LET IT BE

Let it Be is an album which is maligned by many of the more fanatical Beatles followers. I've always found it baffling that people hate it simply because it was recorded before Abby Road, but release after; Somehow stealing the thunder of Abby Road as their swan song. I think the comparisons between the two albums are unfair. While I consider Abby Road to be the better album, I feel that neither it nor Let it Be are in any way diminished by where they fit chronologically into their album catalogue.

For what it's worth I've always felt that Let it Be, with all its laid back charm has always made for a more genuine conclusion to the Beatles illustrious career. Let it Be is an album, which to me sounds authentic and just a touch melancholy. The Beatles went out with neither a bang nor a whimper and instead just closed out rocking; which is what it's all about in the end.

Let it Be isn't a perfect album, nor a very progressive one. I would certainly given Let it Be four stars rather than three for my own personal tastes rather three here at PA. None of the songs are all that complex, but for the most part they sure do sound pretty. The kick off track, Two of Us as well as Dig a Pony, Dig It, Maggie Mae, I've Got a Feeling, One after 909, For You Blue and Get Back exude a simple freewheeling joy which you can't find in much of their later work. It's hard to believe that tensions were at their highest around this time.

Across the Universe, I Me Mine, Lit it Be, The Long and Winding Road are the source of most of the melancholy. I Me Mine is probably the only track which I out and out hate from the album. The vocals grate me. Across the Universe for how spectacular the name might be isn't a huge explosion of glorious sound, but rather a timid ballad.

Let it Be is in a battle with The Long and Winding Road and Get Back for star attraction on the album. It is one of the essential Paul McCartney pieces. It is powerfully optimistic in spite of it's more toned down nature and snide introduction by John. The Long and Winding Road provides a measure of closure for the band. I am a fan of strings, but I've been curious about hearing the version without it as I understand it was a production rather than a band decision. It might fit in a bit better with the rest of the album. Whether or not the band made the final decision, it is one of the most heartfelt Beatles Tracks. There could be no better finale to both the album and the career of the Beatles than Get Back. It leaps out of the calm demeanour of the album and rocks shamelessly. The poetic significance of a song bidding for people to get back to where they once belonged isn't lost either.

Not much of a prog album, but very good honest rock album. Three out of Four stars.