"One Hand Clapping" is a small movie, as it has the production values of a family home movie from the mid-1970s. But since the subject is Sir Paul McCartney plying his artistry at iconic Abbey Road Studios, it's a must-see for fans and Beatles historians.
The theatrical screening of "One Hand Clapping" opened with a new message from Paul setting the stage: accompanied by his band Wings, he returned to the studio where many of the Beatles classics were recorded. Cut to: a much younger McCartney at the peak of his (post-Beatles) powers jamming with his current band: wife Linda, Denny Laine, Jimmy McCulloch and Geoff Britton.
We get classics "Band on the Run", "Maybe I'm Amazed", "My Love", "Blue Bird" and a thrilling version of "Live and Let Die" with a full orchestra.
Equally as enjoyable and interesting are vignettes of Paul solo in Abbey Road Studios' garden, deemed "the Backyard Sessions". He does off-the-cuff covers of Buddy Holly's "Peggy Sue" and Eddie Cochran's "Twenty Flight Rock". McCartney also recounted his youth when his musical archetypes included Frank Sinatra and Tony Bennett, before closing the film (surprisingly) with a cover of "Baby Face".
The film has no narration, plot points or through-line; it's simply McCartney and his band in studio sessions spread out over four days. A few candid comments by Paul, Linda & band members are interspersed here and there, but the landmark materpieces aren't put in any historical context here. That's fine- we can always seek out the numerous interviews McCartney has done discussing his songs.
The film quality is grainy and I found the experience to be akin to looking through a box of old out-of-focus Polaroids, but the killer soundtrack more than makes up for that. The footage shown here probably was never meant for public consumption but now provides an invaluable glimpse of a genius at work.
An accompanying album of the same name with many more tracks was released earlier this year.
