Let It Be... Naked | ||||
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Remix album by | ||||
Released | 17 November 2003 | |||
Recorded | 4 February 1968, 2–31 January 1969, 3 January 1970 | |||
Venue | Apple Corps rooftop, London | |||
Studio | Apple, EMI and Twickenham, London | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 34:49 | |||
Label | Apple | |||
Producer | Paul Hicks, Guy Massey, Allan Rouse | |||
The Beatles chronology | ||||
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Let It Be... Naked is an alternative mix of the Beatles' 1970 album Let It Be , released on 17 November 2003 by Apple Records. The project was initiated by Paul McCartney, who felt that the original album's producer, Phil Spector, did not capture the group's stripped-down, live-to-tape aesthetic intended for the album. [1] Naked consists largely of newly mixed versions of the Let It Be tracks while omitting the excerpts of incidental studio chatter and most of Spector's embellishments. It also omits two tracks from the 1970 release – "Dig It" and "Maggie Mae" – replacing them with "Don't Let Me Down", which was the non-album B-side of the "Get Back" single. [2]
The album is presented in a form which Paul McCartney considered closer to its original artistic vision: to "get back" to the rock and roll sound of their early years [3] rather than the orchestral overdubs and embellishments which were added by Phil Spector to three of the songs in the production of the final Let It Be album. McCartney in particular was always dissatisfied with Spector's mixes of these three tracks, especially for the song "The Long and Winding Road". [4] [1] George Harrison gave his approval for the Naked project before he died. [5] [6]
McCartney's attitude contrasted with Lennon's from his December 1970 interview with Rolling Stone magazine. Lennon had defended Spector's work, saying, "He was given the shittiest load of badly recorded shit – and with a lousy feeling to it – ever. And he made something out of it ... When I heard it, I didn't puke." Harrison and Ringo Starr also remained complimentary about Spector's contribution, [7] Starr saying: "I like what Phil did … There's no point bringing him in if you're not going to like the way he does it". [8]
Two songs that had been included on the original album – the traditional Liverpool folk song "Maggie Mae" and the improvisational piece "Dig It" – were excised, as they "were fine for a soundtrack album ... but they didn't fit comfortably with the concept of a straight album", according to album remixer Allan Rouse. [3] Lennon's "Don't Let Me Down" was added to the running order, although Naked features a composite edit of the two versions from the rooftop concert, rather than the version featured as the B-side to the "Get Back" single. [3] "I've Got a Feeling" was also presented in a new composite edit of its two rooftop-concert takes. [3] On "The Long and Winding Road", the Naked producers used the final take, recorded five days after the rough run-through Spector had selected for the original album. [3]
Track-by-track details [3] [9]
On 13 November 2003, the completed Let It Be... Naked album had its world premiere with a two-hour radio special from Infinity Broadcasting. [10] [11] The special featured: a 50-minute documentary of the original Get Back/Let It Be sessions, including interviews with all four Beatles;[ citation needed ] an uninterrupted broadcast of the new Let It Be... Naked album; [10] and a 20-minute roundtable discussion hosted by Pat O'Brien. [10] [11] The roundtable discussion featured analysis from musicians Sheryl Crow, [11] J.C. Chasez,[ citation needed ] Billy Joel, [11] and Fred Durst, [11] record producers Alan Parsons [ citation needed ] and Jimmy Iovine, [11] music critic David Fricke, [11] journalist Geraldo Rivera [11] and Breakfast with the Beatles host Chris Carter. [12]
Aggregate scores | |
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Source | Rating |
Metacritic | 68/100 [13] |
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [14] |
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [15] |
The Guardian | [16] |
Pitchfork | 7.0/10 [17] |
Rolling Stone | [1] |
AllMusic's Rovi Staff called Let It Be... Naked an "overall slightly stronger ... sleeker, slicker album", in comparison to the original 1970 release. [14] Dominique Leone of Pitchfork called the album "not essential ... though immaculately presented". [17] Anthony DeCurtis of Rolling Stone noted that "[while] the sonic improvements to the album as a whole are undeniable ... novices should still get the original". [1] Producer Rick Rubin said he had "mixed feelings"; although excited about a new Beatles release and especially the sound of "Two of Us", he expressed admiration for the original Phil Spector production that Let It Be... Naked stripped out, especially on "The Long and Winding Road". [18]
Adam Sweeting of The Guardian commented: "Technically, they've done a fine job ... it may be intriguing to hear a version of 'Across the Universe' featuring only Lennon and some echo effects, but the new mix merely emphasises the song's droning vapidity. 'The Long and Winding Road' is indubitably improved by the removal of Spector's wall of schmaltz, but it's still teeth-clenchingly mawkish". [16] Salon's Thomas Bartlett lamented that Let It Be... Naked "stripped the original album of both John's sense of humour and Phil Spector's wacky, and at least slightly tongue-in-cheek, grandiosity". [19]
All tracks are written by Lennon–McCartney except "For You Blue" and "I Me Mine", which are by George Harrison
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All songs published by Northern Songs, except tracks 3 and 9 published by Harrisongs.
