Which version is better? The original Let It Be one with the Phil Spector treatment or the stripped down 2003 Let It Be...Naked version?
Paul didn't appreciate the choir & strings but I think the LIB:N one he produced decades later sounds too bare and unfinished
Phil Spector later claimed he had to put on the thick coating of choir & strings to try and cover up Lennon's amateurish bass guitar track.
I like the original best but seems not many feel that way. Ditto the original album mix of Let It Be (the song) with the much better guitar solo than the single mix or LIB:N cut
I also like Phil Spector's version better but, I do not know why .... and I completely understand and appreciate McCartney's criticism of the "over production" of the version released in '69.
Prefer the original as well.
That said, naked sounds just that. Naked. Because for 30 plus years we had the original. I'd have liked to have seen Paul give the original masters to another producer and tell them to do what Phil did but do it without all the bullshit.
Just an opinion.
Also much prefer the album cut of George solo on Let it Be. The single version is too reverby - think they ran it thru the Leslie speakers.
Also much prefer the album cut of George solo on Let it Be. The single version is too reverby - think they ran it thru the Leslie speakers.
That George solo on the album version was the last or second to last thing he ever did on a Beatles song before leaving for good. John was long gone by winter 1970
It's a gorgeous song, the string arrangement is a no-brainer.
In the Canon of Beatle releases, the song offered a bit of closure, released as a single after the breakup was publicly announced a month earlier.
It's a gorgeous song, the string arrangement is a no-brainer.
In the Canon of Beatle releases, the song offered a bit of closure, released as a single after the breakup was publicly announced a month earlier.
There are now three versions. The LIB album mix, the single mix, and the LIB:Naked mix. The only noticeable differences were the guitar solos and the LIB:N one did away with the echo effect Phil put on Ringo's percussion during the verses
The SXM Beatles channel seems to play the single and Naked versions a lot and not the album mix for whatever reason
The original is a little too spare, which is what often happens with demos. It needed a little touch up, not a total overhaul. So I will go with the LIB:N version as my preferred. And this is the first I've heard that Lennon played bass on it, why would Paul allow that? I guess at that point, none of them really cared.
The original is a little too spare, which is what often happens with demos. It needed a little touch up, not a total overhaul. So I will go with the LIB:N version as my preferred. And this is the first I've heard that Lennon played bass on it, why would Paul allow that? I guess at that point, none of them really cared.
The oddball bass player occasionally occurred with the Beatles when McCartney would play another instrument live - 'Two of Us' is another good example, with Harrison playing the bass parts on his Telecaster.
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Specter is right that the original is a little too spare, but he took a song that needed a little help and completely overran it. His score is awful, so ponderous and predictable. He could have used a string quartet to add the score to much greater effect.
The original is a little too spare, which is what often happens with demos. It needed a little touch up, not a total overhaul. So I will go with the LIB:N version as my preferred. And this is the first I've heard that Lennon played bass on it, why would Paul allow that? I guess at that point, none of them really cared.
Lennon also played bass on 'Helter Skelter'. Look up the isolated bass on YouTube - it may well be the worst track of bass playing I ever heard on a major recording, but in the mix it actually ADDS to the song. A fantastic piece of mixing, IMO - I never noticed how shitty that bass track was.
The oddball bass player occasionally occurred with the Beatles when McCartney would play another instrument live - 'Two of Us' is another good example, with Harrison playing the bass parts on his Telecaster.
They had a sunburst right-handed 6 string Fender IV bass on hand in the later era for John or George to use. George played bass on Old Brown Shoe and one of the Revolver songs too, I forget which. Lennon's bass parts on Helter Skelter and Back In The USSR wasn't the greatest but those songs didn't need anything complex anyway to hold the bottom end down
But when Wings did their huge American tour in 1976 and McCartney played Long and Winding Road for the first time live .. He used the Spector arrangement!
But when Wings did their huge American tour in 1976 and McCartney played Long and Winding Road for the first time live .. He used the Spector arrangement!
There's quite a bit of footage of that tour on YouTube. Outstanding stuff - Jimmy McCullough was a phenomenal lead guitarist - with Denny Laine, that was a whale of a band.
their first stop was JAPAN and we know what happened there
anyway wings were promising the critically underrated Back to the Egg album and the song selection was great
Paul McCartney & Wings - 1979 - Last Flight [Glassgow Concert] - ( New Window )
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McCartney claimed he hated Spector's version and when he went to court against other Beatles to dissolve the partnership - He used Spector doing this to Long and Winding Road over his objections as reason the partnership was no long functioning
But when Wings did their huge American tour in 1976 and McCartney played Long and Winding Road for the first time live .. He used the Spector arrangement!
That 76' Tour made up the body of the excellent 'Wings Over America' Triple Live album. My Birthday Present in 77.
There's quite a bit of footage of that tour on YouTube. Outstanding stuff - Jimmy McCullough was a phenomenal lead guitarist - with Denny Laine, that was a whale of a band.
I remember going to see the film (Rockshow) in 80 on the biggest screen on the east coast at the time...Palace Theater in Danbury CT.
their first stop was JAPAN and we know what happened there
anyway wings were promising the critically underrated Back to the Egg album and the song selection was great Paul McCartney & Wings - 1979 - Last Flight [Glassgow Concert] - ( New Window )
Paul was performing Coming Up live in '79 before the studio cut on McCartney II came out later on in 1980
Btw, the live version of that song is 10,000 times better than the dorky studio version lol
but the music video is the best
Paul McCartney - Coming Up (Official Music Video) - ( New Window )