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hear a song he has come up with the previous evening and begins to play what ends up being the very well-regarded Harrison / Beatles classic , “ I Me Mine .“ McCartney ’ s body language response is instant ; he immediately walks over to George , leans over to look at his lyric and chord sheet , and begins contributing ideas . Shortly after that , John arrives and almost immediately interrupts his playing and singing with rude quips such as “ just run along son , see ya , we ’ re a rock n roll band ya know .” This really startles George . Disgusted with Lennon ’ s reaction , George announces , “ now , John , I don ’ t care if you don ’ t want it , I don ’ t give a fuck , it can go in me musical .” This was the last straw for George . When Georges ultimately makes his departure announcement and is so cavalier about it – McCartney is stunned . For the first time in the film , we see tears welling up in Paul ’ s eyes as he contemplates if this will be the end of the band . After George walks out , Lennon doesn ’ t take much time to retort , ‘ we ’ ll get Clapton .‘ But then , as Peter Jackson ’ s on-screen text reveals , the three Beatles decide to persuade George to rejoin the group by having a group meeting at Ringo ’ s house . Although the forum doesn ’ t go well , a subsequent meeting brings George back .
With the reunification of George , the Beatles decide to leave the impersonal Twickenham studios for the more intimate and familiar surroundings of their eclectic Apple headquarters , located in the stylish Saville Row section of London . We see the basement at Apple morph into an ad hoc recording studio . The moment we see the Beatles in this new environment , the attitudes and moods of all involved are significantly elevated ; it ’ s a fresh start . Ironically , Paul is easily seen as the musical director and taskmaster here . Until John met Yoko , John was always the clear leader . But once John & Yoko became a thing , that relationship is where he placed all of his attention , much to the chagrin of the other three . An old friend of the Beatles is in town and stops by the studio to say hello – keyboardist Billy Preston – who they initially met back in their Hamburg days when Billy was playing with Little Richard . Incredibly , they had just been talking about needing a keyboardist on almost every one of the new songs . Having Billy there and inviting him to check out the brand new Fender Rhodes electric piano that has turned up proves to be that bit of magic sauce the Beatles so desperately needed .
Now reinvigorated , it ’ s fascinating to witness their creative process in action once again . Billy ’ s presence has put them on best behavior . John immediately explains to Billy how they are looking for a keyboardist and that he would be a perfect choice if he ’ s interested . John also adds that he ’ ll be on the album if he ’ s game . The first tune they hit is “ I ’ ve Got A Feeling ,” a song we had heard at least three times before when the group was
24 illinoisentertainer . com march 2022 putting it together . Billy instantly comes up with the electric piano riffs that we recognize will make it to the finished recording . The fit is perfect , the Beatles ’ enthusiasm is evident ; huge smiles abound . We notice now , even more than before , how the sublime chemistry of their songwriting chops mix with their individual and collective charisma to form a song creation platform that is simply astonishing to behold . They finish each other ’ s sentences , figuratively and literally , as if telepathy is at play . The moment the song is over , John moves close to his microphone , looks right at Billy , and says , “ You ’ re in the group !” The Beatles are thrilled , Billy is delighted , and we viewers are ecstatic .
The bonus is that we see so many of the songs that ended up on the Beatles ’ “ final ” album , Abbey Road . A common misconception is that the album Let It Be was the Beatle ’ s final effort , but it was recorded nearly nine months before Abbey Road . Toward the end of Part 2 , we witness Lindsay-Hogg and Glyn Johns approach McCartney and whisper to him their ultimate compromise for a “ grand finalé : Play live on the roof of Apple headquarters during the business lunchtime break and capture this sudden , unexpected concert by the world ’ s most famous rock group . Jackson zooms in for an extreme close-up shot in slow motion , brilliantly showing the utter joy on McCartney ’ s face as he realizes the beautiful mix of avant-garde meets rock ‘ n roll meets insane surprise . And it ’ s all done silently , with only Peter Jackson ’ s text telling us what is being shared privately with Paul . It ’ s a veritable ‘ goosebumps on our goosebumps ’ moment .
Disc 3 is entirely about their preparation for and execution of the rooftop concert . We get to see the entire rooftop show this time and experience the Beatles and their entourage evaluating it afterward in the control room . After the walkouts , the goof-offs , the brush – offs , the procrastinative apathy , and the unbridled enthusiasm of Billy Preston – as – catalyst , it is such a payoff : The rooftop concert experience was indeed an emotional catharsis for the Beatles , their entourage , the Londoners who were there , and us .
