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Let It Be (Remastered)

The Beatles - Let It Be (Remastered) Audio CD

A fair review of the The Beatles "Let It Be (Remastered)" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all The Beatles reviews here, or go back to the The Beatles tabs.

Band: The Beatles
Title: Let It Be (Remastered)
Rating:

Release Date: 2009-09-09
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: Two Of Us 2: Dig A Pony 3: Across The Universe 4: I Me Mine 5: Dig It 6: Let It Be 7: Maggie Mae 8: I've Got A Feeling 9: One After 909 10: The Long And Winding Road 11: For You Blue 12: Get Back 13: Let It Be Documentary

The Beatles implode.
And times when the band sounds like they are actually having fun. There are moments of greatness here, to be sure. And sadly, of course, there is Phil Spector's smothering production, from the sappy strings and choir on Paul's gentle "Long and Winding Road", to his knob-twiddling distortion of John's vocal on "Across the Universe. " Spector of course was given the unenviable task of plowing through the miles of session tapes from the aborted 'Get Back' album, and he should at least be credited for assembling a halfway coherent album. Although it is essential listening for Beatles fans, 'Let It Be' is by and large a downer, a document of a great rock band disintegrating from within.

Beatles: "Let It Be" remastered
1, fogetaboutit. If you are expecting this to sound like the Beatles have (in some cases risen from the grave) reunited, and re-recorded this album in Dolby Digital 7. . . but if you have a good system, a keen ear and are a Beatles fan, you will appreciate the magic that was performed on this 40 year old recording.

Remastered audio, yes - mini-doc, no
With Let It Be, I was expecting to hear the bitchy stories that we all know and love. While I think the remastered audio sounds top-notch, I was disappointed in the mini-documentary and was glad that I didn't get the stereo box for the DVD, because these docs aren't really much. I think the harshest thing said in this doc was that Twickenham was too cold and that Apple made for a nicer atmosphere. Then there was a comment from Paul about the Spector mix, but it didn't get any further than mentioning Glyn Johns' mix wasn't up to par and that Spector was brought in. Just enjoy the album, as it is very enjoyable, but don't expect much from the mini-doc, or from any of the mini-docs, for that matter.

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When they're hot, they're hot. When they're not, they're not.
Suffice to say, 'Let It Be' is one of the weaker Beatles albums, for a combination of reasons. I won't repeat the details of how difficult the Get Back sessions were, that's been done elsewhere. Obviously, the the personal and creative tensions in the band and the album's convoluted genesis play a part. But I also think the attempt to create a very raw, back-to-basics album means some songs are less polished, even unfinished, compared to The Beatles' best work. While there are some standout tracks, there is also a fair share of directionless filler.

Clearly, the two standout tracks were the McCartney compositions 'Get Back' and the title track. The former is one of their best rockers, the latter a great ballad. These two songs stand with The Beatles' very best work. The folky opener 'Two Of Us' and the raw 'I've Got A Feeling' find Lennon and McCartney collaborating closely (interesting, considering the two were composing almost entirely alone by this time), and Harrison's 'I Me Mine' seems to look forward to his masterpiece 'All Things Must Pass'.

Unfortunately, the rest of the album seems to showcase the unfocussed, unproductive nature of the Get Back sessions. 'Dig It' and 'Maggie Mae' are throwaways, the bluesy 'For You Blue' is slight, 'Dig A Pony' is just okay, and 'The Long And Winding Road' is completely ruined by layers of syrupy schmaltz (added without McCartney's knowledge). The fact that they were forced to dust off Lennon's 'Across The Universe' from 1968, and one of their earliest songs 'One After 909' to fill out the album shows how poor the sessions must have been. Oddly, 'Don't Let Me Down' is left off, although it appears on 'Naked'. Considering that was one of the best songs from the sessions, that was a big mistake.

So when The Beatles can pull it together, they prove they've still got it. Despite all the problems they faced, they were still able to craft some great music. But the reality is that the Get Back project was mostly a directionless mess, and the album can't really hide that fact, no matter how hard it tries. .

THE LAST ALBUM
It consists mostly of material recorded in January 1969 for a proposed television special and album called GET BACK, both of which the group ultimately scrapped. This was the Beatles' last album, released in May 1970 shortly after the announcement of the group's breakup. Eventually the television special evolved into a motion picture, LET IT BE, and this album was intended to be its soundtrack. Legendary record producer Phil Spector was brought in remix and assemble the final package.

The image that LET IT BE presents of the individual Beatles is striking. John Lennon is portrayed somewhat as buffoon, a clown not to be taken seriously. All the silly ad-libs and dialogue which link several of the tracks are his, and his songs (with one notable exception) are lightweight throwaways. Paul McCartney, on the other hand, has the "serious" stuff. George Harrison's material is arguably the strongest of the three, foreshadowing his upcoming ALL THINGS MUST PASS. And Ringo Starr? Well, he's only the drummer. In fact, Ringo was relegated to the role of mere session drummer during the sessions that produced the orchestral overdubs that are prominently featured on "Across the Universe," "I Me Mine" and "The Long and Winding Road. "

LET IT BE opens with Lennon's silly "'I Dig a Pygmy' by Charles Hawtrey and the Deaf Aids. Phase one in which Doris gets her oats," which immediately segues into "Two of Us," an acoustic driven McCartney-Lennon duet which, except for the stupid intro, is a strong piece of work. Despite being a duet, Paul is the main focus here, with John simply as backup. Thus a pattern is set.

