Beatles: Let it Be (album)

Ok. I know, another Beatles thread. And I know, this album maybe could have been better. And I know, Phil Spector turned out to be a convicted killer.
However, I'm just asking about the album as it is. Personally, I like it. I've heard the Get Back albums.
The Naked album.
I prefer the official version. It has variety and a weird cohesiveness.
It's my favorite of the alternate versions.
Anyway, as an album, how do most of us view it?

As a semi important side note, it was one of the few full Beatles albums I'd heard back in '83 or thereabouts.
It didn't sound too "Beatley" to me yet I thought ( as a preteen) it was pretty cool (I hadn't yet heard the White Album)

So, yeah, do we like it?

 

I prefer the original version as well.

I love the chatter in between songs and kind of wish they did more.

Let It Be...Necked, took all of the charm out of the original and left us with cold frankenedits.

And it missed a golden opportunity to give us a ton of outtakes instead of the fly on the wall.

 

I don't like it and prefer "Naked." I wish Let it Be and Long and Winding Road were single only releases or included on the Hey Jude album instead of the earlier songs.

 

Yeah. Well said. The album (especially if you don't know the back story) has a wonderful charm to it. A good listen

 

One of the dozen or so best pop or rock LPs, though not the best that could have been made from the recordings they did in Jan 69.

 

Its ranked near the bottom on my list of Beatle favorites.

When I make a mix for the car I drop all the filler and replace it with Dont Let Me Down. Makes it a little better.

Coincidentally I found myself listening to ...Naked last week, probably for the first time since the year of its release. Its got some good things going for it, but annoys me by 1. Using alternate Dont Let Me Down 2. Dropping Get Back tag 3. Adding all that modern sounding effects to Across The Universe. But I kinda like it anyhow. Bonus disc is useless. Should have contained 70 minutes of unused songs.

 

I have a hard time enjoying that album.

Most of the songs are excellent, the playing is fine, and Spector's production isn't that bad, but I dunno... there's a sort of malaise that permeates it and that bums me out.

 

Yes, I think it's more enjoyable if you haven't seen the movie. The album conveys a chummy homespun atmosphere which is the antithesis of the actual sessions.

 

See, for me, that is NOT in the grooves. I think that feeling is brought to the album through our knowledge of what was happening in the studio, not to what we hear.

 

I like the album and prefer the original release. I wish the orchestration had been toned-down a couple of notches though.

Scott

 

Put me in the camp that prefers Get Back, for all its flaws - the initial Get Back compilation, not the one with Across the Universe and I Me Mine. (That said, I think I Me Mine is fantastic in its original version.) I think I would prefer even more a lightly edited release of the rooftop concert.

 

Not my favorite Beatles album, but I do prefer the original Phil Spector. It's history, for better or for worse, if you read the story of the Beatles concerning this album alone.

 

was it the swan song? or did abbey road come after? either way it is their swan song......and not a bad one...i have the naked cd......it's good enough.....

 

Completely possible!

 

Abbey Road was recorded later than Let It Be, but Let It Be was released after Abbey Road, which is kind of unfortunate.

 

I like it very much.

 

It's not one of the Beatles' best albums but not because of Phil Spector. Overall, he did a good job producing.

 

Agreed. It was one of my first Beatles album purchases when I was a kid (Abbey Road and the White Album being the first two). I loved it. Still do. I can see why people wouldn't rate it though.

 

I like both but the original is a little too glossy sounding with the strings and prefer Naked.

 

"This is a new phase BEATLES album..."

The only Beatle album that might of needed some ad-copy spin to move it off the racks. Always enjoyed its vibe, though. It comes off as a mature effort.

 

I wish they had just kept on keeping on with the "Get Back" album and released it the way it was originally supposed to be released, and with that cool cover...

 

There were tons of copies of this LP in the cut-out bins in the mid '70s. There were a lot of pirate copies pressed too.

 

Some love here for the original Spector LP. Much prefer it over the Glyn Johns & Naked versions. And for all the angst over the "overproduced" Long and Winding Road, that version did make it to #1 in the U.S.

 

Love it. Not a huge fan of The Long and Winding Road, and a couple other songs could use some toning down, but there are some great John/Paul moments on the album. I've Got a Feeling, Two of Us, One After 909, and even Maggie Mae (yeah, I actually love it). I first heard it as a kid, so I just love all of John's banter on the album... and I even like Dig a Pony. (Yes, I'm the one!)

 

I'm not a fan of revisionism, or trying to rewrite history, so I prefer the original. It was only McCartney who didn't want Spector to produce it. To me, Let it Be and The Long and Winding Road MUST have the strings in them. McCartney's justification to the contrary is simple revisionism since Wings used to perform The Long and Winding Road with a horn section replacing the violins.