A fascinating rock doc
whose interest stems more from historical significance than cinematic merit, Let It Be came closer than any other
artifact to capturing the breakup of the Beatles while it was happening. The film’s history is
complex. After completing The White Album,
a stressed-out Fab Four followed band member Paul McCartney’s suggestion to
make a stripped-down LP featuring live-in-studio jams rather than another
record filled with elaborate overdubbing. The concept eventually grew to
include a visual component, with British filmmaker Michael Lindsay-Hogg
recruited to shoot the recording sessions for a proposed TV special. At the
time, circa early 1969, the project was titled Get Back after one of the songs slated for inclusion.
However, the
tensions that eventually broke up the band, exacerbated by the intrusion of
film cameras, threw the recording sessions into disarray. Although a dramatic
finale was shot, featuring a legendary rooftop performance in London that
became the band’s final concert, the movie (and the album) went on the shelf
while the Beatles recorded their last album, Abbey Road, and then disbanded. Thus, by the time
the Get Back project was resuscitated
for audio release (with superstar American producer Phil Spector hired to sweeten
the raw tracks, defeating the project’s original purpose), the Beatles were
effectively a memory, at least as a performing/recording entity.
Linsday-Hogg’s
footage, trimmed down to an unvarnished 81-minute snapshot for theatrical
exhibition, became the antithesis of the loose celebration McCartney originally
envisioned. Instead, the movie is dreary and slow, despite the inclusion of
many wonderfully energetic songs, so watching the picture is like eavesdropping
on the tension preceding a divorce.
McCartney and his longtime songwriting
partner, John Lennon, look as if they can’t stand each other, and they’re
clearly operating on different frequencies. McCartney is a hard-driving
populist eager to give the people what they want, whereas Lennon (with Yoko Oko
at his side) has already transitioned into a more experimental phase in his
creative life. Guitarist George Harrison actually gets in a few snippy comments
against McCartney—although the ugly moment when he temporarily quit the band
was left on the cutting-room floor—and easygoing drummer Ringo Starr simply
looks uncomfortable.
Still, despite the sometimes-painful studio footage, Let It Be ends on a triumphant note with
the arrival of irrepressible keyboardist Billy Preston. His optimism and
spirited playing seem to reset the Beatles’ brains so that, for those few
glorious moments atop the Apple Records building, they actually seem to enjoy
performing with each other. Good luck finding a copy of Let It Be these days, however; after a brief VHS release in the
’80s, the movie went out of print and is now mostly available via bootleg DVDs.
Let It Be:
GROOVY
3 comments:
It is something of a boring movie, but I wish more like it were made about rock stars today. I like the unvarnished look and feel of the movie. In fact, a whole bunch of rock documentaries had that realism vibe in the 60s and 70s: Don't Look Back, Gimme Shelter, and even Woodstock.
But the rock doc has been so slick and plastic-wrapped since the 80s.
"watching the picture is like eavesdropping on the tension preceding a divorce." - nicely put!!
And thanks for mentioning Billy Preston whose contributions to classic rock are invaluable.
I loved Paul schooling George on how to play guitar. They really deserved a much more accomplished player...considering all the great ax men of his day. All George could do was copy Chet Atkins. Badly.
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