Beatles - "Let It Be" (1970)

Purchased at age of 16 when the Beatles was still a relatively unexplored concept, and their music was new to yours truly. This is not one of my favorite records with the Beatles, on the contrary, I think it's pretty boring.

The debate has long been running in the music world on how to look at this Beatles album. Is this their last album or not? And is it really a "real" Beatles album? Opinions differ since it was recorded early in 1969, before Abbey Road. But it was released in 1970, after Abbey Road. At the same time some last studio recordings were made to Let It Be in 1970. Hmmmm... Also, many people believe that Let It Be is to be regarded more as a soundtrack to the documentary film that was made in connection with the recordings, and not a "real" album.

 

To make it simple, I think Let It Be is a real Beatles album and that it was their last, although Abbey Road would have been a much more beautiful goodbye.

The recordings were made during a time when the Beatles members’ relations were strained. It went so far that George Harrison left the band after fights with Lennon and McCartney, but was persuaded to come back after a week. During his absence, Lennon suggested that Eric Clapton could take over from Harrison, but Ringo and McCartney said no. Lennon had a lot of other stuff going on at the time and was generally uninterested in the band and the recordings, while McCartney was trying to find the band’s old energy. He thought that a more "back to basics" approach, and more playing live, would bring them to this goal. But it didn’t work out so well.

 

The result on the record is considered to be affected by the dodgy relationships within the band, and the final blow, many people think, was Lennon's idea to submit some songs to Phil Spector for a final touch.

The recording started in the film studio Twickerham and continued in a studio in the basement of the Apple offices (Apple as in the Beatles' record label, not the computer company). It was on this building’s roof they had their famous concert which the police stopped after a while. The songs Dig A Pony, I've Got A Feeling and One After 909 is from this gig.

 

Beatles rehearsed a lot of songs during the recording of Let It Be of which some are heard on Abbey Road, but also on the members’ later solo albums. Apparently there are many bootlegs around since everything was filmed and taped. I haven’t seen the documentary, but apparently the band's internal conflicts are to be seen clearly, and many believe that it’s a film about a band in disintegration rather than a band in a creative process.

As mentioned, I have never liked Let It Be. Not only is it a different sound on many songs, more of McCartney's a bit rough "back to basics" without exciting studio effects of psychedelic and experimental kind. And many songs are not that good, basically. There are many, including the Beatles members themselves, that don’t like Phil Spector's Wall of Sound treatment on selected songs, especially Across The Universe and The Long And Winding Road. Personally I have always liked Across The Universe in Spector's version, the most druggy and psychedelic song on the record. However, I hate the cheesy The Long And Winding Road. As always Harrison contributes with nice stuff in the form of I Me Mine and For Your Blue. A previous favorite was Dig A Pony, but today I think less of it. However, I have come to like the opening track Two Of Us better, where Lennon and McCartney sing in harmony.

 

Well, if it's one of the Beatles albums you can skip I guess it’s Let It Be. The title song is a classic, but I think it's a little too cheesy. But it’s still an album of the Beatles, music history's most legendary and probably most important band, so it still feels like a must-have in the collection.

Tracklist

Side A

1. Two Of Us 3:37
2. Dig A Pony 3:55
3. Across The Universe 3:48
4. I Me Mine 2:26
5. Dig It 0:50
6. Let It Be 4:03
7. Maggie Mae 0:40

Side B

1. I’ve Got A Feeling 3:38
2. One After 909 2:54
3. The Long And Winding Road 3:38
4. For Your Blue 2:32
5.Get Back 3:09