McCartney 3,2,1

You don't have to be a Beatles fanatic to enjoy this documentary, but it helps. Paul McCartney joins legendary producer Rick Rubin in a large studio and goes through various Beatles songs, albums, memories, as well as moments from the Wings and his solo career, in non-chronological order. The format is simple - and filmed in black and white. Rubin asks McCartney a leading question or plays a bit of a classic song through a mixer (sometimes removing the instrumentation so you only hear McCartney's voice, or removing the voices so you only hear the instrumentation). And then he just lets Sir Paul talk. And we're talking the Beatles here so there are many fascinating stories to be told.

Rubin also has access to original tracks from Abbey Road so you hear previously unreleased versions of many classic tracks. For someone who is credited for bringing rap music and hip hop into the mainstream, Rubin is a certified music historian for all genres, and McCartney is totally at ease with him and even feels humbled by his role as the interviewer.

Some viewers who just want to hear music without all the "background" may get bored with the documentary. The documentary is 3 hours long, but is presented in 30-minute episodes. The recent Bee Gees documentary directed by Frank Marshall would have benefited from this approach.

As these legendary musicians are entering their twilight years (but McCartney amazingly is still putting out albums of good to great material), it is critical to get these documentaries made now. I would love to see a similar documentary on Bob Dylan. I tried to get into the various documentaries on Dylan and couldn't. This simple, stripped down approach in McCartney 3, 2, 1 should be a new template for other music documentarians.

Even if you know most the stories behind the iconic Beatles songs, there's still plenty new to learn here about how they were constructed or key mistakes/happy accidents that became epic moments in Beatles history.

(Just wait until you hear how "Come Together" was originally intended).

This certainly isn't a "Beatles documentary" that goes in chronological order and reminisces about their greatest hits. It jumps from era to era, song to song--even including McCartney solo stuff and Wings.

But boy, there's some really cool stuff in here--they have the original masters (!!!) from Abbey Road and Rubin is constantly pulling tracks in and out to illustrate what McCartney's talking about. It's like a better-produced, more free-form take on the show "Classic Albums".

But it also focuses on the musical ideas/techniques (and the mistakes) rather than simply the composition (as "Classic Albums" does).

It probably wouldn't be of much interest to non-musicians or non-music geeks, but for those who are, it's a must-watch.

It should be noted there's not much gossip here about the Beatles' personal lives or drama behind the scenes--it's very focused on the music.

Exhaustive and somewhat exhausting, incredibly jam-packed with behind the scenes Beatles lore and analysis of musical composition and arrangements, Macca's interviews with record mogul Rick Rubin come across very relaxed and conversational, making the viewer feel. As much as possible, that they are also in on the conversation. Bits of historical contexts are included, but I think the more you are familiar with the material discussed, the better oriented you'll feel to absorb it all..,

I loved this show. Lennon and McCartney were both geniuses. McCartney pays great homage to the influence of George Martin and the impact he had on the Beatles. It's interesting to hear isolated parts of some of their most famous songs played. It shows how musically gifted they were. There are lots of lovely little anecdotes and the interviewer has a great rapport with McCartney. I saw him perform in Sydney a couple of years ago, 44 songs. He still has it, the voice is a lot thinner but he surrounds himself with the best musicians in the business.

The only annoying thing about this documentary is that Paul chews gum virtually all the way through it. It gets a bit tedious after a while. It's beautifully shot in glorious black and white. Highly recommended.

Greetings again from the darkness. Remember when ... in 1993 ... Chris Farley interviewed Paul McCartney on "Saturday Night Live"? That was awesome. Mr. Farley passed away four years later, and Sir Paul McCartney is now 79 years old and truly a living music legend. This Hulu original consists of six 30 minute episodes directed by Zachary Heinzerling, who was Oscar nominated for his 2013 documentary CUTIE AND THE BOXER. Filmed in black and white from inside a recording studio, McCartney and famed hip-hop music producer Rick Rubin spend three hours talking music, history, and influence.

Many of the stories McCartney tells here are the same he's told numerous times over the years, however, he infuses each episode with some new tale or, even better, a peek behind the music he's created over the last 60 years. Of course, there is next to nothing about his private life which he has expertly protected for so long, but this environment is about one topic. A sound studio with a music producer talking music with a musician should only be about the music, and McCartney and Rubin fascinate us by deconstructing some of the most famous and popular songs ever written.

The stories in the episodes meander a bit, rather than go in chronological order, and each contains some color clips that correspond to McCartney's memory of the moment. Episode 1, "These Things Bring You Together" finds Paul recalling how Edith Piaf not only influenced his songwriting, but also his "French" phase (although Jane Asher is not mentioned). It's really mesmerizing to hear Paul discuss the "intercontinental rivalry" with the Beach Boys and how the Pet Sounds album motivated him towards "Sgt Pepper's Lonely Heart Club Band" (sprinkled with a humorous salt and pepper story). An incredible clip of Jimi Hendrix performing "Sgt Pepper", and Paul incessantly chomps on his chewing gum as he refers to "George's friend", who just happens to be Eric Clapton.

Episode 2, "The Notes That Like Each Other", has Paul discussing how Bach influenced his songwriting, and we get insight into "Eleanor Rigby" (and the Octet), "Penny Lane" (with Dave Mason's piccolo trumpet), "Band on the Run", "Blackbird", and the trip to Lagos. It's in this segment where Paul first acknowledges the importance of George Martin as producer, performer, and arranger. Episode 3, "The People We Loved Were Loving Us", opens with "Back in the USSR", and the Beatles first number one hit in the U. S.: "I Wanna Hold Your Hand". Paul then reiterates the importance of seeing Roy Orbison, Jimi Hendrix, and Bob Dylan perform, and how every musician is influenced by others. He re-tells the too-familiar "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" story, and recalls the band's trip to India.

Episode 4, "Like Professors in a Laboratory", is a bit of a hodgepodge, but may include the most new details of any. Rubin and McCartney discuss the process for pushing the treble on George's guitar for "Nowhere Man", the opening chord of "A Hard Day's Night", and the band's fascination with having Robert Moog and his new invention at Abbey Road. We also hear "the Ringo moment", and Paul talks about penning his James Bond theme, "Live and Let Die", and the segment ends with "You Know My Name". Episode 5, "Couldn't You Play it Straighter?", and Episode 6, "The Long and Winding Road" find Paul and Rubin digging deep into creating some of the unique sounds within the songs - the bass line in "Something"; George telling Paul, "you play it" in regards to the guitar solo on "Tax Man"; John's impact and the famous bass line on "Come Together"; and George Martin's string quartet for "Yesterday". Episode 5 closes with "Helter Skelter", while Episode 6 ends, of course, with "The End".

Director Heinzerling has the camera track set up as if to film Rubin and McCartney performing in the round - with a couple of exceptions when Paul picks up a guitar or plops down at the piano to make his point musically. Rubin plays the roles of fan boy, music professional, and interviewer, and he does a nice job getting Paul to go a bit deeper than he typically would. As the two isolate fragments of songs, it's fun to see the joy on Paul's face as he recalls the "luck" (his word) involved with some of the band's quick work in the studio. McCartney does manage to give John, George, and Ringo brief moments of tribute, but make no mistake, this is Paul's show. For music lovers, this is an enjoyable 3 hours, and whether by design or not, it certainly ups the already high anticipation for Peter Jackson's upcoming, THE BEATLES: GET BACK for Disney+ later this year.

Premieres on Hulu on July 16, 2021.