Beatles Rework "Let It Be" by Josh Grossberg Sep 18, 2003, 2:05 PM PT The lads of Liverpool are ready to get back to where they once belonged, at least where it concerns the making of the Let It Be album. The surviving Beatles plan to release on November 17 a newly revised edition of their classic 1970 opus, which strips out the flowery orchestrations added by legendary producer Phil Spector and recaptures the Fab Four at their most magical and intimate, the Beatles' company, Apple Corps. Records announced today. "If we had today's technology back then, it would sound like this because this is the noise we made in the studio. It's all exactly as it was in the room. You're right there now," Paul McCartney said in a statement. The quieter version, dubbed Let It Be...Naked and approved by the late George Harrison before his death in 2001, has long been a pet project of McCartney's, who thought the original recordings deserved to be heard and was never happy with the string arrangements Spector added to "The Long and Winding Road." McCartney and John Lennon penned most of the tunes in 1969 and originally wanted to call the new collection, Get Back. But the Beatles ended up disbanding in 1970 before finishing the album. Lennon, who had an affinity for Spector's revolutionary implementation of studio effects and over-dubbing to create his trademark wall of sound--an orchestral wash that helped score hits for the Righteous Brothers, the Ronettes, and many others--invited him to sift through hundreds of hours of tapes and complete what ultimately became Let It Be, which accompanied the film of the same name. Conceiving the idea for the re-issue over two years ago, McCartney and drummer Ringo Starr hope to present the Moptop's final release as they originally intended--a back-to-basics album showcasing a roots-oriented rock and roll band. "When I first heard it, it was really uplifting," Starr told Reuters. "It took you back again to the times when we were this band, the Beatle band." Naked nixes "Dig It" and "Maggie Mae," plus background dialogue, in favor of featuring "Don't Let Me Down," a track that was not on the original album. And another treat for Beatles fans, the de-Spectorized version will also include a special 20-minute bonus disc of rare footage of the musicians in recording and film sessions as well as a CD booklet containing photos and text that was originally published in the Let It Be vinyl booklet. While the Beatles may be gone, they're more popular than ever these days. One, their compilation of number-one hits, has already sold over 24 million copies worldwide. Plus, those wanting to see John, Paul, George and Ringo at their apex, be on the lookout for The Ed Sullivan Shows Featuring the Beatles, a two-disc DVD set containing all 20 historic performances of the British band, which hits stores on October 28. The BBC, meanwhile plans to air a special on September 20 showing lost footage of the era, including clips of Lennon hanging out with wife Yoko Ono and the Rolling Stones' Mick Jagger.
I said move over once ... ... move over twice ... C'mon bay-be, don't be cold as ... (Oh, Danny Boy ... the pipes, the pipes are ...) What a brilliant album.
I can't wait for this release!! Now if they would just re-release the actual movie, "Let It Be" on a nice remastered DVD!!
No kidding. I'm not usually a fan of "remixes," but that's because they usually add crap to it. But stripping it down? Sounds good to me!
This is great news for Beatles fans. I cannot stand what Spector did to this record, and it will be great to hear it as it should have been released in the first place. I will definitely purchase it.
RMT - You're in for a pleasant surprise. For a couple of decades, I have owned a bootleg LP of the "raw" cuts of "Let It Be". By "raw" I mean pre-Spector production....no strings, no backup singers/chorus...just the Beatles and Houston's own Billy Preston. Much of the "Fifth Beatles" soulful keyboard work gets lost within Spector's production methodology. Hey, a B3 and Leslie is damn close to a chorus of singers anyway. BTW - I realize 98% of this board has never owned a vinyl LP but I was wondering if it was common knowledge among the remaining 2% that Spector had the phrase "Phil + Ronnie" pressed into the ending grooves of the "Let It Be" LP?
Do you mean the inside grooves (before the label) where it says "Masterd By Capitol"? Mine has "Wally" (written by hand) on there.
Yeah, the strings do add kind of an elevator music feel to it. I'm not a big believer in the Spector "wall of sound" style for sure. I'll have to pick that up.
BobFinn* - I don't know what the area is called but yes....right after the records' musical grooves but before the label. In that area there is some pressing data and the words "Phil + Ronnie" as part of the actual pressing. "Phil + Ronnie" is in long-hand script, not printed like the font you are reading now. Perhaps yours is a later pressing. My copy is on "Apple" which probably explains the lack of "Mastered by Capital"!
Ahhh, that explains it. My original copy of Let it Be (which was an Apple pressing) was in rough shape after playing it on a crappy turntable for years. Not sure what I did with that album, but it's gone I replaced it with my current Capitol pressing. I also have the bootleg of the "Let it Be" sessions on CD.
"I, Me, Mine" is the best song on that album, in my opinion. i recently have connected with Let It Be, I am glad to hear this news.
I'll have to dig mine out and look. After I get a new PC (by Christmas, I hope!), I'm going to buy some software and, before burning some CD's, "clean up" my records that need it. I've got a few hundred that have suffered from some "tough love" as well, from just a little to one hell of a lot (man, a wild party could be brutal to records. wasted friends don't mean to, but my records suffered a bunch back then). Supposedly, you can get rid of most of the noise without getting rid of the music. You need a sound card that can accept analog sound, I think, and lots of HD space. We'll see. Oh, almost forgot... I can't wait for the new version. Phil did some great work, but not for the Beatles.
I will buy all things Beatles, naturally, but the "Let it Be" movie is really, really depressing. It's like watching a divorce happen in front of you. Only the rooftop concert has an iota of joy. George letting Paul have it "I'll play anything you want, ot I won't play anything at all" is pretty compelling stuff, though.
This is off topic, but... Has anyone ever listened to Laibach's remake of the Let It Be album? Pretty weird.
