Let It Be (1970)

And so we come to the end! Let It Be... an apt title for the last Beatle album released. Although as previously mentioned this was recorded BEFORE Abbey Road, but it was salvaged amongst the carnage left behind some 16 months earlier by the time this was released in April 1970.

This album I LOVE. Again it is different to the previous, perhaps not an improvement this time that is true but it is DIFFERENT! Captured as live and as raw as possible this is The Beatles ripping through newly constructed songs... 'Getting Back' to their roots, back to the first album 'Please, Please Me' in an attempt to 'drop' the studio trickery, the exotic instruments, the over-layered dubs and back to the days of The Cavern... to a three guitar and drums (maybe a piano) outfit! In fact the ORIGINAL album cover was even a re-creation of the 'Please, Please Me' photo!!! (Thankfully not lost as it turned up some 3 years later on the excellent 1967 - 1970 Blue album compilation)

A side note to this, is that as a 9 year old, I first fell in love with The Beatles' music (due to the sad death of John, this 9 year old was curious as to the 'attention' and sadness this man's death brought to the world) and hence my Beatle journey began! Of course as a 9 year old I loved 'She Loves You', 'From Me To You', 'I Want To Hold Your Hand', 'Love Me Do', 'Help!', 'Nowhere Man' etc ... you get the picture...so the more Beatle music I got my hands (ears) on the more I discovered wonderment UNTIL I walked into the record shop and bought 'Let It Be'!!! Yes I knew the title song, I knew the pulsating 'Get Back' and I knew the gorgeous 'Long and Winding Road' BUT I didn't know the rest and on my first listen I was AGHAST at the 'sloppiness' of the playing, the crazy banter between the songs, just the WHOLE scene was not what The Beatles were in my head at that stage... So I literally DROPPED the album from my turntable and focused on the 'polished' 'upbeat' Beatles for my early teen years.

Then as my appreciation for music widened, this 17 year old went back to 'Let It Be' and I discovered it properly!!!! And I could NOT stop playing this album from BACK to FRONT and then BACK again!!!! It was like I could see again!!!

This album TRULY inspired my LOVE of The Beatles... The songs are GREAT! The 'Two Of Us' is TOP 5!!! What a song... and what a gesture from Paul in writing a song designed for him and John to 'Get Back' to those beautiful harmonies feeding off from each other for this most beautiful of songs...

'I've Got A Feeling' and 'One After 909' are just damned exciting and George's 'For You Blue' is simply an uplifting song and the slide guitar work by John is ANOTHER bow to The Beatles canon and the banter between George and John is hilarious considering these were supposed to be 'bad' times for the four Beatles....

Again, The Beatles show they are peerless in the art of making music....