Full Album of "Let It Be"

"Let It Be" (the album) takes a lot of hits from the reviewers, but I think it is as good as almost any other album The Beatles produced. It just has a different flavor, not being in any way a concept album but instead more of a '70s album. It has completely unrelated tracks that all just happen to be stellar. I prefer the "Naked" version rather than the over-elaborate Phil Spector vers
ion with the "wall of sound," but obviously opinions will differ on that as well.



Note that Paul McCartney's son, James, has said this is his favorite album. That is some kind of endorsement. It gives some indication that 1) the album rightfully is highly regarded in the McCartney household, since Paul's contributions are by far the greatest of any of the Beatles on "Let It Be"; and 2) this album is simply underappreciated and under-praised by the mainstream rock critics who simply write it off as "That sad tale of the end of The Beatles." That, of course, is complete hogwash, but it is a myth that will endure forever. These guys were at their peak, each had a huge catalog of songs ready to go, and they picked their best ones and let them fly. The results are stellar.



Find another album with four tracks better than "Let it Be," "The Long and Winding Road," "Get Back" and "Across the Universe," and with an accompanying film that gives the background of the creations, and I'll gladly change my mind about this LP. I'll even not mention "Two of Us," "For You Blue" and the other standouts. Until then, it is right at the front of my shelf.

The playlist of the album as it was originally released:

1. Two Of Us (0:00-3:37)
2. Dig A Pony (3:37-7:32)
3. Across The Universe (7:32-11:20)
4. I Me Mine (11:20-13:46)
5. Dig It (13:46-14:36)
6. Let It Be (14:36-18:40)
7. Maggie Mae (18:40-19:20)
8. I've Got A Feeling (19:20-22:58)
9. One After 909 (22:58-25:54)
10. The Long And Winding Road (25:54-29:32)
11. For You Blue (29:32-32:05)
12. Get Back (32:05-35:12)

About a decade ago, The Beatles released a version without all the harps and choirs and all that. It is known as the "Naked" version. Naturally, being a thirty-year-old album, it did not do as well on the charts as the original release - but it still did quite well anyway. Phil Spector has said that he had a bet with Paul about which album version would do better on the charts. Given the thirty-years factor the fact that a version of the album already had been out there all that time, I'd say Phil had to pay up.


2018