Let it Be, Naked

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.