As first predicted here a little over two years ago, it was OFFICIALLY confirmed yesterday that The Beatles’ “Let It Be” / “Get Back” anniversary box set is FINALLY coming out.
With a release date of October 15th, this collectors' package will tie in perfectly with the long-ago announced “Get Back” book, which in turn will help to set the stage for the new six-part Peter Jackson “Get Back” film, now scheduled to air on Disney+ over the long Thanksgiving Weekend.
The volume of material recorded during these sessions is staggering … and I was hopeful that some of these lengthy studio jams might finally see legitimate commercial release. (As shown in the original "Let It Be" film, The Beatles would often warm up for a recording session by playing many of the ‘50’s and early ‘60’s hits that they used to perform dating back to their Hamburg days. As deep as their own songwriting catalog had become by this point, they still opted for the old tried-and-true favorites that drew them to rock and roll music in the first place.)
In addition, several songs that eventually turned up on Beatles solo albums were being worked on at the time of the original “Let It Be” documentary filming. And let’s not forget the full-length rooftop concert, the last live appearance by The Beatles ANYWHERE, captured on film as the grand finale of the original film. (Peter Jackson’s director’s cut is supposed to air the concert in its entirety for the very first time ever. The hope is that BOTH versions of the film will ALSO see release early next year.)
To say we were excited, hopeful and optimistic is a bit of an understatement. (While I’ve personally owned the bulk of this material on bootlegs for over fifty years, THIS was going to be the chance to get professionally cleaned-up recordings of these tracks FINALLY getting their long-overdue legitimate commercial release.)
As such, I have to admit that, while I’m still excited for the release, I am also QUITE disappointed by the final content.
The 5-CD (plus Blu-Ray) box set will include a remixed version of the final “Let It Be” album as produced by Phil Spector (but cleaned up by Giles Martin and Sam Okell) as well as the much-bootlegged Glyn Johns mix from 1969, when the album was still being called “Get Back.” (The idea was for The Beatles to “get back” to their roots of performing as just a four piece band … although Billy Preston was also present for the majority of these sessions … without all the fancy overdubs and string arrangements that they had grown into over the course of their career.)
Paul McCartney in particular was never happy with the final Spector release and several years ago campaigned for the “Let It Be … Naked” CD to be released, featuring the unadorned mixes of the material as the album was originally conceived. This means that technically, we’ll now have THREE different interpretations of these tracks, including the productions and mixes that long-time Beatles Producer George Martin worked up before the project was abandoned in frustration and apathy by the band. (Since in many cases Spector just piled his contributions on top of the tracks already recorded by George Martin, Martin has long suggested that the proper LP credit should have read: Produced by George Martin / Over-Produced by Phil Spector.)
Keeping in mind that, although it was released AFTER “Abbey Road,” the “Get Back” / “Let It Be” sessions actually took place BEFORE The Beatles regrouped to record what many of us consider to be their masterpiece and ultimate swan song. As such, we get work-ups of tracks like “She Came In Through The Bathroom Window,” “Polythene Pam,” “Oh! Darling,” “Something” and “Octopus’s Garden.” Missing is the extended rehearsal of “Maxwell’s Silver Hammer” shown in the original film, a song John Lennon in particular hated working on. Likewise, Paul’s “Teddy Boy,” which would later appear on his first solo LP yet occupied at least five minutes on virtually every bootleg recording I own, finally appears here ... but only on the Glyn Johns version of the album!
"Let It Be" has always been perceived as a film showing the break-up of the band, never the intent going in, but definitely the result upon completion. It was not a happy film ... and only rarely did the four former mop-tops look like they were having a good time or enjoying each other's company. It is a good reason why this film has remained out of print for as long as it has ... commercial copies haven't been available in nearly fifty years.
The new Peter Jackson edit is supposed to remedy all of this ... showing all four Beatles in much happier, light-hearted moments. Ironically, this is the way surviving Beatles Ringo Starr and Paul McCartney claim THEY remember these sessions.
(A telling sign for me that all was not well in the world of Beatledom was the scene in the original "Let It Be" film where George and Ringo were working on Ringo's new song, "Octopus' Garden." John Lennon came in while they were noodling around with it and walked right over to Ringo's drum kit and started to provide the backbeat. The look of joy on all three of their faces showed that they were having fun, an element missing from much of the original film but one that will be played up in spades in the new Peter Jackson edit. Paul McCartney walked in last with Linda's daughter Heather and all of that joy just drained from the faces of the other three. It's like the whole room just went cold. Much was made at the time about the argument captured on film between Paul and George and the whole "I'll play whatever you want me to play ... or I won't play at all if you don't want me to" exchange ... but for me, this brief moment of the other three Beatles being playful working on Ringo's nonsense little song spoke volumes.
