The Bottom Line
Fans finally get to see a "Let It Be" without the Phil Spector production and plus "Don't Let Me Down," but for every wrong that's been corrected, new controversies have erupted.
Pros
- The Phil Spector production is removed.
- "Don't Let Me Down" is finally included.
- A bonus disc of outtakes is included.
Cons
- "Maggie Mae" and "Dig It" are missing, as is dialogue.
- The remastered versions of some songs are different versions.
- The original sequencing is altered.
Description
- Beatles
- Remastered "Let It Be"
- Additional bonus outtakes
Guide Review - The Beatles, "Let It Be... Naked"
The world's been waiting since the Beatles broke up for this album, so it's only natural that some folks would be disappointed with what they finally got. Still, this remaster/reimagining of the infamous final Fab release, "Let It Be," creates just as much trouble as it fixes. We finally get to hear "Across The Universe," "I Me Mine" and "Long And Winding Road" in their original versions, and the inclusion of the fabulous b-side from those sessions, "Don't Bring Me Down," is cause for joy. However, several odd new decisions have also been made: the off-the-cuff tracks "Dig It" and "Maggie Mae" have been removed, as has some the dialogue and the classic "hope we passed the audition" end of "Get Back." This makes the LIB project seem much more studied than it was ever supposed to be (ironically creating much the same effect as Spector's infamous overdubs). In addition, the sequencing is different, and some of the tracks have been changed - "Let It Be," for example, sports an entirely different guitar solo than ever before. The sound is fantastic, but to call this the official "Let It Be" album - or especially the official "Get Back" project - is wildly misleading. (The bonus disc of outtakes is interesting, but only to a point, as the sessions were notoriously strained.)
