Which Beatle has Get Back most reshaped your idea of?

Write-in for Billy Preston.

Like, I knew he was cool and added tasty musical touches. Did not realize he was the hero of the whole fucking thing and rescued the Four from a boring disaster

Found it hard to get a consistent view of John from this because he seems to change personality (or drug intake) between the first and second episodes.

Perception of the others was not really changed at all. Ringo was a bit more engaged than I was expecting, but I think that was because the nature of the project. As they were playing songs as a group for this project, he wasn't off to a side playing cards with Mal during all night sessions whilst orchestras and harps were being added.

Paul was impressive

Ringo is even more of a genius drummer than I thought and quieter

John was a lot dumber and basic than I thought but in fairness he was loaded half the time, and honestly kind of annoying

George was just younger, more adolescent at that time, acted a lot like a teenager with his parents some time, mix of a being resentful and cocky and insecure that is very teenager

My idea of Paul as not hot has been profoundly reshaped. Beard and hair are key components in this.

haha yeah he's a dreamboat

Write-in for Billy Preston.

Like, I knew he was cool and added tasty musical touches. Did not realize he was the hero of the whole fucking thing and rescued the Four from a boring disaster

― Jeremy Ironist (Ye Mad Puffin), Friday, December 10, 2021 9:03 AM (two hours ago) bookmarkflaglink

OTM. While it was often talked about in various Beatles documentaries -- George said he specifically brought him in so that everyone would be on their best behavior -- I didn't really understand the full scope of the tremendous impact he had on the whole project until I watched Get Back. I can't imagine the project being completed -- or the rooftop concert happening -- without Preston. Not for nothing was the the only non-Beatle co-credited on a Beatles record (though inexplicably, he doesn't appear anywhere in the Abbey Road liner notes/thank yous, and he played prominent organ parts on at least two of its songs).

Paul seems the most self-aware of the group. And I was thinking that since it seems that asking Billy Preston to sit in was an impromptu thing that the rest of them started taking things seriously in order to not waste Billy's time.

This has broken my brain

The ages of everybody in Get Back , January 1969.

Paul McCartney 26
John Lennon 28
Ringo Starr 28
George Harrison 25
Glyn Johns 26
Michael Lindsay Hogg 28
George Martin 43
Yoko Ono 35
Linda Eastman 27
Mal Evans 33
Billy Preston 22
Heather McCartney 6
Ethan Russell 23 pic.twitter.com/RBiJ5aKIpG

— Jem Stone (@JemStone) December 10, 2021

And ... h/t @GeoffLloyd
Maureen Starkey 22
Patti Harrison 24
Alan Parsons 20
Kevin Harrington 18
PC Roy Shayler 25
PC Ken Wharfe 20
Peter Sellers 43
George's Hare Krishna friends -
Shyamasundar 26, Mukunda 26
Robert Fraser 31
Neil Aspinall 27
Mike McCartney 25
Debbie Wellum 21

— Jem Stone (@JemStone) December 10, 2021

Ok wow, I didn’t realize Maureen was 18 when Ringo married her. I try not to judge my elders, but…

i'd never, ever have guessed maureen starkey or billy preston were so young.

so many bloody over-achievers on that list.

Dick James seems to have been the oldest person there at 49

I posted this on the other thread, but when Billy and the Beatles get into “Shake, Rattle and Roll,” I realized that Billy played that song with Sam Cooke…when Billy was sixteen.

Get Back = ageist.

Probably the only person in the whole film as old as me is the woman at the end complaining that the Beatles woke her up. Next someone will tell me that she was 31 or something.

Paul = hotter, as necessary as historians have claimed

George = more adolescent, less in control

John = more jovial, more zonked out, more intimate with Paul (often excruciatingly so) than expected

Ringo = a master

Yoko = Bonk! Go to Horny jail 😳

George is a way whinier bitch than I previously thought so I voted George

xxp irl laughing out loud, josefa

I haven’t watched it yet but in the clips I’ve seen they sound much shittier than I imagined.

thanks

George is a way whinier bitch than I previously thought so I voted George

George put up with more bullshit than the others put together. I mean, “Last week, I wrote a song with Bob Dylan. Today, Paul dismissed ‘All Things Must Pass’ out of hand, and forced us to do this stupid fucking ‘Maxwell’ song. Fuck this place.”

