That was what George Harrison said about the Get Back and Let It Be recording sessions and film. He had been working with Bob Dylan and Eric Clapton on various projects after completing the Beatles White Album and before the start of Get Back. George Harrison, outside of the Beatles inner sanctum, was being regarded as a musical celebrity, adorned and adored by the rock music community and the youth culture. But back in the Beatles group, he was simply George, the youngest member of the band and the lowest member on the pecking order. Despite his phenomenal talent as a guitarist, Paul would tell him how to play guitar on his songs and berate him.
"Whatever it is that would please you," George said to Paul when he asked him to play his guitar differently on one of Paul's songs for Get Back.
Later on, John Lennon said that he liked the fact that Get Back was showing the Beatles as they really were at that time with "warts and all." Yet, it was Lennon who called in the aid of famed pop music producer Phil Spector to liven up the Get Back recordings and repackage them as Let It Be with strings, an orchestra, and a choir.
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Can't help but wonder whether, somewhere, somehow, John now regrets making that phone call to Phil.
ReplyDeleteIt's funny but it makes sense that being the "low man on the totem pole" would bother George so much--being a songwriter as opposed to Ringo. Drummers seem to feed off the vibe of the band and are less focused on the ego power structure thing. But towards the end they all, unfortunately, seemed pretty insecure.
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