FEATURE:
The Beatles’ Let It Be at Fifty
Don’t Let Me Down: The Strange Case of Let It Be… Naked
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MAYBE it is a bit odd celebrating an album…
by mentioning a remake of that album. It is not often a band brings out a different version of a studio album with a different track listing and a different sound. The Beatles’ Let It Be is fifty on 8th May, and it is the final studio album of theirs to celebrate fifty years – it was the final studio album from them, but they recorded it before Abbey Road. Last year, there was a big celebration for Abbey Road; there was a remastered version of the album, and some lovely C.D. and vinyl sets. This year, as we are in lockdown, there is unlikely to be any remastered version of the album. For one, Let It Be was not produced by long-time Beatles brother, George Martin. This was a Phil Spector-produced album and, as George Martin’s son Giles is overseeing remastered Beatles releases, this is one album that he is not going to be involved with. There is a film, The Beatles: Get Back, which is a film/documentary featuring in-studio footage that was shot in early-1969 for the 1970 feature film, Let It Be. I hope there are mentions on radio and in the media, as Let It Be is a hugely important album. There is a divide between fans and the media regarding the quality and relevance of Let It Be. As a ‘final chapter’ for the band, it is not as brilliant and fitting as Abbey Road.
In terms of the song quality, there are a few gems, but not as many as Abbey Road. I think the biggest ‘controversy’ relates to the production of Phil Spector. He brought in his Wall of Sound production technique and, as such, as songs like Let It Be, and The Long and Winding Road are drenched in strings and choirs – it sounds over-produced, cloying and not a patch on George Martin’s work. Some people don’t mind, as it is only a couple of songs, and the production is not too bad elsewhere. Others wonder what it would have been like had George Martin have produced – he was persuaded to come back on Abbey Road. Technically, George Martin produced the sessions that would become Let It Be, but Phil Spector had final say over the mixes. One person who especially disliked Let It Be was Paul McCartney. In this article, we lean why Macca was not a fan:
“In the early months of 1970, The Beatles had split into two camps: those who accepted Allen Klein as the band’s new manager (John, George, and Ringo) and he who didn’t (Paul). From those two positions, we can’t see how everyone would end up happy with the new album.
As Paul worked on his first solo album and the other Beatles tried to tend to business, Spector got the nod to finish Let It Be. “Paul has been quoted as saying he didn’t want Phil Spector involved … but I personally thought it was a really good idea,” George said in Anthology.
Since many hours of raw material existed, Spector had to do his best with “Across the Universe” and (much to Paul’s chagrin) “The Long and Winding Road.” “I like what Phil did, actually,” Ringo said. “He put the music somewhere else.” John also went on the record backing Spector.
“[Spector] had always wanted to work with The Beatles, and he was given the sh–tiest load of badly recorded s–t with a lousy feeling to it ever, and he made something out of it. He did a great job.”
During interviews for the 1990s Anthology project, Paul still couldn’t stomach the Let It Be album. “I heard the Spector version again recently, and it sounded terrible,” he said. “I prefer the original sound that’s show on Anthology 3.”
Paul didn’t stop hating Let It Be. After the turn of the century, he had engineers at Abbey Road studios dig out the original tapes and take another stab at the album. This time, Paul (with the approval of George and Ringo) insisted the tapes go out as he originally intended (i.e., stripped-down)”.
This brings me to the strange-but-necessary Let It Be… Naked. In a way, the album is a way of hearing songs like Let It Be, and The Long and Winding Road in a rawer and more natural state. Whilst the album does not exactly reverse Spector’s work and sound like a George Martin-produced record, it is closer to what McCartney had in mind – even if the rest of The Beatles were not unfavourable towards Let It Be and Spector. Paul McCartney had more artistic control/leadership of The Beatles by the time of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.
Whilst there was more of a division by 1968’s The Beatles, when Abbey Road was being recorded, again, McCartney was almost like the band’s leader. I don’t think Let It Be… Naked was McCartney wrestling control and making ‘his’ version of the album. Tracks like The Long and Winding Road and gorgeous, and I admit that Phil Spector’s additions ruin a lot of the genius McCartney wrote. Maybe the other Beatles liked what Spector did on Let It Be – George Harrison did give approval to McCartney for Let It Be… Naked before he died -, but McCartney always felt like the album could sound better. Here is a list of the Let It Be… Naked tracks and the versions used:
"Get Back" – A remix of the take recorded on 27 January 1969 used for both the single and album; without the coda recorded on 28 January or framing dialogue from the studio and rooftop concert added to the album version.
"Dig a Pony" – A remix of the take from the rooftop concert on 30 January 1969; framing dialogue and false start removed; error in second verse (the "because" in Lennon's vocal track) digitally corrected.
"For You Blue" – A remix of the 25 January 1969 take used on the album, including Harrison's re-recorded lead vocal from 8 January 1970; framing dialogue removed.
