# Get Back 11.25 \[Beatles Documentary\] **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** disney-hulu, documentary-bio, music\ **Created:** [November 20, 2021, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-back-11-25-beatles-documentary/954651 "2021-11-20T02:06:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 11
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2022, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-back-11-25-beatles-documentary/954651/201 "2022-04-16T03:46:22Z")
Yeah, it is long as a thing in itself, but when I think about the hours spent listening, reading about, talking about, watching, etc The Beatles, really, I spent all that time and never got to watch them work, so what’s another 8 hours? ---
**Author:** ![Biffster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biffster/32/339_2.png) [@Biffster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffster)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2022, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-back-11-25-beatles-documentary/954651/202 "2022-04-16T19:02:02Z")
I’m a BIG Beatles fan, but even I found the whole experience of three long films a little tedious. We don’t need to know every detail. There’s reason Greatest Hits packages tend to sell better. This could have been a really good one, maybe two hour synopsis. You don’t have to show the whole working through of songs, multiple times. It’s like, we get it already, Peter. There were good memories too despite the fact that they were coming apart as a band. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2023, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-back-11-25-beatles-documentary/954651/203 "2023-06-13T14:03:08Z")
Bumped. I have to admit, this kinda creeps me out. > **[Paul McCartney says 'final' Beatles song coming thanks to artificial...](https://www.cnn.com/2023/06/13/entertainment/paul-mccartney-ai-beatles-song/index.html)** > > When it comes to artificial intelligence, Sir Paul McCartney doesn’t sound like he’s willing to just “Let It Be.” ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2023, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-back-11-25-beatles-documentary/954651/204 "2023-06-13T14:38:31Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > I have to admit, this kinda creeps me out. On the one hand, it’s not all that different from the two “new” songs that the then-three surviving Beatles made in the 1990s (“Free as a Bird” and “Real Love”), starting with demo tapes that John had recorded. At that time, it was a matter of producer Jeff Lynne, and the engineers, using the digital tools of that era to clean up recordings that Lennon had made on noisy, low-fidelity cassette tapes. (Though, I know that the songs received mixed reactions from fans.) OTOH, with AI involved, it makes one wonder how much would be cleaning up the old recording, versus creating something that isn’t actually there in the recording. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2023, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-back-11-25-beatles-documentary/954651/205 "2023-06-13T14:45:16Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > On the one hand, it’s not all that different from the two “new” songs that the then-three surviving Beatles made in the 1990s (“Free as a Bird” and “Real Love”), using demo tapes that John had recorded. At that time, it was a matter of producer Jeff Lynne, and the engineers, using the digital tools of that era to clean up recordings that were made on noisy, low-fidelity cassette tapes. (Though, I know that the songs received mixed reactions from fans.) Both songs were failures IMHO, they just were too lightweight and forgettable to make any great impact. Does anybody other than die-hard Beatles fans remember one of these songs? That’s why I’m surprised that Paul tries it again. I don’t think it’s because of the money which he already has buttloads of, and he never seemed like the materialistic guy who does anything for a buck. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2023, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-back-11-25-beatles-documentary/954651/206 "2023-06-13T14:51:44Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > That’s why I’m surprised that Paul tries it again. He’s as much, if not more, of a Beatles fan as anybody. Every fan wants to relive the experience of hearing a Beatles song for the first time. The result is inevitably disappointing, but fans aren’t known for their rationality. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2023, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-back-11-25-beatles-documentary/954651/207 "2023-06-13T14:56:28Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > Both songs were failures IMHO, they just were too lightweight and forgettable to make any great impact. Does anybody other than die-hard Beatles fans remember one of these songs? FWIW, I like, and still regularly listen to, “Real Love,” but then, I suppose that I am a die-hard Beatles fan. 😉 Even so, I recognize that it’s not a song that’s really on par with most of their work. > [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > He’s as much, if not more, of a Beatles fan as anybody. Every fan wants to relive the experience of hearing a Beatles song for the first time. This may well be a big part of it. I’m assuming (or, at least, hoping) that the old recordings do have actual guitar work and/or vocals from George, as well. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2023, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-back-11-25-beatles-documentary/954651/208 "2023-06-13T15:01:12Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > FWIW, I like, and still regularly listen to, “Real Love,” but then, I suppose that I am a die-hard Beatles fan. 😉 I’m a die-hard Beatles fan too, of course, but “Real Love” is the one I totally have forgotten. I still remember the chorus of “Free As A Bird”, but with “Real Love” I draw a total blank. And I _own_ all three volumes of “The Beatles Anthology” on which they were first released. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2023, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-back-11-25-beatles-documentary/954651/209 "2023-06-13T15:08:47Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > Both songs were failures IMHO, they just were too lightweight and forgettable to make any great impact. Calling them “failures” implies that they failed at what they were trying to do, which I don’t think is fair to say. I think they were successful at turning a couple of demo tapes into finished-sounding songs. Those songs didn’t really sound like what the Beatles were doing in the 60s, but they do sound like what the Beatles might have done as a group years later. And as far as quality, memorability, etc., I’d put them near, but not at, the bottom of the Beatles’ overall output together. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2023, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-back-11-25-beatles-documentary/954651/210 "2023-06-13T15:15:20Z")
