Let It Be - Dark Publications

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Editorial Reviews:

Amazon.com
Sloppy in conception, and even sometimes in the playing, Let It Be often gets a bad rap. Unfairly, as it's often as charming, well written, and (oh yeah) rocking as the Beatles' "better" albums; it's also more outright fun than Abbey Road, the masterpiece it followed into the stores. With Lennon and McCartney working together on the perfect "I've Got a Feeling," "Two of Us," and "Dig a Pony," it's hard to believe these guys were about to implode. --Rickey Wright

Customer Reviews: Read 373 more reviews...

5 out of 5 stars

Not perfect, but fans still like it August 25, 2004
218 out of 230 found this review helpful

For those who don't know the story, the tension and frustration experienced by The Beatles during the "White Album" sessions reached new heights during the GET BACK sessions. In an attempt to bring spirit to the band, Paul was pushing to have The Beatles play live again. Perhaps his thinking was that playing together (as they used to do) would reunite them (as they used to be). Instead, there was much talk of breaking up. It was decided that the group should at least rehearse together while being filmed, but George Harrison actually walked out and quit the group for a few days. Apparently what John said regarding The Beatles at this time was indeed a group reality: "It had become a job."

Excluding the filming that took place at Twickenham Studios (brought to a close by tension within the band and George's walkout), the GET BACK sessions began on January 22, 1969, and ended just nine days later, all of it taking place at the band's Apple headquarters rather than Abbey Road studios. Although The Beatles behaved a little better when keyboardist Billy Preston was brought in, the sessions did not go well, being mostly jamming--meandering from song to song. As George Martin appropriately pointed out, "they were rudderless at this time." Martin was not on hand for much of this, and even when he was present, it is unclear how involved he was. Engineer Glyn Johns was asked to compile the album--not George Martin. Though Johns complied, the ill-fated GET BACK was never given the group's stamp of approval and was left unreleased for over a year.

In January 1970--after the release of the glorious ABBEY ROAD but prior to Phil Spector's involvement--Glyn Johns was given another shot at compiling the album, but this turned out to be another futile attempt to make presentable the sessions that Paul has called "the break-up of The Beatles on film."

Early in 1969, Allen Klein became involved with The Beatles; it was agreed (excepting Paul) that he should run the group's finances and business affairs. Klein, who profited from any additional Beatles releases, was the most likely impetus behind the release of LET IT BE and the involvement of Phil Spector, with whom Klein had worked previously. Klein was notorious for bringing in his own people; George Harrison himself recalled that it was in fact Allen Klein who suggested to John and George that they should have Spector listen to the tapes. John and George, being Spector fans, certainly approved of the idea. So unbeknown to Paul or George Martin, Phil Spector was brought in to have a go at it. Martin recalled that it was all very sneaky and done behind people's backs at a time when "Allen Klein was running John."

Spector produced the LET IT BE album in seven days, beginning on March 23, 1970, and ending April 2. His version involved many edits and an abundance of remixing. The orchestrated overdubs on "Across The Universe," "The Long And Winding Road," and "I Me Mine" were done in one session--the arrangements were by Richard Hewson, not Spector. Two songs on LET IT BE did not come from the GET BACK sessions. John's vocal on "Across The Universe," along with some of the rhythm instruments, came from the original takes recorded in February 1968; and "I Me Mine" was recorded in January 1970, a full year after the project.

Overall, I don't think that the GET BACK sessions were particularly great, nor do I think that they should be trivialized. Although the performances are perhaps not quite representative of what The Beatles were capable of, the songs themselves are strong enough to overcome these less-than-ideal renditions. Spector essentially took the music from the rehearsal-like sessions, dressed it up, and powdered its nose. I never did believe that the orchestra and choir added to "The Long And Winding Road" turned Paul's song into something phony. This great song holds up under Spector's treatment, and I'm glad that Paul finally admitted it wasn't so bad: "I don't think it made it the worst record ever."

I enjoy Spector's LET IT BE and think it worthy of a five-star rating, probably because I'm such a Beatles fanatic. My gripes, however, are that (1) the recordings of "Get Back" and "Don't Let Me Down" released as the single should have made the album (instead, Spector's mix is solid but inferior on "Get Back," and he sidestepped "Don't Let Me Down"); and (2) the mix of "Let It Be" that became the single is superior to the one on the album, and I also prefer George's guitar solo on the single.

LET IT BE... NAKED, the latest attempt at presenting the material, does not address the inherent problems with the GET BACK sessions--the reasons that caused them to be rejected in the first place. Instead, this cleaned-up version again exposes a band that was focusing more on problems than on music. Why is LET IT BE thought by many to be the group's weakest effort, and ABBEY ROAD (recorded a few months later) thought by many to be one of the greatest rock albums ever made? I think it is clear that in the case of the latter, (1) the band members put aside their differences to focus on the music; and (2) George Martin was allowed to fully work his magic.

