''Let It Be'' is the twelfth and final studio album by the English
rock
Rock most often refers to:
* Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids
* Rock music, a genre of popular music
Rock or Rocks may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
band
the Beatles
The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...
. It was released on 8 May 1970, almost a month after
the group's public break-up, in tandem with the
documentary of the same name. Concerned about recent friction within the band,
Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...
had conceived the project as an attempt to reinvigorate the group by returning to simpler
rock 'n' roll configurations.
The album topped charts in many countries, including both the UK and the US, but was a critical failure at the time, and ''Let It Be'' came to be regarded as one of the most controversial rock albums in history.
Retroactively, general response has since become much more favorable.
The album’s infamous rehearsals began at
Twickenham Film Studios in January 1969 as part of a planned television documentary showing the Beatles' return to live performance. The filmed rehearsals were marked by ill feeling, leading to
George Harrison
George Harrison (25 February 1943 – 29 November 2001) was an English musician and singer-songwriter who achieved international fame as the lead guitarist of the Beatles. Sometimes called "the quiet Beatle", Harrison embraced Indian c ...
's temporary departure from the group. As a condition of his return, the members reconvened at their own
Apple Studio, and recruited guest keyboardist
Billy Preston
William Everett Preston (September 2, 1946 – June 6, 2006) was an American keyboardist, singer and songwriter whose work encompassed R&B, rock, soul, funk, and gospel. Preston was a top session keyboardist in the 1960s, during which he ba ...
. The project yielded a
famous single public concert held on the studio's rooftop on 30 January, from which three of the album's tracks were drawn.
In April 1969, the Beatles issued the lead single "
Get Back
"Get Back" is a song recorded by the British rock band the Beatles and Billy Preston, and written by Paul McCartney though credited to the Lennon–McCartney partnership. It was originally released as a single on 11 April 1969 and credited to ...
" (backed with "
Don't Let Me Down"), after which engineer
Glyn Johns prepared and submitted mixes of the album titled ''Get Back'' and subsequently rejected by the band.
The project then lay in limbo as they moved onto the recording of ''
Abbey Road'', released that September. In January 1970, only four months after
John Lennon
John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...
's departure from the group, the remaining Beatles completed "
Let It Be
Let It Be most commonly refers to:
* ''Let It Be'' (Beatles album), the Beatles' final studio album, released in 1970
* "Let It Be" (Beatles song), the title song from the album
It may also refer to:
Film and television
* ''Let It Be'' (1970 ...
" and recorded "
I Me Mine". The former was issued as the second single from the album in March 1970, and like all the albums recording to this point, was produced by
George Martin
Sir George Henry Martin (3 January 1926 – 8 March 2016) was an English record producer, arranger, composer, conductor, and musician. He was commonly referred to as the "Fifth Beatle" because of his extensive involvement in each of the B ...
.
When the documentary film was resurrected for a cinema release, as ''Let It Be'', Lennon and Harrison asked American producer
Phil Spector
Harvey Phillip Spector (born Harvey Philip Spector; December 26, 1939January 16, 2021) was an American record producer and songwriter, best known for his innovative recording practices and entrepreneurship in the 1960s, followed decades later by ...
to assemble the accompanying album. Among Spector's choices was to include a 1968 take of "
Across the Universe
"Across the Universe" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles. It was written by John Lennon and credited to Lennon–McCartney. The song first appeared on the 1969 various artists' charity compilation album ''No One's Gonna Change Our W ...
" and apply orchestral and choral overdubs to three tracks. His work offended McCartney, particularly in the case of the third and final single of the album "
The Long and Winding Road". In 2003, McCartney spearheaded ''
Let It Be... Naked'', an alternative mixed version of ''Let It Be'' that removes Spector's embellishments and alters the tracklist. In 2021,
another remixed and expanded edition of ''Let It Be'' was released with session highlights and the original 1969 ''Get Back'' mix, coinciding with ''
The Beatles: Get Back'', an eight-hour documentary series covering the January 1969 sessions and rooftop concert.
Background
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...
completed the five-month sessions for their
self-titled double album (also known as the "White Album") in mid-October 1968. While the sessions had revealed deep divisions within the group for the first time, leading to
Ringo Starr
Sir Richard Starkey (born 7 July 1940), known professionally as Ringo Starr, is an English musician, singer, songwriter and actor who achieved international fame as the drummer for the Beatles. Starr occasionally sang lead vocals with the ...
quitting for three weeks, the band enjoyed the opportunity to re-engage with ensemble playing, as a departure from the psychedelic experimentation that had characterised their recordings since the band's retirement from live performance in August 1966. Before the White Album's release,
John Lennon
John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...
enthused to music journalist
Jonathan Cott
Jonathan Cott (born December 24, 1942) is an American author, journalist, and editor. Much of his work focuses on music, embracing both classical and rock. He has been a contributing editor at ''Rolling Stone'' since the magazine's founding, ...
that the Beatles were "coming out of our shell ... kind of saying: remember what it was like to ''play''?"