_Free As A Bird_ and _Real Love_ both lack something, a Beatles “spark” is how I would characterize it. To my ear they’re melancholy dirges that don’t summon any feelings of joy or celebration of their work. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2023, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-back-11-25-beatles-documentary/954651/211 "2023-06-13T15:19:25Z")
Yes, I agree, and they sounded too much like contemporary ELO than what the real Beatles could have sounded in the 90s. (no dig at ELO and Jeff Lynne, I usually like what he does, but you have to admit that he has a characteristic production style that you hear in every song he produced. One thing: the snare) ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2023, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-back-11-25-beatles-documentary/954651/212 "2023-06-13T15:29:21Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > (no dig at ELO and Jeff Lynne, I usually like what he does, but you have to admit that he has a characteristic production style that you hear in every song he produced. One thing: the snare) Speaking as a huge ELO fan: you aren’t wrong. I love Jeff, and his music, but the songs he produces with other artists do wind up having that signature ELO sound. I imagine that that’s part of the draw for musicians who work with him: they’re looking for that sound. ---
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2023, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-back-11-25-beatles-documentary/954651/213 "2023-06-13T16:08:33Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > That’s why I’m surprised that Paul tries it again. I don’t think it’s because of the money which he already has buttloads of, and he never seemed like the materialistic guy who does anything for a buck. One thing I took away from “Get Back” is that Paul seemed to have a compulsion to create, which he could never turn off. I assume he’s still that way. It’s as if he _thinks_ in music, and that’s the way he expresses his thoughts and ideas. So when he decided to do something with these tapes, I doubt it had anything to do with money or even preserving the Beatles’ legacy (which is just fine). But I suspect - and this is just me speculating, of course - that once he got this idea in his head, he simply couldn’t _not_ follow through with it, for better or worse. ---
**Author:** ![B.Serum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/b.serum/32/14266_2.png) [@B.Serum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/B.Serum)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2023, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-back-11-25-beatles-documentary/954651/214 "2023-06-13T16:47:29Z")
Regarding the song “Real Love,” which has been brought up a few times… Regina Spector (no relation to Phil) recorded a version of this song that never fails to give me chills, in the best possible way. Though she originally recorded it for a [benefit album](https://youtu.be/JUwUGuHw5js), I actually prefer **[this live version](https://youtu.be/PQm0QlfvWtk)**, in which her vocal delivery is more impassioned, IMHO. She made me _love_ that song. ---
**Author:** ![B.Serum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/b.serum/32/14266_2.png) [@B.Serum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/B.Serum)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2023, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-back-11-25-beatles-documentary/954651/215 "2023-06-13T17:02:12Z")
> [@Wheelz](#): > > One thing I took away from “Get Back” is that Paul seemed to have a compulsion to create, which he could never turn off. 100%. Anyone that follows his releases knows that not only does he keeps not stopping to make music, the dude keeps experimenting with genre and styles. Regardless of whether the results float your boat or not, I am stunned he has maintained such a passion to not just play the oldies, but to _create_. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2023, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-back-11-25-beatles-documentary/954651/216 "2023-06-13T17:04:39Z")
> [@B.Serum](#): > > Regarding the song “Real Love,” which has been brought up a few times… > > Regina Spector (no relation to Phil) recorded a version of this song that never fails to give me chills, in the best possible way. > > Though she originally recorded it for a [benefit album](https://youtu.be/JUwUGuHw5js), I actually prefer **[this live version](https://youtu.be/PQm0QlfvWtk)**, in which her vocal delivery is more impassioned, IMHO. > > She made me _love_ that song. Very nice - thanks. To my untrained ear, she sounds a lot like Ruth B.: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58TBZnvyGwQ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58TBZnvyGwQ) I much prefer “Real Love” to “Free As A Bird,” but neither are anywhere close to the Beatles’ best. ---
**Author:** ![B.Serum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/b.serum/32/14266_2.png) [@B.Serum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/B.Serum)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2023, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-back-11-25-beatles-documentary/954651/217 "2023-06-13T17:05:39Z")
Since Lynne has produced all the surviving ex-Beatles in addition to the faux-Beatles songs, one could put together a compilation that holds together sonically pretty well. ---
**Author:** ![B.Serum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/b.serum/32/14266_2.png) [@B.Serum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/B.Serum)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2023, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-back-11-25-beatles-documentary/954651/218 "2023-06-13T17:08:52Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > Very nice - thanks. To my untrained ear, she sounds a lot like Ruth B Nice! You introduced me to a new artist I’m going to have to do a deep dive on! Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2023, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-back-11-25-beatles-documentary/954651/219 "2023-06-13T18:20:55Z")
Glad to, **B.Serum**! Didn’t Lennon say that ELO was what the Beatles would have become, or something like that? ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2023, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-back-11-25-beatles-documentary/954651/220 "2023-06-13T19:23:49Z")
I think he called ELO the “sons of the Beatles.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-back-11-25-beatles-documentary/954651.md?page=10) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-back-11-25-beatles-documentary/954651.md?page=12)