Without getting into further details and writing pages here, suffice it to say that I will always wish that George Martin had been given a serious shot at producing this album from the beginning. Maybe then we would have had another Beatles masterpiece.

3 out of 5 stars

The Messy Let It Be Masserce October 20, 1998
50 out of 53 found this review helpful

I'm sure people (some of them, myself included) have heard all the negative hype about this record, and wanted to know what was up. I mean, come on, its The Beatles, only on very rare occasions did they mistep, so what's up with this particular one? Its all live. Its extremly messy. There's studio chatter on a lot of the tracts. Two of the tracts (Maggie Mae, Dig It), one is 50 seconds long, the other 40. They're two throwaways. Then we get to the (in)famous contribution from the wall-of-sound guy Phil Spector. I, like most other people, think that what he did pretty much ruins it. Across the Universe, it isn't that bad, but would have been better in its unvarnished state. One thing I like is what he did with I Me Mine, which is a great song. The original is on the Anthology 3 record (along with the original master version of The Long and Winding Road that Phil Spector ruined with his wall of sound.), and is far to short. What he did with that works. Long and Winding Road, I'm so glad they finally issued the original song. its so much better than the "official" version.

This is a seperate entity for the Beatles discoriagraphy. For The Beatles, yes it is sloppy, yes it is flawed, yes it was a mistake for The Beatles to bring in Phil Spector. Despire all of that, its a charming record. It has to be appreciated in itself. Its like an offical bootleg. You see the songs in process. Its like part of the Anthology cannon. There are some very charming moments.

One thing about this particular record tho', is though it gets bad hype all the time, this blows Beatles For Sale out of the water. No comparison. Whatsoever. To me, that is by far the worst Beatles record.

Oh, and whatever they say about Dig a Pony, don't believe them. Its one of my favorite tracks off this record, and I'm surprised that this in particular they pick on a lot. Two of Us is good too. Those two and I Me Mine and Let it Be are my favorite tracks.

Also, it has to be taken in context, The Beatles, forever tryign something new, were challenging themselves to make a record without overdubbing. It was all live. After they made the record, they thought it was "rubbish" (As Lennon called it), and proceeded to record the masterpiece Abbey Road. And they were fighting all the time. George Martin walked at on this album because of the tensions between The Beatles themselves. And still they recorded this. Granted, its a messy record, but any other artists who were going thru what they were at this time, there's no way they could record a record this good. Its definately worth having. Its Raw, Its Live, Its Messy. Its still really good too. And remember, a substandard Beatles record is better than most others best work. You'll be missing something if you don't get this. As one review once said, "All that said [talking about the problems I talked about], the album is on the whole underrated, even discounting the fact that a sub-standard Beatles record is better than almost any other group's best work."

It you want the Three Beatles Masterpieces, they're Sgt. Pepper, The White Album, and Abbey Road. Its amazing that one band can have so many classics in their discorigraphy. It a band could reach even 1/4 of the genious of any of these three, they'd have a masterpiece. And here are THREE! And that's only the top ... they have so much more!

5 out of 5 stars PASSING THE AUDITION   March 24, 2000
43 out of 45 found this review helpful

This may not be The Beatles greatest recording moment,but it holds up very well despite all the bashing its gotten over the years.Started January 1969 as Get Back,the original idea was to record an album aux natural with as little of the production values that has graced their latter albums(Sgt Pepper,MMT,the white album).Unfortunatly the tedious task of sifting through the many hours of tape,along with the recording of Abbey Road,left this project on the shelf.Nearly a year later,it was unshelved and attempted to be mixed by Glyns Johns,which proved unsucessful.Enter Phil Spector who went against the "live in the studio" concept and made a presentable product.Retitled Let It Be,it proved to be a fitting title as The Beatles disbanded a month before its release date.As for the album itself,Spector's touches gaves these recording a much needed polish.In light of the outtakes which surfaced on Anthology 3,the aux natural concept would not go easy on record buyers ears.A great song even in its raw form,The Long And Winding Road,although a bit overproduced,is very stirring.while Across The Universe in Spectors hands,is transformed into the albums highlight.The title track works better in its single mix,due to the Spector overdub seem to stiffle the track.George Harrison's two compositions,I Me Mine and For You Blue,are strong indications of his later work on Abbey Road and his own All Things Must Pass.Dig A Pony,I've Got a Feeling and One After 909,although rough rockers,shows the group in fine form.Two Of Us shows for one last time,the classic chemestry between Lennon And McCartney.The rooftop performance of Get Back ends the album with Lennon stating "I hope we passed the audition".Although many criticized this album for what its not(especially coming after Abbey Road)it shows the group as they are at the time,fragmenting all the while still making great music.

