Let It Be (album)

Let It Be is the thirteenth and final album by The Beatles, released on May 8, 1970 by the band's own Apple Records label.

Much of what became Let It Be was recorded in early 1969, with production by George Martin, before the release of the album Abbey Road. However, The Beatles were unhappy with the album and it was temporarily shelved. Let It Be was later 're-produced' (some critics have said overproduced) by Phil Spector and, in 1970, it became The Beatles' final release. Let It Be is often seen as one of the Beatles' weaker albums, though, as critic Richie Unterberger notes, 'a substandard Beatles record is better than almost any other group's best work'. [1]

The Get Back sessions

The album which became Let It Be was originally titled Get Back, and was planned to be a return to the Beatles' roots. McCartney in particular was eager for the Beatles to perform in public again, over two years after they abandoned touring. The other band members, especially Lennon, were resistant to this idea. After increasing use of overdubs and multi-layered recordings on recent albums, there was a general consensus to record the new album live in the studio, just as they had done for their first albums in the early 1960s. In keeping with the concept, the cover artwork was planned to be an update of the cover of their first album, Please Please Me, with the band looking down the stairwell of EMI's headquarters office block in Manchester Square, London. The photograph was later used on the compilation album The Beatles 1967-1970 (aka "The Blue Album").

There were discussions during the January 1969 rehearsals at Twickenham Studios about recording the album completely live during a televised concert performance - in fact the music press excitedly announced that the Beatles had booked the Roundhouse in London for the show. When this didn't happen, McCartney talked of performing in an Roman amphitheatre or on a cruise ship (or as Lennon sarcastically suggested, "an insane asylum") In the end, the live performance took place on the rooftop of The Beatles' Apple Building at 3 Savile Row in front of a small audience of friends and employees. The performance was cut short by the police after complaints about noise. Several of the songs recorded during the rooftop concert made it onto the final album, and the complete concert has circulated amongst bootleg collectors for many years.

Hundreds of songs were rehearsed during the Get Back sessions at Twickenham, including covers of "Stand By Me", "Ain't She Sweet", "Maggie Mae", "Words Of Love", "Blue Suede Shoes", as well as original songs that would eventually end up on Abbey Road, including "Mean Mr. Mustard", "Maxwell's Silver Hammer", "Oh! Darling", "She Came in Through the Bathroom Window" and "Golden Slumbers". A number of early versions of songs that would eventually end up on Beatles solo albums were also rehearsed, including Lennon's "Jealous Guy" (called "Child Of Nature" at the time and originally written and rehearsed for the White Album) and "Imagine", Harrison's "All Things Must Pass", and McCartney's "Teddy Boy" and "Junk" (originally written for the White Album). The recording sessions were filmed and form the basis of the Beatles' film also called Let It Be.

Everyone involved in the sessions considered them to be disastrous, and it is clear that the band was disintegrating. Lennon's growing two-year dissatisfaction with being in the Beatles was coming to a head, and at the time he was engulfed in a heroin addiction. He was eager to explore his career outside the band, and the constant presence of his companion and artistic partner Yoko Ono at the sessions was a source of major tension. McCartney's attempts to hold the band together and rally spirits came across as controlling. This escalated tensions, especially with Harrison, who walked out at one point. The presence of film cameras, and the cold, unfamiliar settings of Twickenham Studios and the new Apple Studios also contributed to the ill feelings. Things were so bad the producer George Martin was reluctant to work with the band on their next album Abbey Road, until assured it would be a better experience.

The Get Back album

Engineer Glyn Johns put together a rough version of Get Back in March 1969, which included many of the same songs that made the final cut, plus McCartney's "Teddy Boy". Johns played the acetate for the Beatles, who were not really interested in the project anymore. At least one copy of the acetate made its way to America and was aired on local radio stations in Buffalo, New York and Boston in September.

In May 1969, Johns and producer George Martin made a new rough version of the Get Back album. This was the first serious attempt to put the album together for release. The track listing was:

File:Getback-1.jpg

Cover of the aborted Get Back album. Mirroring the cover of the band’s first album, Please Please Me, was John Lennon’s idea.

File:Getback-3.jpg

The Get Back album photo was later used for the 1973 greatest hits release 1967-1970.

Side A:

Side B:

The Get Back album was intended for release in July 1969, but the album was pushed back to September, to coincide with the planned television special and theatrical film about the making of the album. In September the album's release was pushed back to December, because The Beatles had just recorded Abbey Road and wanted to release that album instead.

By December the album had been shelved, but a third mix was made by Johns in early 1970 to match the songs that appeared in a rough edit of the Get Back film:

Side A:

"One After 909"
"Rocker (Instrumental)"
"Save The Last Dance For Me"
"Don't Let Me Down"
"Dig A Pony"
"I've Got A Feeling"
"Get Back"
"Let It Be"

Side B:

"For You Blue"
"Two Of Us"
"Maggie Mae"
"Dig It"
"The Long And Winding Road"
"I Me Mine"
"Across The Universe"
"Get Back (Reprise)"

Johns' new mix omitted "Teddy Boy" as the song did not appear in the film (and also likely due to the fact that McCartney had indicated to Johns that he had re-recorded the song for his upcoming McCartney album). It also added "Across The Universe" (in an edit of the 1968 studio version) and a newly-recorded version of "I Me Mine," on which only McCartney, Harrison and Starr performed. The Beatles once again rejected the album.

