Let It Be (The Beatles, not the Replacements you clown)
What better way to begin reviewing albums than to start with the ending? That is to say, the ending of the Beatles catalog, naturally!
Look, there are people out there who STILL claim that this record is a weak-spot in the Beatles catalog, and that it is essentially disposable in a rock music fan's collection. So let's get one thing straight right away - Let It Be, despite a handful of flaws, is a GREAT album, and we're gonna spend a couple paragraphs discussing why.
On a song-per-song basis, I'll admit this is a flawed record. Little ditties like "Maggie Mae" don't stand so well on their own, "Dig A Pony" is hardly going to convert the doubters on even the 2nd or 3rd listen, and I'll admit I've never been a huge fan of "Get Back". "The Long and Winding Road" can be really grating too if you hate sugary sentimentality, like me. But none of those are actually 'bad' songs (except maybe the "L&W Road", which actually sounds nice on Let It Be....Naked, a recent re-release which Paul produced to get rid of Phil Spector's strings and things). And there are highlights throughout! The title track obviously, but what about "I've Got a Feeling" with the uplifting Paul contrasting with the wise-cracking John? George making sure the record has some bite with "I Me Mine"? And if you don't enjoy the rollicking 50s-style rock'n'roll romp "One After 909", consider yourself no friend of mine.
But it's the record as a whole that really shines. Opening with "Two of Us" was a great idea, because it really serves to emphasize the overall intimacy of the music on here. Most of the time it sounds like you could be sitting in the studio with these guys, alternating between tomfoolery and honesty as only the best of friends can. The snippets of studio chatter help to create this feeling, as well as the rawness of many of the songs. However, the feeling of intimacy is not lost in the studio wizardry of songs like "Across the Universe" and "Let It Be", because here it is the lyrics and vocal delivery that keep the listener feeling close to the performers. And this closeness is pretty consistent even through juxtapositions like "Dig It" - "Let It Be" - "Maggie Mae".
I have one final word in this album's favor: it's diverse. That should go without saying considering who we're talking about here, but sometimes people seem to forget. Yeah, there's a lot of musical rawness, but no one is gonna call the title track a 'raw' studio recording. Sure there are ballads and introspection, but no one puts "Get Back" in that pigeonhole. There's some shuffling, some waltzing, some gospel, and some plain old rock'n'roll. And the vocal melodies and harmonies? Look folks, it's the Beatles. End of review.
PS - On the whole Phil Spector thing: yeah he blew it with "Long and Winding", but I give him a definite thumbs up for the album as a whole. The intimacy I described in the review doesn't happen without a producer who KNOWS WHAT HE'S DOING and Phil clearly does. Choosing his studio chatter carefully, leaving some songs dirty while cleaning others up, then pacing the album by interspersing the polished amongst the raw - yeah, this guy deserves his fair share of the credit for how positive this album turned out. Too bad he was a loony.
What better way to begin reviewing albums than to start with the ending? That is to say, the ending of the Beatles catalog, naturally!
Look, there are people out there who STILL claim that this record is a weak-spot in the Beatles catalog, and that it is essentially disposable in a rock music fan's collection. So let's get one thing straight right away - Let It Be, despite a handful of flaws, is a GREAT album, and we're gonna spend a couple paragraphs discussing why.
On a song-per-song basis, I'll admit this is a flawed record. Little ditties like "Maggie Mae" don't stand so well on their own, "Dig A Pony" is hardly going to convert the doubters on even the 2nd or 3rd listen, and I'll admit I've never been a huge fan of "Get Back". "The Long and Winding Road" can be really grating too if you hate sugary sentimentality, like me. But none of those are actually 'bad' songs (except maybe the "L&W Road", which actually sounds nice on Let It Be....Naked, a recent re-release which Paul produced to get rid of Phil Spector's strings and things). And there are highlights throughout! The title track obviously, but what about "I've Got a Feeling" with the uplifting Paul contrasting with the wise-cracking John? George making sure the record has some bite with "I Me Mine"? And if you don't enjoy the rollicking 50s-style rock'n'roll romp "One After 909", consider yourself no friend of mine.
But it's the record as a whole that really shines. Opening with "Two of Us" was a great idea, because it really serves to emphasize the overall intimacy of the music on here. Most of the time it sounds like you could be sitting in the studio with these guys, alternating between tomfoolery and honesty as only the best of friends can. The snippets of studio chatter help to create this feeling, as well as the rawness of many of the songs. However, the feeling of intimacy is not lost in the studio wizardry of songs like "Across the Universe" and "Let It Be", because here it is the lyrics and vocal delivery that keep the listener feeling close to the performers. And this closeness is pretty consistent even through juxtapositions like "Dig It" - "Let It Be" - "Maggie Mae".
I have one final word in this album's favor: it's diverse. That should go without saying considering who we're talking about here, but sometimes people seem to forget. Yeah, there's a lot of musical rawness, but no one is gonna call the title track a 'raw' studio recording. Sure there are ballads and introspection, but no one puts "Get Back" in that pigeonhole. There's some shuffling, some waltzing, some gospel, and some plain old rock'n'roll. And the vocal melodies and harmonies? Look folks, it's the Beatles. End of review.
PS - On the whole Phil Spector thing: yeah he blew it with "Long and Winding", but I give him a definite thumbs up for the album as a whole. The intimacy I described in the review doesn't happen without a producer who KNOWS WHAT HE'S DOING and Phil clearly does. Choosing his studio chatter carefully, leaving some songs dirty while cleaning others up, then pacing the album by interspersing the polished amongst the raw - yeah, this guy deserves his fair share of the credit for how positive this album turned out. Too bad he was a loony.
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