Paul always seemed to be trying to encourage and help George on most of the bootlegs and outtakes I've heard. I Me Mine, is a perfect example. Paul practically wrote the chorus of the song. I know the "older" John and Paul could "niggle" George as he says, but there is plenty of recorded evidence of both John and Paul being supportive and into George's songs. Like any group of close friends or family, they got on each other's nerves. The negative stories have always been hyped and over analyzed, to the point of urban legend. As George said himself, "The microscopes that magnetize the tears..." I actually prefer the Beatles half done version, and George's solo demo to the version on the ATMP album. Paul and John's backing vocals were really making the song even more magnificent.
@@swivelhips586 It would have been great if the Beatles had recorded All Things Must Pass, but it does always seem as if George is the holdout on the suggestions. Had they though, what would George's solo album been called? So it had to be what it had to be.
George always seems like a pretty angry guy. I think that was part of his personality, that he's being held back. I'm sure he was treated like a young brother at times and he's never forgotten it
all of them really had an issue at that time where they imagined things to be more negative than they were like if they couldve just taken a little time and actually TALKED to one another I think things could be different
@@Adamdidit They knew this was being filmed. So they were basically acting. No one knows and there is no reason for them to say what actually happened when they recorded songs. If the tune was good they could finish it very quickly because they had played many hours together since they were in their early teens. They knew each others strengths and weaknesses. I'm sure George felt insecure and who wouldn't when you are working with two of the greatest song writers of the 60s. If there was no filming John and/or Paul might have said look this song is boring. It sounds flat. Lets just bang it out at a faster past and see how it goes. It is true that John liked to work very quickly. Paul would take more time and run the group into the ground. But George made great contributions also through out there career. The real truth no one will or ever will know except them.
during these rehearsal tapes you can clearly here how perfect RINGO was for the band and how he perfectly held the groove his meter is excellent and he can easily switch from soft to hard his sense of dynamics is incredible. one of the most underated rock drummers of all time.
So many people like to repeat the phrase “ one of the most underrated rock drummers of all time” This is false Nobody “underrates” Ringo So why is it so often repeated by people ?
My take from watching “Get Back” is that, if anything, George was the most difficult Beatle at the time. Not criticising him, I understand where his resentments came from but I got the sense watching it that the others were trying their best to include him. I worry about Ringo when I watch it. He was clearly not happy but said nothing. He just seems to want the old feeling back.
I just remember there being a disagreement between Paul and George about each one's "process" (e.g. Paul wanted to "make it simpler" and then "add complications" after). I wouldn't say that means either one was right or wrong. Maybe their styles just weren't meshing at that time. I'm definitely not a Beatles expert btw. I'm just going by what I saw in Get Back.
The Ringo I saw was very engaged. He was listening to every one and waiting to add his part. when Paul was noodling around on Get Back, Ringo was listening and at the moment it started to sound like a song, he started to tap his foot. He's already thinking about what he's going to add to it.
I get the same thing. He seems to project some kind of double bind all the time: help me with my song, but don't take it away from me. He wants the Beatles to emulate the "bands-sound" but then doesn't really step up to tell them exactly how. Bit of a Diva....
@@tedsarnowski2427 Paul brings up Hey Jude during the Two Of Us argument, but it certainly was about Two Of Us. Paul thought that it should be simplified and George thought that it already was "not complicated".
@@andiholman2543 I dind't know that different!!! Thanx! I had the American meaning in my head. I'm a Spanish speaker. Too many American movies, hahaha.
Thank you for this video. All these years, I always thought that John and Paul had little respect for George's song writing. This shows us a different side to that story.
Does it? It’s like a photo: The documentary captures a snapshot of the Beatles recording history, not the full story. I think that the years in years that they spent together before this documentary has created a clear impression on George his behaviour and his perception of things. He perceiving things a bit negative? Sure. But why? Maybe years of being secondary? And to be clear, the Beatles simply would not have been the Beatles if not for Jon and Paul’s songs for the first three years. I really don’t think that George would’ve had much of a chance to read all of this wonderful music if not for everything that John and Paul did in the touring years.
george kept pushingn acoustic....it was good call by j/p. wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyy to much effort put into dirge of a song.......george had no idea what the goal was, which was the concert......
The "less is more" approach to drumming.. well music in general just worked so well in this case and for The Beatles in general regarding Ringo. Just the perfect icing on the cake.. or foundation depending on how you look at drumming.
ringo didn't have a voice mic so all the band banter recorded over the years hardly ever has Ringo in it. He's there but we can't hear him. He's a rock solid beat and most sessions ran for hours with Ringo giving them a foundation beat to build from and they often ended when Ringo stood up and called it a day.
It seems that the authors of many "Beatles books" are quick to blame McCartney for all the negativity between the guys, but they fail to acknowledge that Lennon could a real asshole. Lennon's criticism's of his former group in Post-Beatles interviews, proved that.
Egos are funny, or odd. They all were very talented individuals who could lean on each other at times then strike out to demand their own opinions or feelings as the most important- like any talented people in a collaborative venture. Even less talented people have egoistic tendencies from time to time & clash. You can absolutely adore your spouse or parent & clash so why not with any partner?
I am a 69 year old Beatlemaniac who lives 30 miles away from Liverpool. I have everything they ever recorded and have read dozens and dozens of books about them. I watched your All Things Must Pass Part 1 yesterday and found it a complete revelation and a real pleasure to watch. The stories of ill feeling probably came about because the group were very seretive and only put out a fraction of information and kept the rest close to their chests. I had no idea that a nameless album was a possibility. I have a copy of the Get Back album and found it a bit thin. Thanks again.
George seems grumpy and lacking in confidence with this way of working. He said as much on Anthology.... he didn’t like the cameras, he didn’t like Twickenham, he didn’t want the pressure or hassle of a concert. To my mind he’s trying to find his way with this song and up against John and Paul he lacks confidence in getting it right and finding the solutions. He sounds unsure, hesitant and that it’s not ready to be filmed. It’s a work in progress. It probably was a bit slow for the concert at that time. To hear that his relationship with Pattie was also hitting the skids then you can understand that he went from hanging out at Woodstock with Bob and the band to this stress and anxiety. The song needed Phil Spector’s touch and more time as we later found out. It is clear that John and Paul are offering a lot of love, respect and support here. Nice work, thank you.
Especially when you consider the last time they went live it was electric guitars and amps as John said. George had no idea how this song would sound live. Also there is the fear that doing solo acoustic would basically be George's Yesterday. Does George really want that spotlight when his marriage is already on the rocks?
they put wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy to much effort into this song on such a tight timeline......should have bailed it sooner...or george could have wrote something concert friendly
To me George sounds really unsure about his music, and John and Paul try to cheer him on, but he's just so insecure about the song and how it'll be that he's the one that seems to reject it time and time again. And then, when all of a sudden he comes out with a triple album when he goes solo, it might just have made more sense to people to think "ah, all these songs must've been rejected by The Beatles, and therefore he has them". But 71 run throughs of a song is indeed NOT what I'd've thought of as a rejected song! I'm very glad you've made this videos on the matter, as they really do show more evidence of what actually happened here than the usual music review do. Thank you!
I think Paul and John were supportive of George. But George was being fussy. You can tell John really liked the song. The show was effecting the songs they were looking to finish up, they were also pretty aimless at these sessions.
also john has a casual snarkiness that i think george took personally like the "you want voices? every song can have voices" kind of comment where its just like john saying we can turn every song epic but how much time do we have to kill with added harmonies which could be added later. george was just shy and felt in the spotlight too much and with such strong personalities between john and paul he filled a more passive space energetically within the band. ringo is obv the king neutral
I think that's what was frustrating Paul. They were aimless. And he was wanting some structure so they could accomplish their goals. He suggested it on more than one occasion.
It seems to me that the authors had settled on the theme of the recording sessions being a "disaster", then fitted the conversations to suit that narrative.
I agree. In spite of much of the progress and final results of the project, the authors felt the need to stick to the narrative. I'll diving into this topic further in upcoming videos. Thanks for watching!
11:14 George's guitar through a Leslie speaker cabinet. Nice! To be honest, I was never a super fan of this song, liked it but never loved it -- always found it a bit dreary. But when I heard it played at the end of the documentary of the same name (about Tower Records), I came around to it in a big way. I think the song just wasn't ready to be on a Beatles album, and the one person who seemed to stand in the way the most was George himself!
@@NewFalconerRecords you are right. Despite the lyric, it is a bit dreary. I always preferred it to I Me Mine and Old Brown shoe, but you are also correct in saying they weren’t ready for the song yet. I wonder what it would have sounded like in Abbey Road.
You guys are extremely right. I actually read that book awhile back and I was convinced that the whole recording/filming sessions was horrible. I don't doubt that there was some tense arguments etc (Paul+George, John+George) and George quitting the band for a bit but I am sure the whole history of the band recording together, each album probably has some bad history to it. Great Channel BTW!!!!
@I want to be smaller I agree with you to a certain point. Perhaps he was convinced that he was coming into his own as a song writer/arranger and he felt his ability to fully create and mature was being pinned down. (I am glad that The Beatles didn't take the CCR approach with their last album..see Mardi Gras) Anyway, I do believe that the Get Back/Let It Be album, as good as it was, could have been a lot better with a couple of additions and subtractions and that would be a big debate with all of us Beatles-ologists!
Fascinating, I hadn't twigged that George had serious domestic issues around this time. It strikes me that while George can write some brilliant songs, he struggles when it comes to arranging and structuring them, something Paul could do in his sleep. Thus while Paul could be annoying to the other Beatles because he had the arrangements in his head already "perfected" and just needed a backing band to do what he told them (again and again and again until he was happy), George was at the other extreme, not knowing what he wanted, and as a result things tended to drift as take after take were done trying to work out the right arrangement.
The thing was that George needed serious time to get his stuff together, whether it was guitar parts or arrangements. When he had the time during the making of ATMP he didn’t have anyone breathing down his neck telling him to hurry up, so it turned out beautiful. On the other hand, he didn’t have anyone around to tell him to eliminate the Apple Jam part of the album because it was crappy....
@@PlanetoftheDeaf Well, sure. Lennon had had the benefit of complete studio attention devoted to his many songs over the life of the group (and was never satisfied with the results anyway). George starts coming up with the goods and now the rule is "we have to do it live." It's no surprise George pulled back his songs from consideration for a live show when he knew how good they could sound when treated properly. Also, keep in mind that even stage monitors were a radically new practice in early 1969. They were still taping two microphones together because sound systems weren't routinely equipped to supply two separate mixes. So George was right to worry that a live show was risky as far as quality of sound and using acoustic instruments in that environment.