Poor baby

I voted Paul, but the more complete answer is "the Paul/John relationship." The sections where it's just the two of them talking to each other, there's an intimacy and trust there that I found touching. It shouldn't be surprising that they were close, they'd been inseparable for a decade at that point. But with all the stories about Paul's bossiness, I hadn't reckoned with how much he really depended on John. The long, somewhat murky (and almost certainly stoned) conversation they have that was taped by the hidden mic in a vase or whatever is very revealing in how they related to each other and to the rest of the band.

Completely agree with this ^^^^

Two scenes I thought were interesting were:

Early on where George is sulking and getting pissed at Paul, John seems annoyed too, but then Paul jumps into Two of Us and instantly John's cloud lifts and he is absorbed in joking and singing with Paul. Two of Us, indeed.

At the end of Pt 2 in the run up to the rooftop reveal, Paul is still clinging to the idea that the concert would involve some spectacle, while John and George try to convince him they need to just get out and play. You can almost see Paul struggling to deal with his own ego - he wants to be in charge, make the decision - even as he realizes the other ideas are better and he is being "outvoted".

were

There's also that moment where John says to George and Ringo, of Paul, "This used to be his thing, now it's a band thing" -- meaning the whole TV special/album/whatever it is that they're doing. Everyone in the room always very aware of shifting currents between the four of them.

The most interesting thing
(We could run a thread of the most interesting thing but.. anyway, back to the sentence close bracket)
.. ahem, was

When John and Paul were having a meet in the canteen, and Paul told John that he was still the leader of the band. John said no, but.

See, this is the thing. Paul is clearly taking charge and telling George what to play, describing to Ringo what he wants, but still with John it's more an even handed convincing him into what his vision is.

Yeah, Paul is still bringing it to John for his ultimate approval.

And who was it that finally says "come on, let's do it" about the rooftop performance?

I voted John. I should have voted Paul, just because he was driving, doesn't mean he was in charge.

I think John was the acknowledged leader of the band from inception until Epstein's death, then Paul took over either consciously or because no one else wanted it, but John obv still wielded some residual power due to his former position.

That was interesting to me because I'd never consciously thought of John as the leader. But it makes sense, he was the guy who started the band, he was a little older than Paul and George, and he also obviously had more rapport with George and Ringo than Paul. (Well maybe not Ringo, Ringo seems like he was kind of cool with everyone.)

Been listening to the records in order for the first time in some years and I was really surprised finally to notice how many more lead vocals John has on the early records.

I whipped out my mom's American albums. Something New's a tight thing.

I think that might have been my favorite. I guess it lines up with A Hard Day’s Night but I ending up preferring it to that when I finally got a copy.

Something New and The Second Album are the big winners of the US album debacle.meet the Beatles too I guess.

can i just say, i know it's probably the equivalent of a greeting-card-level cheesy sentiment, but: i really do love that i have my mom's Beatles records. just a few that she kept and that were among the things from her collection that i also liked and then got into through that. like if not for these being in the house, maybe my curiosity about this band would never have gotten developed. i don't have too many material things that were part of my parents' lives before their lives as parents... it's nice that this music they helped me come to love is still something important to me.

that doesn't seem cheesy to me at all

I agree, not cheesy at all.

aww, thanks, y'all.

Yes, that was very sweet of you.

Ringo more attractive than I thought; even handsome, dare I say. Think the late 60s hairy look suits him the best out of the 4 of them.

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

I didn't vote, but I guess it would be either John or Paul for me. Ringo is perhaps the only one who seems exactly like you might expect.

Finally getting around to it. Oddly, I'm finding it reshapes my opinion of Yoko. For a long time I had thought of her as unfairly maligned by a bunch of misogynistic babies. I still think so, but her presence in the room is weirdly jarring and hostile and I at least feel like I see a grain of what the haters were talking about now.

classic you

i don't know what zone Ringo is in during all of it but it's a trip to watch.

Sorry, it’s fucking weird and creepy to sit there for hours on end, days in a row in the middle of one’s SO’s rehearsals/writing sessions.

https://i.imgur.com/jqZALzI.gif

she was there because lennon wanted/demanded her to be there

at this point i have to ask -- as with nearly everything about you lately -- are you trolling or are you just an incredible asshole?

Def understand more now, about all of it. George being sidelined even as they have a gas with his songs occasionally. Ringo just killing every take even as the others fuck around endlessly. John and Paul in a love-bubble even as they struggle to connect as they once did.