George Harrison
George Harrison (25 February 1943 – 29 November 2001) was an English musician and singer-songwriter who achieved international fame as the lead guitarist of the Beatles. Sometimes called "the quiet Beatle", Harrison embraced Indian c ...
welcomed the return to the band's roots, saying that they were aiming "to get as funky as we were in
the Cavern
The Cavern Club is a nightclub on Mathew Street, Liverpool, England.
The Cavern Club opened in 1957 as a jazz club, later becoming a centre of the rock and roll scene in Liverpool in the late 50s and early 1960s. The club became closely asso ...
".
Concerned about the friction over the previous year,
Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...
was eager for the Beatles to perform live again. In early October 1968, he told the press that the band would soon play a live show for subsequent broadcast in a TV special. The following month,
Apple Corps announced that the Beatles had booked
the Roundhouse
The Roundhouse is a performing arts and concert venue situated at the Grade II* listed former railway engine shed in Chalk Farm, London, England. The building was erected in 1846–1847 by the London & North Western Railway as a roundhouse, ...
in north London for 12–23 December and would perform at least one concert during that time. When this plan came to nothing, Denis O'Dell, the head of
Apple Films, suggested that the group be filmed rehearsing at
Twickenham Film Studios, in preparation for their return to live performance, since he had booked studio space there to shoot ''
The Magic Christian''.
The initial plan was that the rehearsal footage would be edited into a short TV documentary promoting the main TV special, in which the Beatles would perform a public concert or perhaps two concerts.
Michael Lindsay-Hogg had agreed to direct the project, having worked with the band on some of their promotional films. The project's timeline was dictated by Harrison being away in the United States until Christmas and Starr's commitment to begin filming his role in ''The Magic Christian'' in February 1969.
[ Available a]
Rock's Backpages
(subscription required). The band intended to perform only new material and were therefore under pressure to finish writing an album's worth of songs. Although the concert venue was not established when rehearsals began on 2 January, it was decided that the 18th would serve as a potential dress rehearsal day; the 19th and 20th would serve as concert dates.
Recording and production
Twickenham rehearsals
The Twickenham rehearsals quickly disintegrated into what Apple Corps executive
Peter Brown characterised as a "hostile lethargy". Lennon and his partner
Yoko Ono
Yoko Ono ( ; ja, 小野 洋子, Ono Yōko, usually spelled in katakana ; born February 18, 1933) is a Japanese multimedia artist, singer, songwriter, and peace activist. Her work also encompasses performance art and filmmaking.
Ono grew up i ...
had descended into
heroin addiction after their arrest on drugs charges in October and Ono's subsequent miscarriage. Unable to supply his quota of new songs for the project, Lennon maintained an icy distance from his bandmates and scorned McCartney's ideas. By contrast, Harrison was inspired by his recent stay in the US; there, he enjoyed jamming with musicians in Los Angeles and experienced a musical camaraderie and creative freedom with
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...
and
the Band in
upstate New York
Upstate New York is a geographic region consisting of the area of New York State that lies north and northwest of the New York City metropolitan area. Although the precise boundary is debated, Upstate New York excludes New York City and Long Is ...
that was lacking in the Beatles. Harrison presented several new songs for consideration at Twickenham, some of which were dismissed by Lennon and McCartney. McCartney's attempts to focus the band on their objective were construed as overly controlling, particularly by Harrison.
The atmosphere in the film studios, the early start each day, and the intrusive cameras and microphones of Lindsay-Hogg's film crew combined to heighten the Beatles' discontent. When the band rehearsed McCartney's "
Two of Us" on 6 January, a tense exchange ensued between McCartney and Harrison about the latter's lead guitar part. During lunch on 10 January, Lennon and Harrison had a heated disagreement in which Harrison berated Lennon for his lack of engagement with the project. Harrison was also angry with Lennon for telling a music journalist that the Beatles' Apple organisation was in financial ruin. According to journalist Michael Housego's report in the ''
Daily Sketch
The ''Daily Sketch'' was a British national tabloid newspaper, founded in Manchester in 1909 by Sir Edward Hulton.
