MUSIC REVIEW
The Beatles; Let it Be, Naked – Released in Australia, January 2004.
The Beatles; Let it Be, Naked is yet, another Beatles re-issue album containing recordings from the original Get Back/Let it Be sessions that took place in 1969. It is supposed to be a walk back in time, a listen to the music created at Twickenham and Abbey Road studios when the Beatles were recording and filming material for the album and the film, Let it Be(which was originally titled Get Back). There is also a 22-minute bonus disc, Fly on the Wall, which contains, spliced snippets of rehearsals, banter, mild sniping and more of those tossed off musical asides. Let it Be, Naked attempts to depict a time when life was a creative work-in-progress and love was more than just a four-letter word. It also tries to recall and demonstrate a time when the Beatles were all about the music. Unfortunatley Let it Be, Naked fails to convey this picture to long time Beatle fans, as most of the die-hard Beatle fans know the real story behind the making and creation of the original album Let it Be and the film of the same name.
Early in 2003, lost tapes of the Beatles’ Get Back/Let it Be recording sessions from the Twickenham and Abbey Road studios were discovered somewhere in Holland. It was alleged that these tapes were stolen from Abbey Road studios in 1970(Fricke, Rolling Stone, 2003). Some of the material on these tapes has been used to create Let it Be, Naked and the second compact disc, Fly on the Wall. The original album Let it Be was released in March 1970, Let it Be; the movie was screened in cinemas in May 1970, in England. As the final album the Beatles released, it was a disappointing fullstop to a career that changed the face of music forever. Having said that the last album the Beatles worked on together was, in-fact Abbey Road, as the Let it Be project was shelved for a time. Beatles fans everywhere, would argue that Abbey Road is the Beatles final album. Many critics and fans alike have described the album Abbey Road as a masterpiece and the best album released by the Beatles and if this is so, then their career didn’t end as inadequately as one may infer. It is also qute ironic that the release of Let it Be, Naked in Australia comes almost forty years after the birth of Beatlemania, or is it, perhaps the release of this album was meant to coincide with the anniversary of Beatlemania.
When the Beatles finally did resume work on Let it Be, they were rarely in the studio. Phil Spector; king among pop music freaks was called in to salvage Let It Be. His solution, as always, was more of everything, more horns, strings, choirs and the like. Rolling Stone magazine quoted George Harrison as saying that the Get Back/Let it Be sessions were the divorce of John Lennon and Paul McCartney’s song writing partnership and the break up of the Beatles, things were so fraught that George Harrison temporarily quit the band. It has also been inferred that Paul McCartney was never happy with the album Let it Be after its release and that he delayed the release of Let it Be, because he was releasing his own solo album at the time. Whether these accusations are true or not are neither here nor there, the most obvious feature about the album Let it Be, Naked is that it contains everything that Paul McCartney liked about the original Let it Be, and nothing that he didn’t..
Let it Be, Naked is a somewhat flawed album and no masterpiece has been revealed by peeling off the layers of Phil Spector's studio lacquer. Paul McCartney was quoted as saying in defence the double-vinyl White Album, which some criticised as too long, "It's the Beatles for God's sake; shut up!" Paul Mccartey has long had the reputation for being an egomaniac, when it comes to his work and Paul Mcartney is quite adept at getting his way. Now, however over 30 years later, Paul McCartney has got his way, Phil Spector (currently a murder suspect) is indisposed, and the album has been remixed. The so called offending strings and girlie chorus have been wiped, the studio banter dropped, and the running order changed. Let it be, Naked is an interesting album, the mix of tracks are better than the original Let it Be, simply because this mix of tracks seem to flow and blend with each other a lot better than the original Let it Be.
The main differences between the original and Let it Be, Naked are: Harrison’s, For you Blue, the Let it Be, Naked version of thiis song sounds much better than the original version. The beautiful Lennon track; Don’t Let me Down is now included on the album and the tracks The Long and Winding Road, Across the Universe and Let it Be have been stripped back. Maggie Mae and the Dig It jam were left off the album. The producers felt that these tracks did not belong on this album of 11 songs and neither did the dialog. These days, however with the extra space available on compact disc, one does wonder why they dropped those tracks as they really did add character to the original album, Let it Be, reminding all fans of the Beatles and educating the new generation of Beatles fans, of the genuine camaraderie that existed within this band..
