I mean, the orchestrations...and the production...
The guys wanted to record an album like in early days ("their intention being to return to the live-in-the-studio set-up thath harked back to their earliest days with EMI." (Anthology booklet).
The best songs on the album are those orchestrated: Across The Universe, The Long And Winding Road, I Me Mine.
Of course, album shows Spector's eccentricism (is that the correct word?): Beatles talking at the start and the end of songs, songs like Maggie Mae, Dig It, Get Back leaving "unfinished"...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Let_It_Be_(album)

I've never been a huge fan of the album & i think Spector wrecked a lot of the
songs by putting that orchestration & chit-chat on the album!
He was a brilliant producer of those Ronettes etc recordings but i don't think he
did the beatles a lot of favours. It's just my opinion I Me Mine has probley the
best orchestration for me that works. i like the Long & Winding Road without the
orchestration, as on the Naked album. and i've preferred the Wildlife version of
Across The Universe.

Paul said he ruined his songs on the album if thats any indication to you.

I think 'Let It Be' is easily their worst and Spectors production has something to do with it (although he didnt have a lot to work with in all honesty).

I don't like the strings and angel choirs much at all.

I love the talking by the Beatles though!

Even at the time of the album's release, we had access to the original takes before Phil Spector's production work.  Nearly everyone preferred the original takes.  I bought the album, but taped the pre-orchestrated songs when played on the radio.

I've always had a bit of a soft spot for Let It Be. I believe Spector did an OK job, though most of the work had already been completed by Glyn Johns. Long And Winding Road didn't need orchestrating - best version - Anthology 3, but at least he was able to make something of I Me Mine. I like the chatter between them, and I think there should have been more - as Spector originally intended. On the other hand I can't stand Let It Be...Naked.

They could have had more on it but it's ok, Naked that is. There are a few things on Let It Be but it's in some way not the best set of tunes for whatever reason.

The bottom line for me is that I vastly prefer Let It Be Naked to Phil Spector's original production of Let It Be .

quite frankly i hate the guy....

  did you know that he fired off guns in the studio when lennon was recording.... crazy... idk but that's what my mom heard on court tv....  from that one japenese girl lennon had an affair with....

That's a true story, DSL. Spector fired a gun into the air, right next to the recording engineer. The guy was furious-- these guys make their living based on their hearing, and to have a gun go off next to the guy's head was inexcusable, for any number of reasons. I'm pretty sure the recording crew chewed him a new one over that, no matter that Spector could throw his own hissy fits in the studio.

I think overall I'd give Specter a B+ for what he had to work with.  I like the "fly on the wall" bits (in fact it's hard to listen to "Naked" without the little bits).  I give him props for including "Maggie Mae" which in some respects is most representative of the sessions, if not "great art."  

He clearly overdoes "The Long and Winding Road", but I find the song itself a little cloying to begin with.  It's certainly no "Let it Be."  I wonder what George Martin would have done with it.  Probably something alot more tasteful.

Specter shines on "I Me Mine" beefing up the song and extending it.  I like his version of "Across the Universe"--the strings are almost sappy, but the slowed down speed gives John a spacier feel appropriate to the song.  

The real knuckleheads are the Beatles themselves for not doing a final version of "All Things Must Pass" and making John take an hour (or day) more to write some decent words for "I Dig a Pony" which could have been a killer track.  

Yes, i heard that there was bootleg tape somewhere recorded during the
'Rock & Roll' sessions with Lennon saying, 'Phil, just put the gun down!'
Phil Spector was a brilliant producer in the 60's but a total weirdo!

Let It Be is great and so is Across the Universe. I don't like the Long and Winding road, though the Naked version doesn't do much for me either. Y'know, Let It Be isn't really a great album. I think Spector did the best with what he had. And I love his work with John.
He may be a psychopath and a murderer (probably), but that doesn't stop me from enjoying his work.

Quoted from Mairi

He may be a psychopath and a murderer (probably), but that doesn't stop me from enjoying his work.

Here's a nice painting by Hitler for you to admire  

It's interesting that you should post that. I just did a project on Hitler for history class. To be honest I find his artwork rather bland. It may be technically good, but you could buy that stuff at a gift shop. No wonder he was rejected by art schools.

Wow, is that really a painting by Hitler? *fires a gun into the air next to it*

I forget who said it, but someone once pointed out, "If Hitler had been a better artist, we might never have had World War II."

Oh, dear. I'd better play some Beatles quick, to cheer me up!

ya... but imagine how different history would be if he was accepted by one...

Quoted from harihead

Wow, is that really a painting by Hitler? *fires a gun into the air next to it*

I forget who said it, but someone once pointed out, "If Hitler had been a better artist, we might never have had World War II."

Oh, dear. I'd better play some Beatles quick, to cheer me up!

