Let It Be
Yes, even the almighty Beatles have their WTF?! moments. Some may cite the “White Album,” Beatles for Sale or the original quickie rip-off Yellow Submarine soundtrack as weak moments, but for my ears nothing says it better than Let It Be. Of course the album came chock full with its own share of chart-topping hits, but coming after the professionalism of Abbey Road, it sounds like one of the biggest letdowns ever, especially for a “final” album.
Of course, it wasn’t recorded as the final one, but it turned out that way. One only needs to listen to the countless bootlegs recorded during the album’s sessions to fully realize that the entire project was one of boredom, disdain, and ultimately a lack of focus and solid ideas. Sure, the Fab Four was pretty sick of each other by this point, and yes, Abbey Road‘s second half would be mostly a string of unfinished songs, but the spirit was there in that album, if only one of relief and knowing that a break was forthcoming. On Let Ie Be the listener truly gets to hear a band completely fractured and listless. The “White Album” has often been criticized for being more of a highlight of solo stuff byeach of the Beatles, but even it had its dynamics and experimentation that continued to evolve the ideas of rock and roll.
One could sit around and blame Phil Spector all day for his original production job on the album, but even a listen to Let It Be…Naked doesn’t help the cause for the album much. Aside from the clean sounding “The Long and Winding Road” (which Paul would glop up himself on the remake for the soundtrack to Give My Regards to Broad Street), the “warts and all” effect that Lennon wanted so much on the album is still painfully there. Sometimes an au naturel production isn’t always the best idea. But again it comes down to the chemistry within the band and the quality of the songs themselves.
Some fans have a real soft spot for this album, but aside from George’s “For You Blue,” there isn’t much that has personally held up for me after all these years of hearing it. The title track and the aforementioned “The Long and Winding Road” are a sort of sentimentality at its most Hallmark cardish; the weirdo lyrics to “I Dig a Pony” feel like even Lennon was being stretched thin for ideas; “I Me Mine” is Harrison at his most cynical with zero humor that would at least be part of simialr sentiments on All Things Must Pass; “Dig It,” “Maggie Mae,” and the old “One After 909” are essentially throwaways; “Across the Universe” had been worked on so much in various versions that it seems like the one song the Beatles were never going to nail. “Two of Us” is about Paul and Linda, but the interplay between Lennon and McCartney on “I’ve Got a Feeling” has always had a sort of “let’s just get this over with” vibe to it. That leaves “Get Back,” and personally I always preferred the single version of this tune with the instrumental coda at the end.
For all my personal complaints, I’m aware that Let It Be will still stand as a classic by the Beatles. It’s just a shame that the guys couldn’t have taken a little break from each other and maybe regrouped a couple years later. Of course, on the other hand, it does seem like the perfect scenario to just call it a day as well. But then again, everyone had to put up with the guys bitching at one another on their own records for a few years, so there’s undoubtedly never going to be a clear-cut answer in a sea of “what ifs” in regards to the Beatles’ split.
