 57 hours of footage. We've got 130 hours of audio." And then they said that they were thinking about making a documentary using the footage. I just put up my hand and said, "Well, if-- if you are looking for somebody to make it-- don't-- please just-- think-- think of me." (60 Minutes)

In the last four years, Peter Jackson and his team went to work using his cutting edge film and audio restoration techniques, not to mention his general magic as a gifted film maker to craft this new documentary. 

Cover of the aborted Get Back album,
mirroring the cover of the band's first album,
As a huge Beatle fan, Peter Jackson has tapped into every Beatles' fan dream to see their favorite band writing, rehearsing, performing, and most importantly, having fun. The documentary essentially explores the creative process within a collaborative group. It's a bit of the good times and raw emotions all mixed together. Did The Beatles fulfill their vision to create a "live performance" that took them back to their days playing in clubs? As a fan, I'm more grateful for the treasure of songs that came from the Get Back project. Humans are complicated and when combined with art... creativity is messy.

I believe the upcoming movie will capture the true spirit of the band creating a new adventure. Here's the film trailer that came out last month to represent the six hours that awaits us on Disney+.

 

 Okay, You might be saying, "I don't have Disney+." Is Disney+ going to have a free 3 or 5 day trail offer? The answer is no, but here's what you can do. Like most subscription services Disney+ is month to month for $7.99. Think of it as a good ticket price if you were going to a movie theater. You can unsubscribe after 30 days. In any event, Disney+ might be a good solution for some holiday shows with family and friends in the weeks ahead.

Imagine, many of us old Beatle fans actually have some new Beatle material to experience for the first time! And that my friends is truly something to be thankful for.

Now the playlist for this week is my own hodgepodge YouTube Playlist from the new Let It Be: 50th Anniversary (Super-Deluxe Edition (2021) and Let It Be... Naked (2003).  

The Super Deluxe Edition is 57 tracks representing three versions of the Let It Be album from: hired gun-toting Producer Phil Spector, the 1969 Get Back Mix by Glyn Johns, and the 2021 remix by Giles Martin. It includes tracks featuring Beatle banter which I can't get enough of, and rehearsals of several songs that will later appear on Abbey Road. 

The 2003 version of 'Let It Be... Naked' is presented in a form which Paul McCartney considered closer to its original artistic vision: to "get back" to the rock and roll sound of their early years rather than the orchestral overdubs and embellishments which were added by Phil Spector to three of the songs in the production of the final 'Let It Be' album. McCartney in particular was always dissatisfied with the "Wall of Sound" production style of the Phil Spector mixes of these three tracks, especially for his song "The Long and Winding Road", which he believed was ruined by the process. (Wikipedia)

I do want to explain that my playlist is squarely in the Paul McCartney camp of rejecting Phil Spector's extensive remix that completely got away from the live album concept that Paul originally brought to John, George and Ringo for the January, 1969 recordings. For example, The Long and Winding Road has both the Spector and Glyn Johns production versions in the Super Deluxe Edition, and Naked has the final take recorded on January 31, 1969, instead of the original album take from January, 26, 1969. I personally like the Naked final take, and maybe you can get a feel for how I put together the playlist here. 

Although as I write this, I've been listening to all these versions for a couple weeks now and I'm pulled towards the Glyn Johns 1969 mixes that The Beatles ultimately rejected. Glyn Johns' use of vocal echo I thought was brilliant in that he captures a live feel as if the listener were sitting in an auditorium or concert hall, and lends itself to the live performance part of Paul's original vision for the project. In any event, here is what I eventually came to with the goal of not having multiple versions of any of the songs mixed with a selection of banter tracks and jams to capture a bit of that Beatle spirit and joy in their creative process.

The Beatles: Get Back Playlist
  1. The Beatles: Get Back - A Sneak Peek from Peter Jackson (12/20/20- Montage featuring the song, Get Back)
  2. Two of Us (2021 Super Deluxe Mix from 1970 album)
  3. I Don't Know Why I'm Moaning Discussion (2021 Super Deluxe Mix)
  4. I've Got A Feeling (Naked Version / Remastered 2013)
  5. Dig A Pony (1969 Glyn Johns Mix)
  6. Something (Rehearsal) (2021 Super Deluxe Mix)
  7. For You Blue (1969 Glyn Johns Mix)
  8. Can You Dig It (2021 Super Deluxe Mix)
  9. Let It Be (1969 Glyn Johns Mix)
  10. Medley: I’m Ready (aka Rocker) / Save The Last Dance For Me / Don’t Let Me Down (2021 Super Deluxe Mix)
  11. Don't Let Me Down (This is not the version of Don’t Let Me Down heard on the single but the version from the Let It Be… Naked album – a composite of both versions that were performed on the roof of Apple in Savile Row)
  12. Maggie Mae / Fancy My Chances With You (2021 Super Deluxe Mix)
  13. I Me Mine (Naked Version / Remastered 2013)
  14. Polythene Pam (Rehearsal) (2021 Super Deluxe Mix)
  15. Across The Universe (Naked Version / Remastered 2013)
  16. Octopus’s Garden (Rehearsal 2021 Super Deluxe Mix)
  17. Without A Song feat. Billy Preston on vocal (2021 Super Deluxe Mix)
  18. One After 909 (Take 3) (2021 Super Deluxe Mix)
  19. The Walk Jam (2021 Super Deluxe Mix)
  20. The Long And Winding Road (Naked Version / Remastered 2013)
  21. Get Back (Reprise / 1969 Glyn Johns Mix)
  22. Inside the story of the Beatles documentary “Get Back”
    (60 Minutes Overtime 11/14/21)
Happy Thanksgiving... and Happy Beatles weekend my friends! 


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