The Beatles' Let It Be (33 1/3 series) [Paperback]

Steve Matteo (Author)

Book Description

Series: 33 1/3 | Publication Date: August 10, 2004

The recording sessions for Let It Be were actually begun as rehearsals for a proposed return to live stage work for the Beatles, to be inaugurated in a concert at a Roman amphitheatre in Tunisia. Here, Steve Matteo delves deep into the complex history of these recording sessions. He talks to many of the people involved in the recording of these songs, and the accompanying documentary. And he also looks at the Spector-less version of the album released in 2003. 33 1/3 is a series of short books about critically acclaimed and much-loved albums of the last 40 years. Focusing on one album rather than an artist's entire output, the books dispense with the standard biographical background that fans know already, and cut to the heart of the music on each album. The authors provide fresh, original perspectives, often through their access to and relationships with the key figures involved in the recording of these albums. By turns obsessive, passionate, creative, and informed, the books in this series demonstrate many different ways of writing about music. (A task that can be, as Elvis Costello famously observed, as tricky as dancing about architecture.) What binds this series together, and what brings it to life, is that all of the authors - musicians, scholars, and writers - are deeply in love with the album they have chosen. Previous titles in this now well-established series have beaten sales expectations and received excellent review coverage - the third batch is sure to continue this success. More titles follow in the spring of 2005.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

As the brouhaha over Paul McCartney's reworking of the last album the Beatles recorded together suggested, Let It Be has quite a history. The raw edges of the Fab Four's devolution, completely betrayed in the movie Michael Lindsay-Hogg made of the recording sessions, showed through aurally in inconsistent song quality. To McCartney's later consternation, Phil Spector was brought in to add finishing production touches. Matteo takes us into the process of the album's creation, fully attending to the minute negotiations and forced compromises that characterized the Beatles' last stab at full collaboration. In the closing pages Matteo rather gently assesses the 2003 re-release, Let It Be . . . Naked, and the planned re-release of the film. Despite Matteo's rather tepid critical attitude, the book's compact yet comprehensive account of the album is worthwhile. Mike Tribby
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Review

"For such a little book, it sure does pack a big wallop. Just when you thought the ill-fated Let It Be sessions had been researched to death, Steve Matteo's recently released book sheds new light on the subject with the proper perspective of hindsight….Matteo's book…should stand as the definitive account of these historic sessions." —Marshall Terrill, DayTrippin' No. 28 (Fall 2004/Winter 2005 issue) (Marshall Terrill )

"I applaud the author for taking up such a daunting task and condensing a sometimes-confusing story into a mer 136 pages of enjoyable text. Hopefully there will be more Beatles-related books of this calibre in the 33 1/3 series!" -Ronnie, Ear Candy, January 2005 issue

"33 1/3 is a fabulous series written with passion by an equally fabulous cross-secton of today's best music journalists. This series is a must for every serious record nerd out there! And I know the nerds agree with me cause I'm having trouble keeping them on the shelves." -Edmund LeStrange, Book Buyer for Waterloo Records

"As the brouhaha over Paul McCartney's reworking of the last album the Beatles recorded together suggested, Let It Be has quite a history. The raw edges of the Fab Four's devolution, completely betrayed in the movie Michael Lindsay-Hogg made of the recording sessions, showed through aurally in inconsistent song quality. To McCartney's later consternation, Phil Spector was brought in to add finishing production touches. Matteo takes us into the process of the album's creation, fully attending to the minute negotiations and forced compromises that characterized the Beatles' last stab at full collaboration. In the closing pages Matteo rather gently assesses the 2003 re-release, Let It Be…Naked, and the planned re-release of the film. Despite Matteo's rather tepid critical attitude, the book's compact yet comprehensible account of the album is worthwhile. Reviewed by Mike Tribby in Booklist.

"Matteo faithfully details the most fascinating month in Beatles history and its endlessly bootlegged afterlife." —Austin American-Statesman, 10/17/04

“Matteo takes us into the process of the album’s creation, fully attending to the minute negotiations and forced compromises that characterized the Beatles’ last stab at full collaboration….the book’s compact yet comprehensive account of the album is worthwhile.” –Mike Tribby, Booklist, September 15, 2004

"Let It Be is far from the Beatles' most memorable record, but as most know, its inception marked a seminal time period in the life (or death) of the most influential band in rock 'n' roll history. Steve Matteo's research is meticulous, giving to-the-minute accounts of things that happened during the making of Let It Be and its depth stifles the writer's voice in exchange for relaying the chaos and controversy over these sessions (and, almost more importantly, the tapes documenting them)." —Zack Adcock, The Hub Weekly, 1/13/05 (Zack Adcock )

