Let It Bleed / Let It Be ?

[bob_32_116]

For the (ahem) record, I think the best songs on Let It Be are better than the best on Abbey Road... and the worst songs on Let It Be are better than "Oh Darling". So all up I like it better than Abbey Road.

I don't like it as much as I did when I bought it, buit I do think it contains perhaps an EP's worth of great material.

My one regretis that the original long version of "Dig It" was not used, which in my opinion kind of takes away the point. I would have left "Dig It" intact, and perhaps removed "I Me Mine" or "I Got a Feeling" or "One After 909". Or all three of those - I don't really care for any of them.

Now here's an exercise I might try sometime when I have a spare hour: compile an album's worth of material from what I consider the best from Abbey Road and Let It Be.

[JJ88]

Let It Be...Naked was criticised by some fans for the heavy use of ProTools and the 'flying in' of different takes creating composite versions. Yes, that's a fair comment- it too is not really what they originally had in mind. But it at least gets rid of Spector's overdubs and the scrappy overall feel of his version.

As for the weak songs, 'Dig A Pony' is good musically but the lyric is throwaway. 'Dig It' was just a jam. I don't think Harrison's two songs are that great- and he was demoing 'All Things Must Pass' (the song) in these sessions! The remaining songs are all well up to par. 'One After 909' is crucial to the album because it is 'get back' writ large, it was one of the first songs they ever wrote and they recorded it (but didn't release it) in their early days on Parlophone as well.

[ronmac]

For the (ahem) record, I think the best songs on Let It Be are better than the best on Abbey Road... and the worst songs on Let It Be are better than "Oh Darling". So all up I like it better than Abbey Road.

I don't like it as much as I did when I bought it, buit I do think it contains perhaps an EP's worth of great material.

My one regretis that the original long version of "Dig It" was not used, which in my opinion kind of takes away the point. I would have left "Dig It" intact, and perhaps removed "I Me Mine" or "I Got a Feeling" or "One After 909". Or all three of those - I don't really care for any of them.

Wow, I would never replace any of those with the ten-minute "Dig It." But, if we all agreed on everything, the world would be a pretty boring place.

[GuitarGeek]

And Paul McCartney allegedly appears on Satanic Majesties (percussion on "She's a Rainbow"), as well as both Lennon and McCartney providing backing vocals on the pre-Satanic single "We Love You."

Mick and I believe also Keith were amongst the singers performing the back up vocals on All You Need Is Love (or at least, they're part of the Our World TV broadcast, Mick's very clearly visible in at least one shot).

[grego]

Let It Be is quite solid, many great songs on it. The title song first of all, The Long & Winding Road, Across the Universe, I've Got a Feeling, I, Me,Mine, Old Brown Shoe...Dig A Pony...
First two songs on Let It Bleed I like - Gimme Shelter and Love in Vain. The rest seems an acquired taste, for me - I don't have my taste that acquired. Country cabaret mixed with speed up Muddy Waters kind of blues.

[GuitarGeek]

Maybe not mocking but a friendly jab. If one were to look closely they would find the Beatles faces on the TSMR cover.

I always took it as just an attempt to say "contemporary" and "keep up" with what The Beatles and most everyone else in "pop music" (as they call it in the UK) was doing at the time. They probably had record company people and/or managers insisting that they should do update what they were doing so they wouldn't be perceived by the press, fans, etc as "behind the times" or whatever. And I imagine Brian was more than a little keen to take the music in "new and strange directions" (paraphrasing Barney on the Meet The B Sharps episode of The Simpsons). But beyond that, I think it was no different than what happened in the 70's and 80's, when veteran artists updated their respective sound to stay current with the changes in music, vis a vis disco, synth pop, etc.

And has been mentioned, yes, they were very good friends. The rivalry thing was a total contrivance of managers, the press, etc, to generate publicity.

[JJ88]

John and Mick became friendly again during the former's 'lost weekend' period.

[ronmac]

Let It Be is quite solid, many great songs on it. The title song first of all, The Long & Winding Road, Across the Universe, I've Got a Feeling, I, Me,Mine, Old Brown Shoe...Dig A Pony...

"Old Brown Shoe," while a GREAT song, was not on the album. It was the flip-side of "The Ballad of John & Yoko," another great one.

[GuitarGeek]

It's been awhile since I last listened to Let It Be, but my recollection is that Let It Be itself, Across The Universe, Get Back, and The Long And Winding Road are all great songs, the rest is just plain filler.

You might find it hard to believe, but I didn't really grow up with the Beatles albums the way some people did. I always liked The Beatles, and of course knew the more famous albums, but I was around 26 or so before I ever owned any of the albums, and by then, I kinda had a policy of not overexposing myself to any given record. So I kinda draw a blank on Let It Be in particular in terms of which of the other songs are which. I do know I don't like I Me Mine and whichever one it is where the take breaks down in mid-song.

