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I do not love the Beatles. Do I like the Beatles? Very much so. They are one of the biggest bands of all time for a reason. Their vast collection of hits contains some true classics. The Fab Four just aren’t among my favorite bands ever. For many, they are the definitive band of record. They are icons. That being said, I think my status of liking, not loving, the Beatles, made Get Back ideal viewing for me.
Like many people, I checked out the massive three-part documentary from Peter Jackson on Disney+. My Dad is a Beatles lover, and he got Disney+ just to watch the roughly eight hours of Get Back. Me? I was definitely curious, and I had been hearing good things, so I thought it would be worth a shot. Would the eight-hour investment be worth it, though? Would I end up watching all three episodes? Yes, indeed I did.
I think I maybe loved Get Back? I definitely really enjoyed it. It was more than worth the time investment. If you are not familiar, Get Back is a fly-on-the-wall documentary. Jackson had a bunch of footage and audio recording from the Beatles’ “Get Back” sessions, which paved the way for Let It Be, their final album. Yoko Ono is there. George Harrison quits the band and then returns. They play together on the roof of Apple Studios, the last time they ever performed publicly together. It’s all in the documentary. Yoko seems pretty chill, by the way.
The documentary is perhaps the finest example I’ve seen of the creative process being captured. It just happened to also involve the Beatles, a band basically everybody knows. It’s riveting to be there, vicariously, seeing it all happen.
This is where I think the fact I like, but don’t love, the Beatles, benefitted me. Also, the fact that I am a creative person but not a musician. I can understand music conceptually, but I can’t create it anywhere approaching the level of the Beatles, or anybody with true music chops. That makes it impressive but comprehensible to me. Alright, so why does only liking the Beatles make Get Back better? Because I am not an expert, nor reverent of the band. I don’t know everything about them. Much of the documentary was new to me. Additionally, I don’t hold anything Beatles related holy. I can view them as a band making music, not as the Beatles.
If you care about music at all, watch Get Back. You don’t have to love the Beatles. In fact, it might even make things better.
