Honestly, I never thought I would actually find myself reviewing a CD by those I consider among the Secular Sacred Monsters of the music I love and of music in general: a sort of reverential fear held me back from daring.
BUT... the McCartney operation of 2003 gave me the right cue to dare so much.
So, after a full 33 years since the release of the original self-titled album dated May 1970 (!) - as well as during the peak crisis period as the Band was about to dissolve a month after the said publication - one of the last official works of the Beatles, according to the aforementioned bassist and vocalist of the group, comes out in our current market "stripped" of the contaminations the Band didn't want at the time, and attributable to the then-producer: Phil Spector.
In short, after 33 years, McCartney feels the need to propose and offer to the general public - who for the same 33 years has loved the album as it reached the charts, stores, radios, homes, and future generations - the real and original version of the album as the Beatles thought it and wanted it, not distorted by anyone's whims and eccentricities. A commendable intent.

The album at that time was artistically at the peak of the group's career but already carried the signs of the group's decline, no longer finding the right cohesion of previous golden times; scuffles between individual members, the annoying role of intrusive uncomfortable wives, differences of opinion, and opening up to different musical tastes, all this undermined the harmony of the group that had just completed the excellent White Album. Let it be, or rather, Get back – this was the initially chosen title – is full of insights, there are many ideas and creativity of individuals now increasingly leaning towards different paths... it is placed between this and "Abbey Road" but comes out quietly, almost on tiptoe and especially without the full approval of the Fab Four: Spector, to put it mildly, added his touch to it, and this, for the aforementioned reasons, deprived of energy to oppose him, the group did not like.

So, with the original tapes recovered, Let it be is published today with the following differences:
first of all, gone are the strings and the sweet choral orchestration of "The long & winding road" in the name of a minimalist and yet sublime version, piano, voice, guitar; then 33 years of Harrison's solo of the title track are changed, minor and very short tracks like "Dig it" and "Maggie Mae" are removed and a famous b-side "Don't let me down" is added in their place, gone are the orchestra and choirs in "Across the universe", gone are the voices and mini dialogues in the background characterizing the fact that the "Let it be-movie" was also being shot at the same time, what else?

A second CD is added, perhaps 25 minutes long, in which you hear friendly dialogues and chords or snippets of songs lasting at most 20 seconds and recorded with the worst 4-track that the history of the Beatles recalls, and here is the gem at a medium-high price for collectors.
But these, along with the admirers and true lovers of the group, will be left with a bitter taste in their mouths. Because more than love for music in its purest essence, McCartney thought of a true commercial and marketing operation; the attempt to still tap into a very precious but ancient resource by exploiting the potential of what must certainly be considered masterpieces in every respect is well known to everyone, I believe (I think of the dear mother of the much lamented Jeff Buckley, for example), but these are masterpieces also and above all in relation to the time that produced them and to which they belong, which is the past. It's as if a writer republished an old book after 33 years, changing commas or accents, it wouldn't make sense.

These post-mortem exhumations leave me a feeling of coldness and speculation, nothing more.
I take the CD and carefully place it in its case, then take the original and play it full blast.
Then the chills and warmth return as well.
Let it be remains a masterpiece, but in its original, tormented and dressed version.

The saying "Every scarrafone is beautiful to its own mother" isn’t always true.

Tracklist Lyrics and Videos

01   Get Back (02:34)

Jo Jo was a man who thought he was a loner
But he knew it couldn't last
Jo Jo left his home in Tucson, Arizona
for some California grass

Get back, get back
Get back to where you once belonged
Get back, get back
Get back to where you once belonged
Get back Jo Jo

Go home
Get back, get back
Back to where you once belonged
Get back, get back
Back to where you once belonged
Get back Jo

Sweet Loretta Martin thought she was a woman
But she was another man
All the girls around her say she's got it coming
But she gets it while she can

Get back, get back
Get back to where you once belonged
Get back, get back
Get back to where you once belonged
Get back Loretta

Ah, get back
Yeah, get back
Get back to where you once belonged
Yeah get back
Get back to where you once belonged
Get back, Ooo
[Past Masters/single version only:
Get back, Loretta,
Your mommy's waiting for you,
Wearin' her high heel shoes and her low neck sweater,
Get back home, Loretta
Get back, get back, get back to where you once belonged.
Get back, get back, get back...]

02   Dig a Pony (03:38)

I hi hi hi hi hi hi, dig a pony
Well you can celebrate anything you want
Yes, you can celebrate anything you want
Ooh

I hi hi hi hi hi hi, do a roadhog
Well you can penetrate any place you go
Yes, you can penetrate any place you go

I told you so
All I want is you
Everything has got to be
just like you want it to
Because

I hi hi hi hi hi hi, pick a moondog
Well you can radiate everything you are
Yes, you can radiate everything you are
Ooh

I hi hi hi hi hi hi, roll a stoney
Well you can imitate everyone you know
Yes, you can imitate everyone you know

I told you so
All I want is you
Everything has got to be
just like you want it to
Because

I hi hi hi hi hi hi, feel the wind blow
Well you can indicate everything you see
Yes, you can indicate everything you see
Ooh

I hi hi hi hi hi hi, cold and lonely
Well you can syndicate any boat you row
Yes, you can syndicate any boat you row

I told you so
All I want is you
Everything has got to be
just like you want it to
Because

03   For You Blue (02:27)

Because you're sweet and lovely girl, I love you
Because you're sweet and lovely girl, It's true
I love you more that ever girl, I do

I want you in the morning girl, I love you
I want you at the moment I feel blue
I'm living every moment girl, for you

Bob, bobcat Bob
Go Johnny go
Same ole 12-bar blues
(Elmore James got nothin' on this baby)

I loved you from the moment I saw you
You looked at me, that's all you had to do
I feel it now I hope you feel it too
I'm having the blues

04   The Long and Winding Road (03:34)

05   Two of Us (03:21)

I dig a Pygmy by Charles Hawtrey and the Deaf Aids.
Phase One in which Doris gets her oats.