He applied for acceptance to The Vienna Acadamey but was rejected. Old Adolf was bit of a bohemian before WW1 - hung out in Vienna, did paintings for tourists, hung out in coffee bars talking with other artists. He didn't smoke or drink and was a vegetarian, loved children and animals, enjoyed movies and the opera.
Germany was awash with radical left and right wing parties after the war. Even the maligned Weimar Government's stated aim was to undo the injustices of Versailles. War in Europe at some point was probably a certainty. The blaming of the war soley on Hitler and letting the German State off the hook as being tricked is generally out of favour with modern historians.

Spector was & still is a Looney!
I've never been a big fan of the Let It Be album myself though it does have
some great songs on it (long & winding road, I Me Mine, Two of Us & the title track
itself). Paul was writing great stuff at this period. why maggie Mae & the short
Dig It are on the album, i don't know!

Quoted from Kevin

The blaming of the war soley on Hitler and letting the German State off the hook as being tricked is generally out of favour with modern historians.

That makes sense to me. Hitler could have been saying, "Let's invade Poland, c'mon, c'mon," and if nobody went with him, he wouldn't have got very far. *holsters weapon*

Does anyone know where I can find a "Naked" version of LIB to download, so I can compare it to the old one? Thanks!

Quoted from harihead

[...]Does anyone know where I can find a "Naked" version of LIB to download, so I can compare it to the old one? Thanks!

That is not a proper thing to do here ... and I'm explaining why to you by Private Message!  

One of the comments made about Hitler's art is how little the people are.  Not alot of portrait work.  Landscapes, cityscapes.  He was technically competent, but I doubt if he'd been a success that Europe and the world would have avoided a Second World War.  I think the Treaty of Versailles and the end of Colonialism put the world on a collision course.  

I also think of the present Islamic fundamentalism wars are essentially as a reaction to colonialism.  What is Bin-Laden preaching?  The reestablishment of the Caliphate that the Mongols destroyed in 1200s.  He wants his old empire back.  Just like Hitler wanted to reestablish the German Reich.  

I like the album and the production.The songs are very good. Let it be, long and winding road, two of us, get back,across the universe, i me mine.And it sounds uptodate to me.

Quoted from sewi

I like the album and the production.The songs are very good. Let it be, long and winding road, two of us, get back,across the universe, i me mine.And it sounds uptodate to me.

Agreed. There are some excellent songs on this album. Though I think I Me Mine is one of George's worst Beatles songs. I like the addition of stuff like Dig It, and Maggie Mae; they're throaway bits of fun. I've always thought the album should have contained more of this interspersed within the actual songs - The Beatles at play - as it was meant to be. I do like the inclusion of Don't Let Me Down on 'Naked', but otherwise it is everything that Let It Be was not meant to be.

While George Martin worked with the guys (as the Fifth Beatle - he did orchestration o SFF & Walrus at John's request), Spector, as eccentric, did everything on his own. But, like I said, I like orchestrated songs and I skip the others: I've Got A Feeling, I Dig A Pony, One After 909 (version from the 60s is sooooo much better), For you Blue...

I think Spector did a great job producing Let It Be, it could have been better possibly, but overall I think he did alright.  I don't understand why Paul hated the orchestration on The Long & Winding Road, since he does that version live more than the one in the LIB documentary.

Quoted from Wayne L.

I think Spector did a great job producing Let It Be, it could have been better possibly, but overall I think he did alright.  I don't understand why Paul hated the orchestration on The Long & Winding Road, since he does that version live more than the one in the LIB documentary.

He doesn't do it live with orchestration though, does he?

Quoted from BlueMeanie

He doesn't do it live with orchestration though, does he?

He does it more like the Give My Regards to Broad Street version.

I just listened to the Let It Be album, from front to back, for the first time ever, and I have to say...it's great!!!  It feels totally live in the studio (even though I know some tracks are from the Rooftop concert and some from the studio), and practically all four Beatles are playing with one another, as opposed to doing their work in separate studios (like the White Album).  

I love the chatter, gives for a more 'live feeling,' and the songs are "rough," which is what the Beatles wanted in the first place, isn't it?  A get back to basics album?  Sure there's some orchestration, but to me it sounded very, very subtle.  You almost have to listen carefully to hear it (you ask me).  

What was at first odd was listening to the album version of the Let It Be song.  I knew the single version was produced by George Martin, and that the album version was by Phil Spector, so I knew the version I was going to hear would be different.  And while I did like it for its rock sensibility, I noticed that all the harmonizing by John and George were edited out!  Instruments were filled in instead.

I was never sure what happened to George Martin during all this.  I suppose he refused to work with them after what he went through on the White Album.  He "fired" the Beatles, in essence.  

Glyn Johns became their producer, and he worked on the album for them.  His work was refused by the Beatles, so the album was shelved.

Phil Spector then became their producer, and he worked on the album for them.  His work was refused by Paul McCartney, but the album was not shelved.  Why was that?  How could it be that they could refuse one producer's work, but not another's?

