None
of "The Beatles" were ever happy
with Phil Spectre's production of this
collection of songs. However, finally
Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr gave permission
for the songs to be re-recorded, using
the original tapes, but producing them
without all the overdubs and orchestrations
put on by Spectre. Obviously a lot of
people thought this was sacrilege to mess
with the Beatles history, but not this
dog.
There were 18 months between the recording
of these songs and their release, which
was done to tie in with the release of
the movie. In between times the Beatles
had gone back into the studio and recorded
and released Abbey Road. So it came as
quite a nasty shock to the world's most
famous band when they heard the songs
again, but by then it was too late to
do anything about it. To the despair of
a generation "The Beatles" were
no more and were in a bitter feud, which
was never going to be properly patched
up. So the album stood as it was for thirty
years.
Except now it has been remixed and produced
lovingly by Paul Hicks, Guy Massey, and
Allan Rouse, who have done a magnificent
job and got double thumbs up from Paul
and Ringo.
‘Let It Be...... Naked’ is
probably today the most gritty Rock 'n'
Roll album that ever came out of the Beatles
camp. The running order has been completely
re-arranged which now gives it more of
a live feel. Don't get me wrong, McCartney's
soapy ballads are still there ('Across
the Universe', 'The Long and Winding Road',
and of course the title track 'Let It
Be' – the not naked version), but
stripped of their lush embellishments.
They come off as giving the album some
balance, rather than something off an
easy listening album, and "The Beatles"
sound like a proper band.
The songs are obviously all classics,
but one other thing that comes through
very clearly is how important a role Billy
Preston played in the sessions. Billy
Preston was called in to try and sooth
the warring factions within the group,
and inspire them into behaving themselves.
He not only fulfilled that role, but his
keyboard playing all through the album
is nothing short of inspired. The keyboards
have been pushed way up front in the mix
while on the original release they had
been suppressed way down.
It's the rockers that come out of the
best. 'Get Back' is the perfect opener
and, stripped down to basics, it fairly
hurtles out of the speakers, setting the
tone for what is to follow. John Lennon's
'I've Got A Feeling' is unrecognizable
from the original, which came out as very
subdued. Here it is in its full ragged
glory and shines like an uncut diamond.
It is hard to believe that the band had
now split forever as there is a great
feeling of comradeship with Paul and John
dueling vocally to bring the song to a
frantic climax.
The ‘Naked’ version of 'I've
Got A Feeling' is a keyboard driven rocker,
while it was a bit of a muddled guitar
driven dirge originally. What a tragedy
that the band never got to play any of
the songs on this album to a live audience.
(Mind you, the same can be said of any
of the music that the Beatles made from
Sergeant Peppers onwards.)
'For You' and 'I Me Mine' prove that
there really was too much talent in the
Beatles to be contained in one Rock 'n'
Roll band. These two George Harrison compositions
prove and show what was about to happen
when he was released from the confines
of the band. Left to his own devices,
George came up with the treble album 'All
Things Must Pass'. George’s guitar
playing throughout this collection is
nothing short of stunning, blending beautifully
with Preston's keyboard playing, interplaying
with John's guitar, while Paul's bass
playing also got more room without all
the unnecessary arrangements. Ringo, too,
proves to be a very underrated time keeper.
Even if you have the original, it is
still worth bending your ear around 'Naked'.
You also get a bonus disc with this set
which includes snippets of conversation
and songs from the recording sessions.
They give you a marvelous insight into
what it was like in the studio with the
Beatles, although it's really only worth
one listen. (John Lennon obviously had
'Jealous Guy’ up his sleeve for
a long time before releasing it on Imagine.)
The C.D. booklet will keep you entertained
while you listen to the music.
A job well done.
Pawed
by Mott The Dog
Re-chewed by Ella Crew
E-mail: review@mott-the-dog.com
