Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *
What is offered for commercial gain is not the full story, and quite often the full story never sees the cold light of day.
We have all seen what we believed was a cog in The Beatles story, culminating in a London roof top performance in which the ‘Fab Four’ showcased several songs that were to become part of the legend and myth of the group’s legacy; and yet what was presented, as with all edits, conflicts of interests, and trickeries of presentation, was barely even the surface of what was scratched, and as the crowds gathered, as bowler hatted men, as young girls and bemused, disgruntled police officers gathered in their masses, the idea of getting back was sold to the world.
The problem with the notion of legends is that they become shrouded by Time, they become untouchable, and the aura of God like status weaves itself into the narrative as though it is all by design; that the dice roll perfect sixes every time.
It is in the daunting task of scouring for the larger picture that the narrative reveals itself to be more than you could ever hope for, and in the reveal of Peter Jackson’s four year journey to bring as close to the truth as possible of the recording sessions that culminated in two more studio albums, one last live performance, a fall out of epic proportions and one of the greatest moments of joy when the excellent and joyful Billy Preston was on hand to smooth over, and enhance the final weeks of what was the start of the breakup of arguably Britain’s most influential band.
If there is a moment of clarity of how the band worked, of how difficult it surely is to satisfy the egos of not just four wilful men with their own ideas, loves and interests, it is in how they managed to put a band aid over the whole operation and deliver songs from scratch, noticeably in the way that George Harrison took Ringo Starr’s initial line of Octopus’s Garden and gave it a larger feel and scope, how Paul McCartney oversaw the birth of Let It Be, from conception to fully evolved anthem, and the sheer magnitude of how studio time works when there is a plethora of people involved, all with their own agendas and concerns, and how it can detract from the one thing, the one special reason to why a band exists; the music.
The three-part series, the large amount of hours in which the audience is granted access to, far outweighs the short 80 minute film released 50 years ago, and whilst there have been some who questioned the wisdom of this, perhaps with the idea of keeping lofty giants and legends intact, what Peter Jackson has offered the enthusiast, the casual fan and the onlooker from the street below the rooftop, is a point of view that these four men were fallible, strong-willed, human, frail, mortal beings to who as a man wanted what we all want, to leave a stamp on Time, no matter how large, no matter how deep the imprint, with all their flaws, their damage, their love for each other, intact.
The Beatles: Get Back is a revelation, it is outstanding, it sets the record straight on the involvement of Billy Preston in the sessions, it shows with honour the infallibility of the men, it reveals the strength that underpinned the whole ethos, and for that, the amount of hours you sit through to gain some insight, is worth every minute spent.
Ian D. Hall