Beatles - Let It Be (1990)
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Free Music Notes for Let It Be (1990)
Free Music Review: The real end
Hit: 5 Stars
This was not the last Beatles album to be recorded, but the last one to be released. The recording sessions, accompanied by the recording of a movie, had a lot of moments full of tensions and internal disputes, conducted principally for the crecent dinstinction between the interests of the four members of the band and the presence of Yoko Ono in the studio. So the original intention of making an album that could mean the return to the Beatles' basic roots, or a "new phase Beatles album" (that supposedly meant returning to play straight rock'n'roll and record together as a band) resulted into a complete flop. Kilometres of recorded tapes were left behind, the movie (recorded at Twickenham studios) was also left, and everybody thought it was the end.But it wasn't really. "Abbey Road" was quickly recorded and released after these hard sessions, and two singles ("Get Back" and "The Ballad Of John And Yoko") kept The Beatles in the first places of the charts. When everybody was obviously tired of being a Beatle (even Paul McCartney) and rejected the hard work of editing and mixing the big quantity of songs that had been recorded in the "Let It Be" sessions, Phil Spector was called to the scene. He tried to edit the tapes and to create a whole album from all those fragmented songs. And the results, even though are not between the Beatles' best recordings, are impressive at times.
His production of "The Long And Winding Road", a lovely McCartney ballad which was the last #1 Beatle single in the US was criticized by Paul himself, but his 'wall of sounds' indeed makes the sound more solemn and gospell-ish than the original, simpler version. "I Me Mine" is a notable Harrison composition with ironic lyrics, arranged again by the complete Spector orchestra. He also did his work with "Across The Universe", a very poetic Lennon song from 1968, making it a slower and again adding the big orchestra arrangement. This time you can't reject the results, as they were amazing, making this one of the more mystical Beatles record ever released.
So the "new phase" spirit is rarely felt in this collection of edited pieces, but is helped by John Lennon's gibberish, heard amongst all the album, and by Billy Preston's work in the additional keyboards. "Two Of Us", though, has the warmth of a live recording and is a beautiful ode to the friendship Paul and John had during the Beatle years; "Dig A Pony" is a wonderful bluesy record, also played live; "I've Got A Feeling" is one of the last Lennon/McCartney collaboration, joining together two songs into one fast, hard rocking number, the best song in the album. "One After 909", which is a restored song composed even before the first recording sessions the Beatles made, is somewhat a nostalgic view to the early years of the band; while "For You Blue" shows the bluesy side of George Harrison, who plays a great acoustic guitar and lends John the slide. "Get Back", already a hit from the 1969 single, appears here in a slightly shorter version and closing the LP.
The title track, surrounded by two strange links ("Dig It" and "Maggie Mae") is an astonishing example of the Beatles working as a band. McCartney's at the piano, singing and doing a sincere pray to his protector in the sky; Harrison and Lennon play guitars and Ringo is also there, with his amazing drums, completing the religious and solemn atmosphere. Indeed one of the greatest songs of all-time.
Don't buy "Let It Be" until you're introduced well to The Beatles. The album was released after the band's departure, so it's more like a "posthumous" album than a straight-pop collection of hits. Buy it when you know most of their work, and then you'll be able to hear and understand why this album sounds so sweet and harmonius, even when it's made up by unconnected songs joined somewhat in an artificial way. The songs are so good (as always) that they represent treasures in pop music, even with all the painful events that surrounded the recording and releasing of The Beatles' swan song.
