01	Two Of Us						03:34
	02	Dig A Pony						03:53
	03	Across The Universe						03:46
	04	I Me Mine						02:26
	05	Dig It						00:50
	06	Let It Be						04:03
	07	Maggie Mae						00:38
	08	I've Got A Feeling						03:36
	09	One After 909						02:52
	10	The Long And Winding Road						03:37
	11	For You Blue						02:31
	12	Get Back						03:07
	13	Across The Universe						03:46
	14	Yes It Is						02:41
	15	This Boy						02:13
	16	The Inner Light						02:34
	17	I'll Get You						02:04
	18	Thank You Girl						02:02
	19	Komm, Gib Mir Deine Hand						02:25
	20	You Know My Name						04:19
	21	(Look Up The Number) Sie Liebt Dich						02:18
	22	Rain						03:00
	23	She's A Woman						03:03
	24	Matchbox						01:57
	25	I Call You Name						02:08
	26	Bad Boy						02:19
	27	Slow Down						02:55
	28	I'm Down						02:32
	29	Long Tall Sally						02:01

Let It Be
Date of Release May 8, 1970


The only Beatles album to occasion negative, even hostile reviews, there are few other rock records as controversial as Let It Be. First off, several facts need to be explained: Although released in May 1970, this was not their final album, but largely recorded in early 1969, way before Abbey Road. Phil Spector was enlisted in early 1970 to do some post-production mixing and overdubs, but he did not work with the band as a unit. And, although his use of strings has generated much criticism, by and large he left the original performances to stand as is: only "The Long and Winding Road" and (to a lesser degree) "Across the Universe" and "I Me Mine" get the wall-of-sound treatment. The main problem was that the material wasn't uniformly strong, and that the Beatles themselves were in fairly lousy moods due to intergroup tension. All that said, the album is on the whole underrated, even discounting the fact that a substandard Beatles record is better than almost any other group's best work. McCartney in particular offers several gems: the gospelish "Let It Be," which has some of his best lyrics; "Get Back," one of his hardest rockers; and the melodic "The Long and Winding Road," ruined by Spector's heavy-handed overdubs. The folky "Two of Us," with John and Paul harmonizing together, was also a highlight. Most of the rest of the material, by contrast, was going through the motions to some degree, although there are some good moments of straight hard rock in "I've Got a Feeling" and "Dig a Pony." As flawed and bumpy as it is, it's an album well-worth having, as when the Beatles were in top form here, they were as good as ever. - Richie Unterberger

1. Two of Us (Lennon/McCartney) - 3:36
2. Dig a Pony (Lennon/McCartney) - 3:54
3. Across the Universe (Lennon/McCartney) - 3:48
4. I Me Mine (Harrison) - 2:25
5. Dig It (Harrison/Lennon/McCartney/Starkey/Starr) - :50
6. Let It Be (Lennon/McCartney) - 4:03
7. Maggie Mae (Traditional) - :40
8. I've Got a Feeling (Lennon/McCartney) - 3:37
9. One After 909 (Lennon/McCartney) - 2:55
10. The Long and Winding Road (Lennon/McCartney) - 3:37
11. For You Blue (Harrison) - 2:32
12. Get Back (Lennon/McCartney) - 3:07




Across the Universe
Composed By John Lennon/Paul McCartney


AMG REVIEW: "Across the Universe," one of the group's most delicate and cosmic ballads, was one of the highlights of the Let It Be album. Like several of the songs on that record, it had a convoluted recording history, appearing in two radically different versions during the Beatles' lifetime, and appearing in a substantially different third one on Anthology 3. The most familiar version by far, however, is the one on the Let It Be album, on which producer Phil Spector took the basic track the group had recorded back in early 1968, added some orchestration and choral vocals, and remixed the original rendition, slowing the tape of John Lennon's lead singing substantially. Whatever its form, "Across the Universe," written (though credited to Lennon- McCartney) and sung by John Lennon, was a charming song with introspective, slightly surreal images. These seemed inspired, in equal measures, by psychedelic culture and the Indian/religious study the Beatles were immersing themselves in during late 1967/early 1968 when the song was written. The pleasant cascade of free association words and pictures, indeed, is similar to that experienced during meditation, a practice that was integral to the Beatles' lives during their studies with the Maharishi. Of the several Lennon-dominated Beatles songs that feature psychedelic-style wordplay, "Across the Universe" is certainly the friendliest and most seductive, in contrast to other Lennon efforts in which the dark and disturbing sides of the psychedelic experience were highlighted. It is one of the folkiest of all Beatles performances (certainly in its original, unoverdubbed format), with a lilting chorus emphasizing Lennon's 1967 state of introspective withdrawal. The constant, raga-ish refrain refers to Guru Dev, the Maharishi's guru. "Across the Universe" was originally recorded in early 1968 as a candidate for a Beatles single, in a much simpler, more acoustic arrangement than the overdubbed one used for Let It Be contains, with high female vocal harmonies supplied by two teenaged female Beatles fans. It was this version that appeared, prior to Let It Be, on the late-1969 charity compilation album No One's Gonna Change Our World. It can be gathered that the Beatles weren't terribly satisfied with how the track had turned out; otherwise they wouldn't have thrown it away on a compilation album, they would have used it for one of their own releases. Lennon would eventually charge, in his Playboy interview, that McCartney did his best to "subconsciously try and destroy" "Across the Universe" because McCartney didn't work as hard on Lennon's songs as he did on his own. No one can know the absolute truth of that assertion, but based on what's known about the group, it does seem unfair, especially given that Lennon himself would sometimes barely or not participate in songs written by other members of the band in the late '60s. The most noted cover of "Across the Universe" occurred when David Bowie made it a surprising inclusion on his mid-'70s Young Americans album. It was surprising because by that point, with the exception of the Pin-Ups album, Bowie was writing virtually all of his material; it is less surprising when it's considered that Lennon himself played guitar on Bowie's version. - Richie Unterberger