It was bought in 1920 by Lord Rothermere's Daily Mirror Newspapers, but in 1925 Rothermere sold it to William and Gomer Berry ...
'', Harrison and Lennon's exchange descended into violence with the pair allegedly throwing punches at each other. Harrison denied this in a 16 January interview for the ''
Daily Express
The ''Daily Express'' is a national daily United Kingdom middle-market newspaper printed in tabloid format. Published in London, it is the flagship of Express Newspapers, owned by publisher Reach plc. It was first published as a broadsheet i ...
'', saying: "There was no punch-up. We just fell out." After lunch on 10 January, Harrison announced that he was leaving the band and told the others, "See you round the clubs."
Starr attributed Harrison's exit to McCartney "dominating" him.
Apple sessions
During a meeting on 15 January, the band agreed to Harrison's terms for returning to the group: they would abandon the plan to stage a public concert and relocate from the cavernous soundstage at Twickenham to their
Apple Studio, where they would be filmed recording a new album, using the material they had gathered at this point.
The band's return to work was delayed due to the poor quality of the recording and mixing equipment designed by Lennon's friend
"Magic" Alex Mardas and installed at Apple Studio, in the basement of the Apple Corps building at 3
Savile Row. Producer
George Martin
Sir George Henry Martin (3 January 1926 – 8 March 2016) was an English record producer, arranger, composer, conductor, and musician. He was commonly referred to as the "Fifth Beatle" because of his extensive involvement in each of the B ...
, who had been only a marginal presence at Twickenham, arranged to borrow two four-track recorders from
EMI Studios; he and audio engineer
Glyn Johns then prepared the facility for the Beatles' use. Sessions commenced at Apple on 21 January and ended on 31 January, along with filming.
The atmosphere in the band was markedly improved during the sessions. To help achieve this, Harrison invited keyboardist
Billy Preston
William Everett Preston (September 2, 1946 – June 6, 2006) was an American keyboardist, singer and songwriter whose work encompassed R&B, rock, soul, funk, and gospel. Preston was a top session keyboardist in the 1960s, during which he ba ...
to participate, after meeting him outside the Apple building on 22 January. Preston contributed to most of the recording and also became an
Apple Records artist. McCartney and Lindsay-Hogg continued to hope for a public concert by the Beatles to cap the project.
''Get Back'' mixes
Days after the sessions at Apple had ended, Glyn Johns put together a rough mix
acetate
An acetate is a salt (chemistry), salt formed by the combination of acetic acid with a base (e.g. Alkali metal, alkaline, Alkaline earth metal, earthy, Transition metal, metallic, nonmetallic or radical Radical (chemistry), base). "Acetate" als ...
of several songs for the band to listen to. This is often referred to as the "Untouched" or Elecktra mix and includes false starts and studio banter throughout.
In early March, Lennon and McCartney called Johns to Abbey Road and offered him free rein to compile an album from the ''Get Back'' recordings. Johns booked time at
Olympic Studios
Olympic Studios was a renowned British independent commercial recording studio based in Barnes, London. It is best known for its recordings of many artists throughout the late 1960s to the first decade of the 21st century, including Jimi Hendr ...
between 10 March and 28 May to mix the album and completed the final banded master tape on 28 May. Only one track, "One After 909", was taken from the rooftop concert, with "
I've Got a Feeling" and "
Dig a Pony
"Dig a Pony" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles from their 1970 album ''Let It Be''. It was written by John Lennon and credited to Lennon–McCartney. The band recorded the song on 30 January 1969, during their rooftop concert at th ...
" (then called "All I Want Is You") being studio recordings instead. Johns also favoured earlier, rougher versions of "Two of Us" and "
The Long and Winding Road" over the more polished performances from the final, 31 January session (which were eventually chosen for the ''Let It Be'' film; the ''Let It Be'' album used the 31 January take of "Two of Us" but the same 26 January take of "The Long and Winding Road" that Johns had used). It also included a
jam
Jam is a type of fruit preserve.
Jam or Jammed may also refer to:
Other common meanings
* A firearm malfunction
* Block signals
** Radio jamming
** Radar jamming and deception
** Mobile phone jammer
** Echolocation jamming
Arts and entertai ...
called "Rocker", a brief rendition of
the Drifters
The Drifters are several American doo-wop and R&B/Soul music, soul vocal groups. They were originally formed as a backing group for Clyde McPhatter, formerly the lead tenor of Billy Ward and his Dominoes in 1953. The second group of Drifters, f ...
' "
Save the Last Dance for Me", Lennon's "
Don't Let Me Down" and a four-minute edit of "
Dig It". A tape copy of this acetate would later make its way to the United States, where it was played on radio stations in
Buffalo and
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
over September 1969.