Free Music Review: one of the best
Hit: 5 Stars
this album is truly amazing, and probably my favorite. it's cool too because the Beatles were recording this live (like the old days, not much editing at all) and they actuallly broke up before its release. Phil Spector received the originally titled 'Get Back' tapes and edited it and released it a few months after the Beatles broke up
this album has some amazing songs and of course a few sucky ones but you can't avoid that
1. Two of Us 8/10
A great song by Paul about Linda, a very nice acoustic sound
2. Dig a Pony 9/10
One of my favorites. This one is by John and he says he wrote it as he went along and I feel it is his views on various subjects such as the Rolling Stones, "I roll a stoney, well you can imitate everyone you know (The Stones released "Their Satanic Majesties Request" soon after the very successful and psychedelic Sgt. Peppers) A very cool song
3. Across the Universe 10/10
One of the best songs ever written and my favorite on the album. It is also one of John's favorites. It's a trippy kind of song with beautiful words. He wrote this while studying under Maharishi. Also, the line "jai guru deva, om" means "give thanks to Guru Deva (Maharishi's mentor), om (you know the thing they say when they meditate it's hard to explain but really cool look it up)
4. I Me Mine 6/10
George's first song on the album. It's ok with nice lyrics and melody. He got the idea from watching an Austrian marching band on tv.
5. Dig it 2/10
Not really a song, more of a tribute to the phrase "dig it" which the Beatles liked to use at the time. (Originially going to be called "Can You Dig it") its a random compilation of 12 minutes of jam sessions.
6. Let it Be 10/10
Wow. Wow. Let it be are you kidding me one of the best songs ever written and in close contention with Across the Universe for my favorite. This is an amazing one by Paul about a dream he had of his mother giving him advice in a dream. She was hit by a bus and killed ten years before.
7. Maggie Mae 4/10
A weak song, John was intent on having this song follow Let it Be because he thought it had christian references, and this song is about a hooker from Liverpool. kind of a boring song.
8. I've Got a Feeling 7/10
A great rock song, and the last one written by John and Paul together. It is a mix of a ballad by John called Everybody Had a Hard Year and a blues song by Paul called I've Got a Feeling. Both were unfinished songs and they were mixed together.
9. One After 909 4/10
This was written by John in 1959, and you can tell. It can hardly be considered rock, but John tried to get it on an album two or three times throughout his career, and he finally did.
10. The Long and Winding Road 8/10
Another great ballad by Paul. It's slow, but it has great lyrics and was one of three singles on the album to hit number 1 on the charts (Let it Be, The Long and Winding Road, and Get Back).
11. For You Blue 6/10
George's second addition to the album. This is not my style of music, as it is a blues song written to his wife Patti. It's still pretty good though.
12. Get Back 9/10
My third favorite on the album behind Across the Universe and Let it Be, an awesome rock song written as a political satire. It criticizes an immigration law passed in England. Also the original name of the album.
GENIUS. PROBABLY THE BEST BEATLES ALBUM YOU MUST BUY THIS YOU WILL GET YOUR MONEY'S WORTH AN THEN SOME.
Free Music Review: One of the most underrated albums of all time
Hit: 5 Stars
I remember first purchasing Let it Be a few months ago. It was the only Beatles album I did not own and since I am a completist I thought I'd give it a try. The reason I use such a self-important tone in the prior sentence is because I was on guard; on guard against an album which has been critically panned, unjustly critically panned. I don't know what album the critics were listening to but the one I bought was overwhelmingly beautiful from track one all the way through to the end. Two of Us - A beautiful song, it plays both muscially and lyrically like a quiet conversation between two people who are madly in love with one another. Since Lennon and McCartney actually co-wrote and worked lead together here, this is exactly what it is.
Dig A Pony - Classic Lennon. Dig a Pony has the same obsessive quality as Abbey Road's "She's So Heavy", however, this song is somewhat more melodic and lighter in tone. A joy to listen to, especially John's voice when he hits the chorus.
Across the Universe - This song has the distinction of being the only song in the Beatles' catalogue that can bring me to tears. I can't help but think of Lennon's senseless murder everytime I hear it. Phil Spector's production lends itself beautifully here.
I Me Mine - Further proof that George Harrison was on the same song-writing level as John and Paul by the end of the Beatles' run. For a song that clocks in at only 2:25, it is the most epic, sweeping song on the album. Simple yet poignant.
Dig It - A fun little, random Lennonian intermission. I heard there is a longer version of it floating around out there somewhere.
