Sir Paul McCartney is a Beatles fan. While that might seem painfully obvious, it’s actually not where the music superstar found himself when he was actually in The Beatles. After all, it can seem like a gargantuan task to grasp the profundity of your seminal work while you’re in the middle of making it. And maybe, rather than the impossible task of reckoning with it, you just move forward as so many musicians have done. However, it’s the rearview glances that help us understand the magnitude of what we’ve done, what we’ve left behind, what we’ll be remembered for.
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McCartney, of course, has a bit more to reflect on than most of us, and can you blame him? He was a driving force of perhaps the most influential and celebrated body of popular music in history, an eternally beloved figure who continues today to produce great music. Though, watching Hulu’s six-part doc series “McCartney 3,2,1,” the viewer witnesses McCartney, stripped down of all the pomp and circumstance, casually shooting the breeze with zen mega-producer/Def Jam co-founder/beautifully bearded Rick Rubin about the legacy The Beatles left behind, note by note, sound by sound, beat by beat. It’s downright electrifying to see such a lofty icon like McCartney just pal around with a music supergenius like Rubin and geek out about the soundtrack to most of our lives. Directed by director Zachary Heinzerling and shot in black-and-white on stage with easily accessible instruments and gear, perfect for spontaneously seguing to, “oh, speaking of that part, here’s what I did with this legendary song on the piano,” moments, “McCartney 3,2,1” is required viewing for Beatles diehards. It’s also splendid time for anyone who has ever held a Beatles song close to their hearts. Music nerds will also appreciate the moments that isolate underrated drum tracks, and more specifically, McCartney’s rolling, sometimes ostentatious basslines that were hyper-creative, unorthodox, counter-intutive and still arguably not properly appreciated for their genius.
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“McCartney 3,2,1” stuns in its simplicity and in that sense feels very much like a product of Rubin, known for his simplicity, stripping things back to their purest elements and leading musicians to water like a divining rod in the desert of their uncertainty (those who know Rubin’s music podcast Broken Record, will very much feel like they are in familiar territory, or, even a kind of live-action extension of those insightful conversations). The docs best moments simply feature McCartney and Rubin jamming out to pristine mixes of some of The Beatles’ and McCartney the solo artist’s most recognizable songs, with key musical moments—a deceptively complex bass line, a quiet Moog line, an orchestral sting— often hidden to the ear because they’ve been hidden in the layers of the mixes, brought into stunning prominence (those who appreciate musical chops may find their jaws on the floor all over again hearing these amazingly crafted parts in isolation). The camera rotates around the big smiles, and head nods as the melody or awe of the inventive musicianship overtakes them both. For McCartney, it’s a simple appreciation of the work he’s so proud of, sometimes even surprise at specific moments they built, like he’s hearing it for the first time. For Rubin, you can tell its childlike excitement to be standing with likely one of his major idols, sharing in the splendor of essential music. Frequently, Rubin and McCartney play with the mixes and zero in on specific notes and instruments to geek out on why it sounds so good. McCartney scatters about little nuggets of priceless insight on why this song is called this or why this sound comes across this way.
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There’s a genuine curiosity in McCartney’s approach of looking back on the music he created, and Rubin, a towering figure in his own right, is just a fan who knows his stuff and knows exactly the right questions to ask. It’s hard to find this level of alchemy in such a standard production, but Heinzerling really nails the scrapbook nature of thumbing through McCartney’s memories and sonic inspirations. The biggest findings are The Beatles were merely an evolution of music they loved, with artists like Ray Charles, Chuck Berry and The Everly Brothers flowing into the sound McCartney and the boys found for their global smash hits. The Beatles are, of course, legendary and brilliant, but they’re in great debt to the music that came before them. The humility McCartney brings into readily acknowledging is cool, classy, and without a second thought.
To say the series isn’t comprehensive robs it of its efficiency. No, McCartney and Rubin can’t get through the entire Beatles catalog within six 30-minute episodes. We can’t dig as deeply as the most ardent fan might hope to, but the fact McCartney, nearing 80, is still more than willing to dive into his past and play such a caring ambassador for his and his old bandmates’ music is not something we should take lightly. With John Lennon and George Harrison already passed on, McCartney and drummer extraordinaire Ringo Starr are all that’s left that connects the present to the band’s glorious past and McCartney is deeply generous about giving each and everyone of them their proper due (there’s a really beautiful moment too where Rubin quotes McCartney a passage of someone praising his musical ability and songcraft, only to find out at the end of the anecdote it was John Lennon that said it. If you’re into this sort of thing, McCartney and Rubin’s free-flowing conversation is as good as it gets when it comes to dissecting such an overwhelming body of work.
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“McCartney 3,2,1” feels special. Of course, we have no idea how long we’ll have Sir Paul with us, but while he’s here, it’s a gift to hear him rewind it and take us on any journey he can; to Abbey Road, to learn even just a little bit more about The Beatles, the individual members, producer George Martin, and many of those folks instrumental in making their musical magic. You get goosebumps just seeing him and Rubin cast big grins at each other, getting excited about the next song. If you think you already know and love the Beatles, and you probably do, “McCartney 3,2,1” will give you a renewed appreciation and wonder for everything they accomplished and the brimming creativity in their work. There’s a purity to what Heinzerling has done with this, something that is so cut-and-dry that still feels rigorously intellectual and vastly considerate. In the era of over-take-ification, being able just to have an empathetic conversation about art you love feels like a breath of fresh air. “McCartney 3,2,1” is so compelling and watchable, it feels like the type of art appreciation that should be recreated with absolutely every living musical we still have with us that is willing. If Heinzerling and Rubin have anyone else in mind, we’re all ears. [A]