If These Walls Could Sing

After attending an advance screening of Mary McCartney's If These Walls Could Sing, I was reminded of that old adage "the recording studio doesn't make the artist, the artist makes the studio."

While that isn't strictly true - there are numerous excerpts regarding the unique timbre of Studio 2 - it is the unique cast of characters who recorded at Abbey Road which make it the name it is today. The Beatles, Cliff Richard, Pink Floyd to name a few.

It is to McCartney's credit as a director that she gives ample focus to the players, both through interviews and archival footage/recordings, while also reminding viewers of the omnipotent force that is the studio itself.

She uses beautiful shots of the studio rooms empty in modern times, which flow nicely into the archival footage. The interviews were especially popular with the audience, with a Liam Gallagher segment regarding Oasis' ill-fated Be Here Now recording sessions drawing a lot of laughs.

The one complaint I have is that at 90 minutes, it almost felt too short. McCartney stated in a post-viewing audience Q&A that her initial rough cut was two and a half hours long. I said to her afterwards that I would love to see more of this material released. (Maybe a podcast is in the cards?)

If Walls is about crediting artists for making the most of their surroundings and drawing influence from those that came before, then I think we must credit Mary McCartney for making a great film using the same methods. I can only hope that this is just the first in a series of music films from McCartney, and not a one-off. If These Walls Could Sing premieres on December 16th on Disney+

Filmmaker Mary McCartney does a solid job showing the breadth of legendary musicians who recorded at Abbey Road Studios, but it's no surprise that the Beatles provide the gravitational pull to this 2022 documentary, especially since Mary is Paul's daughter and an accomplished photographer in her own right. Paul is prominently interviewed as is Ringo Starr. While they share that it was a special space for them during their salad days, the film doesn't delve that much into why it was special other than the association with the Beatles. There are nice archival clips of recording sessions stretching almost seven decades, and this will clearly hold interest to musical historians, but the sum felt more episodic than revelatory.

This is a great piece of history, and it is amazing to see all of the great performers that recorded here. From EMI records to the new name Abbey Road. These walls witnessed the beginning of the Beatles, from when their first meeting /audition with George Martin, to their unforgettable walk (now a landmark) and their album titled Abbey Road. I loved the interviews and memories of Paul McCartney, Elton John, Giles Martin, Pink Floyd, Liam Gallagher, etc. One thing I didnt know, was all the amazing George Lucas' movie scores that were recorded here.

All and all, an amazing show, and i think the tittle is perfect if only "These walls could sing".

Great job Mary!

If These Walls Could Sing was a fascinating documentary directed, interviewed, and narrated by Mary McCartney (Paul McCartney's daughter) in her directorial debut, i did already familiar with Mary McCartney's before (and so Stella and Heather McCartney) and like i mention it is a fascinating deeper look into the Abbey Road studios, the studios that giving birth to some of the greatest songs and albums out there, from The Beatles to Pink Floyd to Elton John to Oasis and so on, a very well documented film with great and interesting topics, also fills with great footage, and great editing, If These Walls Could Sing is a great presentation of an iconic studios with a great extraordinary story in it, i enjoy If These Walls Could Sing so much, it is entertaining and fascinating to watch, and i'm happy to watch it, thumbs way up!.

Wow. Any music lover will get goosebumps hearing these classic songs being recorded at Abbey Road. What a joy to see and hear these old legendary recordings!

The Abbey Road studio was originally just a huge mansion, redesigned in the thirties into an ernomous recording studio, which saw the likes of The Beatles, The Stones, The Who, Pink Floyd record monumental albums (Dark Side of the Moon). Later on film music (Star Wars) was being recorded there as well, with one room creating a wall of sound, which can be best heard in the song "Goldfinger" by Shirley Bassey. Powerful stuff!

Paul McCarthy gets special attention in this documentary, and that's totally fair, since most folks got to know Abbey Road because of the Beatles and especially through their last record called Abbey Road, with the famous zebra crossing picture. Lots of funny interview clips and insights how certain legendary Beatles songs were born.

Highly recommended watch AND listen for any music fan of the sixties and seventies!