Two of us riding nowhere
spending someone's hard earned pay
You and me Sunday driving
Not arriving on our way back home
We're on our way back home
We're on our way home
We're going home

Two of us sending postcards
writing letters on my wall
You and me burning matches
lifting latches on our way back home
We're on our way back home
We're on our way home
We're going home

You and I have memories
longer than the road
that stretches out ahead

Two of us wearing raincoats
standing solo in the sun
You and me chasing paper
getting nowhere on our way back home
We're on our way back home
We're on our way home
We're going home

You and I have memories
longer than that road
that stretches out ahead

Two of us wearing raincoats
standing solo in the sun
You and me chasing paper
getting nowhere on our way back home
We're on our way back home
We're on our way home
We're going home
We're going home

06   I've Got a Feeling (03:30)

07   One After 909 (02:44)

(Intro)

My baby says she's traveling
on the one after 909
I said move over honey
I'm traveling on that line

I said move over once
Move over twice
Come on baby,don't be cold as ice
I said I'm traveling on the one after 909

I begged her not to go
And I begged her on my bended knees
You're only fooling around
You're only fooling around with me

I said move over once
Move over twice
Come on baby, don't be cold as ice
I said I'm traveling on the one after 909

I've got my bag, run to the station
Railman says you've got the wrong location
Picked up my bags, run right home
Then I find I've got the number wrong

Well, I said I'm travelingon the one after 909
I said move over honey
I'm traveling on that line
I said move over once
Move over twice
Come on baby, don't be cold as ice
I said I'm traveling on the one after 909

I've got my bag, run to the station
Railman says you've got the wrong location (yeah)

Picked up my bags, run right home (run right home)
Then I find I've got the number wrong
Well, I said I'm traveling
on the one after 909

I said move over honey
I'm traveling on that line
I said move over once
Move over twice
Come on baby, don't be cold as ice
I said I'm traveling on the one after 909

Yeah

08   Don't Let Me Down (03:18)

09   I Me Mine (02:21)

10   Across the Universe (03:38)

Words are flowing out like endless rain into a paper cup
They slither wildly as they slip away across the universe
Pools of sorrow, waves of joy are drifting through my opened mind
Possessing and caressing me

Jai Guru Deva, Om
Nothing's gonna change my world
Nothing's gonna change my world
Nothing's gonna change my world
Nothing's gonna change my world

Images of broken light which dance before me like a million eyes
They call me on and on across the universe
Thoughts meander like a restless wind inside a letter box
They tumble blindly as they make their way across the universe

Jai Guru Deva, Om
Nothing's gonna change my world
Nothing's gonna change my world
Nothing's gonna change my world
Nothing's gonna change my world

Sounds of laughter, shades of life are ringing through my opened ears
Inciting and inviting me
Limitless undying love which shines around me like a million suns
And calls me on and on across the universe

Jai Guru Deva, Om
Nothing's gonna change my world
Nothing's gonna change my world
Nothing's gonna change my world
Nothing's gonna change my world
Jai Guru Deva
Jai Guru Deva

11   Let It Be (03:57)

When I find myself in times of trouble
Mother Mary comes to me
Speaking words of wisdom, let it be

And in my hour of darkness
She is standing right it front of me
Speaking words of wisdom, let it be

Let it be, let it be
Let it be, let it be
Whisper words of wisdom
Let it be

And when the brokenhearted people
Living in the world agree
There will be an answer, let it be

For though they may be parted
There is still a chance that they will see
There will be an answer let it be

Let it be, let it be
Let it be, let it be
Yeah, there will be an answer let it be

Let it be, let it be
Let it be, let it be
Whisper words of wisdom
Let it be

Let it be, let it be
Let it be, yeah, let it be
Whisper words of wisdom
Let it be

And when the night is cloudy
There is still a light that shines on me
Shine until tomorrow, let it be

I wake up to the sound of music
Mother Mary comes to me
Speaking words of wisdom, let it be

Yeah, let it be, let it be
Let it be, yeah, let it be
There will be an answer, let it be

Let it be, let it be
Let it be, yeah let it be
There will be an answer, let it be

Let it be, let it be
Let it be, yeah, let it be
Whisper words of wisdom
Let it be

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Other reviews

By Hal

 "We are facing yet another marketing operation."

 "Regarding the Beatles, what they represented, their history, Let It Be dressed says much more than naked."


By ste84

 This album sounds a bit more rock than the old one but ultimately doesn’t add anything new to what we already knew about the Beatles.

 It feels like listening to demos: just listen to 'The Long And Winding Road,' 'Across The Universe,' or 'Let It Be' before and after the treatment, and you’ll understand the chasm that separates the two versions.


By cece65

 Finally, Sir Paul has done himself justice.

 "The Long And Winding Road" with only Paul’s piano and Ringo’s drums is even more magical than the original.