The 22-minute bonus disc contains song excerpts and dialogue from the many hours of tape which accumulated during the Let It Be sessions. Some of the removed dialogue that had appeared on the original album appears on this disc. In total, the track is 21 minutes and 55 seconds long and brings the album's total length to 56:59.
Compiled and edited by Kevin Howlett. All songs credited to Lennon–McCartney except where noted.
The album was released in some regions with the Copy Control protection system. [20] [21]
The Beatles
Additional musicians
Technical
Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
|
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
Australia (ARIA) [55] | Gold | 35,000^ |
Germany (BVMI) [56] | Gold | 100,000^ |
Japan (RIAJ) [57] | 2× Platinum | 500,000^ |
Spain (PROMUSICAE) [58] | Gold | 50,000^ |
Sweden (GLF) [59] | Gold | 30,000^ |
United Kingdom (BPI) [60] | Gold | 100,000^ |
United States (RIAA) [61] | Platinum | 1,211,000 [62] |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. |
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)A Hard Day's Night is the third studio album by the English rock band the Beatles, released on 10 July 1964 by Parlophone, with side one containing songs from the soundtrack to their film of the same name. The American version of the album was released two weeks earlier, on 26 June 1964 by United Artists Records, with a different track listing that included selections from George Martin's film score. In contrast to the Beatles' first two albums, all 13 tracks on A Hard Day's Night were written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney, showcasing the development of their songwriting partnership.
Help! is the fifth studio album by the English rock band the Beatles and the soundtrack to their film of the same name. It was released on 6 August 1965. Seven of the fourteen songs, including the singles "Help!" and "Ticket to Ride", appeared in the film and take up the first side of the vinyl album. The second side includes "Yesterday", the most-covered song ever written. The album was met with favourable critical reviews and topped the Australian, German, British and American charts.
The Beatles, also referred to colloquially as the White Album, is the ninth studio album and only double album by the English rock band the Beatles, released on 22 November 1968. Featuring a plain white sleeve, the cover contains no graphics or text other than the band's name embossed. This was intended as a direct contrast to the vivid cover artwork of the band's previous LP Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967). The Beatles is recognised for its fragmentary style and diverse range of genres, including folk, country rock, British blues, ska, music hall, proto-metal and the avant-garde. It has since been viewed by some critics as a postmodern work, as well as one of the greatest albums of all time.
Let It Be is the twelfth and final studio album by the English rock band the Beatles. It was released on 8 May 1970, almost a month after the group's public break-up, in tandem with the documentary of the same name. Concerned about recent friction within the band, Paul McCartney had conceived the project as an attempt to reinvigorate the group by returning to simpler rock 'n' roll configurations. Its rehearsals started at Twickenham Film Studios on 2 January 1969 as part of a planned television documentary showing the Beatles' return to live performance.
"Get Back" is a song recorded by the English rock band the Beatles and Billy Preston, written by Paul McCartney, and credited to the Lennon–McCartney partnership. It was originally released as a single on 11 April 1969 and credited to "The Beatles with Billy Preston". The song is one of the few examples of John Lennon featuring prominently as lead guitarist. The album version of this song contains a different mix that features a studio chat between Paul McCartney and John Lennon at the beginning, which lasts for 20 seconds before the song begins, also omitting the coda featured in the single version, and with a final dialogue taken from the Beatles' rooftop concert. This version became the closing track of Let It Be (1970), which was released just after the group split up. The single version was later issued on the compilation albums 1967–1970, 20 Greatest Hits, Past Masters, and 1.
"The Long and Winding Road" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles from their 1970 album Let It Be. It was written by Paul McCartney and credited to Lennon–McCartney. When issued as a single in May 1970, a month after the Beatles' break-up, it became the group's 20th and last number-one hit on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the United States.
"Let It Be" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles, released on 6 March 1970 as a single, and as the title track of their album Let It Be. It was written and sung by Paul McCartney, and credited to the Lennon–McCartney partnership. The single version of the song, produced by George Martin, features a softer guitar solo and the orchestral section mixed low, compared with the album version, produced by Phil Spector, featuring a more aggressive guitar solo and the orchestral sections mixed higher.
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