Podcast: Play in new window | Download
This is the second part of a discussion begun with Doug Sulpy (co-author of Drugs, Divorce and a Slipping Image/Get Back), this time with blogger Dan Rivkin. His blog, They May Be Parted, is a detailed examination of the Nagra tapes of the “Get Back”/Let It Be project. Dan adds detail, analysis and context to the recordings, and we dive deep into what all there is to be gleaned from the extant record (and speculate on what to expect from Peter Jackson).
Part one of January 1969 here.
Dan’s blog: https://theymaybeparted.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheyMayBeParted
oh man, can’t wait to dig into THIS! 🙂
Amazing show and the most amazing is that conversation from Paul at .48 min in where he frankly talks about the effect of Yoko on John and no longer being able to do songwriting with him…sure never heard that before!
You two sounded similar, both bright articulate guys spouting Beatles.
This inspired me to search out the A-B Road recordings. Ive just downloaded over 97 hours worth of FLAC files for the whole of January ’69
Very interesting and enlightening. Thx Robert.
Awesome show as usual Robert. Maybe you’ve done a show on Klein that I’m not remembering, but I would be very interested in one about his entry into the picture.
Yes, a detailed show on Klein (or the shafting of Paul as I see it) is definitely needed…never quite understood why George would go along with a guy like that in spite of his flower/garden metaphor.
So glad to hear a new take on the Let it Be film is to be put out. Lindsay-Hogg had the incredible opportunity to document a band splitting up and for whatever reason didn’t take it. Some of the filmed material I’ve seen not in the movie is great: John playing the bass lying on his back, Yoko’s plastering the place with Japanese symbols, the Yoko jam, John’s stoned interview plus the meeting with Peter Sellers would all make a great beginning to the movie and a look at how bad things got.
Interesting also about how they discussed their split up continually, but yet by his own account, Paul was later so upset he went into some sort of an alcohol-fueled depression up in Scotland. Probably the Klein stuff explains the contrast of that with his calm discussion featured on this program.
Thanks for another great show. I particular recognize and appreciate all the hard work you put into post production. When you are talking about a subject, I love that you will insert a relevant audio piece; for example an audio quote from one of the Beatles about the subject you’re speaking. I also love that you use bootlegs I haven’t heard. You seem to be very knowledgeable about what’s out there.
Yoko’s “playing to an empty stadium” idea wasn’t that far-fetched, considering Pink Floyd essentially did just that a few years later in the film they shot at Pompeii.
That hilarious piss-take version of She Came In Through The Bathroom Window sounded like a Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band outtake!
Yet another completely top-notch interview! One of my fears with Beatles’ history is a bit of a tendency to “over-correct” past myths or blanket impressions as the years roll on.
For example, it seems like Ringo has gone from “a marginal drummer who got very lucky” to one of the most skilled drummers of the 20th century. In addition, the White Album sessions have gone from “adversarial” and “isolated” sessions to highly collaborative workshops. As with cases with the Beatles, I think the truth is always somewhere down the middle because of the complexity of the situations at hand… but I know broad strokes work better when writing or summarizing the history.
In the case of the Get Back / Let It Be sessions, it seems like the history was written based on agenda-driven Lennon interviews, disgruntled Harrison interviews, and the horrible editing of the commercially released “Let It Be” movie.
I think it easier for the history to be written this way because:
1. Lennon arrives at these sessions with about one and half songs to contribute and a drug problem and then used the “Twickenham was cold and sterile and we couldn’t work in that environment at 9 in the morning” excuse. First off, did Lennon and Ono ever show up for a any of these sessions before 12 noon? Would Twickenham have been a “lousy” environment if the purpose of the work was to film, say, a Yoko art event or some such at 10 in the morning? I have a feeling Lennon would have been at the studio at 8am if that was the case.
2.Harrison shows up day after day with some very interesting new songs only to hear Lennon tell that he’s not interested and that Harrison should focus on a solo album… Harrison has to listen to this from a guy who’s putting up “Dig a Pony” and “The One After 909” against “All Things Must Pass,” “Hear Me Lord,” and “Let It Down.” How could Harrison not walk away from these session with horrible memories dubbing it the “winter of our discontent”?
I’m hoping that the Peter Jackson-driven product that is due out next year regarding these sessions has the chance to tell a bit more balanced story, but I get the feeling that McCartney might want to swing the story in the other direction because all new “product” is just about the Beatles’ legacy at this point more so than historical objectivity.