I've always wondered if this was really the best material Spector had to work with, or if the final album is more a reflection of Spector's infamous dementia than what was available to him at the time.

As it stands, the record strikes me as a half baked barrel scraping, with the noted exception of the first four songs I named.

[happytheman]

Nope, not the same.

Which one? I've seen several versions..
beatles-get-back-album-cover-version-1-43.gif.jpg
Which one...jpg

[ronmac]

There were two versions. One was put together by Glyn Johns and the other by George Martin. But, they were, essentially the same, with the second one above having the more accurate track listing:

http://www.earcandymag.com/rrcase-getback.htm

One After 909
Rocker
Save the Last Dance For Me
Don’t Let Me Down
Dig a Pony
I’ve Got a Feeling
Get Back
For You Blue
The Walk
Teddy Boy
Two of Us
Maggie Mae
Dig It
Let It Be
The Long and Winding Road
Get Back (reprise)

[RapidRefresh]

Let It Bleed...Naked!!

[grego]

"Old Brown Shoe," while a GREAT song, was not on the album. It was the flip-side of "The Ballad of John & Yoko," another great one.

Yes, thanks for correction. Mixed this one to For You Blue.

[ronmac]

One interesting piece of trivia about "Let It Be." When the song came out, some thought there was a religious endorsement in the lyric, "When I find myself in times of trouble, mother Mary comes to me." They were mistaken. Paul's mother was named Mary.

[grego]

Never liked the recording quality of Let It Be. Messy. Quite a contrast to Abbey Road.

[grego]

One interesting piece of trivia about "Let It Be." When the song came out, some thought there was a religious endorsement in the lyric, "When I find myself in times of trouble, mother Mary comes to me." They were mistaken. Paul's mother was named Mary.

Could be double referring. The song wasn't adrresed only to his mother, hope so.

[bob_32_116]

One interesting piece of trivia about "Let It Be." When the song came out, some thought there was a religious endorsement in the lyric, "When I find myself in times of trouble, mother Mary comes to me." They were mistaken. Paul's mother was named Mary.

I'm sure you're right, but nonetheless I am willing to bet that Paul was well aware when the song was written of the phrase "mother Mary" as invoked by Christians, especially Roman Catholics.

[ronmac]

Could be double referring. The song wasn't adrresed only to his mother, hope so.

You can hope all you want. But, it was inspired by a dream he had about his mother speaking those very words.

She died when he was 14.

[JJ88]

Never liked the recording quality of Let It Be. Messy. Quite a contrast to Abbey Road.

Um, that's because it was recorded 'as live'! Spector's overdubs muddied the waters.

I think the track selection on Let It Be Naked was perfect and really got the best out of the sessions.

[Jerjo]

All this talk about nudity is making me want to run over to the Ginger vs Maryanne thread

[ronmac]

Um, that's because it was recorded 'as live'! Spector's overdubs muddied the waters.

Actually, most of the tracks were formal studio recordings.

SIDE 1
1. "Two of Us" Studio
2. "Dig a Pony" Live Rooftop
3. "Across the Universe" Studio
4. "I Me Mine" Studio
5. "Dig It" Rehearsal Outtake
6. "Let It Be" Studio
7. "Maggie Mae" Rehearsal Outtake

SIDE 2
1. "I've Got a Feeling" Live Rooftop
2. "One After 909" Live Rooftop
3. "The Long and Winding Road" Studio
4. "For You Blue" Studio
5. "Get Back" Studio

[JJ88]

^Yes but they were aiming for a stripped-down live sound even on the studio tracks- hence why Billy Preston was brought in.

Was the 'Get Back' on there from the rooftop, or was the 'passed the audition' bit just spliced onto the studio track?

[Mister Triscuits]

Was the 'Get Back' on there from the rooftop, or was the 'passed the audition' bit just spliced onto the studio track?

The original studio single had the breakdown ending as you hear on the LP, followed by a coda spliced on from another take. The LP version is the same basic recording without the coda, but with the rooftop chatter edited on instead.

[ronmac]

^Yes but they were aiming for a stripped-down live sound even on the studio tracks

Correct, but they were still rehearsed bonafide studio efforts. The project was more about not doing the high production recordings that they had been doing the previous few years. That's why the project was originally called "Get Back." The original plan was to have a live concert with many ideas being floated about, including having them on an ocean liner with the crowd on the shore. Of course, the more they bickered, the less likely that was going to happen. That's why they ended up playing on the rooftop, instead and, IMO, proved that they could still bring it live.

hence why Billy Preston was brought in.

Not quite. Billy was brought in to help bring some unity to the sessions, which were chaotic, at best, and totally unserious. They felt bringing in their old friend would help stem the bitterness and stabilize things, which is what happened. He was not in the original "Get Back" plan, as far as I know.

[philsunset]

This thread really drifted.