The cover of the proposed album featured a photograph of the Beatles taken by
Angus McBean
Angus Rowland McBean (8 June 1904 – 9 June 1990) was a Welsh photographer, set designer and cult figure associated with surrealism.
Early life
Angus Rowland McBean was born in Newbridge, Monmouthshire, Wales on 8 June 1904, elder child and o ...
on 13 May in the interior stairwell at EMI's
Manchester Square headquarters. The photo was intended as an update of the group's ''
Please Please Me
''Please Please Me'' is the debut studio album by the English rock band the Beatles. Produced by George Martin, it was released on EMI's Parlophone label on 22 March 1963 in the United Kingdom, following the success of the band's first two sin ...
'' cover image from 1963 and was particularly favoured by Lennon. The text design and placement similarly mirrored that of the 1963 LP sleeve. The sequencing of "One After 909", a Lennon–McCartney composition from the early 1960s, as the opening track furthered the back-to-the-roots aesthetic.
On 15 December, the Beatles again approached Johns to compile an album, but this time with the instruction that the songs must match those included in the as yet unreleased ''Get Back'' film. Between 15 December 1969 and 8 January 1970, new mixes were prepared. Johns' new mix omitted "
Teddy Boy" as the song did not appear in the film. It added "
Across the Universe
"Across the Universe" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles. It was written by John Lennon and credited to Lennon–McCartney. The song first appeared on the 1969 various artists' charity compilation album ''No One's Gonna Change Our W ...
" (a
remix
A remix (or reorchestration) is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, video, poem, or photograph can all be remixes. The o ...
of the 1968 studio version, as the January 1969 rehearsals had not been properly recorded) and "
I Me Mine", on which only Harrison, McCartney and Starr performed, as Lennon had already left the band. "I Me Mine" was newly recorded on 3 January 1970, as it appeared in the film since no multi-track recording had yet been made. Johns also rearranged the playlist, moving "
Let It Be
Let It Be most commonly refers to:
* ''Let It Be'' (Beatles album), the Beatles' final studio album, released in 1970
* "Let It Be" (Beatles song), the title song from the album
It may also refer to:
Film and television
* ''Let It Be'' (1970 ...
" away from "
The Long And Winding Road" onto the first side. The Beatles once again rejected the album.
Final mixing
"
Get Back
"Get Back" is a song recorded by the British rock band the Beatles and Billy Preston, and written by Paul McCartney though credited to the Lennon–McCartney partnership. It was originally released as a single on 11 April 1969 and credited to ...
" and "
Don't Let Me Down" were released on a single in April 1969 and "Let It Be" was the A-side of the band's March 1970 single. Three tracks were recorded live from the rooftop performance: "I've Got a Feeling", "One After 909" and "Dig a Pony". An additional four tracks were recorded "live in the studio" with the band members playing together in a single take, and without overdubs or splicing: "Two of Us", "
Dig It", "Get Back" and "
Maggie Mae
Maggie Mae, stage name of Andrea Cosima Carle (13 May 1960 – 30 August 2021) was a German singer.
Biography
Maggie Mae released her first single, ''Ich hab’ Spaß am Leben'', in 1974. She later released a German-language cover of "My Boy L ...
". Seven of the tracks were thereby released in accordance with the original plans for the ''Get Back'' project, whereas the album versions of "
For You Blue
"For You Blue" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles from their 1970 album ''Let It Be''. The track was written by George Harrison as a love song to his wife, Pattie Boyd. It was also the B-side to the " Long and Winding Road" single, i ...
", "I Me Mine", "Let It Be" and "The Long and Winding Road" include editing, splicing and/or overdubs. "Don't Let Me Down", recorded live in the studio two days before the rooftop concert, was omitted from the album. The third track on the album is an edited version of the original 1968 recording of "Across the Universe", played back at a slower speed (which lowered the
key
Key or The Key may refer to:
Common meanings
* Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm
* Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock
* Key (map ...
from
D to
D♭), which had only been rehearsed at Twickenham and not professionally recorded on multi-track tape during the January 1969 sessions.
Producer
Phil Spector
Harvey Phillip Spector (born Harvey Philip Spector; December 26, 1939January 16, 2021) was an American record producer and songwriter, best known for his innovative recording practices and entrepreneurship in the 1960s, followed decades later by ...
was invited by Lennon and Harrison to take on the task of turning the Beatles' abandoned ''Let It Be'' recording sessions into a usable album. McCartney was dissatisfied with Spector's treatment of some songs, particularly "The Long and Winding Road". McCartney had conceived of the song as a simple piano ballad, but Spector dubbed in orchestral and choral accompaniment. Lennon defended Spector's work in his "
Lennon Remembers
''Lennon Remembers'' is a 1971 book by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine co-founder and editor Jann Wenner. It consists of a lengthy interview that Wenner carried out with former Beatle John Lennon in December 1970 and which was originally serialised i ...
