Let It Be... Naked - Beatles (The) (CD 2003)

Truth be told, The Beatles are a hot bunch. During their musical wrath on the industry back in the old days of rock n roll with imitation bands coming about at all corners from The Byrds to The Monkees to The Turtles (I guess animals were in then), they reamed supreme. With all of their success and releasing some of the best albums of all time, they are also extremely handsome. Besides Harrison Ford, Joan Rivers, and Steve (PunkRawka), The Beatles would be a group of boys that I would totally deem attractive if I was gay. But besides the point, with all of their awesome songs and albums, Let It Be was one of the only Beatles albums that I still spun years after I was a big fan of the band.

What?! A dude who reviews Pennywise, Rocket From The Crypt, and Dead Kennedys albums writing a review on a Beatles CD? What a poser! Well, yes, The Beatles are one of my favorite bands (along with the Stones and the Beach Boys) that I grew up on. My mom had a vinyl machine and we would spin these types of records all of the time. Sgt. Pepper s Lonely Hearts Band Club was my first introduction to the band and Revolver and the ever popular White Album followed. Although Let It Be was at the bottom of the barrel in my eyes, it is still a classic album by a classic band. Some of you may agree with me when I say that some of the band s later albums before they broke off sort of didn t have the power or goodness of their earlier ones, but Let It Be was great.

Although no Rubber Soul, Let It Be was a rock delight with lots of ballads and rhythmic songs, just not as many rock elements as their White Album had and not as good of lyrics as their illustrious Help! record had. But despite those faults, Let It Be is a grand album. What is Let It Be Naked all about? From what I ve heard is that it is basically Let It Be only the way that the Beatles wanted it to be instead of the original version, which was how their producers wanted it to be. I think this may be correct because there are alternate versions of popular tracks in this CD. For instance, the Long And Winding Road song is different from the one I remember from the original and the same goes for the Let It Be track. But some tracks seem untouched. That may be because the Beatles liked the original version of the song or if my hearing is becoming impaired or something. But what really blew my mind was how some tracks were missing from this cut and how the track listings weren t in the right order.

Let It Be Naked features a bonus disc where you hear the band talking and just messing around in the studio and things like that All it is, is them rehearsing in the studio. It s actually quite boring because some of the stuff is just garble and hard to hear, but what s heard is actually pretty cool. It s good to hear the first time, but repeated listens are not recommended. It would have been much better if Apple Records released a DVD with this album instead with a documentary on how the CD was created and how the band made the original album. Or maybe to have some feedback from the two remaining Beatles, Paul McCartney and Ringo Star.

The sound quality is much better on this record than what it was on the original Let It Be CD that my parents have, but I find that my vinyl version is better than this CD s and the original CD. There s no doubt about it that the Beatles had a certain personality and chemistry that no other band matched and their instrumentation (especially in the A Hard Day s Night CD and this one) is right on. The great guitar melodies between John Lennon and George Harrison are totally unmatched and the work that they portray in Let It Be is some of the best of the band s career. When Paul McCartney s bass come into the mix with his great tunes and perfectly placed rhythms along with his incredible charismatic voice, you ve got a guaranteed hit. Oh, and Ringo Star s drums are fine, too. As you might tell, he was never really my favorite Beatle (Yellow Submarine is the reason).

There are many classic tracks in Let It Be so I ll try to cover some of my favorites. Get Back starts the record with a playful rhythm with actual well done simple drumming and nice guitars and bass that give off sort of a blues type of sound that s fantastic. The chorus is probably one of the best songs with its R&B sound that just makes you want to dance. With the keyboard sounds by Billy Preston added, you have a smash hit song. Next on my favorite songs list is For You Blue. This was one of my mother s favorite songs and I like it as well. John Lennon s magnificent new guitar technique works really well as the pleasant ironic drumming by Ringo. Paul s nice voice just pleases every time his voice sounds in the stereo. The delightful tone and level that the song stays at isn t only calming, but it s also very rhythmic.

The Long And Winding Road is probably my favorite Beatles love song besides the remarkable Something track. The moody piano and depressing bass really set the tone for this slow song. Sure, the guitars take a seat as well as the drums, but the songs really good anyway. This is one of the tracks that I noticed a difference in. Personally, I like the originally track better. It had better guitar and drums as well as it was much sadder. Wasn t Two Of Us in the I Am Sam movie? Never mind. I love this song and it s definitely in my top favorite Beatles list. The steady drumming by Ringo really set the level for the pace of this song and the acoustic guitars and mellow bass really give the song a playful, yet gentle sound. The amount of emotion in John and Paul s voices never cease to impress me and the harmony that they have is nothing short of catchy. You want a good Beatles song? Don t look any further than this Beatles love song.

One After 909 is a road trip track that s a faster paced song that s on Let It Be. It has a lot of different elements in it that make it sound as if it was sang by Elvis Presley or something because Paul and Lennon sound like the King. This is the type of song that you bump up when you re on the highway because it s a song that s made for traveling. The cool guitar solos and rocking piano make the song just rad. Yes, you heard me: this Beatles song is rad. This is the type of song that you tap your foot to in enthusiasm and it also showcases some really good drumming by Ringo. Man, I have a lot of favorites on this record! Don t Let Me Down comes next and it s a song that I like so much that I had my band, Anti-Matter, cover in a more punk fashion. I have to admit: the original version compared to mine is much better. The sad piano and emotional screams of Paul, George, and Lennon really move you more then the band thought the song would. The chorus of the guys singing, Don t Let Me Down is life draining and just pure gentle rock n roll that the Rolling Stones could never accomplish.

Other good songs: Let It Be (of course), Dig A Pony, and Across The Universe. I Me Mine and I ve Got A Feeling were never really particularly my favorite tracks off of Let It Be and even though they are been changed a little, I still don t like them that much. Also, if I got any of the vocalists wrong, please tell me because sometimes I can barely distinguish the differences between Harrison, Paul, and John.

My hopes for the future is that maybe Revolver, Rubber Soul, or The White Album might get a similar facelift, but I can probably only dream. If you were a fan of this record in the olden days, bring it upon yourself to get this new rendition of the classic. Although no songs have been drastically changed (like some people said), they are still good and have much better sound quality. I m a huge fan of the Beatles and when I checked this out from my library I really didn t know what I was in for, but now that I ve listened to it a couple times and even written a review on it, I can say that it was a pleasant nostalgic journey back into the old days of sitting down and listening to old Queen tapes and Beatles vinyls. If you are a fan of this awesome band, give Let It Be Naked a try, because you certainly will not be disappointed.

Jason Haskins, 2004

JiggyJay



Tracks

01. Get Back
02. Dig A Pony
03. For You Blue
04. The Long And Winding Road
05. Two Of Us
06. I ve Got A Feeling
07. One After 909
08. Don t Let Me Down
09. I Me Mine
10. Across The Universe
11. Let It Be


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