Accompaniment to the DVD Get Back series by Peter Jackson.
I liked looking at the pictures. I didn't read all the dialog, as I watched part of the DVD series, and it was basically a documentary of the making of Get Back. After an hour, I got the gist. I didn't need to see 8 hours of it.
I did enjoy seeing pictures of the Fab Four. ( )

I saw the Peter Jackson’s documentary feature film, The Beatles: Get Back
first. 5 stars. I loved it. Seeing it is the main reason I wanted to also read the book.

Wow! This is pretty much the documentary, but without the music but with some fascinating extra essays including one by Jackson. The documentary and the complement each other well. I think the entire transcript is in the book and I admit that I skimmed at times though I wouldn’t have if I hadn’t seen the film.

One of the things that most impressed me about the documentary, and I was reminded of it here, was what good parenting Heather got from both Linda and Paul. I was impressed.

It was fun to relive the documentary. I grinned again at the rooftop day. I wish I had been there. I make a decision I still regret to not get tickets and go to the Beatles last concert at Candlestick Park in San Francisco. We didn’t know it was going to be their last concert. I was only 12, but a friend and I considered going and I was the one who nixed it. I had/have a few friends who did go. It’s a decision I regret. I never went to any of their other concerts either. The tickets were cheap and there were plenty of available seats. I guess these sorts of films and books give me some vicarious satisfaction. (There are many great links about it: look up August 29, 1966 Beatles last concert at Candlestick Park in San Francisco.)

I’m glad I read this and glad I got some extra information not in the documentary but this is a rare time when I enjoyed the movie more than the book.

4-1/2 stars ( )

Although Get Back includes a Foreword from Peter Jackson, an Introduction from Hanif Kureishi, and an Afterword from John Harris, the Beatles are rightfully credited as authors of the book. The bulk of Get Back is verbatim dialogue taken directly from the 120 hours of tape recorded in January 1969 while the Beatles were trying to figure out for themselves if they were working on a TV show, a documentary, a live appearance, or simply their next album (Let It Be). As such, the book makes for the near perfect companion piece to Jackson’s almost eight-hour documentary recently released on Disney+.

Beatles fans know, of course, that what happened in January 1969 also marked the beginning of the end of The Beatles as a band. Rather than ever again performing live as a band or collaborating in any real sense, the Beatles were on the verge of embarking on solo careers, something that everyone but Ringo Starr seemed keen to do. Inevitable as the breakup was, it still marks a sad moment in the lives of contemporary fans of the band, a moment they still remember well.

But, as Hanif Kureishi puts it:

“Don’t cry about it. The end of The Beatles was as necessary as it was inevitable, as important and liberating as the end of any relationship. The Sixties were done; the Seventies would be darker and The Beatles were only rarely a dark band. Something else, far harder and crueler would be required. After Abbey Road there would be Bowie’s Hunky Dory.”

Get Back is presented in three acts: “Act One: Twickenham Film Studios,” “Act Two: Apple Studios,” and “Act Three: The Rooftop.” The acts are further broken down into separate conversations for each day that The Beatles worked at the specified location, clarified in part by noting what songs were rehearsed, who else was present but silent, and what activities were happening in the background.

Keep in mind that this is what is often referred to as a “coffee table” book, an oversized book using heavy, glossy paper that includes dozens of specially selected photos taken at the time by photographers Ethan A. Russell and Linda McCartney (wife of Paul McCartney). The thing weighs in at over four pounds, and feels even heavier than that for some reason; this is a quality product. Reading Get Back may not be the same as watching Peter Jackson’s stunning documentary, but it is definitely the next best thing. Even better, is doing both.

I’ll close with one final quote from Mr. Kureishi:

“They had to escape. And we had to let them go. We owed them that, after what they’d done for us. The four of them would go on working, playing and entertaining us. It was their living, their life and destiny. Our tribute is to play the records and hand them on to our kids, while thanking the band, and being grateful every time we hear those voices for some of the most beautiful pop songs ever created.”

Yes. ( )

So…this is for the 104 page hardback book that comes with the deluxe CD 50th anniversary re-issue of Let It Be. This book includes a forward by Paul McCartney; an introduction by Giles Martin; Glyn Johns Remembers; detailed track by track notes (for Let It Be and Glyn Johns’ Get Back mix, Anthology cuts, and two more discs of outtakes); and how the project morphed from Get Back to Let It Be.
Chocked full of photos and memorabilia scraps.

At some point, I’ll get the 240 edition (I don’t seem to be able to find the 104 page book on Goodreads…) and read that, but for now I’m happy to be listening to the re-mix and especially the Glyn Johns mix which I’ve heard about since Let It Be was first released and haven’t heard until now. ( )