@@matthewsnyder6127 I was referring to that period in time. Ballad of John and Yoko, Give Peace a Chance, Cold Turkey etc are all quite "rough" recordings, spontaneous sounding rather than super produced
We have always been led to believe that George's songs took a backseat. In this case George wanted the backseat it seems. Maybe that is how it really was. Great video Matt. Very informative and interesting.
Yes, I totally agree. He may have felt inferior to John and Paul , and thus naturally took the backseat. After the Beatles broke up, I'd imagine George was kicking himself for not showing out a bit more.
One other thing that rarely gets mentioned: The Beatles had just completed working on The White Album a mere month before they began the Let It Be project. Being the big, double album that it was meant that the band was spent by January '69. John had shot all his recent songs out onto the white album, and he just hadn't found the time or inspiration to compose more so quickly.
There were ELEVEN FULL WEEKS (77 days) between the final day of work on the White Album (October 17th)... and the start of the "Get Back"/"Let It Be" project. The last two days that any of the Beatles recorded for the White Album were Sunday, October 13th (when John recorded "Julia" by himself) and Monday, October 14th (when George added some overdubs to "Savoy Truffle"). Ringo left that Monday morning for a 2 week holiday in Sardinia with his family. The next two days (October 15th and 16th) stereo and mono mixing were done. George Harrison flew to Los Angeles on the 16th. John and Paul along with George Martin, Ken Scott & John Smith - spent the last 24 hour session (that began on the 16th and went all through the night and finished on the 17th)... working mostly on the final running order of the songs.
@@FortYeah - They were amazingly productive during this period. The number of songs that they brought to the table during the month of January 1969 is almost hard to believe. Besides the great songs on what became the "Let It Be" album - they also began work on many of the songs that would end up on "Abbey Road"... and also many songs that would end up on John's, Paul's and George's solo albums.
@@chriscorman734 - EMI set a deadline that they had to be finished by (for all of their albums). The White Album was released on November 22, 1968 in the U.K. and November 25th in the U.S. There were about two million advance orders for the new Beatles album - just in the U.S. They need time to produce all the albums, album covers, pictures that were included, etc... and then to distribute them throughout the world. The only way to get all that done on time... is to have all the recording work finished by a certain date. With that deadline looming - John & Paul (with George Martin) stayed up all night to create the final running order for their new double album. Btw... they had spent about 5 months working on the album.
It's clear that George envied the control that Paul got, without much objection really. I imagine that considering he was writing some great stuff, definitely better than say, Maxwell, he felt that he should get a turn at being the guy in charge, just as Paul and John would be when they're showing off their songs. Though he was definitely irritable when things weren't going exactly to plan.
yeah for the early half no doubt. i'm actually working on a set of hypothetical beatles continuation albums so i've thought over it quite a bit. @@HardCold-Alquan
Damn, talk about somebody doing their homework! This was a very well-researched documentation. I think if the Fabs were not stressing out over an up and coming live appearance they probably would have perfected All Things Must Pass. You could already tell that it would have eventually evolved into something special. John and Paul were very encouraging, that's the Beatles that I'd like to remember. Thank you again for sharing this. Peace.
Just watched 3 of your videos. ( the 2 all things must pass, and the 2 of us) and love the research youve done, and that present others research in as well. Very well presented and as a lifelong Beatles fan that used to wait for older brothers to walk in the house w new 45 s in the early- mid sixties, i love and appreciate the work you have put in. Thanks for all and you def have a new subsciber!
When I first heard All Things Must Pass on George’s album I thought the song was about the Beatles. Now hearing this I think it was initially about his marriage. So maybe his reluctance to do the song at that time was that he still had hope for his marriage and didn’t want to strike the final blow on film.
Good point! Also more relevant to George,s contributions.. though not pertinent to this recording. Probably should’ve commented in diff thread. 50 plus years later George s something and here comes the sun are the biggest Beatles songs
I think you made a very good point, there seems to be this narrative going on that George songs were rejected when in fact he was insecure about some stuff and decided against including them in the end. It was he who decided that and not the others who seem to have spent enough time working on the songs.
CORRECT: I'm convinced you are correct and this is why. I'm from the same sort of area as The Beatles and so I think I understand the intention of what they are saying at 3:26 onwards and am certain the people that wrote that book misunderstood their intention and actually completely misheard an important word. Here is my reading of it. Paul is the one that suggests George do himself on acoustic and is probably thinking of the famous moment the band left the stage and Paul played Yesterday alone on an acoustic. Here it is introduced by George - th-cam.com/video/wYjm6b_-kMM/w-d-xo.html I can see how a none native northern English speaker might misinterpret it when Paul says "it's a bit of a thing for you to do." He doesn't "doubt his ability to do it on his own," he means it'll be bit of a moment for him. As in an opportunity to be centre stage. How I know the people writing the book misunderstood how we speak is you then quote them as saying John agreed and said it would be "quite an order." He doesn't say "ORDER" he says "HORS D'OUERVES" and so they completely misunderstood due to his accent, I guess. So John picks up on Paul's encouragement and says it will "Do an hors d'oeuvres, you know." Meaning, give the audience something extra, a treat before the full Beatles as a band. I completely agree with what you say here in the video. The guys writing that book should have asked someone from Liverpool to listen and get their reaction to what they mean. Although, you are American and you picked it up.
Brilliant! Not coming from Liverpool but speaking French, that is what I heard and understood. "Do an hors d'oeuvres, you know." It is the only way that conversation makes any sense. If it was the way the book describes, George would have walked out or at the least spoke out. There is no doubt from anyones perspective, George has the talent and ability to to perform his work.
@@merlinzipp - Yes, clearly those writers misunderstood the accent and intention. It also totally makes sense that then because George walked out for a few days and so the opportunity was lost. Funny, but coincidentally this popped up in my TH-cam suggestions today. Peter Frampton talking about how he ended up playing lead guitar on "All Things Must Pass." It's interesting that Klaus Voormann ended up playing bass on it. He was there right at the beginning in Hamburg and asked to be The Beatles bassist when Stuart Sutcliffe left but was told Paul was taking over on bass. It just seems so of full circle that he then replace Paul on bass after The Beatles for "All Things Must Pass" of all songs. I really respect Klaus Vormann, he's played bass on some great songs like "You're so vain" and for Lennon and I love the cover art he did for "Revolver." th-cam.com/video/Ajr0KukHKsE/w-d-xo.html
"it's a bit of a thing for you to do" also makes sense if you consider that George was very reluctant to do a live performance. I think you're right! And Paul really liked the song: th-cam.com/video/o6iaSWSB7rE/w-d-xo.html
I don’t think you have to be particularly Liverpudlian to pick up on that, but it helps no doubt. To me “ quite a thing” translates to quite an event. “ John was all about word play. Of course an appetizer is exactly what he meant. It was all encouraging to my ear. They put a significant amount of time into it, so the proof is in the pudding as they say. Building up a song from scratch can be hard work. Perhaps people that haven’t done this can’t fully appreciate that. Certain songs can be frustrating and exhausting. Others can feel effortless. A large number of factors are at play here but I don’t think discouragement is one of them. George doesn’t feel the song is ready and it’s seems he’s in a bad spot in general. Not to mention his fairly well known anxiety about performing live at that time. Thanks for your marvelous work here. Spawning some great discussion.
@@AnyoneCanSee I do not believe Peter Frampton played any lead guitar anywhere on ATMP album or song. What Peter had claimed with out any corroboration mind you, is that he played acoustic Guitar on every song when George was adding the extra acoustics that Spector advised at the end. We know Frampton was around because he was working on another album and in the building . There are photos to corroborate that. He was never given credit by anyone to this day. Alan white also makes some claims that are disputable.
May I just say that I’ve listened to this analysis like 5 times now. As a lifelong Beatles fan and first hearing this version on bootleg in 1995, it’s totally changed my perception of how The Beatles approached it. Well done! I hope you can get more subscribers amongst the Beatles community. This is top stuff!
I love the backing vocals on All Things Must Pass. I really wish we could have heard the song on a Beatle album. I think you’re right in that John and Paul seem to be encouraging George on the song. To play the song as a solo on the acoustic guitar seemed to be a helpful suggestion. It’s interesting because all you hear is how George complains of his songs not being picked during this time.
George seemed to not be a team player on his own songs but was able to contribute on John and Paul's songs. I could see the others getting frustrated with his inability to arrange. George Martin producing may have helped. The backing vocals are good enough to justify recording it. His solo version pales badly for me.
YeahGeorge was insecure - about his writing- the backing Vocs were great shoulda built it around that. That’s where the magic was. They also shoulda made 2 or 3 double albums- with all the material. Woulda been another great Beatles’ first. I mean when have heard of a band doing 3 double albums in a row!?? Like ‘Walkin a Dog’ Dig it..
George Harrison struggled without George Martin. It’s very difficult being band leader, singer, writer, arranger, director, etc... Frankly it was just the tension between people when they are on different levels. George was catching up that’s all.
I agree with you. This series really does show how they were still working as a group and Paul doesn't seem nearly as bossy as I've always thought he was. And John is much more engaged than I had always imagined he was.
Interesting about Pattie walking out at that date. Maybe that’s why George started to appear unshaven and eventually went for a tache later on in the month... Amazing how it all fits.
I had no idea that happened. Things don’t happen in a vacuum, and sometimes it’s easy to forget that the Beatles are actually four real people with real lives, not song-writing machines.
I definitely hear it the way you hear it. It seems like it was an agenda that lead them to say Paul and John were being negative towards the song and George. If they had continued as a band, this song probably would have been on their next album.
Another thing that occurred to me when you mentioned the influence of The Band on George Harrison - 'All things must pass' has a similar feel to 'I shall be released', the Band's version of the Dylan song. It did make me wonder...
Agreed. These are sensitive moments from both guys. They were a family. John could be caustic when he was annoyed but he was far more sensitive than these biographies allude to much of the time.
This is so insightful. The part about George and Patti having marital problems speaks volumes about why George was so easily upset during the Let It Be sessions. Lots of new information here. Very well done. Thank you!
May be true, may be not, but this is another example of some people reading a comment positively or negatively. To get all literary here, as the saying is in "Gawain and the Green Knight:" 'Honi soit qui mal y pense." One translation being"shame be the one who thinks evil of it." It sure is nice to find fans who love the music and see things in a positive light.
Paul suggesting George do a solo acoustic version was a generous, selfless offer. Paul had the skill to recognize that All Things Must Pass worked better as a solo acoustic song, like Yesterday or Blackbird. It was a slow, somber and reflective song, unlike upbeat Beatles standards. Paul was encouraging George to stand out on his own and shine.
