Disco de The Beatles: “Let It Be... Naked”

like one reviewer of the original (1969/70) version wrote, George's solo on the title track was one of the best reasons for having that album. All other versions of "Let it Be" ("Past Masters 2", "1") have the orchestra like tinkling sound.

I was expecting this new version to retain at least that ravishing George guitar solo, but I was deflated instantly when I found out it does not.

For all the bad raps he's got, I also think Phil Spector's added orchestrations for "Long and Winding Road" actually helped make the song better. The version that comes with this re-release is supposed to sound as originally intended, but I don't see how it's better than the 1970 version. FWIW, nothing in Let It Be has come out as intended. Even its current position as the last of the Beatles album is a result of accident. "Abbey Road" was supposed to be the last, and "Golden Slumbers/Carry That Weight/In the End" was supposed to be the Beatles' swan song, not "Long and Winding Road". But after you've heard "Long and Winding Road", especially the soaring Spector version, would you say it was the wrong song for the part? I don't think so.

This is still a good record to have. It's not a justifiable buy, from a value for money POV. Nothing recent about the Beatles is, not even the ridiculously popular Anthology albums, with the exception perhaps of the "Live at the BBC" which IMO is a worthy addition. But for a diehard Beatle fan and collector, this is a must have. But don't throw out the 1970/Spector version out just yet. You might miss it someday.

Many years from now, I know I'll put the original on the player, crank the amps, switch to the title track, close my eyes, and listen to that rare, only-in-this-album-and-nowhere-else George Harrison guitar solo.

With the release of "Let It Be...Naked," I think it's finally clear that Apple has lost it. They have no idea what Beatles fans--let alone the general public--might want. To Apple, all Beatles releases are events, and all must therefore be marketed to the be-all and end-all.

Let's look at what "Let It Be...Naked" purports to be. The old "Let It Be" album is certainly one of the most controversial entities in the Beatles' catalogue. Recorded largely before "Abbey Road" but released afterwards, the sessions for what would become Let It Be were extraordinarily contentious, plagued by conflicting egos, drug use, apathy, and all sorts of negativity. The original plan--which was to film rehearsals for an eventual live concert--was largely scrapped; the live concert idea, originally posited as taking place before a huge audience in a famous location, ended up being given on the roof of Apple studios.

Yet music for the project *was* recorded, after all, so the band set out trying to make an album out of the mess. A few sample compilations of the album were created (and, indeed, were played on radio stations at the time), but barring the Get Back/Don't Let Me Down and Let It Be singles, nothing was used at that time. Eventually, however, the project was passed off to Phil Spector, who set about creating an album from the mess, but who also overdubbed something approximating his legendary "wall of sound" onto a few cuts. It is for this reason, ostensibly, that "Let It Be...Naked" exists.

"Let It Be...Naked" purports to be the Let It Be album as the Beatles originally intended, stripped of its Phil Spector excess...and...uh, well, reordered, I suppose. Paul McCartney has been complaining for *years* about Spector's treatment of his "The Long and Winding Road" (and indeed cited that as "sabotague" in some of his earlier breaking-up-the-band lawsuits).

So is "Let It Be...Naked" the album that was originally intended? Probably not. The Beatles didn't *know* what they wanted, which is precisely why they kept farming the material out. "Let It Be...Naked" is revisionism, which is hardly a bad thing, but it'd be nice to be up front about it.

But that's the thing: "Let It Be...Naked" is barely revisionism at all, because it simply *isn't very different* from Let It Be. Spector's overindulgence was limited to exactly three tracks: I Me Mine, The Long and Winding Road, and Across the Universe. Sparse versions of the first two were made available on Anthology 3. Granted, the versions available here are different, but hardly to a revelatory extent.