" interview for ''
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...
'', saying, "
was given the shittiest load of badly recorded shit, with a lousy feeling toward it, ever. And he made something out of it. He did a great job."
Lennon chose not to credit Johns for his contribution as a producer. When EMI informed Martin that he would not get a production credit because Spector produced the final version, Martin commented, "I produced the original, and what you should do is have a credit saying 'Produced by George Martin, over-produced by Phil Spector'."
Packaging
In most countries except the United States, the ''Let It Be'' LP was originally presented in a box with a full colour book. The book contained photos from the January 1969 filming, by
Ethan Russell
Ethan Allen Russell (born November 26, 1945 in Mt. Kisco, New York) is an American photographer, author and video director, mostly of musicians. He is known as "the only rock photographer to have shot album covers for The Beatles, The Rolling St ...
; dialogue from the film, with all expletives removed at EMI's insistence; and essays by ''Rolling Stone'' writers Jonathan Cott and
David Dalton. Despite the new album title, the book was still titled ''Get Back''. Its inclusion was another step in the Beatles' efforts to provide increasingly elaborate packaging for their records since ''
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
''Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band'' is the eighth studio album by the English rock band the Beatles. Released on 26May 1967, ''Sgt. Pepper'' is regarded by musicologists as an early concept album that advanced the roles of sound composi ...
''. The book's lavishness increased production costs by 33 per cent, however, driving the retail price higher than for any previous Beatles album.
In the US, the album was initially distributed by
United Artists Records
United Artists Records was an American record label founded by Max E. Youngstein of United Artists in 1957 to issue movie soundtracks. The label expanded into other genres, such as easy listening, jazz, pop, and R&B.
History Genres
In 1959, ...
instead of their mainstay Capitol, with the disc using red-tinted Apple labels to reflect this change. (Capitol would later acquire United Artists in 1979.) On both sides of the disc, the words "Phil+Ronnie" are inscribed into the inner dead wax.
The LP cover was designed by
John Kosh and includes individual photos of the four band members, again taken by Russell. On the front cover, the photos are set in quadrants on a black surround. The album title appears in white text above the images but, as on ''Abbey Road'' and other Beatles LPs, the cover does not include the band's name. Written by Apple press officer
Derek Taylor, the LP's liner notes described ''Let It Be'' as a "new phase Beatles album", adding that "in come the warmth and the freshness of a live performance; as reproduced for disc by Phil Spector". Martin and Johns were among those listed for "special thanks".
Critical reception and legacy
''Let It Be'' topped album charts in both the US and the UK, and the "Let It Be" single and "The Long and Winding Road" also reached number one in the US. Despite its commercial success, according to ''Beatles Diary'' author Keith Badman, "reviews
erenot good". ''
NME
''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...
'' critic Alan Smith wrote: "If the new Beatles' soundtrack is to be their last then it will stand as a cheapskate epitaph, a cardboard tombstone, a sad and tatty end to a musical fusion which wiped clean and drew again the face of pop." Smith added that the album showed "contempt for the intelligence of today's record-buyer" and that the Beatles had "sold out all the principles for which they ever stood". Reviewing for ''Rolling Stone'',
John Mendelsohn was also critical of the album, citing Spector's production embellishments as a weakness: "Musically, boys, you passed the audition. In terms of having the judgment to avoid either over-producing yourselves or casting the fate of your get-back statement to the most notorious of all over-producers, you didn't."
John Gabree of ''
High Fidelity'' magazine found the album "not nearly as bad as the movie" and "positively wonderful" relative to the recent solo releases by McCartney and Starr. Gabree admired "Let It Be", "Get Back" and "Two of Us", but derided "The Long and Winding Road" and "Across the Universe", the last of which he described as "bloated and self-satisfied – the kind of song we've come to expect from these rich, privileged prototeenagers". While questioning whether the Beatles' split would remain permanent,
William Mann of ''
The Times
''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...
'' described ''Let It Be'' as "Not a breakthrough record, unless for the predominance of informal, unedited live takes; but definitely a record to give lasting pleasure. They aren't having to scrape the barrel yet."
In his review for ''
The Sunday Times
''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, whi ...