"The Long and Winding Road" – A remix of the final take recorded on 31 January 1969, instead of the album take from 26 January. Previously unreleased.
"Two of Us" – A remix of the take recorded on 31 January 1969 used on the album; framing dialogue removed; minor error in Lennon's acoustic guitar performance digitally corrected.
"I've Got a Feeling" – A composite edit of two takes from the rooftop concert.
"One After 909" – A remix of the take from the rooftop concert; impromptu rendition of "Danny Boy" removed.
"Don't Let Me Down" – A composite edit of two takes from the rooftop concert. Previously unreleased.
"I Me Mine" – A remixed, slightly different recreation of Spector's edit (copying the chorus in the middle of the song and adding it to the end) to lengthen the track recorded on 3 January 1970; guitar overdubs and organ parts mixed in and out to make the repeated verse sound different.
"Across the Universe" – A remix of the original version recorded on 4 February 1968, played at the correct speed; sound effects, piano, maracas and backing vocals mixed out; tape echo added.
"Let It Be" – A remix of take 27A from 31 January 1969 used for George Martin's single version and Spector's album version, with edit pieces including Harrison's guitar solo from take 27B edited in”.
Whilst we look ahead to the fiftieth anniversary of Let It Be, questions remain. Is the McCartney-helmed Let It Be… Naked a better album? Is the original Let It Be all that you need? Is Let It Be… Naked a disaster?
I do think the sound and production of Let It Be is a crucial talking point. I can see why McCartney wanted to do justice to songs of his that were sugar-drenched by Phil Spector…but was there a need to take the whole album and change it?! Maybe not. In any case, I think that Let It Be… Naked is a rare case of a Beatles album being remixed and remade rather than remastered – whilst keeping the original production and tracks intact. Reviews for Let It Be… Naked ranged from lukewarm to positive. This is AllMusic’s view on the 2003 album:
“In its original form, Let It Be signaled the end of an era, closing the book on the Beatles, as well as literally and figuratively marking the end of the '60s. The 1970 release evolved from friction-filled sessions the band intended to be an organic, bare-bones return to their roots. Instead, the endless hours of tapes were eventually handed over to Phil Spector, since neither the quickly splintering Beatles nor their longtime producer George Martin wanted to sift through the voluminous results. Let It Be... Naked sets the record straight, revisiting the contentious sessions, stripping away the Spectorian orchestrations, reworking the running order, and losing all extemporaneous in-studio banter. On this version of the album, filler tracks ("Dig It," "Maggie Mae") are dropped, while the juicy B-side "Don't Let Me Down" is added. The most obvious revamping is on the songs handled heavily by Spector. Removing the orchestrations from "The Long and Winding Road" and "Across the Universe" gives Paul McCartney's vocals considerably more resonance on the former, doing the same for John Lennon's voice and guitar on the latter. This alternate take on Let It Be enhances the album's power, reclaiming the raw, unadorned quality that was meant to be its calling card from the beginning”.
Track order and production are things that not many music fans consider. I think albums can be made or broken by the tracks being in a certain order. Similarly, if the production if off or there is something missing, a potentially great album can come out sounding rather tame or cluttered. I think the stripping-down of the some of the more drenched and saccharine tracks is a blessing. In another review, Pitchfork had their take:
“The tracks that struck me most on Naked were "Let It Be" and "Across the Universe". The former because it seems very much improved with this remix; the Harrison guitar solo is new, so this is likely a different version than was released originally, and the hymnal-esque backing vocals are gorgeously placed across the aural plane in the mix. These are the kinds of changes that make Naked an interesting listen for longtime fans, and raise the question of the powers that be possibly issuing a full-length project of Beatles remixes wherein drastic changes are made to songs without the obligation of placing the project alongside the rest of their proper LPs, as if this is the way they were "meant" to be.
That said, "Across the Universe" is the same (slowed-down) vocal and guitar from Let It Be, but with more reverb and soft sitar-like sounds. Though there's already a beautiful, lesser-known version of this track available (an elaborate George Martin-produced studio version with a background children's choir and bird chirps), this take eclipses the already beautiful original Let It Be version as the second-best performance of the song”.
This will be my penultimate piece relating to Let It Be. I think the album deserves a lot of attention when it turns fifty on 8th May. I have respect for the original, and it is sort of a shame that it will not receive the attention that other Beatles have on their fiftieth. I wanted to talk about Let It Be… Naked, as it is a fascinating release that has split a lot of people. The big question is whether the 2003 release is better and more in the spirit of The Beatles’ sound than the 1970 version. I am a bit torn, as I think Beatles albums should not really be reworked and re-released in such a different state, though I do understand why some people – Paul McCartney especially – hated some of the production. Whilst many applaud McCartney and those who worked on Let It Be… Naked for ‘undoing’ some of Spector’s work, there are others who think The Beatles’ final-released album is fine, and that we should just…
LET it be.