Looking at the track list for the new box set, it disappointing to see that NONE of the rock and roll warm-up jams are included … and, even MORE disappointingly, neither is the rooftop concert. (Yes, you get isolated segments, just as you did on the original album release, but nothing in sequence that in any way resembles the actual concert.)
Still, it’s hard NOT to get excited about this upcoming release. (We’ve been predicting this one for the past two years … ever since the “Abbey Road” box set was first announced and hit the street.)
In addition to the five disc set, the Blu-Ray disc will present the original “Let It Be” album in impeccable sound. The box set also comes with its own commemorative booklet, different from the one being commercially marketed (and available for preorder for the past year and a half.) Covid delays have hampered this project every step of the way … but it will be WELL worth the wait once the final box set hits the street on October 15th. (kk)
NEW BOX SET RECAP:
DISC ONE: A new mix of the original “Let It Be” album (as originally produced by Phil Spector - with 2021 remixes by Giles Martin and Sam Okell)
DISC TWO: Get Back – Apples Sessions
DISC THREE: Get Back – Rehearsals and Apple Jams
DISC FOUR: The unreleased Glyn Johns album (“Get Back”)
DISC FIVE: A “Let It Be” EP, consisting of a previously unreleased Glyn Johns mix of “Across The Universe,” a previously unreleased Glyn Johns mix of “I Me Mine” (somewhat surprising to me because I always thought this song came later and was one of the very last things The Beatles ever worked on … post-“Abbey Road”), and brand new mixes of the original single versions of “Don’t Let Me Down” and “Let It Be.”
DISC SIX: The Blu-Ray version of the “Let It Be” album in high-quality sound
There has been a lot of other Beatles news lately, too. Between the 50thAnniversary release of George Harrison’s “All Things Must Pass” album (copies of the $1000 version are still available if you act quickly!), the actual anniversary of his Concert For Bangla Desh (celebrated here in these pages on August 1stand 2nd… scroll back if you missed it), a brand new EP by Ringo Starr (currently available for preorder) and now most recently, the official song-titles list from Paul McCartney’s new lyrics books, coming out on November 2nd, The Beatles have been ALL over social media lately. (George even made Billboard's Top Ten Albums List last week!)
Addressing the McCartney lyrics books, there are quite a few personal favorites of mine missing from the list (even at two volumes, it probably could have been TWICE as big!), but while doing the research, McCartney came across an old unreleased, unrecorded Beatles tune called “Tell Me Who He Is” from the early ‘60’s, which will see the light of day for the very first time ever in Volume 2.
This promises to be quite the collection with several notes and comments on each track, some old photos and hand-written lyrics, and more. (kk)
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But the song's release was almost delayed when the Boys couldn't come up with a way to end the song!
The Beatles knew they would have to deliver a landmark single as the first release on their own, brand new record label, Apple Records ... and "Hey Jude" definitely fit the bill.
From the very beginning, there was a concern about the song's length. Clocking in at just over seven minutes (coming out of an era that for over a decade demanded pop singles be short and sweet ... and typically under three minutes ... although as rock music continued to get heavier and heavier, we started to see more singles starting to push the four minute mark as well), "Hey Jude" went even further by nearly doubling the norm for a 7 inch disc.
When at one point George Martin told the boys, "It's too long ... radio won't play it" John Lennon immediately responded, "They will if it's us."
Needless to say, he was right ... in fact, it became the biggest #1 Record of The Beatles' career, topping Billboard's Hot 100 Pop Singles Chart for nine straight weeks in 1968. (The concern seemed a bit unfounded ... just three months earlier, Actor Richard Harris had taken the even longer and unlikelier single "MacArthur Park" all the way to #2 on that same chart!)
Back in the early days of rock and roll if a single ran "long" the record companies would sometimes split it on BOTH sides of the same single. (Can you believe that this was actually discussed at one point for "Hey Jude" ?!?!?)
Incredibly, putting the "Na-Na" ending on the flip side was being considered by Producer George Martin and a few others in The Beatles' camp. (Of course The Fabs wanted absolutely nothing to do with it ... this was their artistry and the song was only supposed to be heard one way. Again, this was, after all, to be their very first release on their very own record label and they wanted to make an impression.)
I can't even imagine the effect "Hey Jude" may have had, had it been split in two like an 8-track tape switching channels in the middle of your favorite song. The entire momentum of the song would have to grind to a halt while the listener turned the record over. Simply put ... Unthinkable.
Truthfully, today, after 50+ years of listening to it, it DOES seem a bit long ... but at the time, we couldn't wait for it to come on again. We just couldn't get enough ... and radio played it non-stop.
When the "Hey Jude" performance clip from The David Frost Show ultimately aired here on The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, with the studio audience joining the band on stage, swinging, swaying and singing along right thru to the fade-out, we were glued to our television sets, transfixed. In hindsight, it was a perfectly orchestrated plan of audience participation ... The Beatles were right again ... and the world's been singing along ever since. (kk)