'',
Derek Jewell
Derek Jewell, (1927 – 21 November 1985) was a British journalist, newspaper executive, broadcaster and music critic. A music critic for the London ''Sunday Times'' for twenty-three years from 1963, Jewell wrote extensively about jazz, and als ...
deemed the album to be "a last will and testament, from the blackly funereal packaging to the music itself, which sums up so much of what The Beatles as artists have been – unmatchably brilliant at their best, careless and self-indulgent at their least."
In a retrospective review,
Richie Unterberger
Richie Unterberger (born January 19, 1962) is an American author and journalist whose focus is popular music and travel writing.
Life and writing
Unterberger attended the University of Pennsylvania, where he wrote for the university newspaper '' ...
of
AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
described ''Let It Be'' as the "only Beatles album to occasion negative, even hostile reviews", but felt that it was "on the whole underrated". He singles out "some good moments of straight hard rock in 'I've Got a Feeling' and 'Dig a Pony'", and praises "Let It Be", "Get Back" and "the folky 'Two of Us'".
Reviewing for ''
The Daily Telegraph
''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally.
It was fo ...
'' in 2009,
Neil McCormick
Neil McCormick (born 31 March 1961) is a British music journalist, author and broadcaster. He has been Chief Music Critic for ''The Daily Telegraph'' since 1996, and presented a music interview show for Vintage TV in the UK, Neil McCormick's Nee ...
described ''Let It Be'' as a "slightly sad postscript", adding, "there are still monster tunes here by anyone else's standards, but it lacks sonic clarity, and is peppered with under-developed, sub-standard blues."
''Let It Be'' was ranked number 86 in ''Rolling Stone''s list of the
500 Greatest Albums of All Time in 2003, number 392 in the 2012 version, and number 342 in the 2020 edition.
It was voted number 890 in the third edition of
Colin Larkin
Colin Larkin (born 1949) is a British writer and entrepreneur. He founded, and was the editor-in-chief of, the ''Encyclopedia of Popular Music'', described by ''The Times'' as "the standard against which all others must be judged".
Along wit ...
's ''
All Time Top 1000 Albums
''All Time Top 1000 Albums'' is a book by Colin Larkin, creator and editor of the ''Encyclopedia of Popular Music''. The book was first published by Guinness Publishing in 1994. The list presented is the result of over 200,000 votes cast by the ...
'' (2000).
On
Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
, the 50th Anniversary multi-disc Super Deluxe Edition of the album holds a score of 91 out of 100, based on seven professional reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".
In 1971, ''Let It Be'' won the
Grammy Award for the Best Original Score Written for a Motion Picture or Television Special. It was also one of the nominations for the
Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Vocal Performance by a Duo, Group or Chorus. Despite his objections to Spector's embellishments and the expensive packaging, including the "blatant hype" printed on the LP's back cover, McCartney personally accepted the band's award. That same year, the Beatles won the
Academy Award
The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
for the
Best Original Song Score for the songs in the film.
In 1988, the Slovenian band
Laibach released a
martial industrial
Martial industrial is a syncretic offshoot of industrial music characterized by noise, dark ambient atmospheres, neofolk melodies, dark wave tunes and neoclassical orchestrations as well as the incorporation of audio from military marches, h ...
version of the album, also titled ''
Let It Be
Let It Be most commonly refers to:
* ''Let It Be'' (Beatles album), the Beatles' final studio album, released in 1970
* "Let It Be" (Beatles song), the title song from the album
It may also refer to:
Film and television
* ''Let It Be'' (1970 ...
''. Beatles author
Kenneth Womack comments on Laibach's notable exclusion of the title track and describes the album as "military style interpretations and choral pieces". For the magazine's October 2010 issue, ''
Mojo
Mojo may refer to:
*Mojo (African-American culture), a magical charm bag used in voodoo
Arts, entertainment and media Film and television
* MOJO HD, an American television network
* ''Mojo'' (play), by Jez Butterworth, made into a 1997 film
* '' ...
'' released ''Let It Be Revisited'', a CD containing interpretations of the songs by acts such as
Beth Orton
Elizabeth Caroline Orton (born 14 December 1970) is an English musician, known for her "folktronica" sound, which mixes elements of folk and electronica. She was initially recognised for her collaborations with William Orbit, Andrew Weatherall, ...
,
Phosphorescent,
Judy Collins
Judith Marjorie Collins (born May 1, 1939) is an American singer-songwriter and musician with a career spanning seven decades. An Academy Award-nominated documentary director and a Grammy Award-winning recording artist, she is known for her ec ...