Let It Be
Composed By John Lennon/Paul McCartney


AMG REVIEW: "Let It Be," a number one single in early 1970, was one of the Beatles' most popular and finest ballads, becoming almost as well known and familiar as "Yesterday." Like "Yesterday," "Let It Be" was solely the work of Paul McCartney (although credited to Lennon- McCartney), and rather by accident came to serve as the group's epitaph in song. The song is based around classically melodic, descending piano chords, whose understated grace give the performance a spiritual quality somewhat in the manner of a previous Beatles classic ballad based around the piano, "Hey Jude." "Let It Be" had more of a gospel feel than "Hey Jude," however; in its combination of rock, pop, and gospel elements, it recalls Simon & Garfunkel's "Bridge Over Troubled Waters," although "Let It Be" is less bombastic a production. (In his Playboy interview, John Lennon would cruelly infer that McCartney was trying to write a "Bridge Over Troubled Waters," but that's simply not true; "Let It Be" was recorded in early 1969, about a year before "Bridge Over Troubled Waters" came out.) The spiritual setting is amplified by the soothing harmonies on the chorus as well as McCartney's sincere emotional phrasing. The lyrical mood of the song, too, is spiritual and even quasi-religious, McCartney speaking of a mother Mary (actually based on his own late mother Mary, not a mother Mary in Christian lore) who comforts him in times of trouble and doubt. In a more overall sense, the song is one of consolation, both to himself and his audience, urging optimism in times of darkness and reassuring that things will turn out well in spite of the troubles to be weathered. One more gospel touch is supplied by the churchy organ solo on the mix used for the single (available on Past Masters, Vol. 2). On the album, Phil Spector's mix rather buried this under more prominent guitar parts, although the more simple, uncluttered original mix suited the song better. Although recorded in early 1969, "Let It Be," despite its obvious superior quality, did not come out for a year, as the sessions they had recorded in early 1969 for an album languished in the vaults while the Beatles decided what to do with them. The "Let It Be" single reached number one the very week that the Beatles broke up in April 1970. That, combined with its use as the title track of the Let It Be album - which was the final Beatles album to be released, although it was the second-to-last to be recorded - reinforced the mistaken, though understandable, impression that "Let It Be" might have been designed as an unofficial, subtle epitaph to the Beatles' career, with its "life goes on" message and plea to overcome the tragic present state of affairs. "Let It Be" has been covered often by artists of many different kinds, although, as is usually the case when Beatles ballads are covered, these tend to be inappropriately mushy and overwrought in contrast to the elegant executions of the Beatles themselves; it seems to be a particular favorite at charity and benefit concerts. One of the most notable covers was by Aretha Franklin, who cut her version in 1969, before the one by the Beatles had been released, and issued it at about the exactly the same time the Beatles' rendition came out. This has fueled speculation that the song was "given" to Franklin to cover, but that her opportunity to release the first version of the tune was withdrawn when the Beatles decided to make it a single themselves. - Richie Unterberger



I've Got a Feeling
Composed By John Lennon/Paul McCartney


AMG REVIEW: "I've Got a Feelin'" was one of those Lennon and McCartney compositions that was comprised of two separate songs that, when put together, made one perfect whole. Such was often the nature of the songwriting duo's collaborations: Lennon brought a piece of "I've Got a Feelin'" to the table while McCartney did the same. In the film Let It Be, Lennon appears playing his song "Everybody Had a Hard Year" in January of 1969; just a month prior, he'd appeared in a BBC film singing an acoustic version of his laundry list lyric: "everybody had a hard year, everybody had a good time, everybody pulled their socks up, everybody put their foot down." It is uncertain when exactly McCartney nailed his part, but it is presumed that the idea for his song was a love song to his wife, Linda, delivered in the old rock & roll shouter voice he sometimes favored. The verse's melody is motivated by two simple chords, as is Lennon's refrain. Beginning by exchanging verses, by the final verse the pair is overlapping melodies. The juxtaposition doesn't sound odd at all, but in fact if dissected, it's a pairing that probably wouldn't make too much sense on paper. Fortunately, the Beatles went ahead and experimented and experienced their songs rather than studied them, which of course as listeners is our job and an endlessly fascinating one, even with the simplest of two-chord numbers like the underappreciated "I've Got a Feelin'." - Denise Sullivan