After being bottled up for such a long time George is finally getting the attention he long deserves and for good reason, he's blowing up. At the same time he himself has to switch gears from a more passive presence to a shot caller position (like Paul) and he just doesn't seem ready for that and waivers. Good news is "all things" did get recorded, and masterfully so, too late for the project at that time. John showed such poise during all the fits and I wish they had spent that waisted time working on anything, repeat ANYTHING, he wanted to try...instant gold.
I think your take on 'All things must pass" is spot on. I am enjoying your education being provided here. I learned alot and I thought I knew alot. Thank you
If they weren't hung up on the "Get Back To The Roots" thing and the filming of it, I'm sure The Beatles would've had a magnificent version of ATMP...especially with George Martin producing. Although I love George's solo version with Spector, I still enjoy these January '69 versions more because they still have that Beatles mojo and that will always trump anything that they could do without each other.
Your totally right dude. Paul and John are completely supportive of George and his song. All things must pass. Hey these topics are great man. Just found you. Keep it up.
Interesting how John was aware with his remark of the beatles being "stuck on the cavern days" when it came to live music...sounds like he was kind of intimidated and well aware about several bands those days giving it all on live shows regardless of amazing studio recording techniques and translating that to live shows, sounds like he was impressed with those other artists by that time, including the experimental bands. The stones catched up with the live shows in the late 60's...shame that the beatles didn't because they made great shows as solo acts afterwards.
I really enjoyed these two videos. I think that a lot of biographers and music writers tend to just cite other authors without going back to the original source so certain ideas are perpetuated and masquerade as fact. As for John's "I'm so pissed" comment, I think he was just saying that he was drunk and not thinking straight, but perhaps Americanisms had entered his vocabulary...? I look forward to more videos like this.
Excellent series. While I have no doubt that George at times got overlooked in terms of songs, looking at the various session records show that they did put quite a bit of effort into trying to get some of his songs down. And as you say, the Get Back recordings show that both John and Paul were trying to get him going with their suggestions. George also has complained over the years that Paul would want to work on his songs first and then he'd work on George's, but at least in this case, All Things Must Pass was the first song they tried to get down and Paul was doing his best to help George along. Shame it wasn't given another go during the Abbey Road sessions because they were this close to getting it together and the backing vocals were just amazing. Looking forward to your take on the vastly overrated Paul/George "fight"....
I think the backing vocals are awful. I mean horrid. listen to the final version and then listen to this mess. The beatles were amazing at 3 part harmonies but they struggled mightily with this one
@@victorarena23 - George hadnt even finished the lyrics yet Vic, let alone the harmony and chorus arrangements been settled on. Some songs of the beatles took over a hundred takes before they finished it up. Lot of drug and alcohol intake in the later years its a wonder they ever got their songs finished. Plus the early recording sessions at Twickenham were pretty bad, just being there in a big cold studio in the morning really didnt help the situation either.
@@hammer44head agree the song was not ready. but it's clear here that at least this song was not rejected. I assume and have read that isn't it a pity hear me lord and art of dying were rejected by John
Makes me wonder if by the time they went back to Apple George had already decided that All Things Must Pass would be a solo song. It is ironic that it became the title of his first post-Beatle solo album, as if it was a statement and announcement of the finality and death of the Beatles. That is how I had always perceived it these many years.
I agree with your take on this Todd Partridge. It seems that George clearly had other plans in mind. When he tried to work out the song with the band he probably decides it’s best done as a solo project.
I think you're right. He behaves in a passive aggressive way, I mean he presents the song, but then seems to do what he can to stop it from being included.
I read a long time ago about the drama going on in his personal life outside of the band, that clearly escalated after he introduced the song, and kinda theorized that he was still in 'repair mode', so recording, and releasing a song called "All Things Must Pass" might have been a bit abstract under the circumstances, which is why he progressively got more wishy washy about it.
George was a budding genius in the songwriting game and he half-knew it. You've got to realize that even though he WAS a Beatle, he was pitching his babies before the by-this-time legendary Lennon-McCartney; he had to feel a bit insecure and nervous. But he had the heart of a stage mother with all these talented babies spilling out of him now. "I I Me Mine", "For You Blue", "Something", "Here Comes the Sun", the songs on "All Things Must Pass". And look what an impresario he became AFTER the Beatles: Concert for Bangladesh. His own successful solo projects. Much later, but the Traveling Wilburys. Look at all the all-star jams he put together with Delaney & Bonnie, Clapton, the Dominoes. No, George was no longer just "my friend George" that Paul brought along with him after meeting John the first time in 1957. Not at all. He was ready to leave the nest. Thank GAAAAWWD for Billy Preston, bringing it all back together.
I'm speechless. You're absolutely right. Much better to follow your analysis than to read those books. The way you dissect the conversations is amazing! Chapeau!
"If your wife walks out on you... I would be distracted!" Wonderful understatement, I would say. Excellent and very convincing assessment of the situation. thanks for this. I believe when George left, John suggested they get Eric Clapton in to replace him - is that a comment on George's marital situation?
Fascinating discussion! My favourite version of ATMP is George’s solo demo. I like Paul’s suggestion of George doing an acoustic version. There are beautiful moments in the band version but, for me, it drags and drags. I 100% agree with you Matt about George not wanting to do his songs live which suggests that he heard them with a fuller production.
I’m about 80% listening to the get back nagra tapes, and had not seen these vids until now. I’m pretty much aligned with what you say. They put an awful lot of effort trying to develop all things must pass
John and Paul are trying to inspire George, to boost his confidence. I would love to have heard a finished product of this song as performed by The Beatles. It would have been on par with Here Comes The Sun or Something.
Great job on this 2-parter, very illuminating. I'd never known ATMP was that well developed. And here you did this deconstruction a year before Peter Jackson's film is released. Bravo.
Fascinating, thank you. I feel like Paul was really trying to encourage George and give suggestions. Not the bossy moniker that was pinned on him in other accounts.
I really dig your analysis of this especially with the audio you provide. It definitely sounds like John and Paul are into it and want to see it through but George doesn’t really seem to know exactly what he wants. And they’re let him run the sessions. And it sounds like George was dealing with a lot of heavy stuff outside of the band as well. I think it’s great that we are all finding out so much more about these sessions than what has for so long been the accepted narrative. Can’t wait for the Peter Jackson film to really show us the lads in a new light. Thanks for this video. Really well done.
Excellent !!! It's so interesting ! Now we can really understand what was happening at that time between them ! You know, i think it was time for them to split and go different ways ! Each one of them had become a complete artist, and breaking up was just a normal and natural outcome ! They didn't enjoy it anymore ! They are the greatest band of all time, and their accomplishments will never be matched ! Paul is the greatest composer of all time, all styles included ! And they didn't even know how to read music !!! It is unbelievable what they've accomplished ! The world will never see or hear anything like that again ! As the poet Keats used to say : " A thing of beauty is a joy forever !
Informative and well presented. Really appreciate how you researched the source to assess popular and published opinions about the other Beatles attitudes about atmp. Nicely done lining up quotes to the photos. Thank you!
To answer your question, assuming that they are listening to the same tape you are, and they are not referencing something else we haven't heard, I think you're absolutely right. There's a complete discrepancy between what the authors conclude and what we heard. In fact I'm struck by how respectful and supportive John and Paul are both being about the song as well as George's importance in the group--even suggesting, a la "Yesterday," and how that was done with Paul solo, George might perform this one on his own. How flattering is that? And of course John even suggesting that many of the effects George wanted in the song that George presumes are only possible in the studio could happen on stage too. What is quite clear is that George has no enthusiasm for the live show, and, rightly or wrongly, doesn't appear to feel that a live version could do justice to it. But more and more as I watch and re-watch, you can just see that George is over the whole Let it Be project almost from the get-go, and was only, if ever, half-heartedly on board. He didn't like being filmed, he didn't like the intrusive microphones eavesdropping, he didn't like the idea of a live show--it seemed that there was no element of the entire concept that he was enthusiastic about! It's also interesting that George proposes a model that would come to be accepted with other groups (e.g. The Rolling Stones, The Who) in the future: the individuals each can do solo projects, and the group returns periodically. But no one has enthusiasm for that at that time, quite possibly because there wasn't a contemporaneous example of it.
In my opinion, Harrison's "All Things Must Pass" LP is one of the greatest rock albums of all time. It is absolutely up there with the Beatles best work. It took him a little longer to come into his own (He was the youngest after all) but he turned out to be every bit as accomplished as Lennon and McCartney. Excellent analysis and fair treatment of dispelling some misconceptions.
George had ONE great accomplishment in his career: ATMP. Paul and John were brilliant, iconic songwriters from 1963 until 1980 (John) and the early '90's (Paul).
@@willrohan7256 That is wholly untrue.ATMP, Bangladesh, GH, Cloude 9, Brainwashed are all great great albums. LIMW, 33 1/3 are very good. Not to mention Brilliant songs while a beatle and travling wilbury's. Plus Ringos 3 biggest hits. Incredible career
I have always considered "All Things Must Pass" to be my favorite album of all time, an amazing collection of music and philosophy. My favorites are "Beware of Darkness,""My Sweet Lord," and "All Things Must Pass."
Very insightful comments, Sir! (on part 1 and this). And now that we've seen the Peter Jackson cut we know the straw that broke the camel's back. They were working on Get Back, George was playing a chord that Paul thought (rightfully, IMO) was cliché. George gets defensive, says "it's just a chord, it's not cliché." Paul doesn't like it, George won't back down, so Paul goes to JOHN to work out the chord, leaving George out. George watches silently for a while, then says he's quitting.....
Something that stands out to me in these tapes is how incredibly witty and quick with words John is. I've always loved his wordplay nonsense songs, but I assumed it had to have taken him a while to craft that stuff. But over and over he just throws out these amazing rhymes and phrases, just to be silly, and they're all interesting. Even if they don't make sense, they have such an edge and a wit to them.
I agree! I remember at one point in the sessions, a small group discussion was under sleet about the project and John arrived. The others paused to great him and someone- I think it was the director- said “We were talking…” and before he could finish the sentence John replied “about the space between us?” And he does it with ease!
They hear Lennon saying "order" rather than "hors d'oeuvre." He definitely is NOT saying "[tall] order." I'm not sure George says "drag" either. He is talking about playing acoustic guitar rather than the wah-wah electric. This invites technical problems/recording problems.
