The world has justifiably awaited the release of the 33-year-old singer Adele’s latest album but — without hesitancy — I can say that the musical event of the year comes courtesy not of the girl from Tottenham, but four lads from Liverpool who, decades after they came together, remain the greatest musicians of the modern age.
These are The Beatles. They were the band that transformed music in 20th-century America.
The soundtrack effortlessly transcends every decade, from the Swinging Sixties through the present day. Now, we can see them at their creative peak through intimate and stunning footage that is not yet seen.
Peter Jackson, an Oscar-winning filmmaker, edited 60 hours of footage shot over four weeks in January 1969 into three two-hour documentaries.
After seeing a preview of this album, I am able to tell you it’s appointment viewing. This is an incredible portrait of a band at their peak against the backdrop London no longer exists.
Here’s a sneak peek of Peter Jackson’s film ‘Get back’. It shows John Lennon at his earliest in 1969, while recording The Beatles’ 12th studio album. He was in 3 Savile Row’s basement.
It is a focus on the month that The Beatles recorded new songs to perform at a concert which was being televised. John Lennon, excited by their performance, wanted it to be held in Libya in order for them both and their audience to enjoy a show in an ancient amphitheatre.
George Harrison didn’t agree and it was decided that they would film the group as they were working on their 12th album. This was in the basement at 3 Savile Row in Central London, which was also the address of Apple.
That would lead, at the end of January, to the unannounced, spirited performance on the building’s rooftop which would be the band’s last public performance.
A slice of those many hours of footage culminated in the 1970 cinema documentary Let It Be, a film widely considered to be an exercise in watching a band disintegrate ahead of its official break-up, which was announced in the spring of that year.
The footage culminates in an unannounced, spirited performance on the rooftop of Savile Row in January 1969 which would be the band’s last public performance
Since then, the rest of the footage was kept locked in a basement. The footage serves as a joyful antidote for that pessimism and instead is a touching testament to their friendship, mutual respect, and shared love.
This is the portrait of young men with whom I had the pleasure to share time as a journalist in music.
In Get Back they come back to life again as young men. As friends and relatives drift by, we see them drinking tea and smoking as they smoke.
Linda Eastman, the woman Paul would marry, appears in one section with Heather Eastman, her 6-year-old daughter. She embarks on an unplanned bout of frenetic dancing.
One more shows Yoko ono (depicted in Let It Be as the ogress that broke up The Beatles) poring through the papers the day John had announced his affection for her.
George Harrison can be seen playing the air guitar in Get Back. This documentary captures four young men at the height of their creativity.
Collectively, the mood is celebratory. The weeks of recording during which the footage was captured produced three U.S. No1s — Get Back, Let It Be and The Long And Winding Road. Contrary the popular myth, however, it was still possible to collaborate closely with each other at this time, helping one another with melody and lyrics.
George Harrison says that he’s been trying to write a new song about his love, but is having trouble with the first line. That song is Something, with its famous lyric ‘Something in the way she moves attracts me like no other lover’.
Except back then, George had used ‘a pomegranate’ instead of ‘no other lover’.
‘Just say whatever comes into your head each time until you get the word,’ suggests John, offering up ‘cauliflower’, instead.
Paul McCartney and Heather McCartney, then six years old, engage in a bout of wild dancing at one point.
Today the viewing audience knows this lyrical confusion is beautifully resolved, lending a piquant quality to the boys’ comical discussion.
Other sections are laced with melancholy, among them scenes in which we see Mal Evans, The Beatles’ much-loved roadie, treated less like an assistant than an equal by the band.
History has the advantage of revealing that Mal, aged 40, was shot by LA Police after they mistakenly took his air rifle as a weapon.
Also, we know that the assassination of one of these boyish artists would occur at age 40 and another from premature death due to too many cigarettes.
We know, but they don’t — and that makes the viewing experience so terribly poignant. I defy anyone to walk away from Jackson’s masterful effort feeling anything other than both moved and uplifted.
That certainly seems to be the case for the surviving Beatles and their loved ones, who were out in force at the 100- minute-long private view last week in London, among them Paul McCartney’s daughter, Mary, Ringo Starr’s son, Zak, and George’s son, Dhani.
Yoko Ono (left), is seen in documentary looking at the morning papers while she and John are reading them. This was the day John announced his love for her following her divorce.
Paul introduced the footage himself and talked about how significant it was to be able to revisit a period he had not experienced in its full glory because he was too focused performing.
We heard him tell us that he got to witness his buddies play and was amazed at their abilities. The privilege was for the others who were there to watch,
We will never get to see Leonardo da Vinci at his easel or Michelangelo wield his sculptor’s knife, but now we are given an insider’s view of The Beatles creating some of the most important art of the 20th century.
Through painstaking restoration we are able to enjoy an evocative, pin-sharp slice of London from the 1960s. This is a city where men wore hats, people smoked, and there was no music.
It’s a visit to a world which no longer exists. While the music is still popular, it’s long since gone. Everyone who was at the preview loved that they were able to experience it all over again.
It is now your turn. You must not miss the opportunity. Put on your headphones and get lost in the most amazing musical tales of all time.
- The Disney Plus Channel will release Get Back in three segments on November 25-26 and 27.