I agree, Sandra, I don't see Paul (at least in the film) being that bossy either. The band just seems directionless. I guess you need a George Martin there to sit them all down with guitars and say, alright, boys, what have you got? When they lost that mediator, they lost alot.
Clearly Paul was overbearing at times. But damn, if I could have the nub-nuts singing backup to me, playing incredible bass and coming up with cool vocal and instrumental parts I'd learn to deal with him. Paul's harmony singing brings songs like "Come Together" and "Ballad of John and Yoko" to life. His bass-playing in "Something" is nothing short of amazing. The piano riff at the beginning of "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" a great lead-in.
But the problem's the old "ego-thing" as George summed up "I Me Mine"--a song which features some ferocious Paul contributions on vocals and instruments.
I think one of the real problems with Let it Be as a film/album project is that it played to the band's weaknesses in terms of writing original music. They were a tight live band back in Hamburg, but they were playing every day and refining mostly covers.
By the time they were a studio band, they developed these strengths. George, in particular, could come up with great guitar parts, given the chance. I think Let it Be made him write instant-parts--and that's asking too much. You think he sat down and wrote the great part to "And Your Bird Can Sing" in five minutes? In between take 41 and take 42?
George Martin taught them to construct songs architecturally like mini-cathedrals, but Let it Be was about making tepees. It's a shame too. Because many of the songs could have been performed and recorded much more effectively with a little of the group "editing" that was part of their 66-67 period.
I think it would have made a far more interesting film, showing all the work that went into writing and recording a masterpiece like Strawberry Fields Forever.
Too bad.
It's clear