Perhaps one of the next subjects can be Maxwell's Silver Hammer? It feels like "Paul was bossing us around" and "grinding that song for weeks" are really overblown but get repeated over and over as well.
I've seen a bunch of your videos for a while now, and I think I never told you I found them great and essential when it comes to know a bit more about the Fab Four... Hope you are fine and still kicking! Keep posting!
Fantastic job! I never knew what went on behind the scenes with those songs. I almost wish you could have the band sitting in with you to give their opinions on what happened 50+ years later.
I feel an element of Georges half-way representation of "All Things Must Pass" to the Beatles was quite possibly, he wanted to save it for his anticipated solo effort.
Great job putting the pieces of the puzzle together....Paul always seemed to have the best interests of the band at heart, George and John were distracted, and Ringo was the loyal soldier who had to put up with the dysfunction...wish they had been able to record that song...it would have been fitting.
So good and refreshing. Clearly George wasn’t in the right frame of mind at this time at this time was he? The Patti situation obviously had a big affect. He clearly has a downer on everything and he doesn’t sound convinced of his own song arrangements. You didn’t say that (I might be wrong) George invited Billy Preston to the sessions. I!d like to hear opinion on how he was brought in. It always seems to be suggested George invited him with no consultation with the others.
Excellent point. Mark Lewisohn hints that Preston's presence was over rated; that everything suddenly was better because an outsider was brought in. Thank God he was brought in but this is another of the narratives that over simplified what actually went on during that month.
You just popped up on my feed...and I'm so glad. What a fantastic job you do of a time line! Pertinent information and none of the boring old stuff that those of who are truly interested in this phenomenon called the Beatles. Thank you, your efforts are appreciated. Namaste.
I think part of the problem is that, initially at least, George wanted The Beatles to sound like The Band. And, when that wasn't going to happen, he seemed a bit stuck as to how the song should go; how it should sound. It all seems so unfocused... but then so did much of the Get Back sessions.
I think the pressure from the light show got in the middle of the creative process, and then this situation on George’s marriage was the icing and the not so friendly environment of the filming studio was the cherry of the cake.
Ultimately, the song was 'rejected' by Phil Spector, who sorted through this mass of material and didn't use it for Let it Be. He could have done something with some of these takes, but he chose not to. George must not have taken this too personally, because he engaged Spector to record it properly for ALL THINGS MUST PASS.
Firstly, I'm 62 and was introduced to The Beatles at a very young age by an older cousin and they were my group to the exclusion, mostly, of all the rest. I really appreciate your research, very well presented. I am looking forward to Mr. Jackson's upcoming film, and from a release here on TH-cam, looks like a very different take on how they well they were working together. You bring up events, that I never knew happened, as I would just blame Yoko and move on. You are doing a great job, just wanted to say thank you. I had never thought of George having stage fright, or anxiety issues at the filming of the album. This seems a solid idea that I had never thought of. I saw Let It Be in a cinema, but some years after its release, we had a Jerry Lewis Cinema in our small town and the owner would get older movies to show, perhaps after the collapse of the franchise, and he got L.I.B. perhaps in '76, can't recall the exact year. The one thing I do remember is that I knew there was a live bit on the roof top, and the theater operator allowed the thing to end and the curtains to close, with everyone leaving, then reopen to the roof top. Just something I remembered, plus the infighting between George and Paul. All friends, and family, have mixed relationships, you can have words with aunt Suzie and still on the whole have a great Christmas visit. The story of it comes down to who remembers what, and who is doing the telling, have you thought of how the group remembered meeting Elvis very differently-just normal stuff? I feel George, and the whole band, remembered things very differently than maybe it happened-this is the story of my marriage frankly (44 years of hurt feelings and misunderstandings, but overall happy, at least I think so) I can't see how drug use, be it alcohol or whatever, would help make it anything other than worse. You are doing a great job of breaking down the facts, they seemed to have tried very hard to get All Things Must Pass down as a finished song, maybe they would have but for the camera(s).
Excellent analysis, spot on! From the time I first got hold of the boot "30 Days" I have questioned other peoples analysis of what was going on in the sessions but your well considered arguments cannot be faulted. I look forward to hearing more of your thoughts. Great piece of unbiased work!
how many pop culture subjects are there where you can have an entire universe just in one aspect of it? Beatles: music, culture, fashion, politics, group psycho-dynamics, art, humor....
Great stuff, I'm really enjoying this deep dive into a fascinating period of The Beatle's career. In saying this, with all respect, I would disagree with your interpretation of the discussion around George using an acoustic guitar and possibly soloing the song "All Things Must Pass". To my ear, and this is very subjective, it seems to me that Paul sounds frustrated at George's ongoing demands. It sounds to me that he is saying, "well if ya not happy with that then maybe do it ya'self". He then softens his comment, perhaps realizing that it was a bit sharp, and tries to step back but is lost for words. George seems to notice the slight, but, as we all do over such things, he tries to navigate his way around it but can’t easily find away before simply saying it would be “a drag”. Of course, this song is not an acoustic solo song, as George is making perfectly clear especially if he wants to sound like The Band, but George's ongoing dissatisfaction and his ongoing reflections that it needs to be played on an acoustic guitar carries the subtext that, "This ain't a live performance song folks." This subtext is appreciated by Paul who is most keen to see the band tour again and that is why he snaps about doing it solo. As happens when good friends bicker, John tries to play the mediator, taking Paul's comments not as a rebuke of George but as a serious comment worthy of consideration. To my ear, therefore, this is not, as you say, a “supportive discussion” but a tense exchange about authority, creative freedom, touring, and, ultimately, accommodation. It comes across to me just as the history books claim, this is three guys wanting to do different things, Paul wants to get back to the good old days of touring, George wants to create more substantial studio songs that he thinks won't go over well live, while John, not central in this exchange but playing a mediation role, is perhaps sick of trying to keep the love when that love just isn’t there. This is my take but, as I said, it is just an opinion. Have you reached out to Paul for comment? You just never know. Anyway, very informative and enjoyable for an aging diehard Beatles fan.
Thank you for the comment, Jeff. I can see your point too. If I were to re-do the video, I would probably use the word "professional" to describe some of the exchanges, which neither explains intent nor motive. It would also be helpful if we could see their faces! Thanks for watching.
@@popgoesthe60s52 I was thinking there is probably a whole lot of body language reading going on, which may or may not align with what is being said. (Like any convo, but especially so in tense or difficult situations with people we know very well.)
Sounded like Paul and John were encouraging George to me.
Paul always seemed to be trying to encourage and help George on most of the bootlegs and outtakes I've heard.
I Me Mine, is a perfect example. Paul practically wrote the chorus of the song.
I know the "older" John and Paul could "niggle" George as he says, but there is plenty of recorded evidence of both John and Paul being supportive and into George's songs.
Like any group of close friends or family, they got on each other's nerves. The negative stories have always been hyped and over analyzed, to the point of urban legend.
As George said himself,
"The microscopes that magnetize the tears..."
I actually prefer the Beatles half done version, and George's solo demo to the version on the ATMP album. Paul and John's backing vocals were really making the song even more magnificent.
@@swivelhips586 Also, a lot of the so-called jabs at each other are just part of the British way of friends having fun at each other's expense.
@@swivelhips586 It would have been great if the Beatles had recorded All Things Must Pass, but it does always seem as if George is the holdout on the suggestions. Had they though, what would George's solo album been called? So it had to be what it had to be.
Yeh, I think they're being encouraging!
Maybe the Let I Be album should have been called All things must pass.
George comes off sounding like he imagines Paul and John dislike the song, but I think its just his insecurities.
Well said!
George always seems like a pretty angry guy. I think that was part of his personality, that he's being held back. I'm sure he was treated like a young brother at times and he's never forgotten it
all of them really had an issue at that time where they imagined things to be more negative than they were
like if they couldve just taken a little time and actually TALKED to one another I think things could be different
@@Adamdidit They knew this was being filmed. So they were basically acting. No one knows and there is no reason for them to say what actually happened when they recorded songs. If the tune was good they could finish it very quickly because they had played many hours together since they were in their early teens. They knew each others strengths and weaknesses. I'm sure George felt insecure and who wouldn't when you are working with two of the greatest song writers of the 60s. If there was no filming John and/or Paul might have said look this song is boring. It sounds flat. Lets just bang it out at a faster past and see how it goes. It is true that John liked to work very quickly. Paul would take more time and run the group into the ground. But George made great contributions also through out there career. The real truth no one will or ever will know except them.
I feel like I can hear the insecurity.
during these rehearsal tapes you can clearly here how perfect RINGO was for the band and how he perfectly held the groove his meter is excellent and he can easily switch from soft to hard his sense of dynamics is incredible. one of the most underated rock drummers of all time.
He's amazing... He never over plays just gets that groove going .. He adds 100% to the beatles sound
They wouldn't have been the same without him.
Absolutely
Never sack your drummer, don't lose your drummer - its never good for a band.
So many people like to repeat the phrase “ one of the most underrated rock drummers of all time”
This is false
Nobody “underrates” Ringo
So why is it so often repeated by people ?
My take from watching “Get Back” is that, if anything, George was the most difficult Beatle at the time. Not criticising him, I understand where his resentments came from but I got the sense watching it that the others were trying their best to include him. I worry about Ringo when I watch it. He was clearly not happy but said nothing. He just seems to want the old feeling back.
I just remember there being a disagreement between Paul and George about each one's "process" (e.g. Paul wanted to "make it simpler" and then "add complications" after). I wouldn't say that means either one was right or wrong. Maybe their styles just weren't meshing at that time. I'm definitely not a Beatles expert btw. I'm just going by what I saw in Get Back.
The Ringo I saw was very engaged. He was listening to every one and waiting to add his part. when Paul was noodling around on Get Back, Ringo was listening and at the moment it started to sound like a song, he started to tap his foot. He's already thinking about what he's going to add to it.
I get the same thing. He seems to project some kind of double bind all the time: help me with my song, but don't take it away from me. He wants the Beatles to emulate the "bands-sound" but then doesn't really step up to tell them exactly how. Bit of a Diva....
Yeah, but when George was talking to Paul, Paul was giving him the eye roll and then turned his head away
Your absolutely right....George didn't have confidence in himself
When people do this much research into an issue, and put this much work into it, they earn a "subscribe" from me. Well done to the author!
Thank you my good man! More to come!
Not if their wrong. Paul & George argument is Hey Jude, not Two of Us.
@@tedsarnowski2427 Paul brings up Hey Jude during the Two Of Us argument, but it certainly was about Two Of Us. Paul thought that it should be simplified and George thought that it already was "not complicated".
