For her first documentary of her career, photographer and TV host Mary McCartney has explored a subject she knows intimately: the history of Abbey Road Studios, which was practically her kindergarten when her illustrious parents recorded their scrapbooks. If These Walls Could Sing paints a sketchy but endearing portrait of these legendary studios where rock classics such as The Dark Side of the Moon, Odessey and Oracle (The Zombies), Be Here Now (Oasis) and, of course, the Beatles album which bears the name of the street where the building stands.
There is no escaping it, the history of these studios will be told a lot through the exploits of the Beatles, dad Paul and uncle Ringo unpacking their bags of anecdotes. We will appreciate the story that the two musicians make of the recording of the epic A Day In The Life (of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band1967), the idea behind its opulent orchestrations (it would be by Paul), or even Ringo admitting that his favorite memory of Abbey Road remains the recording session of the song Yer Blues (from The White Album, 1968).
other voices
But after countless Beatles documentaries, including the recent eight-hour epic directed by Peter Jackson (The Beatles: Get Back), we want to hear these walls sing with a different timbre, to hear another version of the story. Mary McCartney therefore invites Elton John, the composer of screen music John Williams, Giles Martin (son of director George), the Gallagher brothers of the group Oasis – interviewed separately, as were Nick Mason, David Gilmour and Roger Waters, of Pink Floyd —, the singer Celeste or even Jimmy Page.
On the other hand, the director tells only on the surface the history of the place, acquired in 1929 by the company The Gramophone Co. Ltd., ancestor of Electric and Musical Industries (EMI). Built in 1829, the nine-bedroom house with a large garden was then transformed into an audio recording complex; the house was converted into offices, and three studios were built behind in order to accommodate large orchestras, from 1931.
The director accompanies her story with well-chosen archive images (other than those of the Beatles, etc.), such as those of the composer and conductor Edward Elgar conducting the London Symphony Orchestra during the inauguration of the facilities. A few decades later, these magnificent images of cellist Jacqueline du Pré recording an Elgar concerto, under the direction of her husband, conductor Daniel Barenboim — what a dazzling performance by this performer, whose career ended prematurely due to disease!
Missing pieces
Thus, we would have liked a more detailed account of the history of Abbey Road (formerly EMI Recording Studios) before the rise of the Beatles, of the excellence of its equipment and its sound technicians, and of those financial problems which , in the late 1970s, prompted management to open more doors to film producers, their filmmakers and composers. Hence the relevance of the testimony of John Williams, who recorded the music of Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) and Return of the Jedi (1983), among other box office successes.
Scarce in detail, but rich in anecdotes, If These Walls Could Sing is an impressionist documentary that still leaves us a little unsatisfied, as if the story of Abbey Road had not been completely told. We will then be satisfied with the great stories of its illustrious occupants: Elton John, the accompanying pianist who was then called Reggie Dwight, recounting his first visits; Jimmy Page recounting the epic recording session for the theme song of Goldfinger (1964) during which singer Shirley Bassey collapsed, exhausted; Liam Gallagher talking about the band getting kicked out of the studio for smashing the speakers while listening at full volume Revolver of the Beatles…