,
Wilko Johnson
John Andrew Wilkinson (12 July 1947 – 21 November 2022), better known by the stage name Wilko Johnson, was an English guitarist, singer, songwriter and occasional actor. He was a member of the pub rock/rhythm and blues band Dr. Feelgood in t ...
,
the Besnard Lakes,
John Grant and
the Jim Jones Revue.
Re-releases
In early 1976, when the Beatles' EMI contract expired, the group's subsequent pressings ceased sporting Apple labels, Capitol labels replacing them; ''Let It Be'', however, went out of print in America for three years.
''Let It Be... Naked''
In 2003, a Paul McCartney–initiated remix of the album, titled ''
Let It Be... Naked'', was released. The album was presented as an alternative attempt to capture the original artistic vision of the project, to "get back" to the rock and roll sound of the band's early years. The album features alternative takes, edits, and mixes of the songs, mainly cutting out elements added by Spector. The album excludes "Maggie Mae" and "Dig It", and adds a live rooftop performance of "Don't Let Me Down", a song omitted from the original album and issued as the B side of the "Get Back" single in 1969.
Deluxe editions
In November 2021, ''
The Beatles: Get Back'', a new documentary directed by
Peter Jackson
Sir Peter Robert Jackson (born 31 October 1961) is a New Zealand film director, screenwriter and producer. He is best known as the director, writer and producer of the ''Lord of the Rings'' trilogy (2001–2003) and the ''Hobbit'' trilogy ( ...
using footage captured for the ''Let It Be'' film, was released on
Disney+
The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment
Entertainment is a form of activity that holds the attention and interest of an audience or gives pleasure and deligh ...
as a three-part
miniseries
A miniseries or mini-series is a television series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. "Limited series" is another more recent US term which is sometimes used interchangeably. , the popularity of miniseries format h ...
. It was originally going to be theatrically released in 2020 to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the ''Let It Be'' album, but was delayed to November 2021 and moved to Disney+. A book also titled ''The Beatles: Get Back'' was released in October 2021, ahead of the documentary.
A
super deluxe version of the album was released on 15 October 2021.
Track listing
Original release
All songs written by
Lennon–McCartney, except where noted. Lead vocals according to
Ian MacDonald.
Rejected Glyn Johns versions
According to
Mark Lewisohn:
''Get Back'' version one (May 1969)
Side one
#"One After 909"
#"Rocker /
Save the Last Dance for Me"
#"
Don't Let Me Down"
#"Dig a Pony"
#"I've Got a Feeling"
#"Get Back"
Side two
#"For You Blue"
#"
Teddy Boy"
#"Two of Us"
#"Maggie Mae"
#"Dig It"
#"Let It Be"
#"The Long and Winding Road"
#"Get Back (reprise)"
''Get Back'' version two (January 1970)
Side one
#"One After 909"
#"Rocker / 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 two
#"For You Blue"
#"Two of Us"
#"Maggie Mae"
#"Dig It"
#"The Long and Winding Road"
#"I Me Mine"
#"Across the Universe"
#"Get Back (reprise)"
Personnel
The Beatles
*
John Lennon
John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...
– lead and backing vocals, rhythm guitar, lead guitar on "Get Back",
lap steel guitar
The lap steel guitar, also known as a Hawaiian guitar, is a type of steel guitar without pedals that is typically played with the instrument in a horizontal position across the performer's lap. Unlike the usual manner of playing a traditional ...
on "For You Blue", acoustic guitar on "Two of Us", "Across the Universe" and "Maggie Mae",
six-string bass guitar
An extended-range bass is an electric bass guitar with a wider frequency range than a standard-tuned four-string bass guitar.
Terminology
One way that a bass can be considered 'extended-range' is to use a tuning machine mechanism that allows fo ...
on "Dig It" and "The Long and Winding Road", whistling on "Two of Us"
*
Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...
– lead and backing vocals, bass guitar, acoustic guitar on "Two of Us" and "Maggie Mae", piano on "Dig It", "Across the Universe", "Let It Be", "The Long and Winding Road", and "For You Blue",
Hammond organ
The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond and John M. Hanert and first manufactured in 1935. Multiple models have been produced, most of which use sliding drawbars to vary sounds. Until 1975, Hammond organs generated s ...
on "I Me Mine",
electric piano
An electric piano is a musical instrument which produces sounds when a performer presses the keys of a piano-style musical keyboard. Pressing keys causes mechanical hammers to strike metal strings, metal reeds or wire tines, leading to vibrations ...
on "I Me Mine" and "Let It Be",
maracas on "Let It Be"
*
George Harrison
George Harrison (25 February 1943 – 29 November 2001) was an English musician and singer-songwriter who achieved international fame as the lead guitarist of the Beatles. Sometimes called "the quiet Beatle", Harrison embraced Indian c ...