@@tedsarnowski2427 what?? Hey Jude was already released at the time of the recording... I guess you lost me, explain what you mean
Could not agree more!
I love that the reaction to a sudden "I'm leaving the band" is for the other three to aggressively launch into a Hendrix-esque jam session.
ya with some nice rock guitar riffing from John.
Raw gut rock and roll
I wonder if the author here took johns I’m So Pissed comment in the English (I’m so drunk) or the American (I’m so angry) context.
@@andiholman2543 yes interesting, not really like John to use American ism speak, not from what you hear in all his other interviews/recorded anyway.
@@andiholman2543 I dind't know that different!!! Thanx! I had the American meaning in my head. I'm a Spanish speaker. Too many American movies, hahaha.
Thank you for this video. All these years, I always thought that John and Paul had little respect for George's song writing. This shows us a different side to that story.
Does it? It’s like a photo: The documentary captures a snapshot of the Beatles recording history, not the full story. I think that the years in years that they spent together before this documentary has created a clear impression on George his behaviour and his perception of things.
He perceiving things a bit negative? Sure. But why? Maybe years of being secondary?
And to be clear, the Beatles simply would not have been the Beatles if not for Jon and Paul’s songs for the first three years. I really don’t think that George would’ve had much of a chance to read all of this wonderful music if not for everything that John and Paul did in the touring years.
John and Paul were being encouraging toward George doing the song solo. Some people put a negative spin on everything.
george kept pushingn acoustic....it was good call by j/p. wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyy to much effort put into dirge of a song.......george had no idea what the goal was, which was the concert......
The main thing I got from these recordings is the quietness of Ringo
He was drinking the 6 beers..
The "less is more" approach to drumming.. well music in general just worked so well in this case and for The Beatles in general regarding Ringo. Just the perfect icing on the cake.. or foundation depending on how you look at drumming.
He may not have had a vocal mic.
Didn't miss a beat
ringo didn't have a voice mic so all the band banter recorded over the years hardly ever has Ringo in it. He's there but we can't hear him. He's a rock solid beat and most sessions ran for hours with Ringo giving them a foundation beat to build from and they often ended when Ringo stood up and called it a day.
It seems that the authors of many "Beatles books" are quick to blame McCartney for all the negativity between the guys, but they fail to acknowledge that Lennon could a real asshole. Lennon's criticism's of his former group in Post-Beatles interviews, proved that.
pretty much
It's one of the few things I respect Paul for that he didn't talk trash about any of them.
and then they had to kind of coddle George's fragile ego..
Egos are funny, or odd. They all were very talented individuals who could lean on each other at times then strike out to demand their own opinions or feelings as the most important- like any talented people in a collaborative venture. Even less talented people have egoistic tendencies from time to time & clash. You can absolutely adore your spouse or parent & clash so why not with any partner?
I am a 69 year old Beatlemaniac who lives 30 miles away from Liverpool. I have everything they ever recorded and have read dozens and dozens of books about them. I watched your All Things Must Pass Part 1 yesterday and found it a complete revelation and a real pleasure to watch. The stories of ill feeling probably came about because the group were very seretive and only put out a fraction of information and kept the rest close to their chests. I had no idea that a nameless album was a possibility. I have a copy of the Get Back album and found it a bit thin. Thanks again.
Thank you for the warm comment. More to come!
George seems grumpy and lacking in confidence with this way of working. He said as much on Anthology.... he didn’t like the cameras, he didn’t like Twickenham, he didn’t want the pressure or hassle of a concert. To my mind he’s trying to find his way with this song and up against John and Paul he lacks confidence in getting it right and finding the solutions. He sounds unsure, hesitant and that it’s not ready to be filmed. It’s a work in progress. It probably was a bit slow for the concert at that time. To hear that his relationship with Pattie was also hitting the skids then you can understand that he went from hanging out at Woodstock with Bob and the band to this stress and anxiety. The song needed Phil Spector’s touch and more time as we later found out. It is clear that John and Paul are offering a lot of love, respect and support here. Nice work, thank you.
Especially when you consider the last time they went live it was electric guitars and amps as John said. George had no idea how this song would sound live. Also there is the fear that doing solo acoustic would basically be George's Yesterday. Does George really want that spotlight when his marriage is already on the rocks?
they put wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy to much effort into this song on such a tight timeline......should have bailed it sooner...or george could have wrote something concert friendly
Unfortunately that kind of deep context is way out of reach of your average music journalist.
George immediately seemed uncomfortable with the idea of doing it solo. John and Paul seemed supportive of him.
To me George sounds really unsure about his music, and John and Paul try to cheer him on, but he's just so insecure about the song and how it'll be that he's the one that seems to reject it time and time again. And then, when all of a sudden he comes out with a triple album when he goes solo, it might just have made more sense to people to think "ah, all these songs must've been rejected by The Beatles, and therefore he has them". But 71 run throughs of a song is indeed NOT what I'd've thought of as a rejected song!
I'm very glad you've made this videos on the matter, as they really do show more evidence of what actually happened here than the usual music review do. Thank you!
I think Paul and John were supportive of George. But George was being fussy. You can tell John really liked the song. The show was effecting the songs they were looking to finish up, they were also pretty aimless at these sessions.
also john has a casual snarkiness that i think george took personally like the "you want voices? every song can have voices" kind of comment where its just like john saying we can turn every song epic but how much time do we have to kill with added harmonies which could be added later. george was just shy and felt in the spotlight too much and with such strong personalities between john and paul he filled a more passive space energetically within the band. ringo is obv the king neutral
Agree, george saw there wasn't going to be enough time to get this song the way he wanted with the show going on in 2 weeks
I think that's what was frustrating Paul. They were aimless. And he was wanting some structure so they could accomplish their goals. He suggested it on more than one occasion.
It seems to me that the authors had settled on the theme of the recording sessions being a "disaster", then fitted the conversations to suit that narrative.
I agree. In spite of much of the progress and final results of the project, the authors felt the need to stick to the narrative. I'll diving into this topic further in upcoming videos. Thanks for watching!
11:14 George's guitar through a Leslie speaker cabinet. Nice!
To be honest, I was never a super fan of this song, liked it but never loved it -- always found it a bit dreary. But when I heard it played at the end of the documentary of the same name (about Tower Records), I came around to it in a big way. I think the song just wasn't ready to be on a Beatles album, and the one person who seemed to stand in the way the most was George himself!
@@NewFalconerRecords you are right. Despite the lyric, it is a bit dreary. I always preferred it to I Me Mine and Old Brown shoe, but you are also correct in saying they weren’t ready for the song yet. I wonder what it would have sounded like in Abbey Road.
You guys are extremely right. I actually read that book awhile back and I was convinced that the whole recording/filming sessions was horrible. I don't doubt that there was some tense arguments etc (Paul+George, John+George) and George quitting the band for a bit but I am sure the whole history of the band recording together, each album probably has some bad history to it. Great Channel BTW!!!!
@I want to be smaller I agree with you to a certain point. Perhaps he was convinced that he was coming into his own as a song writer/arranger and he felt his ability to fully create and mature was being pinned down. (I am glad that The Beatles didn't take the CCR approach with their last album..see Mardi Gras) Anyway, I do believe that the Get Back/Let It Be album, as good as it was, could have been a lot better with a couple of additions and subtractions and that would be a big debate with all of us Beatles-ologists!
Fascinating, I hadn't twigged that George had serious domestic issues around this time.
It strikes me that while George can write some brilliant songs, he struggles when it comes to arranging and structuring them, something Paul could do in his sleep. Thus while Paul could be annoying to the other Beatles because he had the arrangements in his head already "perfected" and just needed a backing band to do what he told them (again and again and again until he was happy), George was at the other extreme, not knowing what he wanted, and as a result things tended to drift as take after take were done trying to work out the right arrangement.
The thing was that George needed serious time to get his stuff together, whether it was guitar parts or arrangements. When he had the time during the making of ATMP he didn’t have anyone breathing down his neck telling him to hurry up, so it turned out beautiful. On the other hand, he didn’t have anyone around to tell him to eliminate the Apple Jam part of the album because it was crappy....
@@matthewsnyder6127 That approach also goes completely against the late 60s Lennon style of recording quickly and getting new songs out straight away
@@PlanetoftheDeaf Well, sure. Lennon had had the benefit of complete studio attention devoted to his many songs over the life of the group (and was never satisfied with the results anyway). George starts coming up with the goods and now the rule is "we have to do it live." It's no surprise George pulled back his songs from consideration for a live show when he knew how good they could sound when treated properly. Also, keep in mind that even stage monitors were a radically new practice in early 1969. They were still taping two microphones together because sound systems weren't routinely equipped to supply two separate mixes. So George was right to worry that a live show was risky as far as quality of sound and using acoustic instruments in that environment.
@@matthewsnyder6127 I always wondered why they taped two mikes together. I'd thought it was various other reasons.
@@matthewsnyder6127 I was referring to that period in time. Ballad of John and Yoko, Give Peace a Chance, Cold Turkey etc are all quite "rough" recordings, spontaneous sounding rather than super produced
We have always been led to believe that George's songs took a backseat. In this case George wanted the backseat it seems. Maybe that is how it really was. Great video Matt. Very informative and interesting.
Thank you. Yeah, I didn't expect to find George pulling back but he seemed to not make decisions or know how to pull his songs in for a landing.
@@popgoesthe60s52 The absence of George Martin may have contributed to that.
That's a good point. Martin certainly made a difference on Something and Here Comes The Sun,.
@@popgoesthe60s52 Maybe in the back of his mind he really wanted to do after the Beatles.
Yes, I totally agree. He may have felt inferior to John and Paul , and thus naturally took the backseat. After the Beatles broke up, I'd imagine George was kicking himself for not showing out a bit more.
One other thing that rarely gets mentioned: The Beatles had just completed working on The White Album a mere month before they began the Let It Be project. Being the big, double album that it was meant that the band was spent by January '69. John had shot all his recent songs out onto the white album, and he just hadn't found the time or inspiration to compose more so quickly.
There were ELEVEN FULL WEEKS (77 days) between the final day of work on the White Album (October 17th)... and the start of the "Get Back"/"Let It Be" project.
The last two days that any of the Beatles recorded for the White Album were Sunday, October 13th (when John recorded "Julia" by himself) and Monday, October 14th (when George added some overdubs to "Savoy Truffle"). Ringo left that Monday morning for a 2 week holiday in Sardinia with his family. The next two days (October 15th and 16th) stereo and mono mixing were done. George Harrison flew to Los Angeles on the 16th. John and Paul along with George Martin, Ken Scott & John Smith - spent the last 24 hour session (that began on the 16th and went all through the night and finished on the 17th)... working mostly on the final running order of the songs.