The Beatles – with the help of producer George Martin , director Michael Lindsay- Hogg , engineer and co-producer Glyn Johns , Apple exec and longtime roadie Mal Evans , Apple Films director Denis O ’ Dell , and ancillary musician ( and almost fifth Beatle ) Billy Preston – all under the masterful leadership of filmmaker and storytelling giant Peter Jackson –– have provided us with a masterwork on creativity . It ’ s a testament to the love this group of like-minded Liverpudlians had for each other . Their collective chemistry , charisma , talent , and intuition were second to none . To the uninitiated , realize that what may appear as repetition or excessive length in rehearsals will begin to make sense the more you research the phenomenon of the Beatles : Get Back is a love letter to the creative process . We are the lucky beneficiaries of your shared , distinct vision – and will be feeling the effect of your prolific film for decades to come . continued from page 22
whole lot better . Or maybe another guy in the band hears something different in it ." Sonically , Oui isn ' t a far stretch from the last LP , as it continues to showcase a not-too-fine honing of their signature amalgam of ' 70s glam rock , ' 80s arena rock , and ' 90s grunge . The record starts off with a surprisingly cheerful and deliberately imperfect cover of Wham ! ' s " Freedom " opens the record . They had heard the song while riding in a cab in Moscow during an acoustic overseas tour in 2004 . " It occupies a place of honor on the record because it functioned as a sort of icebreaker when we went to Rock House Studio in St . Joseph , Minnesota ," Roeser explained .
" You ' re always wondering which song to break the ice with , and there ' s always nerves and it ' s a little forced … it was a way to play something that maybe wasn ' t going to be crucial to the record . And we had a lot of fun doing it because it was low pressure … it wasn ' t planned ."
The rest of the record unfolds like scenes in a film fading in and out . " Necessary Evil " is a moody Roeser trope about the secrets lovers keep . " Follow My Shadow " is a KISS-esque anthem with meaty guitars and layered vocals . " How Sweet The Light " is Kato ' s ode , some say , to his late friend ( and Material Issue co-founder ) Jim Ellison , or at least to those who lost the inner battle , and how grateful he is to not have taken the same road : " Jesus , Mary , Jehovah , I almost crossed over " – buoyed by dichotomously chimey , Cheap Trick-y guitars and big drum fills . " A Prisoner ' s Dilemma " is an ambitious , multilayered , cheeky ode to Amanda Knox , the young American woman who was accused and convicted of murdering her roommate and fellow exchange student in Italy in 2007 . " Forgiven " is a driving blues-rock number and " Litany " is a hard-rock track that builds up to a searing crescendo that would turn any Pantera fan on . " I Can ' t Stay Glad @ U " is a love song : " You ' re high upon the mountain - while I in the valley of madness - When our love burns & crashes - you will still rise from the ashes ," The record closes on " Snow ," a Roeser tune that shares the same brooding elements as Dinosaur Jr ., Sonic Youth , and Pixies .
" I think after the fact I see more cohesion there , which often that happens with Urge ," said Roeser . " It ' s not like we have some secret plan to put something there for people to uncover . But certain themes in hindsight come out and make sense , even the subject
Urge Overkill circa 1990
matter of ' freedom ' could be about the band , or me , and Nash or whatever , and making a stand . We never discuss those things . Some of the expansive themes are I guess more mythological than specific ."
Kato : " We ' re old school ; we ' re very fortunate that everything we ' ve put out was pressed into vinyl . So obviously when we go to make an album , we think A side-B side ." " I don ' t know how many other bands still think of constructing things in that way , but that ' s how we do it - we still think of it as a platter that ' s spinning ," Roeser added . " I heard the test pressing and it sounded fantastic . And when I heard ' Forgiven ' on XRT the other night , they had a digital copy and put it through their compressors or whatever . But I swear to god this thing sounded 10 times better on my vinyl copy than it did over the radio . Nash and I were both astounded at the improvement that came over the whole thing when we got our vinyl test pressings back . The record just seemed to really make sense when you hear it on vinyl ."
How serendipitous , then , that vinyl has been making an unexpected comeback . And so is UO .