Excellent Account of the Story Behind ‘Get Back’

I have been revisiting my early years, most recently 1971 Hepworth and having watched Get Back (not really been that interested in the Beatles) as a curiosity and then realised I wanted to know more. And this book hits the spot. I didn’t appreciate the attempt at accents but and had the spied slightly slowed down, but this was one of my fastest ‘reads’. Our dog is exhausted! And now to Hunter David I reckon very Beatles. Playing their lives backwards.

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Great Book

loved it . facts I didn't know. tied up all the Beatkes loise ends for me

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4 people found this helpful

Superb

Such a good book, it's like being there with them amidst the break up. Fascinating

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Fabulous story

For anyone who loves the Beatles this is a great listen. It shows me once again that the Beatles are all about the music. Lennon was hopelessly idealistic in thinking he could change the world but wrote great songs.

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The End of an Era

Comprehensive account of the final days of the Beatles as a group. The cracks began to appear in the Beatles camp when they were making the White Album. With hindsight, they should have taken a break, and it's clear that the 'Get Back' project put the band under a lot of pressure. This was exacerbated by the band members pushing in different directions to do their own thing, and they became less cohesive. John was now more interested in making music with Yoko Ono, and with their own happenings, than the Beatles. The book makes clear that the arrival of Allen Klein at Apple, at the instigation of John, George and Ringo put a strain on their relationship with Paul, who didn't want anything to do with him, and wanted to use Linda's father and brother instead. The fall out over the need to put the Apple Business in order caused a huge rift between Paul on the one side, and John, George, and Ringo on the other. It's clear though that Paul seemed to be the only one who wanted to keep things together and lived in hope that they would survive these differences. Sadly, it wasn't to be, with John announcing internally that he was leaving the band. George was keen to leave too to pursue his own solo projects, feeling frustrated at not being able to have as many songs as he wished on the Beatles' albums. Only Ringo seemed keen to keep the band going with Paul, but still sided with John and George on the business fall out.

Although highly entertaining, for Beatle fans, it is a sad to read how the Beatles fell apart at the end. It's clear though that once they got back to do what they did best; playing as a band, that kinship was rekindled, The rooftop performance and Abbey Road are evidence of that.

This book will make you feel a little sad that things couldn't have turned out a little different, if only they hadn't taken time out to pursue their own interests, and to put the business in order. I think if they had taken a hiatus, then the outcome may have been a little different.

There was one issue however that united John and Paul whilst the Beatle thing was disintegrating and that was the ownership of their songs. Both were furious with the sale of their songs to ATV music; such was their protectiveness of their legacy.

A sad ending to the world's greatest group which is very well documented here.

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2 people found this helpful

the greatest group that ever lived.

Truly informative , really enjoyed lots of information .That
I didn't know , till now.
thank you.

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Good book

Very detailed , even for someone who knows a fair bit about the Beatles, there’s probably something in here of interest . With working thru lockdown ( and mostly driving ), this book didn’t take long to go thru. Good book and the narrator has done a good job too . Well done Mr McNab

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4 people found this helpful

Great story, ends abruptly

Enjoyed this audiobook, and the narrator does a great job of the various accents and voices.

Only four stars because the story ends quite abruptly on New Year's Eve 1969, with all that came afterwards summed up in a hasty epilogue.

This is supposed to be about the "last days of the Beatles", and the Beatles didn't officially end until Paul's notorious press release in April 1970, followed by years of legal wrangling. But you won't hear that in this audiobook.

Otherwise enjoyable.

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3 people found this helpful

Good if all too short final year of the Beatles

Brilliantly read and performed, filling in the small details of the Beatles demise just felt that the final period was too rushed. The book never expands on the legal fall out after Paul announces the split with the release of his solo album

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Sudden End

For some reason this book ends suddenly. As if at the end of 1969 that was it, so you don't really get the ending.

Had hoped for a little more so I found this disappointing.

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4 people found this helpful