Excellent point. That also shows how productive they were.
You are spot on. I wonder why the rush to get it done ? Couldn't they have given it some more time ?
@@FortYeah - They were amazingly productive during this period. The number of songs that they brought to the table during the month of January 1969 is almost hard to believe. Besides the great songs on what became the "Let It Be" album - they also began work on many of the songs that would end up on "Abbey Road"... and also many songs that would end up on John's, Paul's and George's solo albums.
@@chriscorman734 - EMI set a deadline that they had to be finished by (for all of their albums). The White Album was released on November 22, 1968 in the U.K. and November 25th in the U.S. There were about two million advance orders for the new Beatles album - just in the U.S. They need time to produce all the albums, album covers, pictures that were included, etc... and then to distribute them throughout the world. The only way to get all that done on time... is to have all the recording work finished by a certain date. With that deadline looming - John & Paul (with George Martin) stayed up all night to create the final running order for their new double album. Btw... they had spent about 5 months working on the album.
Lennon often gets painted as the difficult moody one, but based on Get Back at least, George seems to be that guy.
I think he had every right to be tbh, they didn't give him enough time for his song during those sessions
@@pearcefitzpatrickodonovan480They gave him plenty
It's clear that George envied the control that Paul got, without much objection really. I imagine that considering he was writing some great stuff, definitely better than say, Maxwell, he felt that he should get a turn at being the guy in charge, just as Paul and John would be when they're showing off their songs. Though he was definitely irritable when things weren't going exactly to plan.
@@rileyalt1251 If they were allowed to continue the group, I am sure that George would have been the primary voice in the 70's.
yeah for the early half no doubt. i'm actually working on a set of hypothetical beatles continuation albums so i've thought over it quite a bit. @@HardCold-Alquan
Damn, talk about somebody doing their homework! This was a very well-researched documentation. I think if the Fabs were not stressing out over an up and coming live appearance they probably would have perfected All Things Must Pass. You could already tell that it would have eventually evolved into something special. John and Paul were very encouraging, that's the Beatles that I'd like to remember. Thank you again for sharing this. Peace.
You are welcome! Thanks for the warm comment.
Just watched 3 of your videos. ( the 2 all things must pass, and the 2 of us) and love the research youve done, and that present others research in as well. Very well presented and as a lifelong Beatles fan that used to wait for older brothers to walk in the house w new 45 s in the early- mid sixties, i love and appreciate the work you have put in. Thanks for all and you def have a new subsciber!
When I first heard All Things Must Pass on George’s album I thought the song was about the Beatles. Now hearing this I think it was initially about his marriage. So maybe his reluctance to do the song at that time was that he still had hope for his marriage and didn’t want to strike the final blow on film.
That’s a great point. It makes sense that he wanted to keep that more private. Thank you for the comment, Michael.
Good point! Also more relevant to George,s contributions.. though not pertinent to this recording. Probably should’ve commented in diff thread. 50 plus years later George s something and here comes the sun are the biggest Beatles songs
@@tonygallo1104 And While My Guitar Gently Weeps.
I always took the song to be more about life in general. Something much bigger than all of us. As Shakespeare said, "nothing last's forever."
I think you made a very good point, there seems to be this narrative going on that George songs were rejected when in fact he was insecure about some stuff and decided against including them in the end. It was he who decided that and not the others who seem to have spent enough time working on the songs.
Thank God Here comes the sun was done. Such a beautiful piece.
CORRECT: I'm convinced you are correct and this is why. I'm from the same sort of area as The Beatles and so I think I understand the intention of what they are saying at 3:26 onwards and am certain the people that wrote that book misunderstood their intention and actually completely misheard an important word. Here is my reading of it.
Paul is the one that suggests George do himself on acoustic and is probably thinking of the famous moment the band left the stage and Paul played Yesterday alone on an acoustic. Here it is introduced by George - th-cam.com/video/wYjm6b_-kMM/w-d-xo.html
I can see how a none native northern English speaker might misinterpret it when Paul says "it's a bit of a thing for you to do." He doesn't "doubt his ability to do it on his own," he means it'll be bit of a moment for him. As in an opportunity to be centre stage. How I know the people writing the book misunderstood how we speak is you then quote them as saying John agreed and said it would be "quite an order." He doesn't say "ORDER" he says "HORS D'OUERVES" and so they completely misunderstood due to his accent, I guess.
So John picks up on Paul's encouragement and says it will "Do an hors d'oeuvres, you know." Meaning, give the audience something extra, a treat before the full Beatles as a band.
I completely agree with what you say here in the video. The guys writing that book should have asked someone from Liverpool to listen and get their reaction to what they mean. Although, you are American and you picked it up.
Brilliant! Not coming from Liverpool but speaking French, that is what I heard and understood. "Do an hors d'oeuvres, you know." It is the only way that conversation makes any sense. If it was the way the book describes, George would have walked out or at the least spoke out. There is no doubt from anyones perspective, George has the talent and ability to to perform his work.
@@merlinzipp - Yes, clearly those writers misunderstood the accent and intention. It also totally makes sense that then because George walked out for a few days and so the opportunity was lost.
Funny, but coincidentally this popped up in my TH-cam suggestions today. Peter Frampton talking about how he ended up playing lead guitar on "All Things Must Pass." It's interesting that Klaus Voormann ended up playing bass on it. He was there right at the beginning in Hamburg and asked to be The Beatles bassist when Stuart Sutcliffe left but was told Paul was taking over on bass. It just seems so of full circle that he then replace Paul on bass after The Beatles for "All Things Must Pass" of all songs.
I really respect Klaus Vormann, he's played bass on some great songs like "You're so vain" and for Lennon and I love the cover art he did for "Revolver."
th-cam.com/video/Ajr0KukHKsE/w-d-xo.html
"it's a bit of a thing for you to do" also makes sense if you consider that George was very reluctant to do a live performance. I think you're right!
And Paul really liked the song: th-cam.com/video/o6iaSWSB7rE/w-d-xo.html
I don’t think you have to be particularly Liverpudlian to pick up on that, but it helps no doubt. To me “ quite a thing” translates to quite an event. “ John was all about word play. Of course an appetizer is exactly what he meant. It was all encouraging to my ear. They put a significant amount of time into it, so the proof is in the pudding as they say. Building up a song from scratch can be hard work. Perhaps people that haven’t done this can’t fully appreciate that. Certain songs can be frustrating and exhausting. Others can feel effortless. A large number of factors are at play here but I don’t think discouragement is one of them. George doesn’t feel the song is ready and it’s seems he’s in a bad spot in general. Not to mention his fairly well known anxiety about performing live at that time. Thanks for your marvelous work here. Spawning some great discussion.
@@AnyoneCanSee I do not believe Peter Frampton played any lead guitar anywhere on ATMP album or song. What Peter had claimed with out any corroboration mind you, is that he played acoustic Guitar on every song when George was adding the extra acoustics that Spector advised at the end. We know Frampton was around because he was working on another album and in the building . There are photos to corroborate that. He was never given credit by anyone to this day. Alan white also makes some claims that are disputable.
May I just say that I’ve listened to this analysis like 5 times now. As a lifelong Beatles fan and first hearing this version on bootleg in 1995, it’s totally changed my perception of how The Beatles approached it. Well done! I hope you can get more subscribers amongst the Beatles community. This is top stuff!
Thank you sir for the kind compliment. More to come!
Great investigative journalism. I know the Beatles were super supportive of each other during their early years, glad to see that never changed....
I love the backing vocals on All Things Must Pass. I really wish we could have heard the song on a Beatle album. I think you’re right in that John and Paul seem to be encouraging George on the song. To play the song as a solo on the acoustic guitar seemed to be a helpful suggestion. It’s interesting because all you hear is how George complains of his songs not being picked during this time.
George seemed to not be a team player on his own songs but was able to contribute on John and Paul's songs. I could see the others getting frustrated with his inability to arrange. George Martin producing may have helped. The backing vocals are good enough to justify recording it. His solo version pales badly for me.
I read somewhere that Paul like the phrasing "Get Back" from Georges song Sour Milk Sea. So Paul wrote a song around it. True or BS?
@@jake105 I hadn't heard that one. I can hear the similarities.
YeahGeorge was insecure - about his writing- the backing Vocs were great shoulda built it around that. That’s where the magic was. They also shoulda made 2 or 3 double albums- with all the material. Woulda been another great Beatles’ first. I mean when have heard of a band doing 3 double albums in a row!?? Like ‘Walkin a Dog’ Dig it..
@@jake105 no clue but sour milk sea, should have been a Beatles song. That's a good song
George Harrison struggled without George Martin. It’s very difficult being band leader, singer, writer, arranger, director, etc...
Frankly it was just the tension between people when they are on different levels. George was catching up that’s all.
I agree with you. This series really does show how they were still working as a group and Paul doesn't seem nearly as bossy as I've always thought he was. And John is much more engaged than I had always imagined he was.
these videos are great man!
Interesting about Pattie walking out at that date. Maybe that’s why George started to appear unshaven and eventually went for a tache later on in the month... Amazing how it all fits.
Exactly. No one bothers to cite this issue as a potential problem that would affect the band. Thanks for the comment!
I had no idea that happened. Things don’t happen in a vacuum, and sometimes it’s easy to forget that the Beatles are actually four real people with real lives, not song-writing machines.
Going through a divorce is very difficult, emotionally and spiritually. No wonder George was the way he was.
I definitely hear it the way you hear it. It seems like it was an agenda that lead them to say Paul and John were being negative towards the song and George. If they had continued as a band, this song probably would have been on their next album.
I thought I'd read and know all there is to know about the Beatles but this was new to me, fascinating and very well researched. Thank you!
Another thing that occurred to me when you mentioned the influence of The Band on George Harrison - 'All things must pass' has a similar feel to 'I shall be released', the Band's version of the Dylan song. It did make me wonder...
Me too
Agreed. These are sensitive moments from both guys. They were a family. John could be caustic when he was annoyed but he was far more sensitive than these biographies allude to much of the time.
This is so insightful. The part about George and Patti having marital problems speaks volumes about why George was so easily upset during the Let It Be sessions. Lots of new information here. Very well done. Thank you!
Hi Randy - thanks for watching!
Great insights. Sheds a lot of light on the rubbish that has been printed for decades.
When John says ‘I’m pissed’ he’s just saying he’s drunk. There’s even a resigned, weary chuckle in his voice.
