Let It Be - Beatles (The) (CD 1987)

As I was composing my entry for the Music Mayhem write-off earlier I found myself reflecting that it's a sad thing seeing good bands flame out. Examples of this are too numerous to name, yet one that will doubtlessly be remembered until the end of time is the falling out that killed The Beatles as a recording unit. That falling out is captured on the Let It Be album, which was their last album released although not their final album, that honor belongs to Abbey Road.

The original intent of the Let It Be album was to serve as a soundtrack to a documentary film showcasing The Beatles live in the recording studio. Sort of a Beatles with warts thing if you will. It didn't quite work out that way. The album was a success. But the movie itself is largely The Beatles movie that time forgot.

The album itself has gained a reputation as the worst album the Beatles ever recorded. That's not quite right. Yes this album is not quite as good as Abbey Road or the White Album or Revolver or Sgt. Pepper. Yes there are a couple mediocre tracks as well as a few that are outright throwaways. Yet one cannot simply write off an album that has classics like "Across The Universe", "Let It Be" and a couple others.

The album begins in high fashion with the acoustic folksy song "Two Of Us". The song features McCartney singing what would soon become his typical in love lyrics with some vocal harmony from John. The next track is a simple Lennon rocker entitled "I Dig A Pony". A filler track to be sure. But it s enjoyable. The guitar playing is good and Lennon's quirky lyrics work well for the song.

Following this is the masterpiece "Across The Universe". The song was originally supposed to have a simple acoustic backing before Phil Spector got a hold of it. Here the Spector production does not ruin the song however. It stays right in the background where it's supposed to be and does not make Lennon's lyrics sound treacly. Lennon once claimed that he couldn't sing that well. But on this song his voice is very emotionally moving. I can't figure out what the song is about. But I can forgive that and rightly call this song the classic that it is.

"I Me Mine" is an almost power-pop number that consists mainly of George Harrison singing the title line over and over again. Fun to hear once. But you don't need to hear it again. "Dig It" is a 50 second number that features Lennon shouting various names of organizations and people. Skip it, there's much better after it.

The "much better" I'm referring to is the title track. One of the best songs anyone has ever written, this song was inspired by a dream McCartney had when he was visited by his late mother who offered him words of advice. The song features some great guitar work by Harrison that perfectly complements McCartney's vocals.

The skiffle song "Maggie Mae" comes next and is another throwaway. Skip it. Then we have the rocker "I've Got A Feeling" which is built around two separately composed songs by John and Paul. The song itself is not quite a masterpiece, yet there's something I like about it.

"One After 909" is another tossed-off song that still is fairly enjoyable. The Chuck Berryish guitar chords and "said she's drivin' on the one after 909" lyrics save the song.

"The Long And Winding Road" is the song that has given this album the bad reputation that it has in some circles. The song is fine lyrically, although it does point the way towards the schlock McCartney would start putting out far too frequently in his solo career. The problem is the production. Spector overloaded the song with strings and female backing vocalists. In doing so, he robbed it of some of the emotion. Check out the acoustic version on Anthology 3: it's much better.

"For You Blue" is a simple bluesy boogie from George Harrison. Fairly lightweight but fun. The album closes on a grand note with McCartney's "Get Back". A fine way to end the album, although I prefer the single version on past Masters Volume 2.

Let It Be is worth hearing simply for "Across The Universe" and the title track, "Long And Winding Road", "I've Got A Feeling" and "Get Back" also make it worthwhile. So it's worthwhile like any Beatles album. But if you don't yet own any Beatles should it be the first album you buy? No.