The album has been reordered, with two of the slighter tracks ("Maggie Mae" and "Dig It") being dumped in favor of "Don't Let Me Down." Additionally, the between-song chatter that marked the original has been eliminated as well. And despite the kicking-him-when-he's-down denigration of Spector's treatment of the album (does anybody else think the timing of this, what with Spector's legal problems, is particularly unpleasant?), his template of the album is clearly still fresh, as "I Me Mine" retains its edit-for-length and "Dig a Pony" removes the same music.

What does this mean? Sure, it presents a few alternate takes, but "Let It Be...Naked" really doesn't sound all that different. It isn't revelatory in the slightest--thanks largely to Anthology 3--and its use of alternate takes for some tracks feels like a "why bother?" endeavor; they simply aren't changed enough to feel like anything new. Even worse, the "Naked" and "as nature intended" implications are flat out false, as many of the new takes are glorified "out-fakes" created by editing together and creatively remixing takes (the title track is an excellent example, with parts of several versions composited into a whole).

The back of "Let It Be...Naked" mentions that the bonus CD (which, thankfully, doesn't seem to add to the cost) provides a "unique insight into the recording of the album." This is untrue to a hilarious extent, unless quickly-edited snippets of dialogue and music appeal to you. Folks, this stuff has been bootlegged for *thirty years* now, something that Apple seems to be in denial about. Disc 2 could've been a sparkling version of the rooftop concert, or some of the better performances from the rehearsals; instead, it's a focusless, single-track mess that I doubt anybody will listen to more than once.

All of this could be forgiven, I guess, if "Let It Be...Naked" sounded stellar. It had the chance to, after all; it was remixed from the multitracks. Unfortunately, "Let It Be...Naked" just sounds *different*. The use of no-noise processing leaves several tracks feeling very artificial, with Ringo's drums sounding particularly anemic on several cuts. Not terrible, but certainly not what it could have been.

My verdict: "Let It Be...Naked" is a cheap buy, but is hardly what could have been, and is almost definitely not "naked" or "the album the Beatles intended." It feels at its core like an inconsequential throwaway, a quick lark of revisionism being marketed as a major artistic reclamation of a lost work...a lost work which, it should be noted, rarely ranks as a fan favorite. To hear Apple's marketing campaign, "Let It Be...Naked" is unprecedented and revelatory, a great artistic statement worthy of a celebrity roundtable discussion (I mean...what's next? "Beatles for Sale...Naked?" With Leave My Kitten Alone instead of Mr. Moonlight and Honey Don't deleted because Ringo never liked it? With comments from Fiona Apple about how it's really her favorite album?). It isn't.

Is it worth buying? I guess. It's cheap (currently), and it provides an interesting alternative to an album that most Beatles fans are undoubtedly fairly familiar with. Just set your expectations accordingly, and try to ignore the fact that Apple decided that *this* was more relevant than a well-transferred, mono/stereo hybrid reissue program to replace those mediocre 1987 Beatles discs we've been stuck with for so long.

There have already been hundreds of coherent and thoughtful reviews on this album, so this review will probably be lost in the jumble. Still, I felt compelled to say something about this album since I just recently discovered it and wanted to explain why I really enjoy it.

First, let me start with the original release. In my case, the only "Let It Be" I had ever experienced before buying this CD was the released version in its 1980's and 2009 editions. Up until recently, my opinion of "Let It Be" was that Beatles fans should just take it for what it is...a slightly jumbled, unfinished collection of rehearsals/early takes. In my opinion, the original release has some great moments and catchy songs that I am convinced would have developed into beautiful Beatles classics had they been fully worked-out and realized during recording sessions. This isn't to say that I don't like the original Let It Be release. On the contrary, I like it very much; however to me, it has a chaotic/pieced together feel and at no point in listening to this CD do I think of it as a polished and complete Beatles album.

