MUSIC DOCUMENTARY
THE BEATLES: GET BACK (PG13)
468 minutes/Disney+
Rating: 4/5
There is this popular notion that the songwriting and recording sessions in 1969 for The Beatles' last album, Let It Be (1970), were fraught with tension. After all, the Fab Four split up a year later, ending the reign of arguably the most important band in rock music.
The Beatles: Get Back, a sprawling new documentary series directed by Lord Of The Rings director Peter Jackson, challenges that idea.
Told in three parts, it dives deep into the fascinating dynamic between the band's four members - John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. The never-before-seen scenes were edited and restored from over 60 hours of footage originally filmed for what would become the 1970 Let It Be documentary film that accompanied the album of the same name.
Sure, there are depictions of disagreements but, for the most part, there is a genuine sense of bonhomie among the quartet. Their infamously irreverent sense of humour is also very much on display, and there is a lot of buffoonery among themselves and the people around them. When they start singing and playing their instruments, their relationship is undeniably symbiotic.
With each part over two hours long - the total running time is almost eight hours - this documentary is no easy watch. Still, seeing the band work on revered songs such as Let It Be and Across The Universe is quite rewarding, and it makes you wonder what else they could have achieved together if they had not gone their separate ways.
INFO The first part of The Beatles: Get Back documentary is available on Disney+, with the second and third parts debuting today and tomorrow.
GIGS
FRED PERRY SUBCULTURE LIVE 2021
This year's instalment of the annual concert series is another regional and online affair.
Representing the Singapore scene are two home-grown acts - dreampop quintet Subsonic Eye and hyperpop singer-songwriter Cayenne, who is also the frontman of indie pop band Sobs.
Subsonic Eye's third album, Nature Of Things, came out at the beginning of the year, while Cayenne, otherwise known as Celine Autumn, released her self-titled EP in June.
The live-stream gig will also feature psychedelic rockers The S.I.G.I.T. and indie pop band Grrrl Gang from Indonesia, as well as rock 'n' roll band band Kapow and ska punk outfit Plague of Happiness from Malaysia.
WHERE Online (str.sg/3N6L) WHEN Tomorrow, 8pm ADMISSION Free
KALAA UTSAVAM
RUDRA
Here is a metal concert with a difference. Home-grown stalwarts Rudra will perform with three classical Indian musicians - singer Aditi Gopinathan, flute player Raghavendran Rajasekaran and mridangam percussion player Viknash Balakirshnan.
The set will comprise updated and rearranged versions of Rudra's songs - from their self-titled debut album in 1998 to their most recent and 10th album, Invoking The Gods (2019).
This will also be the first gig for the band, known for pioneering a sub-genre dubbed vedic metal, since the pandemic hit. It is part of the Esplanade's Indian arts festival Kalaa Utsavam.
WHERE Esplanade Theatre, 1 Esplanade Drive MRT City Hall/Esplanade WHEN Tomorrow, 8pm ADMISSION $22 and $30 from Sistic (go to www.sistic.com.sg or call 6348-5555) INFO str.sg/3pEZ