"Matteo's is the best of the lot, just as expected: after all, he' s done time with Rolling Stone and Spin, and wrote Dylan. For his study of the Beatles' Let It Be he has done his homework, having interviewed a number of people involved in Apple and the making of the album. In tackling the one record that many think of as a complicated footnote to The Beatles' career, he expertly negotiates the long and winding road of recording sessions and 500 hours' worth of audio tapes. The result is a contender for book of the series." —Jason Draper, Record Collector (UK) Feb. 2005

“Set out in an easy to read format…a well-written, unbiased overview of the whole LET IT BE affair- all contained in a handy pocket-sized book. A must for fans and historians of THE BEATLES alike!” –Beatlesdays

-Mention. Ugly Things/ Issue 25

"For such a little book, it sure does pack a big wallop. Just when you thought the ill-fated Let It Be sessions had been researched to death, Steve Matteo's recently released book sheds new light on the subject with the proper perspective of hindsight….Matteo's book…should stand as the definitive account of these historic sessions." —Marshall Terrill, DayTrippin' No. 28 (Fall 2004/Winter 2005 issue) (, )

"Let It Be is far from the Beatles' most memorable record, but as most know, its inception marked a seminal time period in the life (or death) of the most influential band in rock 'n' roll history. Steve Matteo's research is meticulous, giving to-the-minute accounts of things that happened during the making of Let It Be and its depth stifles the writer's voice in exchange for relaying the chaos and controversy over these sessions (and, almost more importantly, the tapes documenting them)." —Zack Adcock, The Hub Weekly, 1/13/05 (, )

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Continuum (August 10, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0826416349
• ISBN-13: 978-0826416346
• Product Dimensions: 6.5 x 4.7 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #263,272 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Well researched and written story on the Beatle's penultimate act, July 12, 2007

By 

Siriam (London United Kingdom) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Beatles' Let It Be (33 1/3 series) (Paperback)

This book differs from nearly all of the other first eleven in this series in that instead of involving a detailed look at the songs and the music involved, given the artistes involved here are the Beatles, the author wisely focuses on the history around the recordings instead.

In so doing, Matteo has produced a little gem. Working chronologically he covers how and why the recordings occurred starting with the sessions at the Twickenham sound stage and the possible idea of a live concert at a site in North Africa to follow, progressing to the subsequent recordings made at the new Apple Studios aimed at avoiding the controls of Abbey Road, and the final Saville Row rooftop concert. The book closes with the consequences of how under different producers the incomplete recordings fell into limbo to be "rescued" by Phil Spector and the subsequent history of numerous bootleg tapes from the sessions, culminating in the release of "Let it be...Naked", a missed opportunity in the author's eyes.

What Matteo does in this story telling is include a lot of factual evidence from the thorough research he has done through interviews for the book (but it seems with none of the Beatles) and technical data garnered from many other books. But more importantly he also demyths a lot of prior held mis-perceptions along the way. His covering of the growing disillusionment of Harrison and Martin as the sessions devolve into chaos offsets the more well known stories of Ono and McCartney outbursts. From all the evidence presented, the different sessions were not the gloom and doom often conveyed subsequently especially through the released film and individual Beatles retrospective comments. Despite the growing apart that had started when recording the White Album amongst band members and Lennon's growing drug problems, a high level of fun and the sheer level of songs recorded and tested, including many that surfaced later on "Abbey Road" and solo albums is testament to the creativity that was still occurring.

The two biggest new truths for me after reading the book, are that the maligning of Allen Klein due to his business practices may have been warranted in part but are offset by the simple fact that the financial disciplines he introduced at Apple probably saved the Beatles from individual financial ruin, and that given all the hard evidence on show that this group would not stay together, the subsequent Abbey Road" recording stands as a truly iconic finale and group effort.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not A Bad Read, October 26, 2004

By 

P. Serilla "Gorilla" (Detroit, MI) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Beatles' Let It Be (33 1/3 series) (Paperback)

The 33 1/3 series is really a great idea, functionally however many of the books merely rehash old articles and interviews.

The Let It Be volume, however is a noble attempt to bring together information from many sources about the recording of the album, the mood of the Beatles and their collaborators, a decent degree of technical information and the situation surrounding the album's initial shelving, it's place as the best band in the world's swan song, the re-release of the alternate version in 2003 and the upcoming re-release of the movie which has been under wraps for way too long. Definitely worth a read by any Beatles fan.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A nice look at the end of a great epoch..............., November 28, 2006

By 

S. Hirsch "ennui buster" (New York, NY) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Beatles' Let It Be (33 1/3 series) (Paperback)

This booklet is about much more than just the making of Let It Be. Instead the author immerses us in the post White Ablum rehersals, recordings, and interpersonal dynamics of the group and in so doing exposes the myth of an acrimonious implosion of one of the most phenomenal cultural forces ever to have enhtralled an entire generation. To me, it is no coincidence that the 60's truly ended, not with the tragdy of ALtamont, but when Jhon Lennon annonced "the dream is over". Anyway, this book documents how productive the group was during the last stages of it's career (which obviously comes through on Abbey Road). A welcome addition to the 33 1/3 series!