Whoof! Lots to unpack here.
- Not gonna lie, the first 45 minutes of this part was hard to watch. Not just for the lack of George, but because it managed to be both tedious and stressful at the same time (we know George will come back, but WHEN?!).
- The long shot of Paul after he says "and then there were two" looking like he's about to cry was a bit too on the nose. 😠At least we got some nice Paul and Ringo moments out of that day.
- John really comes in strong with the droll Lennon humor on Day 9. It even makes Peter Sellers (who, by the way, just shows up) seem uncomfortable!
- The so-called "flowerpot conversation" was super enlightening. First off, it's pretty sketchy that the film crew secretly recorded John and Paul's convo in the cafeteria. But I'm conflicted, because now we have this amazing insight into one of the most fraught moments of the band's career. I didn't realize real humans were capable of having a difficult, honest conversation like this while not blowing up at each other. Apparently this was cut down from like 30 minutes and had to be heavily edited to fix the background noise, but man, the whole thing would be amazing to hear.
- The first day they moved to Apple Studios (the day they didn't let the film crew record them) must've been crazy productive. Starting the next day, "Get Back" and "Two of Us" were so much more fully formed. And George seems so much happier. 😌
- BILLY HAS ARRIVED. I don't think it's an understatement to say that he saved the day/album. His presence immediately pulls the group together and gives the songs so much LIIIIFE.
- The "by John Lennon" credits on the India footage gives me It's Alive vibes.
- The India footage is really cool! But you can tell Paul and John joking about some of their experiences was rubbing George the wrong way. Treading on thin ice, boys!
- John is such a spazz.
- The second half of Part 2 in general is just so happy and silly. I could watch the Beatles goof off in the studio in HD all day.
- I am so pleasantly surprised by how much George Martin footage there is, considering he wasn't actually producing this album. HE IS A LOVELY MAN and you can't convince me otherwise. Like, what would they have done with their unusable studio if he hadn't been there to pull in all the recording equipment from EMI?
- The short convo between the two Georges at the end of Day 15 is so heartwarming. I love how GM makes a point to tell GH how well they've all been working together. "You're looking at each other, you're seeing each other." Extremely wholesome Beatles content.
A screenshot of GM being lovely, with an unfortunate caption to accompany it
Here he is on the floor reading the paper while a millionth take of "Let It Be" dissolves into chaos.
Ok I need to stop before this becomes a George Martin fangirl post.
Additions to the drinking game:
- Someone makes fun of Glyn Johns
- Paul does parkour
- The appearance of tea
- Ringo plays that drum fill
- "And now, your host for this evening..."
Chug:
- Paul calls Glyn Johns a f*ckface