May be true, may be not, but this is another example of some people reading a comment positively or negatively. To get all literary here, as the saying is in "Gawain and the Green Knight:" 'Honi soit qui mal y pense." One translation being"shame be the one who thinks evil of it." It sure is nice to find fans who love the music and see things in a positive light.
@@roystonsbailey It's the 'so' pissed part that gives it the usual Lennon ambiguity!
How would he have got drunk in a recording studio?
@@DummyAccount-f1q downed a bottle of wine in the bog?
Paul suggesting George do a solo acoustic version was a generous, selfless offer. Paul had the skill to recognize that All Things Must Pass worked better as a solo acoustic song, like Yesterday or Blackbird. It was a slow, somber and reflective song, unlike upbeat Beatles standards. Paul was encouraging George to stand out on his own and shine.
always say "unselfish" NEVER say "selfless" that means something entirely different. It implies someone exists without a "self"
And George refused
@@casparuskruger4807 Are you could follow Humpty Dumpty’s example in Alice in Wonderland.
After being bottled up for such a long time George is finally getting the attention he long deserves and for good reason, he's blowing up. At the same time he himself has to switch gears from a more passive presence to a shot caller position (like Paul) and he just doesn't seem ready for that and waivers. Good news is "all things" did get recorded, and masterfully so, too late for the project at that time. John showed such poise during all the fits and I wish they had spent that waisted time working on anything, repeat ANYTHING, he wanted to try...instant gold.
I think your take on 'All things must pass" is spot on. I am enjoying your education being provided here. I learned alot and I thought I knew alot. Thank you
I think George's eventual solo version is better overall, except Ringo's drumming here is pretty perfect.
If they weren't hung up on the "Get Back To The Roots" thing and the filming of it, I'm sure The Beatles would've had a magnificent version of ATMP...especially with George Martin producing. Although I love George's solo version with Spector, I still enjoy these January '69 versions more because they still have that Beatles mojo and that will always trump anything that they could do without each other.
I think the version on Beatles Anthology 3 is the best.
@@jjmarz1001 I never paid much attention to it. Time for a re-listen. ("Not Guilty" is my favorite part of that release.)
His drumming on the ATMP version is pretty good too. That performance is the epitome of his sense of time.
@@matthewsnyder6127 Ha ha oops I totally forgot that. *facepalm*
Your totally right dude. Paul and John are completely supportive of George and his song. All things must pass. Hey these topics are great man. Just found you. Keep it up.
Yours is an excellent narrative. I'm impressed, particularly about how supportive Paul was and the stuff going on with Patti.
Interesting how John was aware with his remark of the beatles being "stuck on the cavern days" when it came to live music...sounds like he was kind of intimidated and well aware about several bands those days giving it all on live shows regardless of amazing studio recording techniques and translating that to live shows, sounds like he was impressed with those other artists by that time, including the experimental bands. The stones catched up with the live shows in the late 60's...shame that the beatles didn't because they made great shows as solo acts afterwards.
The version of All Things Must Pass with all three Beatles singing on it should've made the cut on anthology 3
Its much better than the solo version. They should have recorded it when they did 'real love'
I really enjoyed these two videos. I think that a lot of biographers and music writers tend to just cite other authors without going back to the original source so certain ideas are perpetuated and masquerade as fact. As for John's "I'm so pissed" comment, I think he was just saying that he was drunk and not thinking straight, but perhaps Americanisms had entered his vocabulary...? I look forward to more videos like this.
Good point. They may have been drinking at lunch, which I've heard. I had forgotten about being "pissed" in the English sense.
Almost certainly the British English sense of 'pissed'. US sense not common in UK even now, and certainly not in 1969
@@Muninman Yes, I should've caught that! Thanks for the comment.
Excellent series. While I have no doubt that George at times got overlooked in terms of songs, looking at the various session records show that they did put quite a bit of effort into trying to get some of his songs down. And as you say, the Get Back recordings show that both John and Paul were trying to get him going with their suggestions. George also has complained over the years that Paul would want to work on his songs first and then he'd work on George's, but at least in this case, All Things Must Pass was the first song they tried to get down and Paul was doing his best to help George along. Shame it wasn't given another go during the Abbey Road sessions because they were this close to getting it together and the backing vocals were just amazing. Looking forward to your take on the vastly overrated Paul/George "fight"....
Thank you Bill! More to come.
@@popgoesthe60s52 - According to Goeff Emericks book, it was Johns songs, pre 68 that were always the first to be worked on.
I think the backing vocals are awful. I mean horrid. listen to the final version and then listen to this mess. The beatles were amazing at 3 part harmonies but they struggled mightily with this one
@@victorarena23 - George hadnt even finished the lyrics yet Vic, let alone the harmony and chorus arrangements been settled on. Some songs of the beatles took over a hundred takes before they finished it up. Lot of drug and alcohol intake in the later years its a wonder they ever got their songs finished. Plus the early recording sessions at Twickenham were pretty bad, just being there in a big cold studio in the morning really didnt help the situation either.
@@hammer44head agree the song was not ready. but it's clear here that at least this song was not rejected. I assume and have read that isn't it a pity hear me lord and art of dying were rejected by John
Makes me wonder if by the time they went back to Apple George had already decided that All Things Must Pass would be a solo song. It is ironic that it became the title of his first post-Beatle solo album, as if it was a statement and announcement of the finality and death of the Beatles. That is how I had always perceived it these many years.
I agree with your take on this Todd Partridge. It seems that George clearly had other plans in mind. When he tried to work out the song with the band he probably decides it’s best done as a solo project.
I think you're right. He behaves in a passive aggressive way, I mean he presents the song, but then seems to do what he can to stop it from being included.
I read a long time ago about the drama going on in his personal life outside of the band, that clearly escalated after he introduced the song, and kinda theorized that he was still in 'repair mode', so recording, and releasing a song called "All Things Must Pass" might have been a bit abstract under the circumstances, which is why he progressively got more wishy washy about it.
Once again-Pop Goes the 60s:-THANKS! BRILLIANT!!
George was a budding genius in the songwriting game and he half-knew it. You've got to realize that even though he WAS a Beatle, he was pitching his babies before the by-this-time legendary Lennon-McCartney; he had to feel a bit insecure and nervous. But he had the heart of a stage mother with all these talented babies spilling out of him now. "I I Me Mine", "For You Blue", "Something", "Here Comes the Sun", the songs on "All Things Must Pass". And look what an impresario he became AFTER the Beatles: Concert for Bangladesh. His own successful solo projects. Much later, but the Traveling Wilburys. Look at all the all-star jams he put together with Delaney & Bonnie, Clapton, the Dominoes. No, George was no longer just "my friend George" that Paul brought along with him after meeting John the first time in 1957. Not at all. He was ready to leave the nest. Thank GAAAAWWD for Billy Preston, bringing it all back together.
I'm speechless. You're absolutely right. Much better to follow your analysis than to read those books. The way you dissect the conversations is amazing! Chapeau!
"If your wife walks out on you... I would be distracted!" Wonderful understatement, I would say. Excellent and very convincing assessment of the situation. thanks for this. I believe when George left, John suggested they get Eric Clapton in to replace him - is that a comment on George's marital situation?
Claptons advance on Patti was a whole year later but excellent connecting of the dots!
@@popgoesthe60s52 Ha! Good point : )
Probably more to do with the fact that they had just worked with Clapton during the White Album.
@@sammccubbin1047 and John played with Clapton on tne Rock and Roll Circus a monrh earlier
Fascinating discussion! My favourite version of ATMP is George’s solo demo. I like Paul’s suggestion of George doing an acoustic version. There are beautiful moments in the band version but, for me, it drags and drags. I 100% agree with you Matt about George not wanting to do his songs live which suggests that he heard them with a fuller production.
Great video.I could never understand why they did not finish it and it was not on the album.George did not want to!!
I’m about 80% listening to the get back nagra tapes, and had not seen these vids until now. I’m pretty much aligned with what you say. They put an awful lot of effort trying to develop all things must pass
love these videos, you do a great job reporting and contextualizing before making conclusions
This is all so interesting. Love it. Thank you! Discovered your channel yesterday, and I'm glad I did!!
John and Paul are trying to inspire George, to boost his confidence. I would love to have heard a finished product of this song as performed by The Beatles. It would have been on par with Here Comes The Sun or Something.
Hell. On a par with "Let it Be!" Imo A perfect ending song on an album.
We learn that the beatles were great alone, but together they were LEGENDS
Great job on this 2-parter, very illuminating. I'd never known ATMP was that well developed. And here you did this deconstruction a year before Peter Jackson's film is released. Bravo.
Much thanks for watching and for the warm comment.
Fascinating, thank you. I feel like Paul was really trying to encourage George and give suggestions. Not the bossy moniker that was pinned on him in other accounts.
I really dig your analysis of this especially with the audio you provide. It definitely sounds like John and Paul are into it and want to see it through but George doesn’t really seem to know exactly what he wants. And they’re let him run the sessions. And it sounds like George was dealing with a lot of heavy stuff outside of the band as well.
I think it’s great that we are all finding out so much more about these sessions than what has for so long been the accepted narrative. Can’t wait for the Peter Jackson film to really show us the lads in a new light. Thanks for this video. Really well done.
Excellent !!! It's so interesting ! Now we can really understand what was happening at that time between them ! You know, i think it was time for them to split and go different ways ! Each one of them had become a complete artist, and breaking up was just a normal and natural outcome ! They didn't enjoy it anymore ! They are the greatest band of all time, and their accomplishments will never be matched ! Paul is the greatest composer of all time, all styles included ! And they didn't even know how to read music !!! It is unbelievable what they've accomplished ! The world will never see or hear anything like that again ! As the poet Keats used to say : " A thing of beauty is a joy forever !
Informative and well presented. Really appreciate how you researched the source to assess popular and published opinions about the other Beatles attitudes about atmp. Nicely done lining up quotes to the photos. Thank you!
Never knew that story about Pattie walking out on George. It explains a lot. Good video
To answer your question, assuming that they are listening to the same tape you are, and they are not referencing something else we haven't heard, I think you're absolutely right. There's a complete discrepancy between what the authors conclude and what we heard. In fact I'm struck by how respectful and supportive John and Paul are both being about the song as well as George's importance in the group--even suggesting, a la "Yesterday," and how that was done with Paul solo, George might perform this one on his own. How flattering is that? And of course John even suggesting that many of the effects George wanted in the song that George presumes are only possible in the studio could happen on stage too. What is quite clear is that George has no enthusiasm for the live show, and, rightly or wrongly, doesn't appear to feel that a live version could do justice to it. But more and more as I watch and re-watch, you can just see that George is over the whole Let it Be project almost from the get-go, and was only, if ever, half-heartedly on board. He didn't like being filmed, he didn't like the intrusive microphones eavesdropping, he didn't like the idea of a live show--it seemed that there was no element of the entire concept that he was enthusiastic about! It's also interesting that George proposes a model that would come to be accepted with other groups (e.g. The Rolling Stones, The Who) in the future: the individuals each can do solo projects, and the group returns periodically. But no one has enthusiasm for that at that time, quite possibly because there wasn't a contemporaneous example of it.
