I hated how they "fixed" John's sharp note on the second "because" in Dig a Pony, either through auto-tuning or duplicating the first instance of the same notes (can't remember which). Not only ruined the live feel of it, but completely betrayed the whole "naked" concept for me.
The odd thing to me about the Long and Winding Road "travesty" on the Spector release that gets all the press (not undeservedly, imho) is that Paul has often seemed to "string up" his live versions over the years as well.
It was actually Spector who copied a bit from another middle eight for his mix. The LIBN version presents the song without that edit, hence the apparent difference. (This was only discovered in a recent thread).
I think of the four Let it Be albums, Spector's is the most listenable. He picked the best performances of the stuff, unlike Glyn Johns. The few songs with overdubs give the album a more diverse feel. It's more of a companion to the movie than a soundtrack. (And I grew up not liking it AFTER I had read what a villain Spector was in the fiasco. ...... Later convictions notwithstanding ). When I finally got around to comparing all four versions myself, I realized he did the best job. As for Let it Be naked, good idea but too many mistakes. I. E. The early fade on Get Back, the title track with a lousy guitar solo, no full version of Dig It, they used the long I Me Mine edit (which kind of vindicates Phil), if rumor has it there's some auto tune, the Fly on the Wall disc is very lackluster indeed, they should have at least used the Anthology Take of Long and Winding Road. As for the sound quality and NR issues, I'll let the more seasoned members tackle that but it really does sound lifeless. That is all
No disdain. Indifference I think would best describe my reaction. 1. There's a certain lifelessness to the sound. The electric guitars lost their bite. The guitars on the original album are more "naked" than LIBN. 2. I don't think the performances are any better. Different, differently framed, but not necessarily better. I do like Let It Be on LIBN, however. That's the only track I would go back and listen to. In sum, it didn't strike me as an improvement. So what is its reason for existence? I don't know. It's there for people who like it. I don't need it. I will give it this much -- it's better than LOVE!
I have no real issue with LIBN, but overall I prefer the LIB versions of most of the songs. On my personal version, I replace LIB's "Across the Universe" with acetate 4, "Dig It" with "Don't Let Me Down" "The Long & Winding Road" with the LIBN version (even with excessive NR, Billy Preston's organ solo is worth it for me) and the album versions of "Get Back" and "Let It Be' with the single versions.
It is one thing to call someone's opinion into question, it is another thing to call anyone, (no - actually everyone) who doesn't agree with your opinion an idiot. You've stated that you hear George's guitar licks on the rooftop very clearly on LIB-N, but many of us hear that they have been considerably reduced in the mix. Are you an idiot because of what you've stated? Of course not. I don't hear it. You do. The great thing about life is people have differing perspectives. I have a considerable vinyl collection. The artwork is a HUGE part of my enjoyment and value in that collection. If I were blind, it might not be so, but I am not blind. As others have said, record companies and artists have spend millions of dollars designing album covers. Why do that if there is no value? Would Sgt. Pepper be the iconic album that it is if it came in a clear plastic sleeve (and if all other albums came that way too - so it wasn't original)? Even the White Album was iconic BECAUSE it was so simple and different than the norm. Just trying to make the point that there are lots of ways of looking at and hearing things. You and I clearly interpret visual and auditory information somewhat differently. It doesn't make either of us idiots or justify referring to people as idiots (even when qualifying it as a generic implication - not aiming your comment at anyone specifically) All that said, there are some songs on LIB-N that I prefer over LIB, and vice-versa. As others have said, I would have liked the coda ending to Get Back, and a studio version of Don't Let Me Down
There is some of that on all msg boards, including this one. Let's not kid ourselves. Mob mentality and the insecurities of always needing to fit in with a group are ever present in media. Though I was not insinuating that it was every single person who disagrees with me. There is a percentage that fits in those categories and others who genuinely do not care for this album, and that's fine. But I do believe that some will dislike it no matter what simply because it differs from what they're use to hearing, regardless of whether it's an improvement or not. In the post you quoted, I was asking a member why he believes that dismissing or foregoing listening to an album based solely on the cover art is an intelligent decision, when we take into account that this is an aural form of art ; not visual. It was a legitimate question and not asked in a forceful tone. My apologies if you took it that way.
