George/Paul dust-up during the Get Back sessions

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by Joel1963, Jul 10, 2018.

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  1. Bemagnus

    Bemagnus Music is fun

    The remarkable thing here is not that two young work-mates had an argument some 50 years ago. The real question is that grown ups still takes position and fight the battle.
    All people-friends and others-occasionally fight. Within the dynamics of a band that s a natural thing. Given that the Beatles were human beings like everyone else it s even more natural. Given that there was both giant talent, competitivness and egos involved -even more so.
     
  2. numer9

    numer9 Beatles Apologist

    Location:
    Philly Burbs
    Why would he be talking to John about a guitar part that George plays?
     
  3. Chris Schoen

    Chris Schoen Rock 'n Roll !!!

    Location:
    Maryland, U.S.A.
    John Lennon was a jerk.
     
  4. numer9

    numer9 Beatles Apologist

    Location:
    Philly Burbs
    Please. George did not have a problem with this.
     
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  5. numer9

    numer9 Beatles Apologist

    Location:
    Philly Burbs
    How do you know he didn't?
     
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  6. idreamofpikas

    idreamofpikas Forum Resident

    Location:
    england
    Surely they are equally at fault over this? If George is keeping quiet about his issues and playing the martyr then how is the 'bullish' Paul meant to know what the problem is.

    When people try to make out that George is the victim they keep on bringing up his age but Paul is only months older, not years. It is not like he is in a position to know any better.


    well this is blatantly not true.

    • first 3 albums; George is barely writing, relying on his colleagues to come up with the songs, happy to sing covers or their leftovers
    • albums 4 & 5; he starts to take it more seriously, by his own admission J&P are very supportive, but he is not great
    • albums 6 & 7; genuine improvement, so much so that Revolver gets him three songs and the opening song. this should be his springboard to become an equal, especially as John is becoming less driven
    • sgt pepper & MMT; he loses interest in western music, the responsibility for keeping the Beatles at the top is completely on John and Paul. Now this period also saw John a little jaded but he still contributed more than his fair share, George did not, not even close.
    • George comes back stronger and is awarded for it, 4 songs on the White album, 2 of the 6 on Yellow Submarine and of the three singles released in '68 George has two of the b-sides.
    • '69 see's George earn his first a side, both partners gush over his songs on Abbey Road


    The whole narrative that the others did not recognize him improvement is wrong especially when you look at the ASIDES/BSIDES of the last three years, he is featured on more than John in '68 and '70 and more than Paul in '69
     
  7. DTK

    DTK Forum Resident

    Location:
    Europe
    He was also very very funny when he wanted to be, a natural comedian. Two two traits do not cancel each other out.
    Paul was never funny.
     
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  8. Chris Schoen

    Chris Schoen Rock 'n Roll !!!

    Location:
    Maryland, U.S.A.
    Good thing he was "serious".
     
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  9. DTK

    DTK Forum Resident

    Location:
    Europe
    Well he was always a seriously unfunny guy sometkme trying his hardest to be funny, culminating in the epic catastrophe Give My Regards To Broad Street.
     
  10. Chris Schoen

    Chris Schoen Rock 'n Roll !!!

    Location:
    Maryland, U.S.A.
    I have high regard for McCartney for his musical talent. I can find plenty of humor elsewhere.
     
  11. Arnold Grove

    Arnold Grove Senior Member

    Location:
    NYC
     
  12. drbryant

    drbryant Senior Member

    Location:
    Los Angeles, CA
    Isn’t that why they cut his solo scene in A Hard Days Night?
     
  13. theMess

    theMess Forum Resident

    Location:
    Kent, UK
    John was hilarious, I especially love the Apple interview he and Paul gave in 1968 in New York, basically everything he said in that interview was gold.

    As for Paul, he normally stepped back whilst the other three made the jokes and have some banter with the press, partly because he was the one trying to keep the press on their side, but he can be funny when he wants to be. I love it when he answered the ridiculous press questions about the meanings of their songs by saying that they just wanted to write songs about prostitutes and lesbians. That certainly made John laugh.
     
