The Beatles - Let It Be... Naked

The "King Lear" of Beatles records

I bought the original "Let It Be--Naked" as a teenager in 1969, a vinyl LP bootlegged from the "Let It Be" sessions, in a plain white sleeve with the words "Kum Back" stamped aslant the cover. No sobbing violins, no plaintive French horns.

And what struck me with increasing happy force across the years and hundreds of listens was what a wonderful, wondrous band the Beatles were. That by this time, they truly were the other side of each others' heartbeat; each had become virtuosic, Ringo on the drums, McCartney on bass (one can't praise enough), Lennon on rhythm and Harrison (usually) on lead guitar, but virtuosos together, virtuosos grown of what it took to make Beatles music together, through all those years and changes. They're recorded here as a live ensemble, just like up on on that fabled Savile Row rooftop, and God, they play with a brilliant loose-but-so-tight jostling grooviness that can just take the breath away. There never was before and never again will be a band this good.

One has to tip the hat to Billy Preston, whose plain-singing chops are just about a match for the Fab Four's.

I know all about Lennon's sniping about the decay of the Beatles' group playing, and of course they often quarreled during these sessions.

Just listen.

It helps that the band went into this project looking for a groove--everybody, especially Lennon and McCartney in their best numbers, seems to be after a sort of Zen-simple deep-groove soulfuness. 'Get Back,'
'Dig a Pony,' 'I've Got a Feeling.' Yes, "Let It Be" is (as McCartney has said) a return to roots after all the high '60s psychedelic ambitiousness, but it's an old masters' return: deep, simple, moving (and funky!) in all the best numbers. And as for the less than best ones ('Long and Winding Road', indeed)--well, Zen attainment is not about always hitting the target.

There are many different great Beatles records, but none greater than "Let It Be--Naked." July 16, 2008

Get Back, High Gas Prices

America is spending 600 billion dollars a year on foreign oil. The war is costing us a quarter of that (125 billion) per year. Oh yeah, The Beatles, hmmmm...Let It Be! June 8, 2008

The Beatles

I throughly enjoy this music. It's much better without all the stuff Phil Specter added. May 20, 2008

Let it be

I like this cd, and I like the old one to, but if I have to choose I'll pick the old over the new. just because I like all the strings and things wish the new don't have. but naked has a raw fill to it and thats good to. May 10, 2008

Never heard Let It Be like this before

A must for Beatles fans. This was recommended by an audiophile during a discussion of high quality recordings. Cleanest Beatles CD I have ever heard. The more you turn it up the better it gets. Just no distortion at all. GREAT BUY! April 26, 2008

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