The Knightly News

Gabby Lamboy

Staff Writer

It’s 1969. It’s been three years of not performing, the equivalent of a lifetime for the world-renowned band, The Beatles. Despite a fair amount of interpersonal tension, the four musicians–Paul, John, George, and Ringo–“come together,” hoping to create an album, a concert, and a television special. 

Fast Forward to Thanksgiving 2021. My mom is busy cooking. There’s turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, cranberry sauce, and a family favorite, cauliflower gratin. And yet, the two of us find time to watch bits and pieces of a docuseries that dropped just in time for the holidays: The Beatles: Get Back. 

Released 52 years after the initial sessions, tapes of the Beatles making their historic “Let it Be” album have been restored and reinterpreted. With film being originally shot by Michael Lindsay-Hogg in 1969, it provides a new perspective on the band’s final musical sessions and their break up (heartbreaking to many fans).

I can’t remember how old I was when my grandfather started playing The Beatles for me again and again on repeat. I can’t remember how old I was when I started digging deeper into The Beatles catalog, focusing at first on fast tempoed, upbeat songs like “Help,” and “A Hard Day’s Night,” but transitioning into more dimensional tracks such as “Girl,” or “A Day in the Life.” until I was fully immersed in their music.

Whether you are a Beatles superfan, such as myself, or simply a person who has caught a glance at their iconic albums plastered on t-shirts and merchandise, you probably have a sense of how and why The Beatles broke up. Maybe it was Yoko’s fault. Yoko Ono, who in 1969 had just gotten married to John Lennon, has time and time been blamed for the break up simply because “Yoko sat on an amp.” However it could have Paul, John or even George who we actually watch leave in an episode despite shortly returning after. Nonetheless the truth of the matter, as told by Director Peter Jackson, is quite different than anything we once believed. 

Each episode of the short three part series (they run a little over 2 ½ hours long) offers insight into what it really was like within their studio sessions and how Paul McCartney even pokes fun at their frequent disagreements and arguments stating, “It’s going to be the most comical thing in 50 years time; they broke up because Yoko sat on an amp.” 

Overall, the film depicts The Beatles’ Let it Be recording session in a far more positive light than did previous narratives from other directors. When the film series first begins it starts with a short background and timeline up and until the new album. But what made this film series such a gem to music lovers of all ages was its raw, newly-restored, unseen footage of the Beatles. Someone such as myself, who has read numerous articles, watched countless interviews, and listened repeatedly to tracks, this has been something that has been long awaited. Not only were the Beatles musically talented, but one of the greatest things about them was the dynamic between the members of the band itself. As each member has often been labeled in their time as “The Quiet Beatle, The Smart Beatle, The Cute Beatle & The Funny Beatle”, the band had such a lively energy and throughout nearly nine hours it was shown in full force. The docuseries fully encompassed what the ‘Fab Four’ really was with the witty remarks from John, the structure yet playfulness from Paul, the wanting of independence from George, and the sheer enthusiasm from Ringo. 

 Nonetheless, when you watch the series you aren’t only experiencing the creation of an album full of soon-to-be classics and songs that will forever be stuck in your head, but the process of a band that, although had their faults, were ultimately a family and with that came differences but overall resulted in masterpieces.

Featured Picture Source: Apple Corps