Let It Be - Paul harkens back to his childhood love of hyms on this track. As much of a message to his departed mother as it is religious. This song is slightly marred by Spector's embelishment, however, it still stands as one of the greatest and well-known songs in the Beatles catalogue.
Maggie Mae - Another fun tongue-in-cheek intermission.
I've Got a Feeling - John and Paul work together on this one once again, however, the song feels more McCartney than Lennon. The best way to sum this song up is to call it the perfect camp-fire song. Although very folky, it can be raucous at times as well. Somebody get the marshies out.
One After 909 - One of my least favorites, it sounds like generic, watered down rock and roll. Still, I am in no position to criticize, I'm just offering my opinion.
TLAWR - I love the all-too pertinent lyrics and I love the piano work but I can't past the unnescessary orchestration Phil Spector chose to use here. From what I hear, Paul was outraged after hearing Spector's overdubs. I can see why, this song sounds like a show tune on depressants.
For You Blue - Another Harrison gem. On For You Blue we get to hear some great slide guitar work from George, which he would later showcase on his first solo album, All Things Must Pass. Funky blues, I especially like when George quips "Elmore James' got nothing on this fellow'". Probably the most fun song on the album.
Get Back - Ah, the rooftop version of the classic, veiled stab at John Lennon and Yoko Ono from Paul McCartney. This song personifies what Let it Be was all about, an attempt from the boys to get back to their Rock N' Roll roots after years of sonic experimentation and egotistical fragmentation. This song features great piano work from Billy Preston.
Please, I recommend you look past the way-below average rating users have given this album and give it a try. It's loads of fun. If you liked the opinions put forth in this review, check out my Greatest Albums of Rock lists in the Listmania section. There are some treasures there as well. Thank God for Rock N' Roll.
Free Music Review: Debatable, but still just as good as any other Beatles album
Hit: 5 Stars
LET IT BE started as the GET BACK album, a project started at the beginning of 1969. It was to be a live-in-the studio record with no overdubs, no tracking, no fiddling, or nothing. It was supposed to be one of the Beatles' most active projects together. But, it soon grew to be one of the most miserable sessions on earth, as John put it. The Beatles just did twenty takes of everything. So by the end of January 1969, an astonishing twenty-nine hours of tape had been filled, too much to bother mixing, so it was shelved, and the tapes given to recording engineer Glyn Johns to mix. So even Johns got tired of doing it and put it back on the shelf, both him and the Beatles intending it to be on the shelf forever. Even if they had done this, it most likely would have surfaced in the ANTHOLOGY-era releases.
LET IT BE was released in May 1970, and before that, John, George, and Ringo hired the famous "wall of sound" inventor Phil Spector to remix the tapes and add orchestration to several songs. All the rest of the cuts were live in the studio, the intention of the GET BACK album.
Those songs that recieved overdubs and added noises were "The Long and Winding Road," "I Me Mine," "Across the Universe," and the album's title track.
Out of the five, the only one that really benefitted from such treatment was the beautiful, poetic "Across the Universe." The harp, strings, and choirs give it a wonderful, dreamy feeling. However, "The Long and Winding Road" is an entirely different ball game. The version of this song on ANTHOLOGY 3 is much better. The strings and choirs make it a sappy ballad, rather than a sad Beatles song that it was supposed to be.
Phil Spector's treatment of the title track isn't as great as the single version, mainly because the horns he added sound inappropriate to be so far forward in the mix. Some un-needed percussion is also present near the end, but the overall song, however, is a timeless piece with a great melody and Paul's best lyrics. "I Me Mine," which also recieved strings and choirs, is interesting to see with them, but since they are considerably far back in the mix, the song isn't that bad.