The released album

In March and April of 1970 the session tapes were given to American producer Phil Spector, with McCartney's reluctant agreement. Spector worked on the tracks, and compiled the eventually released album - now entitled Let It Be. The album and the film with the same name were released on May 8, 1970; the Beatles had already broken up by that time. The movie captured on film the critical tensions within the band, and also included footage from the rooftop concert. The rooftop performance closed with the song "Get Back", and afterwards John Lennon remarked, "I'd like to say 'thank you' on behalf of the group and ourselves, and I hope we passed the audition." The joke was added to the studio version of the song that appeared on the album.

Several songs from the recording sessions have had official releases in versions different to those on the Let It Be album. The original versions of "Get Back" and "Let It Be" were released as singles, while the original version of "The Long And Winding Road" was released in 1996 on The Beatles Anthology 3. Across the Universe, an unreleased Lennon composition from a master track recorded in February 1968, was added to pad out his spare contributions to the album; just before this it was also released in alternate form as part of a wildlife charity album.

McCartney was deeply dissatisfied with Spector's treatment of some songs, particularly "The Long and Winding Road", and unsuccessfully attempted to halt release of Spector's version of the song. His bitterness over this was a contributing factor to his public announcement that he was leaving the Beatles shortly thereafter. Despite the criticisms leveled at Spector over the years for his handling of the material, Lennon defended him in his famous Playboy magazine interview ten years later, saying "He took the shittiest pile of shit and made something of it."

In Great Britain, the album was originally issued by Apple (and distributed by Parlophone) in a lavish boxed set that also included a book featuring stills from the Let It Be film. Several months later, the album was reissued in Great Britain in a standard LP jacket, sans book. In America, the Let It Be album was issued in a standard jacket, without the book. The American release was also originally issued by Apple Records, but because United Artists distributed the film of the same name, United Artists also held the rights to distribute the record in America. (Capitol, which held the Beatles' record contract, had simultaneous rights to the music on the album, and could distribute the songs on various singles and compilation albums. Capitol, however, did not have the rights to release or distribute the actual album.) To indicate that Let It Be was not distributed by Capitol Records, the original record label in America sported a red apple, rather than the Beatles' usual green granny smith apple. In early 1976, when the Beatles' Apple Record contract expired, most of the group's catalog in the United States transferred from Apple to Capitol; Let It Be, however, went out-of-print in America. In the late 1970s, Capitol purchased United Artists Records. With this acquisition, Capitol acquired the rights to two Beatles albums previously distributed in the United States by United Artists, Let It Be, and the soundtrack album A Hard Day's Night. (As A Hard Day's Night had never been issued by Apple in the United States, it remained in-print in America under the United Artists label when the Apple contract expired in 1976.) Shortly after acquiring United Artists Records, Capitol re-issued both Beatles albums under the Capitol imprint.

Track listing

All songs by Lennon-McCartney unless notes otherwise

Side one

"Two of Us"
"Dig a Pony"
"Across the Universe"
"I Me Mine" (Harrison)
"Dig It" (Lennon-McCartney-Starkey-Harrison)
"Let It Be"
"Maggie Mae" (Traditional arr. Lennon-McCartney-Harrison-Starkey)

Side two

Cover versions

David Bowie included a cover of "Across the Universe" on his 1975 album, Young Americans. John Lennon played guitar on Bowie's version of the song.
In 1988 Slovenian band Laibach released their own Let It Be album - covering all the original tracks bar the title track.
In 1998 Singer-songwriter Fiona Apple had a hit with her version (and accompanying video) for Across the Universe.
For the soundtrack of the movie I Am Sam, Rufus Wainwright covered "Across the Universe"; with Aimee Mann & Michael Penn duetted on a cover of "Two Of Us"; and Nick Cave covered "Let It Be." "Don't Let Me Down," also recorded during the Get Back sessions, is covered by the Stereophonics on the album, and by Billy Corgan's Zwan on almost every show of band's career.
In 2004, the Australian band the John Butler Trio covered Across the Universe on their release What You Want EP
Live bootlegs from singer/songwriter Elliott Smith playing "I Me Mine".

Let It Be... Naked

Main article: Let It Be… Naked

At the same time the film's re-release was announced, McCartney announced plans to release a new version of the album that is closer to what the band had originally intended for the project. McCartney was particularly upset about the "Wall of Sound" treatment Spector had given to "The Long and Winding Road", and had previously rerecorded it on the solo album Give My Regards to Broad Street. The new collection, entitled Let It Be... Naked was released on November 17, 2003.

Release history

Country	Date	Label	Format	Catalog
United Kingdom	May 8 1970	Apple Records	LP box set	PXS 1
United States	May 18 1970	Apple (Distributed by United Artists Records.)	LP (Discontinued in USA in early 1976, with expiration of the Apple Records contract.)	AR 34001
United Kingdom	November 6 1970	Apple Records	LP	PCS 7096
United States	March 1979	Capitol Records	LP (Reissued in USA after Capitol Records bought United Artists Records.)	SW-11922
Worldwide reissue	October 10 1987	Apple, Parlophone, EMI	CD	CDP 7 46447 2
Japan	March 11 1998	Toshiba-EMI	CD	TOCP 51123
Japan	January 21 2004	Toshiba-EMI	Remastered LP	TOJP 60143