I loved the moments where George smiled as they played. Such a rare treat from a dour little gent.

Yoko was definitely more present in the sessions than she was portrayed in the film: an interesting editorial choice from PJ.

Can hardly choose one here.

I dunno. Hard to play the anvil to it.

harrison stood in the shadow of the prevailing band dynamic for so many years while also knowing his songs weren’t second-rate, drove a huge chip into his shoulder

I think it was Ian MacDonald who said that throughout his life, George was the one least invested in the idea of "Beatles".

Goes along with a conversation in the doc that I wish I could quote with more accuracy.

John's telling everyone how the mistake they made when they visited the maharishi was that they didn't "just be ourselves."

George picks up on this and says, "But that's where you're wrong! The point was to be not anybody! Not "ourselves," not "The Beatles".... not anyone!"

To which Paul rolls his eyes and starts strumming "I've Got a Feeling" for the 450th time.

george had the least investment in being a beatle and john was the most traumatized by being a beatle

I'd say George was the most traumatized -- I watch him in interviews years after the breakup and it's like he has PTSD.

It's been said that George would have been the natural leader for any band he was in... except for the band he was, y'know, IN.

So let's just go ahead and assume that there's an alternate universe in which George says fuck it at some point and becomes the frontman of a different band, with approximately the profile of... I dunno, Mott the Hoople? Badfinger? Maybe he joins the Hollies or the Floyd or the Mac or Bluesbreakers (like everybody else apparently did).

Is that universe better or worse that this one?

Impossible to say.

I tend to gravitate toward the reading that George never contributed anything to a Beatles song except exactly what it needed. Further, his own contributions to Beatles music are among my all-time faces and always will be. I feel that ice is slowly melting.

Lastly, his solo career and subsequent adventures - and the justifiable adulation he received in his post-Beatles life - more than compensate for his having to exist in the shadow of Lennon-McCartney. He's fine. He died happy, while globally famous and having contributed significantly to western culture.

Hard for me to gin up much of a pity party for George rn. Was he slighted and belittled at times? Of course. But he bounced back with indelible output that enriches the world.

* all-time faves, gah

and that's after the other 3 convinced him to come back after quitting!

It's been said that George would have been the natural leader for any band he was in... except for the band he was, y'know, IN.

Shit, I've said that even during the Anthology years when he, Paul, and Ringo are coolin' it on the lawn or around the table he takes the lead with his lack of sentimentality, excellent jokes, and air of confidence. If you didn't know who the Beatles were, you'd think, "George was the leader."

And during the Wilburys fucking Dylan regarded Harrison as the leader.

George definitely the Jeff Tweedy of the Beatles.

all-time faces
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/34/Oohlala.jpg

Alfred OTM.

The "poor poor neglected George" narrative is a bit like "my diamond shoes are too tight" sometimes.

Dude was universally beloved, celebrated, adored, wealthy, got lots of romantic attention, made some of the greatest art of the 20th century. He headlined stages around the globe and had massive crowds cheering his name. Like, we're supposed to feel sorry for him because a couple of his bandmates were sometimes mean to him? Boo fucking hoo.

I mean, imagine being like maybe the THIRD most admired practitioner of your (immensely lucrative and visible) field. Wow, that must suck... about as much as being an Olympic bronze medalist sucks.

Yeah, it's an interesting thing being third. One certainly might legitimately have a lot to complain about vis-à-vis Numbers One and Two, but on the one other hand it can work out pretty well with respect to the rest of the world.

He did get stabbed nearly to death and die young of cancer though.

xpost

The Peter Doggett book You Never Give Me Your Money painted a pretty unhappy picture of a lot of Harrison's later life, as I recall.

And managed to make a funny joke about the former, something about the guy auditioning for The Traveling Wilburys. (xp)

Dude who stabbed him had the same last night as Dylan's father's first name, DO U SEE?

same last name

Obv George was more than fine/no worthy object of pity, just found the dynamic a bit painful in the moment.

I'd say George was the most traumatized -- I watch him in interviews years after the breakup and it's like he has PTSD.