George Harrison’s vocal on For you Blue, is much brighter and clearer and so is the overall sound of this track. What is also interesting is the unique sound Paul McCartney got out of his piano. It's a fuzzy, metallic sound, which he did by putting a piece of paper in the piano strings, causing them to vibrate against the paper when Paul McCartney struck the keys. It is also interesting to note, that Paul McCartney does not play bass on this track, the bass sound comes from the piano.
Don’t Let me Down should have been included on the original album, simply because it belongs there. The powerful sentiment and meaning attached to this song is one reason, as John Lennon is no longer with us and Don’t Let me Down was one of the tracks recorded and played live in the famous rooftop performance at Abbey Road studios. Don’t Let me Down, was the B- side to the single, Get Back, however it should be mentioned that Don’t Let me Down, is also on the Hey Jude album, which is not an official album in the Beatles’ catalogue; meaning Hey Jude is not an official Beatles album release. Extensive research was carried out, but this album was not found listed in any Beatle’s discographies, however it does exist.
Phil Spector performed a great job on the original Let it Be, much of his input on that album worked. The female backing vocals and orchestral interludes on The Long and Winding Road are meant to be there, the changes to this song do not necessarily work; it’s simply too well-known to survive this transition. Many Beatles’ fans will be imagine the choir and orchestra in their heads and will expect to hear this overdubbing. That is not to say that the track The Long and Winding Road, on Let it Be, Naked is not a good version of this famous Paul McCartney ballad. This version shows the absolute brilliance and quality of Paul McCartney’s work and his muscial talent, with out the assistance of overdubs, strings and choirs. For this reason alone the Let it Be, Naked version of The Long and Winding Road works to a point. The Long and Winding Road was also not the first Beatles song to contain female backing vocals. The White Album is full of female backing vocals, (mostly Patti Boyd-Harrison’s and Yoko Ono’s), and there are orchestral interludes all the way through the track, A Day in the Life, off the Sergeant Peppers Lonely Hearts’ Club Band album, not to mention All You Need is Love, Strawberry Fields Forever and tracks off the awesome Abbey Road album.
Another track that seemed to survive the transition is I’ve Got a Feeling, there is a definitive difference in John Lennon and Paul McCartney’s vocals on this track. The sound is clearer and the vocals are more powerfully executed. I’ve Got a Feeling is one of those numbers that is akin to the track Hey Jude, where the last half of the song is basically ad libbed. The listener can truly hear the passion in the voices of these two legendary singer/songwriters. George Harrison’s lead guitar also come across clearer in this version of I’ve Got a Feeling, yet again displaying this great guitarists amazing talent.
John Lennon’s, Across the Universe was also changed and stripped down, changes which were quite unnecessary, because the original version was absolutely brilliant. John Lennon was obviously never happy with the original version of Across the Universe, or Yoko Ono would never have allowed these changes to take place. Let it Be, Naked, concludes with the track Let it Be, which is a fitting end to this album. The producers original choice was Across the Universe, however it was decided that Let it Be should be at the end where it belongs.
As a whole, Let It Be, Naked flows beautifully and credibly conveys the feeling of a band in a room; of this band in a room, and faithfully honors Paul McCartney’s original concept. Roll on the DVD of the movie; next year apparently, and let's hope Paul McCartney hasn't revised that to take out the argument with George Harrison. That scene alone captured the tenor of their times. That scene, and the ever-present figure of Yoko Ono.
As a manic Beatles’ fan myself, I chose to write this review and give my opinion on this newest addition to the Beatle’s music catalogue. I will be aiming this review at music magazines both in Australia and overseas in the hope it will be published. The audience of these magazine is quite large as there are many music fans out there. Most music fans that read these publication will undoubtably find this review of interest as it is about the Beatles. The Beatles are regarded as the greatest band ever and if the reader does not know who the Beatles are then they might as well tear up their magazines, never read anything relating to music again, throw their CD’s in the fire and never listen to music again. The Beatles will be remembered in the same as music fans will remember Bach, Beethoven and the like.
