Since there isn't a category for the new Let It Be?Naked CD by the Beatles, I figured I'd just stick it in under the original album listing. Let It Be was always an anomaly: In 1968, the group (probably Paul McCartney, who was making most of the business decisions at the time) got the idea of bringing in a film crew, headed by director Michael Lindsay-Hogg, to document the creation of a new album.
The premise was there?observe the world's most popular group in the process of songwriting and composing, and perhaps their genius could be captured on film.
Unfortunately, it didn't work out that way. The filmmakers decided that Abbey Road (where they usually recorded) wasn't the best location for filming, and moved the whole project to a soundstage at Twickenham Studios.
The group found it very difficult to work in the unfamiliar surroundings, and that, combined with other tensions of the time (Paul's attempt to bring in his future father-in-law as a business manager to replace Brian Epstein, the presence of Yoko), probably did more to lead to their eventual decision to split than any other factor. In fact, at one point during the filming, George Harrison walked out, but was later persuaded to return.
Things returned to some semblance on normalcy when they abandoned the film studio and recorded the remainder of the songs in the basement of the Apple offices on Savile Row. The Beatles had wanted to end the film with a live concert of several new numbers, and after considering numerous ideas (including hiring the Queen Elizabeth II for a floating rock tour), they opted for a rooftop concert from the Savile Row office. And the rest is history.
By the end of the project, tensions ran high, and the Let It Be project was largely responsible for the eventual breakup of the group. The recordings were a mess, and Phil Spector was brought in to try to salvage what he could. Spector, one of the most prolific and successful producers of the 1960s, had become a bit of an anachronism by 1969.
Groups like Cream and The Who relied on a purer, rawer sound than the heavily produced, echo-laden confections of an earlier era, so he was a surprising choice for a Let It Be rescue. The Beatles (and perhaps their fans) apparently weren?t ready to abandon the sonic sheen that had always been a hallmark of their albums. It?s a shame, because Spector, in applying his signature ?wall of sound??heavy on the strings and backing vocals?buried the simple beauty of songs such as ?The Long and Winding Road? beneath a cacophony of supposedly angelic voices.
Well, good news! The album has been remastered with all of the songs in their original, straightforward glory. There are few surprises here, just a really good, clean sound. The song order is probably more like the Beatles originally envisioned when they were going to name the album Get Back. The playing is very fresh; without the addition of layers of overdubs, you can more easily hear the individual contributions?John?s fuzz guitar, George?s penchant for finding exactly the right chord or guitar lick, Paul?s melodic basslines, and Ringo?s workmanlike, solid drumming, plus the addition of Billy Preston?s terrific electric piano (the Beatles briefly considered adding him as a permanent member of the group).
?Get Back,? the concert closer, opens up the new CD. It is almost identical to the released version, but without the banter and crowd noises. It seems a little spare, as a result. The next 2 songs, ?Dig a Pony? and ?For You Blue? also are very similar to the original versions. ?The Long and Winding Road? is stripped of the choir and orchestra, but seems to have a guitar overdub that wasn?t in the filmed version (which just included Paul at the piano without additional accompaniment). It almost sounds as if the dub is a recent addition.
?I?ve Got a Feeling? is another one of those songs that, like ?A Day in the Life? was the result of two separate ideas by John and Paul that were melded into one. ?One After 909,? which was written in the early ?60s by Lennon/McCartney is a throwback to the rockabilly era.
A one idea song?a guy misses his girlfriend at a train station because he has the wrong train number?was obviously included so the Beatles could display their ?roots.? ?Don?t Let Me Down? has always been one of my favorites?a tour de force of Lennon?s passionate singing style, stretching his vocal chords to the limit (and prefiguring, perhaps, the primal screaming he would experiment with on his solo album, which was released within a few months of Let It Be). ?I Me Mine,? one of George?s two compositions on the album, chronicles the legal infighting the group had experienced over management issues.
The version of ?Across the Universe? here is much simpler (and I think, more beautiful) than the original: just a swirl of acoustic guitars and harmonics surrounding John?s ethereal vocals. ?Let It Be? rounds out the album; it is a slightly remixed version of the original, with a different guitar solo by Harrison and a more pronounced organ sound in the mix.
There is a bonus CD called ?Fly on the Wall? included, which is a fascinating look into the process of putting the various songs together. Though at 21 minutes it is only long enough to contain the briefest snatches of the songs they were working on, you hear them working out bits of most of the Let It Be songs and others, as well (''All Things Must Pass? and one of John's future solo pieces are included in their infancy). Alternative takes of ''Maggie May'' (which isn?t on disc one of the new CD), ''Dig It'' and what may be the first recording of ''Get Back'' are all included. The group also spends a good deal of time discussing the live concert idea (in Los Angeles, India, or aboard theQE2--John disses the final idea because he doesn't want to spend two weeks aboard a ship with a bunch of strangers).
What really shines through on the ?Fly on the Wall? snippets is the fact that, regardless of their legal wranglings of the time, or the group?s jealousy of John and Yoko, they really enjoy making music together.
They were ceaselessly experimenting with song ideas and of finding new sounds and ways to express these ideas. I suppose if they could have concentrated on the process of creating, rather than the grinding inertia of celebrity, they would have made music together well into the ?70s. But, perhaps they just decided that what they had done before, they couldn?t do again, and doubted their abilities to find anything really new in a group context.
There are also numerous additional sound bytes and snatches of songs in progress, as well as a new video of ?Two of Us? at the Beatles website ( http://www.beatles.com). In the U.S. there are recollections of the Beatles era going on now on TV and radio, since this is the 40th anniversary of their invasion of America. For those of us at a certain age, it?s sad to be reminded of what we have lost?the innocence of our childhoods and how much the Beatles played a part?but released like Let It Be?Naked help us to regain, if for only 35 minutes, some of the wonder of those brilliant years.
