Paul McCartney…McCartney 3, 2, 1 (Review)

Famous producer Rick Rubin gets a Beatles fan’s dream…a conversation with the man who is probably the world’s most famous musician, Paul McCartney.  Rubin asks him about the music McCartney created with The Beatles, Wings, and as a solo artist.

McCartney 3, 2, 1  is a new six-part documentary on Hulu (each part is about half-an-hour).  The interview portion is in black & white, but some featured photos and film segments are in color.  Hulu subscribers (Hulu also offers free trials) can binge all episodes of the series, which started on Friday July 16th, 2021.

Actually, here on the West Coast, it became available Thursday at 9 PM.  My wife and I watched the six episodes straight through to Midnight.  If you’re into Beatles music, you’ll find the series to be absolutely fascinating.  Rick Rubin selected song sections to play for Paul McCartney, and Paul describes how the recordings came to be.  There are some familiar stories, but also a lot of new insights about songs we love.

Paul McCartney and Rick Rubin cover a lot of ground, and it’s never boring.  Both men at times controlled the mixing board, and various instruments or vocals were isolated like we’ve never heard before.  You get completely pulled into how the recordings were created.  As expected, the majority of the time is spent on Beatles songs, but some of Paul’s Wings and solo recordings are included.  The questions and discussions go beyond specific songs, and reveal so much about how The Beatles worked together.

McCartney even provides some live musical demonstrations on piano, guitar, drums, and his Hofner bass.  Instead of trying to be a definitive documentary of all things Beatles & McCartney, it’s a wonderfully casual and candid conversation. 

Beatles fans and musicians…a splendid time is guaranteed for all.

Here’s the trailer for the documentary:  https://youtu.be/eTSe5hgB04s

Update:  In July, 2022, the Paul McCartney documentary was nominated for three Emmy awards.