Notes

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The Beatles Let It Be, Take 4

Foreword:

I know what you may be thinking: "Oh god, another version of Let It Be." I'm sure some of you never want to hear this album, or any other version of it, again. But I felt compelled to share this compilation with the general public once I haphazardly stumbled upon its beauty.

If you're like me, I'm sure you've done your share of research on Let It Be. You know about the original intention of The Beatles to "get back" to their roots and play pure, stripped-down rock 'n' roll while simultaneously making a documentary film to cover the jams, recording sessions, and the eventual culmination of a return to live performing as a finale. You know how they famously fell out during the sessions with disastrous results. You know how Glyn Johns tried and failed (miserably, I'd say) several times to make a satisfactory full length of the Get Back sessions. Of course, I'm sure almost all of you have heard the 1970 release of Let It Be, sappily over-mixed by Phil Spector (most of the time). And how could anyone forget, Let It Be...Naked, an entirely different (and no more definitive) take on the same material, digitally remastered with a new running order, de-Spectorized, and devoid of all signs of being live or off-the-cuff. If you didn't know all that, now you do.

Which leads me to how I got here. A few years ago, having discovered that Let It Be had originally sounded like a totally different album and had never officially been released, I searched relentlessly for a version of those Get Back sessions. When I got it, however, I was hugely disappointed. I enjoyed the lack of Spector's orchestrations as I felt those too often got in the way of the actual songs but so much of it was lazy that it was often hard to love, something that usually is effortless when it comes to a Beatles album. I then heard Let It Be...Naked. The mixing was revelatory, the sound perfect...and yet, it just wasn't the same. I didn't mind the track order as Sir Macca had OKed it this time around (and seeing as he was pretty much the ringleader at this point in The Beatles history, pushing the entire concept behind Get Back, I'd side with his choices anyway) but the re-dubs and lack of witty banter bothered me.

And so, I felt saddened that I would never get the version of Get Back/Let It Be that I wanted: one that wasn't sloppily played and just as sloppily thrown together, yet one that wasn't over-orchestrated or over-produced. But then, Purple Chick came along and gave me exactly that. From his/her/their recordings, I was able to assemble a cut of Let It Be that featured the strong track list of Naked, the studio banter of Get Back/Let It Be, and the original, unaltered cuts of some of my favorite Beatlemusic including the original speed version of "Across The Universe," a lively rooftop recording of "Don't Let Me Down," and "Let It Be" with both guitar solos, neither of which were mixed down. Upon first hearing it, I was filled anew with wonder at these recordings. They felt fresh and vibrant. The new pre- and post- track banter added by the handful of new cuts along with the excellent but stripped down performances made for the most consistent, fascinating, and all around enjoyable mix of Let It Be I'd ever heard.

So here we are, at what I have tentatively called Let It Be, Take 4. I hope you enjoy it every bit as much as I have and share it with all your Beatle-loving friends.

ishouldcoco795

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Artist: The Beatles

Album: Let It Be, Take 4

Track list:

1. Get Back
2. Dig A Pony
3. For You Blue (Both Vocals)
4. The Long And Winding Road (Get Back Sessions)
5. Two Of Us
6. I've Got A Feeling
7. One After 909
8. Don't Let Me Down (Rooftop Concert)
9. I Me Mine (Acetate 4)
10. Dig It
11. Across The Universe (Acetate 4)
12. Let It Be (Both Guitar Solos)

Mix: Original Stereo
File types: Apple Lossless Audio Codec
Source: The Purple Chick release of Let It Be which included the original album released by Phil Spector, two full acetates assembled by Glyn Johns for Get Back, and alternate/original versions of much beloved Beatles songs.