LET IT BE's live in the studio cuts consist mostly of rockers, the best being "Get Back," a classic McCartney rocker with an instantly memorable melody and fun lyrics. "I've Got a Feeling," one of the last Lennon-McCartney writing efforts together, chronicles McCartney's lighter side along with Lennon's hard times of the previous year in which he left his son and divorced his wife; "One After 909" is one of the earliest Lennon & McCartney efforts (although the version recorded in 1963 on ANTHOLOGY 1 is better); and John's "Dig a Pony" combines silly lyrics with catchy guitar riffs and a great melody. "Two of Us" is very folky, and it's one of the only Lennon & McCartney duets out there, in the style of the Everly Brothers in terms of singing.
As of any Beatles album, there's a few stinkers, and the two tracks surrounding "Let It Be" ("Dig It," and "Maggie Mae") are merely leftovers from the recording session mysteriously thrown in. Thankfully, they last less than a minute. George's "For You Blue" is a pretty sloppy 12-bar blues song. The one on ANTHOLOGY 3 is better.
LET IT BE is flawed, but that does not mean it is a worthless record. In fact, it's far from it. The album is unlike anything in the Beatles' catalog, or anyone else's catalog. Its sheer individuality makes it stand it up to the tests of time.
Free Music Review: Hear, Hear: Support of Let It Be
Hit: 5 Stars
First off, this is a must for any album collector simply because of the inclusion of four songs from the infamous, last concert the Beatles ever gave: The Rooftop Concert on January 30th of 1969. These songs being Dig a Pony, I've Got a Feeling, One After 909, and Get Back, and you can actually hear the boys singing!And hey, what's wrong with the album anyway? "Two of Us" is just a wonderful song for the emotional Beatles fan, as it has John and Paul harmonizing together with acoustic guitars for the last time ever... racking my brian through the songs on Abbey, and I think that last statement of mine is accurate... "Dig a Pony" is fun for the Lennon fan, especially his voice in this one-- hoarse and involved... .. and of course you've got your classics, "Across the Universe" (which sounds fine to me) "Let It Be", "Get Back" and "The Long and Winding Road" (I think the orchastrizations are wonderful, they make the song all the more poignant... be interesting to hear the song devoid of those violins though, is that on Anthology 3, I wonder?)
I don't see why so many people put down the acerdic "I Me Mine"-- what's wrong with it? I personally think it's one of George's better Beatle efforts... it's sincere anyway, listen to the bitterness in his voice... and the lyrics-- obviously reflecting upon his relations with the other Beatles and recording studio, and the contract... and then that almost chipper chorus comes and saves you from the nadir of George's depressing rut... I-I Me Me Mine! :-p
I love the short bits-- why any Beatle fan would dislike them is beyond me... The Beatles, half the reason they are so popular is because of their overbearing personalities and what shows personality better than "Dig It" and "Maggie Mae" Can't you see them horsing around in the studio? Okay, fine, disregard all the altercations going on at the time-- now can you see it? But John's vocals in "Dig It" make it notable, and a rare duet between Mr. Lennon and Ringo in "Maggie Mae" is priceless! Listen to the contrasting voices... do it right now!
"One After 909" is a fine song, the only pure rock song on this album besides "Get Back" and a stroll down memory lane, but advanced to the then-current groove the Beats were in... "For You Blue" is another nice song.
Saving the best song for last, "I've Got a Feeling"-- how can one not simply CHERISH this song! It's wonderful! First off, the catchy, vivid, and poignant guitars in the beginning... is that John on rythym there or George? I don't recall... But then Paul comes in "I've got a feeling..." and his vocals are beautiful and candid-- probably because of the high he MUST have gotten from performing live again... He does his bit, then John sings "Everybody's had a hard time..." (who can't like that "Ev'ry had a wet dream" line?:p) and then, glory of glory, one of the finer moments in the later Beatles albums when John and Paul's partenership had begun to fade, they both come in and rieterate what they'd just sung-- at the same time! You've got Paul doing his "I've got a feeling" thing while John's singing his "Ev'rybody's..." Wonderful bliss!!
Buy this album, I feel bouyant just thinking about it-- it's all worth it for that last song... Escasty!