And how did the singles Let It Be and The Long And Winding Road get produced by George Martin?  And if Martin was willing to do the single, why couldn't he be swayed to finish the rest of the songs?  

I think Phil Spector did an admirable job, doing what I think came the closest to what the Beatles had in mind from the get-go: rough and tumble live in the studio.

Final analysis: an excellent 'live' back-to-basics rock 'n roll record.

Quoted from harihead

I forget who said it, but someone once pointed out, "If Hitler had been a better artist, we might never have had World War II."

No, that's wrong.  We still would have had World War II because of the japanese bombing Pearl Harbor.

What's strange is that the United States didn't act or get involved in Hitler's invasions.  We only entered the war because of what happened at Pearl Harbor.

Quoted from Buttmunker

No, that's wrong.  We still would have had World War II because of the japanese bombing Pearl Harbor.

What's strange is that the United States didn't act or get involved in Hitler's invasions.  We only entered the war because of what happened at Pearl Harbor.

Not strange, needed to make sure Britain & Europe were truly on brink of bankruptcy before finishing off all the hard, expensive work.

how long would it have taken the beatles to properly finish let it be?

the material was there.....

2 weeks of hard work at the most ? maybe 3?

it would have been a classic album... a masterpiece even

and we wouldn't have all this spector/naked/ bootleg mess

Quoted from matthew

how long would it have taken the beatles to properly finish let it be?

the material was there.....

2 weeks of hard work at the most ? maybe 3?

it would have been a classic album... a masterpiece even

and we wouldn't have all this spector/naked/ bootleg mess

Well, 'Let It Be,,,Naked' is its finished form, and it sure isnt a masterpiece.

Quoted from tkitna

Well, 'Let It Be,,,Naked' is its finished form, and it sure isnt a masterpiece.

well in terms of the individual quality of the songs it certainly is

better than most beatle albums probably better than any pre 66 beatle album

across the universe, get back, let it be, two of us, don't let me down (on naked at least). i've got a feeling... classic after classic after classic

two of these songs I consider amongst the best the Beatles ever made... one of these songs will be played hundreds of years from now

let it be gets a bad rep because it is an orphaned album

based soley on the quality of the songs i would say it is one of the best albums ever made

Quoted from matthew

well in terms of the individual quality of the songs it certainly is

better than most beatle albums probably better than any pre 66 beatle album

You really consider it better than A Hard Day's Night, and Rubber Soul? I admit, I like Let It Be more than a lot of people, but I wouldn't rate it that highly.

Quoted from Buttmunker

I love the chatter, gives for a more 'live feeling,' and the songs are "rough," which is what the Beatles wanted in the first place, isn't it?  A get back to basics album?  Sure there's some orchestration, but to me it sounded very, very subtle.  You almost have to listen carefully to hear it (you ask me).

I like the chatter also. There should have been more of it. True there's not much in the way of orchestration, apart from The Long And Winding Road.  

Quoted from Buttmunker

I was never sure what happened to George Martin during all this.  I suppose he refused to work with them after what he went through on the White Album.  He "fired" the Beatles, in essence.  

Glyn Johns became their producer, and he worked on the album for them.  His work was refused by the Beatles, so the album was shelved.

It's likely that George Martin was not at Twickenham, where the rehearsals took place, and where the majority of the movie is filmed. It's not too clear how much time he spent at Saville Row. The Beatles themselves were only there for 8 or 9 days. Johns was given the task of sorting the (500 hours worth) tapes out into an album.

Spector wasn't brought in until 1970 to sort things out, so he never actually produced them while they were in the studio. It seems that Glynn Johns had done all the donkey work for him - sorting through the tapes and finding the best versions etc.

What Spector acheived that Johns didn't, was an overall feel, and balance to the record. All the Glynn Johns versions sound like they've been cobbled together from 500 hours of crap - which they mostly had. They're untidy and unbalanced. Spectors' sounds like an album. Hats off to him, I say.

Quoted from Buttmunker

No, that's wrong.  We still would have had World War II because of the japanese bombing Pearl Harbor.

What's strange is that the United States didn't act or get involved in Hitler's invasions.  We only entered the war because of what happened at Pearl Harbor.

Sorry no. You would have had a local pacific war, and anyway it's unlikely Japan could  have taken on Britain, Holland, France and the USA if the european powers hadn't been weakened by Hitler. It would have no more been WW11 than Korea was WW111.
After Pearl Harbour the United States decided not to get involved in Europe (quite rightly in my opinion*.) You were only dragged into the wider war because Hitler declared war on you.
* And you were involved - Lend Lease and "the arsenal of democracy" and all that. And remember, the US had no love of the european powers and their massive empires. It is generally considered that the bankrupting of Britain was more than a coincidental outcome of lendlease

I think Spector's version was fine. The more basic rock and blues songs didn't really have that much done to them in the first place. It sounds fine, but not quite up with the production standards of Abbey Road.