This review begins with a brief introductory paragraph on the album Let it Be, Naked and it’s purpose and goes on to discuss the history of the original Let it Be album, the Beatles and some of their other album releases. This reveiw discusses the differences between the two albums, Let it Be, the original and Let it Be, Naked, specifically the music, the order of tracks and how some of the tracks were stripped back. A great deal of research has also been carried out by reading music magazines, to get an idea of how the writer structures his or her writing and the styles different writers use in composing their reviews. While researching this review, which is outlined in detail at the conclusion of this essay, an interesting dicovery was made, which I mentioned briefly earlier on in the review. When I tried to track down information on the album Hey Jude, I found that this album is not offically part of the Beatles catalogue. Hey Jude was never an official Beatle’s album release, however this album exists as I have a copy. According to my research, the song Hey Jude was released as a single and the B-side to Hey Jude was Revolution, and neither of these tracks are on any official Beatles album, yet the vinyl album I have in my collection is titled, The Beatles, Hey Jude. This is yet another one of those Beatles mysteries, and there are many of those.
The original Let it Be album was a good album and probably up there with one of the Beatles best albums, however no album is without flaw, even if it is the Beatles. Going back and fixing something as iconic as a Beatles album – even a flawed one, would be a somewhat dubious task. Why release the album again was my question, but after listening to it several times, I’ve come to the conclusion that this is an album worth buying and owning. It is a very worthwhile addition to any music fan’s catalogue and a necessity for any Beatles fan, which I think, includes all of us, however most Beatles’ fans will no doubt own the original and wonder if Let it Be, Naked is a worthwhile investment. Casual fans will ask what all the fuss is about and novice fans should also get the original. The 22 minute bonus CD of what could be dubbed as, Beatle chatter, would really only interest the most crazed fans.
In concluding this reflection I should repeat that I am a huge lover of the Beatles and as a musician myself I am extremely passionate when it comes to expressing an opinion about music. If my opinions and thoughts in this review and reflection come across as biased, then they probably are, but my reasons for this are spelled out above. As music is one of my biggest passions, writing about this band and the wonderful, beautiful, musical gift they have given their fans forever is a labour of love. The Beatles and their music spans over forty years. They may have broked up in 1970 and never recorded music together again, but their music will live on forever.
RESEARCH AND BIBLIOGRAPHY
Coleman, R. (1995) McCartney, Yesterday and Today, Boxtree Ltd, Great Britian.
Lewisohn, Mark, 1987, The Beatles, 25 years in the life, a chronology 1962-1987, Sidgwick & Jackson, London.
MacDonald, Ian, (1994), Revolution in the Head, the Beatles records and the sixties, Fourth Estate, 1994
Journals and Magazines:
Aizlewood, J. (2004), The Drab Four, Q, Emap Metro Ltd, UK
Doggatt, P. (2003), The Lost Beatles Albums, Roecord Collector, Diamond Publications Ltd,
London.
Du Nuyer, P & Hepworth, D (2003), Was it Just the Beginning, Word, Development Hell Ltd,
London.
Fricke, D (2003), Buried Treasure, Rolling Stone, Next Edition, Sydney
Hayes, R, (2003), I Hope We Passed the Audition, Record Collector, Diamond Publishing Ltd,
London.
White, J, (2004) The Naked Truth, Rolling Stone, Next Edition, Sydney
Audio Research:
The Beatles, (1967) Sargeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts’ Club Band, EMI/Capitol Records, London.
The Beatles, (1968) Hey Jude, Apple Records, London
The Beatles, (1969), Abbey Road, Apple Records, London
The Beatles, 1970, Let it be, Apple Records, London.
The Beatles (1994), Anthology, Apple Records, London
The Beatles, Let It Be... Naked, (Capitol/Apple) Compact Disc, 2003, released in Australia,
January 2004.
About the Author
A review of the re-issue 1970 Beatles Album, Let it be.