This was included in the Beatles Monthly fan club magazine back in summer of '69. Great to see this again.
Yes, this - and contemporary Rolling Stone reporting - underscores the “legitimacy” of the Glyn Johns Get Back as part of the Let It Be saga and the need to include it in the LIB 50 box. This is the album that was anxiously anticipated over much of 1969, so - like many - i was surprised to hear local stations playing yet another new Beatles album in September. This - Johns’ first album compilation - should be the template for a LIB 50 re-construction of the Get Back album, freshly re-assembled with minor tweaks or enhancements. Both of Johns’ album compilations are widely available out there, so this would be a great opportunity to revisit this for a refreshed listening experience, just as many albums today are tweaked before release. Perhaps it’s just that this is how i first heard these tracks, and got accustomed to via the first boots, but i really like the flow - it has great character - to the point where LIB has always sounded like more of a thrown-together hodge podge.
If I remember correctly, the general consensus was that both Johns' versions sounded too rough. I think Lennon is the one who asked Spector to do something with the tapes. Johns also wanted a producer credit and Lennon objected vehemently. I still prefer Johns' version over Spector's.
The Glyn Johns version is very warts and all. “Save The Last Dance For Me” is little more than an off the cuff performance, however charming it might be for Beatle fans. Interesting, however, that Spector used much more conversation than Johns. With all the Nagra tapes, there could have been some very interesting conversation included.
It's a wonderful intro to "Don't Let Me Down" in fact. So perfect an oldie to insert into the running order to show what the sessions were really all about. Much more interesting to me than Shake, Rattle and Roll, or Kansas City as a Let it Be album or film take.
Between Spector's Let It Be, Johns' Get Back and McCartney's LIBN I can almost hear the album the Beatles intended to make in 1969. Neither of the three nails it on its own for me.
It's like a poor version of Goldilocks and The Three Bears. Get Back This one is toooo rough. Let It Be This one is toooo over-produced. Let It Be... Naked This one is toooo edited and otherwise digitally manipulated thirty years later.
It does leave me to wonder if the Peter Jackson film should go with the Get Back title for his movie rather than Let It Be because after all, they were the Get Back sessions at the end of the day. LIB feels like a rehearsal album and it doesn't really flow that well for me, IMHO. Heck, if they reimagine LIB, maybe begin the album with You Know My Name (Look Up the Number)?!
I wonder if Peter Jackson was given the freedom to make his own movie or if Paul & Co made him follow a certain story line I would like to know Jackson's first reaction after seeing all 56 hours and the impression it gave him
Billboard interview (November 14, 2019): "Robert Levine: There have been some interesting Beatles reissues recently, like the 50th-anniversary editions of the White Album and Abbey Road. How much is left in the proverbial vault? Will they ever rerelease the Let It Be movie? Paul: "As we prepared the Anthology series, George and I were joking that we should call the next album Scraping the Bottom of the Barrel. These things are like photos of yourself from when you were young that you thought were terrible. Now, you think they look good. And this seems to be an endless barrel -- stuff keeps coming up. One of the things we’re working on is the 58 hours of footage that turned into the Let It Be film. The director tells me that the overall impression is of friends working together, whereas because it was so close to The Beatles’ breakup, my impression of the film was of a sad moment. Something’s going to come out from that footage. It won’t be called Let It Be, but there will be something."
NEW FILM PROJECT: Announcing an exciting new collaboration between The Beatles and the acclaimed Academy Award winning director Sir Peter Jackson (January 30, 2019): Peter Jackson: “I was relieved to discover the reality is very different to the myth,” “Sure, there’s moments of drama – but none of the discord this project has long been associated with. Watching John, Paul, George, and Ringo work together, creating now - classic songs from scratch, is not only fascinating – it’s funny, uplifting and surprisingly intimate.”
I was at a dinner/Christmas party this past weekend when the topic of this project came up. One of the Beatle freaks in attendance said he had heard on a Chris Carter program some comment or discussion that eluded to this release being in the neighborhood of 20hrs in length. He couldn't say if this was confirmed, or what the exact source was. (It sounded like he may have caught the end of whatever was being said about it). Has there been any recent preliminary info or rumors of this type of detail? I have to admit, I'd be excited about this.
I don't know which part sounds the most unbelievable: A 20 hr. "Let It Be", or going to a Christmas party and someone bringing up the movie! ...wish I was invited to tHAT party!
Submitted for your approval: A 20-hour version of "Let It Be". One man's Heaven is another man's Hell ... at a Christmas party ... in the Twilight Zone.
Two to two and a half hour film, lots of bonus footage on discs... sounds pretty plausible. Or, maybe Apple's taken a couple of our suggestions to heart and we'll get a miniseries of some sort!
If it's 20 hours, it surely HAS to include the John/Ringo/Paul/Yoko jam after George left, in full HD & 5.1... yeah?
