The Beatles Let It Be - Naked
Released: November 18, 2003 Origination Year: 1970 Time: 35:04 Tracks: 11 Produced by: Beatles & George Martin Style: Studio / Remaster / Reissue Format: CD Enhancement: 2nd CD / Remaster Label: Apple / Capitol Records
Track Listing Get Back Dig A Pony For You Blue The Long and Winding Road Two of Us I've got a Feeling One After 909 Don't Let Me Down I Me Mine Across The Universe Let It Be
The Beatles Paul McCartney: Bass / Vocals John Lennon: Guitar / Piano / Vocals George Harrison: Guitar / Vocals Ringo Starr: Drums

The story behind The Beatles' Let It Be discloses that the participants were less than thrilled with the 'Spector-ized' version, supposedly released behind the backs of some of the band. Phil Spector added a lot of beef to the recording, a lot! I've never been a fan of Spector's productions despite the fact that his stamp is on a lot of Lennon solo material. And so it stands to reason that I would be very curious as to what Let It Be would sound like stripped of the 'extras'. Would it dehumanize the recording, steal from the well known version of "The Long and Winding Road" and make short work of the rest of the tunes on this album? Or would it return the album to a more pristine state? Read on.

Removing the Spector production adds to the album, which sounds crazy. Imagine listening to "The Long and Winding Road" without its highly noticeable orchestral fill accenting the inbetween states. But that's what you get. And it's immensely satisfying, perhaps beyond what it should be.

To hear all of these songs without Spector's work is a revelation that is not far from what the title suggests - naked. There's an odd sense of echo in an empty house but once you realize the inherent beauty, you immediately cannot imagine them away from this. The previous version created a very full feeling for an album of genuine Beatles songs that perhaps were not the quartet's best but certainly represented their last output. Naked provides a complete but decidedly bare, back to basics and honest approach to songwriting from a band deep in turmoil that is clearly not evident on the original release.

It also presents the foursome in a new light, one that shines a lot brighter than the original version possibly could have done. It does this by allowing the songs space to breathe with, by taking away the things that wove throughout the works and which kept the beauty from being heard.

"Get Back" makes an immediate case for this argument as it offers a very real and unprepared observation of itself sans what is now clearly unneeded and expansive overproduction. The vocals are forefront with an almost jam like feel using the only instruments that were necessary to communicate the song.

The observation is striking as you go from song to song and is particularly noticeable on "The Long and Winding Road" where the orchestra is gone completely. It explores a dead on sincerity that we haven't heard from the Beatles before. "Two of Us" becomes another song entirely as does "I've Got A Feeling", "Across The Universe", and "Let It Be". Some of these songs may feel less "naked" than you remember them but upon dedicated listening, you'll know what the rest of Beatle Nation is now finding out. Let It Be - Naked should have the term Naked excised from its title and allow it to become the de facto standard because it sure feels like home.

The mix is extraordinary. It's clear and accentuated with every instrument and vocal receiving the clarity it begged for in the first place. The nuance of the vocals are revealed and well...it's superior in every respect.

There is a new booklet that offers looks at the recording sessions in a unique way. There is also an additional CD included entitled "Fly on the Wall". Fly on the Wall, a 22-minute visitation of the recording sessions that add another depth to this album release offers rehearsals and discussions amongst the band members as they work on the tunes for this album. Bloody essential and a practice that could add value to other album releases, not just the Beatles.

Let It Be - Naked has entered into a new realm that the former version could never inhabit. It becomes a new look - and listen - to one of the great influential bands of our times. The music becomes revealing and refreshing. Let It Be becomes more than a sum of its parts, it becomes a part of the long and winding road.

Paul, thanks for giving new life to an otherwise left behind album. Everybody saw the sunshine; you did the right thing.