With all that said, I purchased "Let It Be...Naked" a little while ago to see how it sounded. I went into it being pretty skeptical and not expecting much. I was pretty upset with how Let It Be...Naked was being marketed: i.e. The way the Beatles wanted the album to sound, etc. At the time, I don't think the Beatles knew how they wanted it to sound so I doubt that this selling tactic is really true. With that said, after listing to Let It Be...Naked all the way through I was pleasantly surprised. My first impression was that this album now makes Let It Be sound like a fully realized album. I understand that this was sort of artificially created (with song selection, editing, mixing tracks, etc.), so for some this may be a contentious point. That being said, I really loved the takes and song selections on this album. I think the title does a decent job describing it.....basically it just feels like some crud has been scraped away for the album and on the whole it is more direct and to the point. As someone who likes the original Let It Be release, listening to this album was a wonderful treat which helped me rediscover and understand these songs in a new way.

For me, this is a necessary Beatles album to own, whether you are a fan of the original release or not. I would still recommend to any Beatles fan that they own both versions of this album, however I think that "Let It Be...Naked" presents some of the original material in a new light and it is a pleasure to listen to from front to back.

This release sort of answers a few "what ifs" that people have been asking for years now, but for me raises even more questions. The actual release itself is very good, and is a fine, fine listen. It's been said for many years that 'Let It Be' was the weak leak of The Beatles catalogue, but I guess these people had never heard the 'Beatles For Sale' album and forgot all about 'Wild Honey Pie.' 'Let It Be' is a very good album for what it is, and has a wealth of good material, but it does have a few weaker songs. 'Get Back' and the title track are two of the finest of the group's hits, 'Dig A Pony' is a great Lennon rocker, and 'Across The Universe' is a beautiful, Lennon-penned song.

This 'Naked' release is supposed to be what was actually intended by the group, but half of the group is dead. A lot of things on this new version sound fantastic, and a lot of things aren't worth praising at all. 'Across The Universe' is the track that was most affected by Phil Spector's production, and this release improves the album production. The problem with that song wasn't the orchestral arrangement, it was that he slowed the tape down so much that it sounded swirly and out of tune (the original song is in D, but the Spectorized version sounds almost in C#). 'The Long And Winding Road' isn't necessarily better or worse (I actually like the Spector-produced one), but it's more what McCartney wanted and definitely has a more intimate feeling. On the negative side, what [...] happened to 'Get Back'? The producers here chopped off about thirty seconds at the end, and it just seems to cut off. A lot of the songs seem to fade out prematurely and go right into the next track instantaneously. Also, weren't there other songs recorded during these sessions? The "Fly On the Wall" disc is somewhat amusing to hear the banter during rehersals, but why not put actual music on the second disc?

The biggest question that this project raises is that there is a wealth of unreleased material from these sessions collecting dust somewhere in England, and why won't that ever be officially released? The rooftop concert has been circulating in bootleg circles for thirty-four years now (I even have a copy of it), and there are two other versions of the 'Get Back' album, one mixed by Glyn Johns, and one by George Martin. Also, there is supposedly a 5-minute jam of 'Dig It' circulating, which I myself have never heard. This album is barely 35 minutes long, and could use some more material, why not have that as a bonus track? Another big question is that there is a ton of technology that can be used to remaster the original Beatles albums, but us listeners still have to settle for those ancient cd issues from back in the day.

This release should not really be a substitute for the original release, but it's a good companion and has some improvements and some problems. The main problem isn't with what's on this disc, but it's with what's not on it. This isn't an absolute necessity for all Beatles fans, but for people who thought the original album was marred by overproduction, this might be a more satisfying release. Both versions of the album are pretty good, infact.

When I heard this was going to be released I was intrigued but wondered how it was going to offer anything new when Anthology 3 already had given us raw versions of "Long And Winding Road" (the best version/mix/sound quality available in my opinion), "I Me Mine" and "Across The Universe". Also, a seemingly endless supply of alternate takes of "Let It Be", "Get Back" and "Long And Winding Road" were available on numerous bootlegs from the Let It Be/Get Back sessions. What was left? Phil Spector had only really added orchestration and vocals to the first three songs I mentioned in this review and remixed and done some clever editing on other tracks. Thus, this new release ends up being irrelevant.