With today's technology anyone here could fix most of the gripes they have with the album: - Generate hiss from an app like Audacity and mix it back into all the tracks. I'm willing to bet that's all it would take for these songs to sound "natural" again. - Grab "Don't Let Me Down" from Past Masters and replace the take on LIBN with it. Do this with any other take you don't like. - Rearrange the songs in whatever order you want. - Burn the result to a CD. - Print one of the many high-res "Get Back" images on some card stock (here's one) and replace the booklet in the CD case with it.
Please keep in mind that Paul required the OK from the remaining members (and Yoko) to greenlight the project. If they had perceived this as nothing but an ego move, at least one of them would have objected. Well,... to be honest, I've loved The Beatles since I was very young. As far back as I can remember (4yo?), I was listening to them. My dad had even given me my own turntable. I had the vinyls and cassettes (later) but never paid attention to the cover art. I just played the music and sat on my bed. Again, it sure looks like I'm in the minority in regards to attributing any importance to the cover art. The part that sounds quite far-fetched to me is that the cover art will drastically and radically change one's experience with the music contained within the album. My pizza box analogy fits well here and I have a hard time believing that anybody could say with a straight face that the pizza we just ate would have been so much better had the box been more colorful. I already regret that comment. It's honestly a position I doubt I'll ever understand ; attributing such importance to the picture of the case the CD comes in that it'll make or break the listening session altogether. Seems rather extreme... yet even though I wasn't aiming my comment at anybody in particular, I realize the word "idiot" is certainly inflammatory and I could have phrased things differently. Certainly more diplomatically. I just want to be clear about this. I'm not saying that the initial LIB album doesn't more prominently feature George's playing ; just that I can hear it fine. But it is true that on the original, you can hear it better.
LIBN has a tight, punchy sound. any noise reduction used doesn't bother me at all - or detract. i like the sound - and have never understood the complaints about it. i love the different mccartney lead vocal on "winding road" - but miss the orchestration and bg vox a lot. it was a grand statement in original form - and has become too much of a "lounge band" song w/ LIBN. mccartney's original vocal was flacid and uncertain - almost like a scratch vocal. the LIBN version is so much more confident. the LIBN "across the universe" seems too spare and rushed. i love the original for it's atmosphere and relaxed, dreamy lead from lennon. all just my opinions, of course.
It sounds lifeless and sterile. I don't like the title. Removing the dialogue feels wrong. I prefer Spector's version album. But the scaled back Across the Universe is nice.
I think it's great but I do think Don't Let Me Down, Get Back and Across The Universe are probably better on Past Masters.
Why is the discussion about which version is better? Why are we dealing with or? Why isn't the answer and? I have a playlist that's just Beatles. It contains the majority of both records, including two versions of many songs. I want both takes of "Across The Universe." Same with "Let It Be" and "The Long and Winding Road." I picked only the Naked version of "I Me Mine" and the original version of "Get Back." But my Beatles collection wouldn't be complete without both Let It Be and Let It Be...Naked. By now it's part of the canon.
Not between 1:38-1:40, it isn't. That's Spector's argument, although it is said in a much more abrupt way by Phil. However, my counterargument is that Paul has always caterred to the fans. There are many things that have popped into songs of his over the years that he disagreed with, but he always seems to perform the tunes as they were initially presented, because (let's face it) that's what people remember and want to hear. Most people probably don't even know who George Martin is, much less Phil Spector. They wouldn't care two bits about the politics of that album and how the songs came to be the way they are. Maybe. But nobody has ever complained about the guitars losing their bite on Abbey Road. And the sound that's presented on LIBN is certainly rounded, much like AR. I tend to view the original as having less polish, in that regard. Had it been mixed better initially, I'm convinced that the biting tone would have been tamed in much the same way as AR. IMO, listening to the original through headphones was a particularly challenging process sometimes due to the biting sound of the guitars which I found to sound brittle. Excellent points.
Yeah, you will notice in my language I tread VERY lightly. I was not being sarcastic. I am well aware that it's easy to misconstrue messages typed out, especially when you (meaning I) are coming into someone elses conversation.
