Originally Posted by NYCBlue
Exactly. Why did George leave the group. 2 weeks ago, we all thought it had something to do with the bust-up with McCartney. Turns out he was whinging a bit, some justified because his songs were being ignored, some not. Paul working closely with John on Two of Us upset him, he flounced.
John Lennon was, we are constantly told by people who don't know a lot, THE main guy in the Beatles. McCartney, him of the Frog Chorus, was supposedly hanging onto him. This documentary proves otherwise. Lennon was addicted to Heroin at this time. McCartney is working on 2/3 songs some days, and not just fillers. The Long and Winding Road, Get Back,Two of Us, Let it Be. Three would become number 1s. Two of Us is one of their most underrated songs. He was also shaping "Don't Let me Down". Judging by the documentary, I think you could easily make that Lennon song a 30-70 split in Lennon's favour. Also interesting that Lennon - the hard rocker - wants the lyrics to be corny. So, McCartney wasn't always the corny one as the NME (under the influence of pro-Lennon journalists) portrayed. Remember, NME gave Ram a very good review, but this was pulled and a negative review was set up instead.
McCartney holding back tears after saying "Then there were two" as Harrison left, and Lennon hadn't shown up. The guy was under huge pressure, and was showing huge productivity as his way to hold the band together. "I'm scared to be the boss". Harrison is already talking about doing solo stuff, Lennon's head is elsewhere.
Complaints about McCartney spending lots of time on his own songs seem founded, but I think his songs had a bit more complexity - certainly Let it Be, and he plainly had more songs than the others to work on.
Harrison having a number of really good songs, Old Brown Shoe written in a day.
Nostalgia, very interesting to see how often they refer to the past. Comparing Beatles '65 with Beatles '66 is like decades have passed. That is how much they changed music, and in a short time. They already view songs like "Help!" as an oldie. It was only 3 years old. Artistically, they were moving ahead. Full steam. But, an "unplugged" type album after the variety of the White Album and the extravagance of Pepper seemed to be the wrong choice.
Unable to write music, they could communicate what was needed. Lennon and McCartney still had a working relationship, but Lennon was veering in directions that McCartney would not consider - especially some substances.
The documentary is worth watching for the birth of "Get Back". It takes McCartney minutes. It's worth it for the rooftop concert which, in my opinion, is one of their best ever performances as a group.
If Starr was able to go abroad, if they had more time, and if they did a live show somewhere then, in my opinion, there was a chance that they would have stuck at it a bit longer. It is clear they are fed up of just producing albums and are feeling a bit constrained. "What's the end product" McCartney comments. "It's not just for the money now".
And "On the Road to Marrakech" (Jealous Guy) had really nice lyrics too.
It's history, but it hasn't gone. Their influence can be heard to this day.
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