― So who you gonna call? The martini police (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, December 20, 2021 10:35 AM (thirteen minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

In terms of filmed interviews of George, I don't believe there are many -- or any -- between, say, 1982 and 1986. In the couple of '87 interviews I've seen, he seems very happy to talk about the Beatles. There's a 20th anniversary Sgt. Pepper show -- the one with Abbie Hoffman, Ed Sanders, a Dutch anarchist, and a bunch of others -- where George gladly answers questions and seems genuinely fond of reminiscing. But from that point forward, he did so many more interviews -- especially after Cloud Nine came out -- and was suddenly dealing with the kind of irritating repetition of questions that Paul had been (happily) dealing with for years. I think his general glumness in Anthology was largely down to, "Can this be the final word so I can stop talking about it?" combined with his irritation at essentially being forced to participate.

George does light up from time to time in the Anthology. But when shit got seriously scary for them -- death threats, terrorist threats, their plane engine catching on fire, the Philippines fiasco -- it seemed to affect him more deeply than the others.

I dunno if Paul has “happily” dealt with those questions. I think he’s been doing the “Smile Away” thing since approx 1964.

I was thinking about George being the youngest member and how his life, even with all the solemnness and religious elements, seems the most teenage. Like, he became insanely famous at a young age, and he does basically everything a middle-class teenager might do when presented with endless money, fame, access - hangs out with his idols, makes sure people he likes and admires can make what they want to, dates beautiful women, drives ridiculous cars, tries to figure out what it's all about, plays elaborate pranks...

quite. what a troubled life poor George led

really

let us mourn what could have been, if he'd only had more creative freedom

I thought one of the most revealing George moments is that scene where Paul and George are butting heads a bit about his guitar part for one of the songs and Paul says something like "I know I'm annoying you" and George goes something like "I don't get annoyed at you any more, Paul" and his tone of voice is some kind of "it's good to be enlightened" serene purr. And it kind of instantly ties in to the presence of those Krishna guys who are his guests. It's revealing of George's relative emotional immaturity, that he can believe he has risen above petty things like annoyance. I wonder how much the Krishna people were inflating his ego in a way that was detrimental to his ability to work with the other big egos in the band.

Nah. I love Paul and I wanted to slap him and say, "you want the Beatles to continue? Stop telling everyone else what to do."

they still would’ve broken up and they prob would’ve recorded fewer albums

I love Paul and I wanted to slap him and say, "you want the Beatles to continue? Stop telling everyone else what to do."

That would have been an emotionally honest response. Not George's pseudo-enlightened veneer of calm.

I don't get it. What makes it an ersatz response? It was precisely the measured cool that came off well; when I've read the line in biographies he sounds petulant.

There's a story about George yelling at Paul over the phone about which label will be releasing McCartney: "The fucking record is coming out on Apple! Hare Krishna."

It seemed pretty obvious to me he was internally seething, and was parroting some bullshit line about having risen above annoyance, perhaps for the benefit of his Hare Krishna friends. But its a subjective impression.

https://tricycle.org/magazine/human-nature-buddha-nature/

Read various accounts of John and Paul referring to George behind his back as "His Holiness" during '68/'69.

how sweet

I think “parroting some bullshit” is a bit of a stretch. I get the sense that George is trying to deal with the situation with some dignity, aware that he is being filmed. His leaving remarks in particular are very calm and measured.

SERENITY NOW!

Spititual enlightenment worked out pretty well for Mike Love.

One thing's for sure I can't blame him for leaving at that point. Amazing the amount of shit he put up with from macca really.

There’s a scene where both Ringo and Heather are both drumming, and then Ringo looks mostly impassive but slightly incredulous when Paul offers feedback on how they should do it differently.

i have changed my opinion most about whichever of them was most in favour of the hideous american director asshole being involved in any capacity

Anglo-American maybe ? In 1999, he succeeded to the baronetcy of Rotherfield Hall in East Sussex after the death of his father Sir Edward Lindsay-Hogg, 4th Baronet

very famously his actual father is orson welles, he also succeeded to the domecq cellars

Very famously, but is it actually true?

i choose to believe whatever will annoy most ppl

^new board description plz

Beatle Got Back

look we all have our problems but hes (as captured) insufferable

i choose to believe whatever will annoy most ppl

It's hard to believe that Lindsay-Hogg in Get Back is the same guy who directed the Paperback Writer, Rain, Hey Jude*, Revolution, and Jumping Jack Flash music videos, because he seems quite clueless there. But he did help to birth the music video promo right there at the start. He then did loads more videos for the Stones, as well as Mull of Kintyre yeuch

*Yes part of the David Frost show of course, but still, it's great

im out for a pint with a fella ive known twenty five years who says hes this fellas cousin but i mean idk seems random enough