LET IT BE

"Let It Be" is the 12th and final full-length studio album by UK rock act The Beatles. The album was released through Apple Records in May 1970. The material on the album was predominantly recorded in January 1969 before the recording sessions for the band´s preceeding album release "Abbey Road (1969)", but ultimately released after that album. However the sessions for the album (which was initially to be titled "Get Back") were disastrous for the band. Fights over musical details, arguments over behaviour and future plans, meant that the music was recorded in an atmoshere of animosity and mistrust. George Harrison even left the band for while during the sessions and it took a bit of convincing before he agreed to return. The initial intention with the album was to make a "get back to the roots" type of album with the emphasis on playing together as a band unit. To make an album with a live feel. The more simple way of composing and recording (without the multilayered and multitracked experimental productions of the previous couple of releases) was a very conscious move by the band who had hopes that the process would bring them closer together again after a couple of years where they had drifted apart both as humans and as musicians. Unfortunately the operation wasn´t successful and the patient died. The recorded material from the "Get Back" sessions was initially shelved. So "Let It Be" wasn´t released until shortly after the group had officially disbanded and is a kind of patchwork of material from the "Get Back" sessions and other recording sessions from later in 1969 and 1970.

The music on the 12 track, 35:03 minutes long album is predominantly vers/chorus structured r´n´b and blues oriented rock tunes but four tracks stand out from the rest. The psychadelic tinged "Across The Universe", the quite beautiful "Let It Be" and "Long And Winding Road", and "Get Back". Just for those four tracks, which are classics in The Beatles repetoire, this album is worth a listen. The rest is of a more standard quality when compared to The Beatles usual high quality output, but still quality material.

The legendary and by today infamous producer Phil Spector (currently serving a prison sentence for murder) is credited for producing the album. His production has been the subject of many a discussion as many Beatles fans feel that it doesn´t do the music justice (the overpowering orchestration is usually a point of critique), while others appreciate how the album sounds. The dissatisfaction among many fans led to an alternative version of the album, titled "Let It Be... Naked", to be released in 2003. The 2003 version is stripped of much of Phil Spector´s production work.

Upon conclusion "Let It Be" isn´t one of the better albums in The Beatles discography. There are simply too many standard quality tracks featured on the album and a feeling of the material being a bit disjointed for it to rank among their best albums. When it shines, it shines brightly though, and especially the four above mentioned highlights prove once again, why The Beatles are generally so highly regarded. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.