Oh! Darling
The Beatles
From their final recording sessions and gracing (perhaps) their best album ABBEY ROAD — I love that we get to see the seeds of this song in Peter’s Jackson’s GET BACK. Even though Jackson’s doc came out in November of 2021, it’s still probably my favorite movie event of ‘21 and ‘22.
Sometimes I put it on in the background — it’s that good — and watch/feel/sense the Beatles working out their songs. Their wit, humanity, their harmonies and talents on full display, and with intimate details. Mind-blowing to be a fly on the wall in that studio. Jackson did some miraculous work here — knowing when to keep his hands off the magic and when to cut + move faster. How he structured it and kept the story unfolding deliberately until their final show.
The celluloid is so beautiful to look at and I love the choice to make it 8 hours in three parts instead one long 2-3 hour show.
The eight hours are never boring — sometimes hypnotizing. I find it endlessly re-watchable and exhilarating to see their creative process and their personalities uncensored. Each Beatle is here, warts and all — each so talented. And as great as John, George and Ringo are, it’s Paul who comes off like the hero of the band. Their incredible run would never have been as long as it was without him — or as a miraculous. As it was, it was only 8 years. I am reeling just thinking about the staggering amount of genius work they produced in that amount of time. And PLEASE PLEASE ME is such a far cry from ABBEY ROAD.
I love hearing OH! DARLING rehearsed in GET BACK — so loose, passionate and perfect in their prime. Somehow Paul and John could sing with a kind of abandon at just the right time and never took it too far. It feels like all instinct. And Paul’s screaming is timeless andbeautiful,.
So I ‘m going down this rabbit hole for a few days. I promised early on I wouldn’t do this — but I’m doing it anyway and I’m not sorry. 😁 I could go forty days with this band, but I promise to only follow my heart on a handful of favorite tracks. ♥️🎵
