 "Let It Be...... Betrayed" | 2009-09-30 |
| - Reviewed By User: A2PULPFQ1LEDLC |
| It's not that this CD is terrible. The Remix/Remastering is excellent. It's just that Paul Betrayed the Original Premise of the "Get Back Project" Again. The Premise was NO OVERDUBS. Now The Beatles betrayed it themselves during the original sessions. And Paul Allowed it to happen again. The Version of "Let It Be" is the same one that 1st betrayed the no over dub rule. He should have used the "There will be no sorrow version from the film and Anthology video. He also mixed take 1 and 2 of the rooftop "Don't Let Me Down". Using the version where Lennon flubs the line would have been sticking to the "Warts and All" idea. Plus the flub does not ruin the song. Either the 2nd or 3rd Live Rooftop version of "Get Back" would have been a more "Naked" choice than the shortened studio version used here. Either the 8 plus minute, or Glyn Johns shortened 4 minute Get Back Mix 2 version would have been nice. The best thing is, with all the "Get Back" Material in circulation, one can go out and make any version you like to suit your taste. So dig this one, then go out and be creative and make your Own "Get Back"/ "Let It Be" Mix. |
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 ""LET IT BE" HAS FINALLY BEEN "LET BE"" | 2009-09-28 |
| - Reviewed By mefqsi2 |
I should begin with saying that I am not a Big-Chill, First-Half Baby Boomer but a Second-Half Boomer (i.e, we were the teens of the 1970s). So I lack the prime-adolescent/early adult associations with this music which color the memories of my older siblings and many of the reviewers, here. I was 10 years old in 1970, when the Beatles' breakup was announced and when LET IT BE was first released.
For those older than I was at the time, those original, first-impressions of these songs remain indelible - especially if, at the time, the sadness and valedictory mood of the title song and "The Long & Winding Road" formed part of your emotional "closure" upon learning of the Beatles' end...Perhaps for you they were even a plea for "acceptance" or to "put away childish things," say goodbye, and move on. And it's quite possible that the Spectorized strings, choir, and harp glissandos in "Winding Road" became part of your "acceptance" - and something you now resent being tampered with. And God knows...With the dashing of so many immediate hopes for a new & better world (i.e., the assassinations, the prolongation of the Indochina War, not to mention the sheer number of rock & roll greats who snuffed themselves out before their time), there was enough sheer LOSS in the late 60s-early 70s to be "accepted." )
But even at age 10, to me the overdubbs were overdone and fit the music awkwardly. I even thought that the tunes had done to them, unsuccessfully, what was successfully done to Charlie Brown's sad little Christmas tree. (Gimme a break for godssakes, I was 10 years old.) And the sound of the original LP always struck me as MUDDY - and not necessarily because some kind of "muddy" sound was being gone for.
So at least half the reason for my "five stars" is the sound quality : not at all antiseptic, it is warm, sounds like a real band, and now we hear these tunes without the heavy, soupy Spectorizing. And yes, they ARE strong enough without it; after all, they were all conceived as not needing it. On a smaller scale, it is not unlike viewing the newly restored Sistine Ceiling - even if, to this day, some art experts remain nostalgic for the old, discoloring varnish.
Granted, as originally released, LET IT BE was not such a disaster as another infamous overdubbed LP of that time: 1969's THERE I SAID IT AGAIN (where some 1940s Nat King Cole Trio sides were overdubbed with strings, reverb and - I think - fake stereo). And I leave it to Beatle-ologists to compare the different mixes on this, the original LP and ANTHOLOGY 3. No doubt it was inevitable to include the Spectorized LET IT BE in the newly remastered Beatles collection. But if it includes PAST MASTERS, it might have also included LET IT BE...NAKED. Still, "NAKED" is a boon and I am grateful for it. |
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| "a few things missing" | 2009-08-23 |
| - Reviewed By User: A1PUVCETZE66RA |
First of all, this is a fabulous album. Great sound, nice running order.Many others have commemted on the highs and lows: to me, this is how the lp should have been put out.A little more interest by the band, and with George Martin producing, we could have had this instead of Spector's Folly.