Congratulations on your research and for focusing on the facts and don't stay in the repeated versions. We all win with a job like that.
In my opinion, Harrison's "All Things Must Pass" LP is one of the greatest rock albums of all time. It is absolutely up there with the Beatles best work. It took him a little longer to come into his own (He was the youngest after all) but he turned out to be every bit as accomplished as Lennon and McCartney. Excellent analysis and fair treatment of dispelling some misconceptions.
George had ONE great accomplishment in his career: ATMP. Paul and John were brilliant, iconic songwriters from 1963 until 1980 (John) and the early '90's (Paul).
@@willrohan7256 That is wholly untrue.ATMP, Bangladesh, GH, Cloude 9, Brainwashed are all great great albums. LIMW, 33 1/3 are very good. Not to mention Brilliant songs while a beatle and travling wilbury's. Plus Ringos 3 biggest hits. Incredible career
I have always considered "All Things Must Pass" to be my favorite album of all time, an amazing collection of music and philosophy. My favorites are "Beware of Darkness,""My Sweet Lord," and "All Things Must Pass."
@@victorarena23 Yes, absolutely agree!
You must be kidding
Very insightful comments, Sir! (on part 1 and this). And now that we've seen the Peter Jackson cut we know the straw that broke the camel's back. They were working on Get Back, George was playing a chord that Paul thought (rightfully, IMO) was cliché. George gets defensive, says "it's just a chord, it's not cliché." Paul doesn't like it, George won't back down, so Paul goes to JOHN to work out the chord, leaving George out. George watches silently for a while, then says he's quitting.....
In British English slang "pissed" means drunk. Might this be a reason why George is fed up: John is unfocussed.
Something that stands out to me in these tapes is how incredibly witty and quick with words John is. I've always loved his wordplay nonsense songs, but I assumed it had to have taken him a while to craft that stuff. But over and over he just throws out these amazing rhymes and phrases, just to be silly, and they're all interesting. Even if they don't make sense, they have such an edge and a wit to them.
I agree! I remember at one point in the sessions, a small group discussion was under sleet about the project and John arrived. The others paused to great him and someone- I think it was the director- said “We were talking…” and before he could finish the sentence John replied “about the space between us?” And he does it with ease!
They hear Lennon saying "order" rather than "hors d'oeuvre." He definitely is NOT saying "[tall] order." I'm not sure George says "drag" either. He is talking about playing acoustic guitar rather than the wah-wah electric. This invites technical problems/recording problems.
I like his pronunciation of Tweekingham. Twickenham
Great post. Really enjoyed the sensible non-sensational commentary.
Perhaps one of the next subjects can be Maxwell's Silver Hammer? It feels like "Paul was bossing us around" and "grinding that song for weeks" are really overblown but get repeated over and over as well.
I've seen a bunch of your videos for a while now, and I think I never told you I found them great and essential when it comes to know a bit more about the Fab Four... Hope you are fine and still kicking! Keep posting!
Thank you, Luis!
You don't short cut anything good job, you should be proud of your work.
Fantastic job! I never knew what went on behind the scenes with those songs. I almost wish you could have the band sitting in with you to give their opinions on what happened 50+ years later.
I feel an element of Georges half-way representation of "All Things Must Pass" to the Beatles was quite possibly, he wanted to save it for his anticipated solo effort.
Great job putting the pieces of the puzzle together....Paul always seemed to have the best interests of the band at heart, George and John were distracted, and Ringo was the loyal soldier who had to put up with the dysfunction...wish they had been able to record that song...it would have been fitting.
I am baffled. They are clearly supportive of George,
Thank you for getting in such an exhaustive way through all the shadows coming from preconceived legends.
So good and refreshing. Clearly George wasn’t in the right frame of mind at this time at this time was he? The Patti situation obviously had a big affect. He clearly has a downer on everything and he doesn’t sound convinced of his own song arrangements. You didn’t say that (I might be wrong) George invited Billy Preston to the sessions. I!d like to hear opinion on how he was brought in. It always seems to be suggested George invited him with no consultation with the others.
Excellent point. Mark Lewisohn hints that Preston's presence was over rated; that everything suddenly was better because an outsider was brought in. Thank God he was brought in but this is another of the narratives that over simplified what actually went on during that month.
You just popped up on my feed...and I'm so glad. What a fantastic job you do of a time line! Pertinent information and none of the boring old stuff that those of who are truly interested in this phenomenon called the Beatles. Thank you, your efforts are appreciated. Namaste.
I'm glad my video found your feed because you are just the type these videos are being made for. Thanks for the warm comment, Rob.
I think part of the problem is that, initially at least, George wanted The Beatles to sound like The Band. And, when that wasn't going to happen, he seemed a bit stuck as to how the song should go; how it should sound. It all seems so unfocused... but then so did much of the Get Back sessions.
I think the pressure from the light show got in the middle of the creative process, and then this situation on George’s marriage was the icing and the not so friendly environment of the filming studio was the cherry of the cake.
Ultimately, the song was 'rejected' by Phil Spector, who sorted through this mass of material and didn't use it for Let it Be. He could have done something with some of these takes, but he chose not to. George must not have taken this too personally, because he engaged Spector to record it properly for ALL THINGS MUST PASS.
Firstly, I'm 62 and was introduced to The Beatles at a very young age by an older cousin and they were my group to the exclusion, mostly, of all the rest. I really appreciate your research, very well presented. I am looking forward to Mr. Jackson's upcoming film, and from a release here on TH-cam, looks like a very different take on how they well they were working together. You bring up events, that I never knew happened, as I would just blame Yoko and move on. You are doing a great job, just wanted to say thank you. I had never thought of George having stage fright, or anxiety issues at the filming of the album. This seems a solid idea that I had never thought of.
I saw Let It Be in a cinema, but some years after its release, we had a Jerry Lewis Cinema in our small town and the owner would get older movies to show, perhaps after the collapse of the franchise, and he got L.I.B. perhaps in '76, can't recall the exact year. The one thing I do remember is that I knew there was a live bit on the roof top, and the theater operator allowed the thing to end and the curtains to close, with everyone leaving, then reopen to the roof top. Just something I remembered, plus the infighting between George and Paul.
All friends, and family, have mixed relationships, you can have words with aunt Suzie and still on the whole have a great Christmas visit. The story of it comes down to who remembers what, and who is doing the telling, have you thought of how the group remembered meeting Elvis very differently-just normal stuff? I feel George, and the whole band, remembered things very differently than maybe it happened-this is the story of my marriage frankly (44 years of hurt feelings and misunderstandings, but overall happy, at least I think so) I can't see how drug use, be it alcohol or whatever, would help make it anything other than worse. You are doing a great job of breaking down the facts, they seemed to have tried very hard to get All Things Must Pass down as a finished song, maybe they would have but for the camera(s).
George's "rocker" doesn't have a title, but he is humming something that sounds like "Matchbox" to demonstrate it. It's nothing I'm familiar with.
This video is a breath of fresh air.
It seems to me the guys who wrote that book have never spent any time in a band trying to write/arrange a new song.
Excellent analysis, spot on! From the time I first got hold of the boot "30 Days" I have questioned other peoples analysis of what was going on in the sessions but your well considered arguments cannot be faulted. I look forward to hearing more of your thoughts. Great piece of unbiased work!
how many pop culture subjects are there where you can have an entire universe just in one aspect of it? Beatles: music, culture, fashion, politics, group psycho-dynamics, art, humor....
Very insightful video. I would love to have heard a completed Beatles version.
ATMP was not the first instance of a Harrisong was left behind. I mean they did 102 takes of Not Guilty and he still wasn't satisfied with it!
BRILLIANT. One of the most brilliant videos on the dynamics of the Beatles I have ever seen!!!
Thank you! More to come.
Great stuff, I'm really enjoying this deep dive into a fascinating period of The Beatle's career. In saying this, with all respect, I would disagree with your interpretation of the discussion around George using an acoustic guitar and possibly soloing the song "All Things Must Pass". To my ear, and this is very subjective, it seems to me that Paul sounds frustrated at George's ongoing demands. It sounds to me that he is saying, "well if ya not happy with that then maybe do it ya'self". He then softens his comment, perhaps realizing that it was a bit sharp, and tries to step back but is lost for words. George seems to notice the slight, but, as we all do over such things, he tries to navigate his way around it but can’t easily find away before simply saying it would be “a drag”. Of course, this song is not an acoustic solo song, as George is making perfectly clear especially if he wants to sound like The Band, but George's ongoing dissatisfaction and his ongoing reflections that it needs to be played on an acoustic guitar carries the subtext that, "This ain't a live performance song folks." This subtext is appreciated by Paul who is most keen to see the band tour again and that is why he snaps about doing it solo. As happens when good friends bicker, John tries to play the mediator, taking Paul's comments not as a rebuke of George but as a serious comment worthy of consideration. To my ear, therefore, this is not, as you say, a “supportive discussion” but a tense exchange about authority, creative freedom, touring, and, ultimately, accommodation. It comes across to me just as the history books claim, this is three guys wanting to do different things, Paul wants to get back to the good old days of touring, George wants to create more substantial studio songs that he thinks won't go over well live, while John, not central in this exchange but playing a mediation role, is perhaps sick of trying to keep the love when that love just isn’t there. This is my take but, as I said, it is just an opinion. Have you reached out to Paul for comment? You just never know. Anyway, very informative and enjoyable for an aging diehard Beatles fan.
Thank you for the comment, Jeff. I can see your point too. If I were to re-do the video, I would probably use the word "professional" to describe some of the exchanges, which neither explains intent nor motive. It would also be helpful if we could see their faces! Thanks for watching.
@@popgoesthe60s52 I was thinking there is probably a whole lot of body language reading going on, which may or may not align with what is being said. (Like any convo, but especially so in tense or difficult situations with people we know very well.)
Great channel! Love it. I think you are right, they are supporting George, especially Paul...great.
I can definitely here "The Band" here -- I can here it sort of shaping up to sound like "The Weight."
The song it seems was rejected by the Beatle (known as George) not the Beatles. Great talk, thanks for sharing.