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  14. redfloatboat

    redfloatboat Forum Resident

    Lennon's 'dust-ups' were usually against much weaker guys, and also women. Out of the four i actually think Ringo would be the most handy.[he was from the roughest part of Liverpool.]
     
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  15. idreamofpikas

    idreamofpikas Forum Resident

    Location:
    england
     
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  16. Arnold Grove

    Arnold Grove Senior Member

    Location:
    NYC
    If George could have knocked off John's glasses, it would have been no contest in George's favor.
     
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  17. Six Bachelors

    Six Bachelors Troublemaking enthusiast

    Deadly serious? You think Paul was going to shoot them if they got the intro wrong again?

    It is abundantly clear that Paul is just mucking around. You are completely misreading this.

    No, that’s not evidence of you are saying it is. You are ignoring the body language, the laughter and the tone of voice, not to mention the immense unlikelihood of Paul, being in a place that would have meant a lot to him with people whose music meant a lot to him, being rude to them for making a mistake.
     
    Last edited: Jul 12, 2018
  18. stuguy

    stuguy Forum Resident

    George sounds just fine to me with the solo on “And Your Bird Can Sing”. And I totally agree that Paul did play more lead guitar in this time frame. He also contributed to the double tracked solo on this song. I always enjoyed the solo in “Drive My Car” too.

    My guess is he focused more on the sitar during the 1966-1968 period. My understanding is that this instrument is very difficult to master and very uncomfortable to play.

    George’s guitar playing definitely seems much improved by 1969. The guitar work on Abbey Road, the solo on “Let It Be” are in my opinion really good.
     
  19. Can we infer from Paul's remark at the end that that bit wasn't actually aired after all?

    And I agree with theMess that Paul can be funny too. I think on a good day he may display a deadpan, somehow twisted sense of humor.
     
  20. Six Bachelors

    Six Bachelors Troublemaking enthusiast

    Well, that was Leo Fender’s idea actually.
     
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  21. Rfreeman

    Rfreeman Senior Member

    Location:
    Lawrenceville, NJ
    "Solo" on And Your Bird Can Sing is Paul and George playing two parts that harmonize with one another and Paul's bass provides third contrapuntal line. Given 2 of the 3 lines are Paul and he is the one with the writing credit, I attribute this work at least as much to Paul as to George
     
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  22. PRW94

    PRW94 Forum Resident

    Location:
    The Southeast
    Oh come on ... people can view that video through different prisms, certainly. I hear an edge in Macca's voice, you and other people don't. So be it.

    But his freaking ego is as big as the Grand Canyon quadrupled ... just like John's, George's and Ringo's ... and you think he's going to defer to ANYONE, even a hero or a supposed "peer" if he doesn't like what's happening? The man doesn't walk on water or divide the fishes and feed the multitudes. I read at the time of the "Say, Say, Say" video shoot that "there was only one star on the set that day," which was Paul, but Michael learned and certainly messed up the spokes of Paulie's little red wagon later on, which I kind of got a perverse kind of kick out of. I do love and respect Paul, and he's probably a bit of a different person at 76 than he was at 27 or even 47, but everybody even Beatles ... and I certainly raise my hand and say "I do too" ... needs to be taken down a notch at some point.

    The thing is, to the subject at hand, this video is irrelevant. George and Paul got cross with each other because they'd been together a long time and they were tired of each other and the thing was falling apart because it had already gone ... if you go back to the late '50s ... way longer than the general shelf life of most rock bands. People like the Stones are an anomaly ...
     
  23. DrBeatle

    DrBeatle The Rock and Roll Chemist

    Location:
    Midwest via Boston
    The irony was it was John's treatment of George during those sessions that pushed him over the edge to quit (including nearly throwing punches at each other). But no one EVER talks about that about hardcore Beatles circles because it detracts from the "Paul was the only one who was a dick to poor George" narrative that's been built up since 1970.
     
  24. Jackstar74

    Jackstar74 Forum Resident

    They were all jerks
     
  25. Chris Schoen

    Chris Schoen Rock 'n Roll !!!

    Location:
    Maryland, U.S.A.
    Some more than others. I just enjoy the music, and try not to think about it too much. :shrug:
     
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