The next track, John's "I Dig a Pony," taken from the group's last public performance on the roof of the Apple building, is weak. While the performance is good, the material is mediocre.

Lennon's only redeeming performance is the next song, "Across the Universe. " Written and recorded in early 1968, this beautiful ballad is, in my opinion, the highlight of the entire album. It could have easily been a smash single release. Although Spector applied his famous Wall of Sound technique to it, the treatment works. This version is much more preferable than the sped-up, unadorned mix which appeared earlier on the various-artist British charity compilation NO ONE'S GONNA CHANGE OUR WORLD.

"Across the Universe" is followed by another masterpiece, George Harrison's "I Me Mine" - the last song ever recorded by the Beatles (January 1970). Again, this track would have made an excellent single. Spector's use of strings, and his subtle use of editing - the original recording was only a minute long - combine to create a heart-felt performance that really rocks.

From here the quality of the album begins to slide. "Dig It" is a short snippet of a recording allegedly over twelve minutes long. Thankfully we are exposed only to less than a minute of Lennon's pointless drivel about Rolling Stones, CIA, BBC, and Doris Day. This fades into an-lib whereby John, once more playing the idiot, squawks in a high-pitched Monty Pythonesque female impressionistic voice "That was `Can You Dig It' by Georgie Wood. Now we'd like to do `Hark, the Angels Come. '"

This leads directly into the title track. Although a very strong performance with a much improved guitar solo as compared to the million-selling single release that preceded the album a couple of months previously, the album version of "Let It Be" suffers from Phil Spector's "reproduction. " Spector did not add any overdubs (all of the overdubs were done prior to his involvement with the project), but his remix over-emphasizes the horns and cellos, as well as puts an ungodly amount of reverb on the cymbals.

Side One's final track, "Maggie Mae" is a short Lennon throwaway romp that ends abruptly. Very insubstantial, it presents more of Lennon the Clown.

Side Two opens up with the Beatles back on the Apple roof. "I've Got a Feeling" is a combination of two songs - one by McCartney, the other by Lennon. It rocks, but once again, Lennon's contribution is definitely substandard compared to McCartney's. Lennon begins to ad-lib "Oh My Soul" at the end.

The next song, "One After 909," is also from the rooftop performance. One of the earliest Lennon-McCartney compositions, it sounds like what it is - a lightweight jam. At the end Lennon starts singing "Danny Boy. "

"The Long and Winding Road" is probably the most controversial song on the album. This slow McCartney ballad, like "Across the Universe," received the full Phil Spector Wall of Sound treatment (18 violins, four violas, four cellos, one harp, three trumpets, three trombones, Ringo's drums and 14 singers). Although its composer has gone on record condemning it, this recording was released as a single in the U. S. and went on to become the Beatles' 20th and final number one hit. In all fairness, the string and choir-laden performance had just the right Pop/Soft Rock/Easy Listening/Adult Contemporary sound needed for massive exposure on the AM airwaves. This, coupled with the fact that it was probably the going to be the last Beatles record, assured its success. Unfortunately, with or without the overdubs, the song is not all that good. It is nowhere in the same league as previous classic McCartney ballads like "Yesterday" or "Hey Jude. "

After Phil Spector's strings fade into the sunset, we hear another silly Lennon ad-lib ("The Queen says `No' to some pot-smoking FBI members") leading into the album's penultimate number, "For You Blue. " This George Harrison blues tune was released as the flip side of the "Long and Winding Road" single. This was a very good choice, as George puts in another strong performance.

The album closes with "Get Back," originally the title track to the aborted television documentary and album, and a song which had been a massive number one single a year previously. The version here is similar to the single release, but features dialogue at the beginning. Instead of a fading coda at the end like on the single, the version here stops cold, followed by a final ad-lib from Lennon (taken from the group's final rooftop performance): "I'd like to say `Thank you' on behalf of the group and ourselves and I hope we passed the audition. "

Although LET IT BE works as a cohesive unit, its compilational natures makes it weaker than any work preceding it, save for another soundtrack, YELLOW SUBMARINE. Much of the blame must be put on the material itself, mostly second-rate material recorded at a time when the band was tired and had apparently ran out of good ideas (Its recording followed only a few months after the completion of the "White Album"). The strongest songs from the January 1969 sessions, "Get Back" and "Don't Let Me Down," were released later that spring as a single. LET IT BE includes only one of these songs, and in a mix much inferior to that of the single. The album's strongest cuts are material recorded long before ("Across the Universe") or after ("I Me Mine") the main sessions. Much as been written vilifying Phil Spector's addition of strings and choir, but the reality is Spector took what was a lousy album and made it better. He selected better takes of "Two of Us" and "I Dig a Pony. " And he mercifully truncated "Dig It. " Now if only he had scrapped the dialogue. . .
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You can see a complete list of all The Beatles discography, or go back to the The Beatles tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.