break up the Beatles? Directly, no. But indirectly,
yes. Beyond their talent, the magic of the Beatles
was in their chemistry, in their total commitment
to the music and to each other, a rich and
intricate balance fatally upended once John’s
passions turned elsewhere.)
MCCARTNEY’S TIME
For partisans who like to choose between
Lennon and Paul McCartney, this is a prime
argument for McCartney, the maturing of “The
Cute Beatle” and a master craftsman’s surrender
to deeper, even unwanted feelings. Shaken he
may lose the band, and the songwriting partner,
he loved above all else, McCartney responded
with the bittersweet 1968 epic “Hey Jude” and
with the somber “Let it Be,” “The Long and
Winding Road” and other works he brought to
the January sessions. While Lennon turns up
with little new material, McCartney is so inspired
he conjures the riff and title for “Get Back” in a
matter of seconds. A song which he sketched
out on film and ended up on the “Abbey Road”
album may have best defined his thinking:
“Carry That Weight.”
GRUMPY GEORGE
If George (“The Quiet Beatle”) seems
uncommonly grumpy at times, it isn’t just out
of frustration with getting his songs accepted,
or with Paul’s controlling manner. He had spent
part of 1968 with Bob Dylan and the Band in
Woodstock, New York, thriving on the kind
of easy camaraderie that George rarely finds
anymore with the Beatles. He will summon
it during “Get Back” when he steps in to help
Ringo Starr write “Octopus’s Garden,” adding