5 out of 5 stars An excellent last CD from an awesome and powerful group!   September 14, 2004
43 out of 50 found this review helpful

Yes, Let It Be... Naked was released recently, but when I say it was their last CD I simply mean it was the last album The Beatles released when they were still a group. Although I have to agree with the reviewer who writes that this does feel like their last album, Let It Be must never be trivialized nor put down. The album (here on CD, of course) contains some very special songs such as "Across The Universe," "I Me Mine," "The Long and Winding Road," and "Get Back." There are wonderful photos of the band members although the liner notes are lacking. The quality of the sound is excellent; it's very ironic that their last released album ends with the hope that the group "passed the audition." The dubbing effects on "Across the Universe" are well done in my opinion.
I can't see any reason to avoid buying this album on CD. It is an absolute must for any Beatles fan and a superb collection of recordings done in the group's final days together.

5 out of 5 stars Let it Be....Naked and Let it Be Soundtrack Comparison   November 16, 2003
40 out of 43 found this review helpful

Finally, after more than 33 years, the non orchestral arrangement of Let it Be has been released! On Nov 14, I purchased highly advertised Let it Be...Naked 2-CD set here in Japan. There was a long line to get the new set, so I knew it must be good. I must say, I was quite impressed with the sound quality, and the removal of Phil Spector's various orchestral and choir arrangements.

Now for the comparisons of the two albums. First of all, as many people expected, the sound quality is much better, and there is virtually none of the original tape hiss (The only exception is disk 2, which is mostly studio chatter)

Now for the songs:

"Two of Us" the song starts immediately, without the short intro that is on the original. The song itself is the same.

"Dig a Pony" is also the same, but it does not have the false start that was included on the original.

"Across the Universe" is now a beautiful Acoustic song, without the orchestra or choir. This is one of the best songs on the Naked release.

"I Me Mine" is nearly the same. The only difference I noticed was that the stereo separation was slightly modified.

"Dig It" is not on the Naked Album.

"Let it Be" is a different take. A little shorter, by maybe about 15 seconds. Paul's voice has more life to it. The organ is much more defined and louder. The backing voices of the other Beatles sound much better. The guitar solo is different, but better I think. The drums toward the end are somewhat different, but only serious Beatle fans will notice it. There is none of the orchestral arrangement from the original. This is a great song, and I think this new version is better.

"Maggie Mae" was the other song that was not included on the Naked Album.

"I've Got a Feeling" sounds the same, but Paul and Johns voices have been put on the center channel now, which provides more range for the instruments.

"One After 909" does not sound any different.

"The Long and Winding Road" is a totally different take. The Naked version is slightly faster and without the orchestra. Some of the words have changed. The part that goes "Anyway, you'll never know, the many ways I've tried" has been changed to "Anyway, you've always known, the many ways I've tried. Another change in lyrics is where "Don't keep me waiting here" becomes "Don't keep me standing here" The end portion where we hear Paul say "Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah" is not on this version. This is my favorite song on the new release.

"For You Blue" seems to be unchanged, just much crisper, without any hiss.

"Get Back" suffers from being cut by some 38 seconds. The Naked version of Get back is only 2:34, compared to the 3:12 original release. The song is exactly the same otherwise.

"Don't Let Me Down" is a song which was not included in the original Let it Be Album from 1970. It can be found on Part Masters II. This version is different from that version. This version has not just Lennon, but the other Beatles singing as well.

The 2nd disk, called "Fly on the Wall" has one track, about 22 minutes in length consisting of various Twickenham sessions from 1969. This disk is a treat as it shows the Beatles attitiude in the studio where they recorded their music. I am assuming this starts Jan 1, 1969 due to everyone saying "Happy New Year" to each other. There are a few minutes of various Beatle songs such as "Don't Let Me Down" and "One After 909" It is quite humorous because you hear the Beatles talking about the song "One After 909" they talk about how they never really thought about the meaning of the lyrics in the song.

I don't want to spoil it, but this disk is quite great: both humorous and serious. If you listen well, you will even hear Yoko Ono laughing and speaking in the background at one moment. These various sessions show how the Beatles had arguments such as Ringo Starr's decision "Not to go abroad", and how they should all split up to do separate projects.

To sum it all up, this new release is exceptionally good. The best songs on the album are "The Long and Winding Road", "Let it Be", and "Across the Universe", All of the songs sound great in their new Digitally Re-Mastered and "naked" form. I hope this set receives as much success as the Beatles "1" did.

Enjoy the version of "Let it Be" the way it was always meant to be heard!

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