I thought it might be nice to have a longer mix of "Dig It" - instead we don't get "Dig It" in any form, or "Maggie Mae" either. Again, Anthology 3 offered a live rooftop version of "Get Back" which rocked (and was the one where Mal Evans shut off the guitar amplifier mid-performance when the police showed up because of the 'noise' the Beatles were making that was disrupting rush hour traffic - you can even hear John shout at him off-mic). Here, like on the real "Let It Be" album we once again get the version of "Get Back" that was released as a single in January 1969 but without Spector's seamless edit that with Lennon's "sweet Loretta fart she thought she was a cleaner, but she was a fryin' pan" intro and "..I hope we passed the audition" outro made it sound like a live take. Instead the song fades before the ad-libbed "get back Loretta, your mommie's waitin' for you..." section that was on the single.

"Dig A Pony" edits out the false start that made it clear it was a live recording.

"For You Blue" - I can't hear any difference in the instrumentation but the recording doesn't sound as good now, very thin in the bottom end - Ringo's drums are buried in the mix now compared to the original.

"Long and Winding Road" - what the heck? The Anthology 3 version was the version heard on the real "Let It Be" album, but without Spector's strings and choir drowning out Paul's voice. This version sounds raw all right...like an early rehearsal of the track before Paul felt comfortable singing it. Different lyrics too: "Anyway's you've always known the many ways I've tried" instead of "you've never known". Simplistic sounding solo. Very disappointing.

"Two Of Us" - no "I Dig A Pigmy by Charles Hawtry on the deaf-aids - Phase one in which Doris gets her Oats" intro. However, that wasn't actually part of this track anyhow, just another Spector edit that fit well. Inexplicably, it fades out prematurely.

"I've Got A Feeling" - missing the retro tape echo effect on Paul's voice that was in the real version. Sounds to me like it might be a composite of an alternate take and the one that was on the real version of the album - the first part of the song has some different bits than the original. Doesn't have as much 'ambience' or energy as the live original (too much compression and filtering) and doesn't have the nifty Paul in the left channel John in the right Channel effect (during the part where they sing two different melodies at the same time) that was in the real version. On the plus side, John's voice is louder in the mix on the first part of the song than it was on the real version.

"One After 909" - hmmm, no real difference here, other than more overuse of filtering and compression and this version has some different adlibs and is missing the fun "Danny Boy" adlib at end.

"Don't Let Me Down" - rawer version than the released version. Not on the real "Let It Be" album but featured on earlier versions of the album. This is more like it. This is what the album should have offered - Beatles 'live' (even if it is a composite of more than one take).

"I Me Mine" - There already was a stripped-down version available on Anthology 3 (without the Spector edit that made the song nearly twice as long and was emulated here for "Naked").

"Across The Universe" - nice to hear it at the recorded pitch (or very close to it) instead of the semitone slowed-down Spector version or the semitone sped-up version with the bird sounds. Sounds like a demo this way, but I guess it does offer a more 'live' sound, other than the Grand Canyon reverb effect at the end - what's up with that?

"Let It Be" - fine version UNTIL THE GUITAR SOLO!!!!!! Why have such a meandering, weak solo?!? Possibly the worst solo I've heard in any of the dozens of takes I've heard. Why they chose to use that solo baffles me.

Bonus cd is a bit of a joke. It would've probably been better to instead of bits of songs and bits of dialogue to have had full song outtakes from the Let It Be/Get Back sessions.

I have to give this release only 1 star because it really isn't worth purchasing. It is lacking in too many areas and has too much filtering and compression, which takes the raw energy and ambience out of the recordings. The best version of "Let It Be" is definitely the Mobile Fidelity Sound Labs version. This one is a tiny curiosity but not really worth buying. Only a couple tracks offer anything new, none are actually superior to the real version of "Let It Be", they are just different.