– lead and rhythm guitars, acoustic guitar on "For You Blue" and "I Me Mine",
tambura on "Across the Universe", lead vocals on "I Me Mine" and "For You Blue", backing vocals
*
Ringo Starr
Sir Richard Starkey (born 7 July 1940), known professionally as Ringo Starr, is an English musician, singer, songwriter and actor who achieved international fame as the drummer for the Beatles. Starr occasionally sang lead vocals with the ...
– drums, percussion on "Across the Universe"
Additional musicians
*
Richard Anthony Hewson –
string
String or strings may refer to:
*String (structure), a long flexible structure made from threads twisted together, which is used to tie, bind, or hang other objects
Arts, entertainment, and media Films
* ''Strings'' (1991 film), a Canadian anim ...
and
brass
Brass is an alloy of copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn), in proportions which can be varied to achieve different mechanical, electrical, and chemical properties. It is a substitutional alloy: atoms of the two constituents may replace each other with ...
arrangements on "I Me Mine" and "The Long and Winding Road"
*
John Barham –
choral
A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which ...
arrangements on "Across the Universe", "I Me Mine" and "The Long and Winding Road"
*
George Martin
Sir George Henry Martin (3 January 1926 – 8 March 2016) was an English record producer, arranger, composer, conductor, and musician. He was commonly referred to as the "Fifth Beatle" because of his extensive involvement in each of the B ...
– Hammond organ on "Across the Universe",
shaker
Shaker or Shakers may refer to:
Religious groups
* Shakers, a historically significant Christian sect
* Indian Shakers, a smaller Christian denomination
Objects and instruments
* Shaker (musical instrument), an indirect struck idiophone
* Cock ...
on "Dig It", string and brass arrangements on "Let It Be", production
*
Linda McCartney
Linda Louise McCartney, Lady McCartney ( Eastman; September 24, 1941 – April 17, 1998) was an American photographer, musician, animal rights activist, vegetarian cookbook author and advocate, and entrepreneur. She was the keyboardist in th ...
– backing vocals on "Let It Be"
*
Billy Preston
William Everett Preston (September 2, 1946 – June 6, 2006) was an American keyboardist, singer and songwriter whose work encompassed R&B, rock, soul, funk, and gospel. Preston was a top session keyboardist in the 1960s, during which he ba ...
– electric piano on "Dig a Pony", "I've Got a Feeling", "One After 909", "The Long and Winding Road" and "Get Back", Hammond organ on "Dig It" and "Let It Be"
* Brian Rogers – string and brass arrangements on "Across the Universe"
Production
*
Glyn Johns –
audio engineering
Audio most commonly refers to sound, as it is transmitted in signal form. It may also refer to:
Sound
* Audio signal, an electrical representation of sound
*Audio frequency, a frequency in the audio spectrum
* Digital audio, representation of sou ...
,
mixing
*
Alan Parsons
Alan Parsons (born 20 December 1948) is an English audio engineer, songwriter, musician and record producer.
Parsons was involved with the production of several notable albums, including the Beatles' ''Abbey Road'' (1969) and ''Let It Be'' ( ...
– assistant engineer
* George Martin – producer, original mixing (uncredited)
*
Phil Spector
Harvey Phillip Spector (born Harvey Philip Spector; December 26, 1939January 16, 2021) was an American record producer and songwriter, best known for his innovative recording practices and entrepreneurship in the 1960s, followed decades later by ...
– credited as producer (final overdubs), final mixing
Charts
Weekly charts
Weekly charts (1987 reissue)
Weekly charts (2009 reissue)
Weekly charts (2021 reissue)
Year-end charts
Decade-end charts
Certifications
Notes
References
Sources
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
* Friedhelm Rathjen: ''Get Back. Die Beatles in Twickenham, 2.–14. Januar 1969''. Südwesthörn: Edition ReJoyce 2018, .
* Friedhelm Rathjen: ''Let It Be. Die Beatles im Apple-Studio, 21.–31. Januar 1969''. Südwesthörn: Edition ReJoyce 2019, .
External links
*
''The Lost Beatle Tapes'' / ''The Making of Let It Be''
{{Authority control
1970 albums
1970 soundtrack albums
The Beatles albums
The Beatles soundtracks
Albums arranged by George Martin
Albums produced by Phil Spector
Albums recorded at Apple Studios
Apple Records albums
Apple Records soundtracks
Documentary film soundtracks