Long and Winding Road
Composed By John Lennon/Paul McCartney


AMG REVIEW: "The Long and Winding Road," along with "Let It Be," was one of two outstanding ballads that Paul McCartney contributed to the Let It Be album. And, like "Let It Be," it would be a number one single, although by the time it reached number one the Beatles would no longer exist, in part because of "The Long and Winding Road" itself. The role "The Long and Winding Road" played in this sad event needs some explanation and is intimately connected with how it was presented on record. In its initial form, "The Long and Winding Road" was a melancholy, piano-based ballad, casting a nostalgic eye on an apparent longtime friendship or relationship and pleading for that relationship to continue. McCartney - aided, unusually, by no harmony vocals - delivered the sentimental lyric in a sincere, gentle fashion that avoided, well, undue sentimentality. Particularly effective and plaintive are his repeated urgings that the subject of the song not leave him waiting and standing; it's also a nice device how he ends the bridge with a lyric about being led back to the long and winding road, which simultaneously lands the song right back at the verse with which it started. On an unconscious level, perhaps, this was a plea for the Beatles - who were beginning to unravel in early 1969 when the song was recorded - to pull it together to reconcile their differences and manage to continue, using the long and winding road as a metaphor for their own long, winding, and incredible career. A year later, the Beatles had all but broken up when Phil Spector was brought in for post-production on the material, largely recorded in early 1969, that comprised most of 1970's Let It Be album. In the remixes and occasional overdubs he performed on those tapes, the most substantial alteration was bestowed upon "The Long and Winding Road," which was embroidered with heavenly vocal choirs, horns, and strings. This turned what was originally a dignified, stately track into overly grandiose, orchestral mush, more saccharine than anything else the Beatles had ever released (except perhaps for "Good Night," in which the orchestration was obviously ironic). Worse, Paul McCartney, who was not consulted during this post-production process, was enraged when he heard what had been done to the song. It may well have been one of the last straws in McCartney's decision to officially leave the group. McCartney would cite "The Long and Winding Road" in particular as an example of why it was artistically necessary for him to quit in his suit to dissolve the Beatles' legal partnership. Issued as a single just after the Beatles had split, it reached number one anyway - a sad and clumsy note on which to bow out. The original, unvarnished, and much superior undubbed version of "The Long and Winding Road," fortunately, was made available on Anthology 3. - Richie Unterberger



Get Back
Composed By John Lennon/Paul McCartney


AMG REVIEW: Although the early-1969 live or semi-live "back to basics" sessions that produced much of the Beatles' Let It Be were fraught with tension and unsatisfactory results, one unqualified success to arise from the work was the number one "Get Back" single. As the very title implied, "Get Back" represented the Beatles getting into a rootsy rock & roll sound with audible traces of the Chuck Berry, Elvis Presley, Little Richard, and Buddy Holly music that had inspired them to start the group in the late '50s. The song is built around a galloping rhythm and crunchy, Chuck Berry-styled guitars, garnished by a nice, inventive, high-pitched series of notes (played by John Lennon) and funky electric keyboards (by Billy Preston). Principal composer Paul McCartney's high hard rock vocals are up to their usual forceful excellence. The sneaky false ending, after a Little Richard-ish "ooo" from McCartney, is followed by a funky tag in which McCartney goes into a talking blues voice briefly before getting back to the chorus. (That tag, unfortunately, is only heard on the single; on the live version on the Let It Be album it is omitted.) However, as with some other late-'60s Beatles songs that resemble 1950s rock in some ways - such as "Lady Madonna" and "Happiness Is a Warm Gun" - the lyrics are of a cryptic sort that would have never been heard in late-'50s rock & roll. No other Beatles song makes such a play on gender ambiguity; its characters could be transvestites or transsexuals, unsure of their identity themselves. The insistent chorus about getting back to where they belong could be an urge for them to accept themselves, or it could just be a clever play on words for their own sake. Lennon took a nasty and probably inaccurate and unfair view of the lyrics in a Playboy interview, claiming that the line about getting back to where you belonged was directed at Yoko Ono, and that McCartney would look at Ono when he sang the line in the studio. McCartney also had to defend himself against charges of racism when an early rehearsal version, with different lyrics about Pakistanis taking jobs in the U.K., surfaced on bootlegs; McCartney has always claimed these were intended ironically and satirically. The funky R&B leanings of "Get Back" made it more coverable by soul singers than many Beatles songs were, and versions by Al Green and Ike & Tina Turner appeared in the early '70s. - Richie Unterberger