Let It Be

Depending on the definition, Let It Be was either the Beatles' ultimate and penultimate album. It was recorded before Abbey Road, but released afterward, on May 8, 1970, just a few weeks after the group had officially called it quits. As such, it is something of a let-down, but has a number of memorable songs.

The record was conceived as part of a project that Paul McCartney was high on--a documentary of the band recording an album. Phil Spector was brought on to produce. But what the film ended up documenting was the end of the Beatles. I remember seeing the film when I was a kid (my father was a fan and took me), but I haven't seen it in a long, long time and it's not available on DVD.

After a string of highly polished albums, Let It Be is a raw collection of shreds and patches, much of it recorded live, whether in the studio or as part of a concert given from the roof of the Apple Corps headquarters. There is a lot of clowning around between takes that's included--the record begins with John Lennon intoning, "I dig a pygmy by Charles Hawtrey and the deaf aids. Phase one, in which Doris gets her oats." They then break into the pleasant if a little twee "The Two of Us," which has its moments but seems under-produced. This is followed by John's hard "I Dig a Pony," and then his more cosmic "Across the Universe," which again seems under-produced. The chanting of "jai guru deva om" seems more of a George Harrison affectation. There are some very pretty lyrics here, especially the line, "this wind inside a letterbox."

This is followed by one of two Harrison compositions (neither of which are his stronger efforts) "I Me Mine," a kind of obvious rip on consumerism, and then comes one of a couple bits and pieces, "Dig It," in which John includes the names of B.B. King and Doris Day. This segues immediately into the finest thing on the album, the title song, which was a big hit and an example of the strengths of Paul McCartney, who could combine a kind of show biz schmaltz with an epic sound. If the rest of the record seems slipshod, this number is polished to the nth degree, an exquisitely somber yet hopeful song that never fails to get to me. The mixture of Billy Preston's church organ with the powerful guitar solo brings chills. When I was a kid there was a rumor that "Mother Mary" referred to marijuana.

Side one ended with another short bit of nonsense, "Maggie Mae." Side two starts with my second favorite song on the record, "I've Got a Feeling," which has Paul at his soulful best and John contributing a wistful bit about everybody "having a good year." The two often took parts of songs they were working on and combined them, and it works great here. "One After 909" comes next, a song that goes back to their Quarrymen days, and though it's simple it's a refreshing rocker.

Everything that worked on "Let It Be" doesn't work with Paul's other single from the record, "The Long and Winding Road." Frankly, it this were recorded by anyone other than the Beatles it would have been laughed at. Paul's vocals are over the top, and the addition of a heavenly choir is just too much. Stripped down, this song would have worked much better. There was a rumor that the choir was added, to Paul's dismay, as a kind of fuck-you.

After George's forgettable "For You Blue" we get to the last Beatles' song, if you played all of the albums in order of their release, "Get Back," though it was released as a single more than a year earlier. This one is Paul's, a loosey-goosey foot-thumper about a transvestite and a guy named JoJo who wanted California grass. It's a catchy, impossible-to-hate song, and Paul still plays it, as he did in his recent New York concert from the marquee of the David Letterman show (it was one of the songs originally performed from the roof of Apple Corps). I still get a little lump in my throat when I hear the extemporaneous ending, as provided by John: "I'd like to thank you on behalf of the group and ourselves and I hope we passed the audition." Yes, John, you passed.

Let It Be is not exactly a soaring conclusion to the Beatles career, Abbey Road is much better suited for that label, but it does have its moments. Even in art one can't make things come out exactly perfect, but as the song implores us, it will have to do.