That said, I find a few things lacking. The absolutly hideous title and artwork,for starters.The title conjures up visions of Yoko Ono and... well let's not go there. Why not use the original title ( Get Back) and artwork that was done.Much more interesting and pertinent to the release.It also would have been nice to have George"s complete Beatle's version of "All Things Must Pass" on the album, which would have enhanced it greatly. One last complaint would be, instead of the usless 2nd disc, why not put a 2nd disc of the original Gyn John's version of the lp? It would have made for a nice comparison for those who don't own the bootleg versions.
That having been said, throw away your copy of Let it Be, and buy this: you won't be dissapointed. |
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| "A PURIST'S POINT OF VIEW" | 2009-06-23 |
| - Reviewed By User: A28JWE7PLXKQM8 |
FIRST OF ALL, LET ME SAY I AM A PURIST IN EVERY SENSE OF THE WORD. I CEASED BEING A BASEBALL FAN SHORTLY AFTER THE INCLUSION OF THE DESIGNATED HITTER. THAT TURNED OUT TO BE A GOOD DECISION AS THE SPORT DETERIORATED INTO THE INTER-LEAGUE PLAY MESS THAT IT IS. WHAT DOES THIS HAVE TO DO WITH THIS REVIEW? I AM JUST TRYING TO REVEAL THAT I MAY BE A LITTLE RESISTANT TO CHANGE.NOT ALL CHANGE. JUST CHANGE THAT DOES NOTHING FOR IMPROVEMENT.
I HAVE ALWAYS BEEN A PURIST. I HAVE ALWAYS BEEN A BEATLES FAN. WHILE LET IT BE IS NOT AT THE TOP OF MY LIST, I ALWAYS LIKED SOME OF THE SONGS. HOWEVER, THE ALBUM ALWAYS FELT TO ME TO BE EXACTLY WHAT IT WAS. AN ALBUM RELEASED FOLLOWING THE DEMISE OF A BAND. A SHELVED PRODUCT THAT NEVER RECEIVED IT'S PROPER DUE WHEN IT WAS UNSHELVED. I WAS SKEPTICAL AT FIRST WHEN THE NAKED VERSION WAS RELEASED. BUT CHANGE THAT LEADS TO IMPROVEMENT IS WORTHY CHANGE INDEED.
HAVING NEVER WRITTEN A REVIEW BEFORE, I WAS COMPELLED BECAUSE OF ALL THE BASHING. BEING A PURIST IS FINE. ESCHEWING LIGHT BULBS FOR CANDLES IS JUST PLAIN STUBBORN.
NAKED IS SUPERB. FROM IT'S SOUND QUALITY TO IT'S TRACK LISTING AND MOSTLY TO IT'S OMISSIONS. IF YOU DON'T AGREE, ASK YOURSELF THIS. SUPPOSE THIS ALBUM WAS RELEASED IN 1970 AND THE 1970 VERSION WAS RELEASED AFTER THAT. WHICH IS THE TRAVESTY?
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 "Useless" | 2009-06-08 |
| - Reviewed By jesseross |
Apparently this is the "cleaned up" version of Let it Be. But I personally think it simply isn't worth it. Why? Because most, if not all, of these songs were released before. The versions of "Get Back," "Let it Be," and "Don't Let Me Down" that are presented here are the same versions used previously on various Greatest Hits compilations. "The Long And Winding Road" without strings was nice to hear, but it too was released on the Beatles Anthology Volume 3 in the mid '90s. The other tracks are great, but essentially the same as was heard on the 1970 "Let it Be" album.
One can debate about whether or not it is nice to have the previously released tracks in one convenient place. As a longtime fan myself, however, I already had the other albums containing the same tracks long before this was released. So it really does little good for me. |
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| "better than you might think" | 2009-03-02 |
| - Reviewed By davemclain |
| I only bought this because I couldn't find my original CD. I have to say, it is more thematically consistant and less disheveled sounding then the original. It's not remarkably different in terms of the mixes, but the track listing makes more sense and the exclusion of the little bits and pieces makes it sound more like a finished product and less like a demo. Paul McCartney was right, the Long and Winding Road does sound better this way. |
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