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![Let It Be Special Edition [Deluxe 2 CD]](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/81KuykWW4SL._AC_UL116_SR116,116_.jpg)
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I resisted buying this CD for a long time because I've always liked the original Let It Be album, and the reviews of Naked led me to believe that it just muddied the waters and was not a clear improvement on the Phil Spector-produced version. But in the end, I decided that it all comes down to this: If you wanted someone to make an album out of the "Get Back" session tapes, would you rather have it be Phil Spector or Paul McCartney? There is only one answer to that question, and it's not Phil Spector. Due to circumstances that got out of McCartney's control (and may have been partly is own fault), Spector got to make his album 33 years before McCartney did, which means that it has become entrenched as part of Beatles culture and is hard to replace. But better late than never. I think the Naked version of Let It Be is clearly superior than the original. I wouldn't go so far as to say it's a revelation, but it is simply a better presentation of the material.
For starters, the fragments "Dig It" and "Maggie May" have been dropped in favor of "Don't Let Me Down," a full-fledged song that was played on the rooftop and should have been included on the original album. My only major beef with the Spector album was how overproduced and maudlin "The Long And Winding Road" sounds. This was also McCartney's main objection, and the Naked version takes care of that problem, presenting the song in a straightforward manner. Rather than sounding overblown, it actually sounds kind of humble, and I am no longer tempted to skip over it. "Across The Universe" also benefits significantly from the lack of embellishments. While I've always thought Phil Spector's version was beautiful, I now realize that his post production was unnecessary. The song is even better in this stripped-down version, with just John Lennon's voice and guitar and a few subtle echo effects. "I Me Mine" is another song that Spector altered substantially, lengthening it and adding orchestration. Let It Be...Naked wisely maintains Spector's edit for length but drops the orchestration--the best of both worlds, although I do think this is one of the weaker songs on either version of the album. George Harrison's other song, "For You Blue," benefits from a more prominent acoustic rhythm guitar that provides backbone. Some of the other songs, such as "The One After 909" and "I've Got A Feeling," also sound a little punchier in these new mixes, for reasons I can't quite put my finger on yet.
I think the decision to drop the between-song banter was the right one. It was included on the original album mostly because it was meant to accompany the Let It Be film. It was fun in that context, but I don't need to hear it all over again. I also think the banter tends to get old after awhile. I don't need to hear John singing about "Sweet Loretta Fart" every single time I listen to the song "Get Back." The track sequence of Naked is perfect, with "Get Back" leading the charge and "Let It Be" bringing it all home at the end. I've always thought the original album sags a bit in the middle of side two, thanks mostly to the bad version of "The Long And Winding Road," but Naked has no such problems. The placement of George Harrison's "For You Blue" in the #3 spot was a bold move that somehow works, maybe because the song is so simple and happy, helping to set the tone for everything that follows. My only quibble with Let It Be...Naked is that I miss George's big, bombastic guitar solo on the title song. The solo on the Naked version sounds a bit wobbly to me. Maybe it will grow on me, but at any rate, it's a small price to pay for all of the obvious improvements. I'm pretty sure that from now on I'm going to be listening to the Naked version of Let It Be much more often than the original. I love John, but his enlistment of Phil Spector to produce the Let It Be album in 1970 was a misstep. Paul was right all along.
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