Sweet Loretta Fart

The final song on the Apple LP/CD "Let It Be" is an original composition by Lennon/McCartney mainly written by Paul entitled "Get Back".

The single version of the song has been discussed in a previous post of September 19 2010 and this post will deal with the LP version (both versions are different).

The LP version of the song was recorded on Monday January 27 1969 at Apple Studios. There were countless takes of "Get Back" played over and over on that day and when it was re-started after a lunch break both the beginning dialogue "Sweet Loretta Fart", "Rosetta" and the count-in. This take would be used on the "Let It Be" LP.

The "Get Back" unreleased LP used an edit piece from a recording made the next day on January 28 1969 at Apple Studios. This piece was simply faded in and faded out with an improvisation from Paul (Ho-ho-ho ing and all that).

The end "audition" comment by John Lennon was cross-faded onto the January 27 1969 take by Phil Spector for the "Let It Be" LP version. The comment was made on the rooftop of the Apple building during the impromptu lunch break concert. The concert took place on January 30 1969. The "Let It Be" film uses an edit of the first two concert takes of "Get Back" as well as the final takes along with the comments.

Five re-mixes of this LP version was completed by Phil Spector on March 26 1970 from room 4 at EMI Studios London.

This version of "Get Back" can be found on the Apple LP/CD "Let It Be". Most of the Beatles' greatest hits compilations would use the single version of "Get Back". ( See entry for this discography history).

Because You're Sweet And Lovely Girl

The second last song on the Apple LP/CD "Let It Be" is an original George Harrison composition entitled "For You Blue". It's exactly that. A fast blues number with George playing acoustic, John playing the slide, Paul on piano and Ringo on drums.

The song starts off with a bit of dialogue taken from the January 08 1969 rehearsal session at Twickenham Studios with John mentioning: "Queen says 'No' to pot smoking FBI member".

The basic track for the song was recorded on January 25 1969 at Apple Studios. Take one of the song can be heard on the Apple/EMI 3-LP/2-CD "Anthology 3". Once again, there is confusion in the sources available to me as of which take was used as the backing track for the commercial version. Winn states it is take seven while Lewisohn states that it is take six. Regardless, the basic track with a George guide vocal was used for the unreleased "Get Back" LP. The film performance of "For You Blue" - originally entitled "George's Blues (Because You're Sweet And Lovely)" is an edit of six and nine.

"For You Blue" was mixed for stereo on Monday March 10 1969 for the "Get Back" LP using the guide vocal from January 25 of the same year. This was completed at Olympic Sound Studios in London by Glyn Johns.

Upon listening to the "Get Back" LP line up at the time, George Harrison went into Olympic Sound Studios on January 08 1970 in order to overdub his vocal. This was completed and the song was then mixed in stereo by Glyn Johns. This mix was never used.

On Saturday February 08 1970, Apple engineer Malcolm Davies also attempted to remix the song with eight attempts in stereo, although once again these mixes were not used. The attempts were completed in Room 4 of EMI studios.

Finally, the song was mixed in stereo by Phil Spector in Room 4 of EMI studios with seven attempts. The final mix included the intro from mix five and the rest of the song from mix one.

"For You Blue" is available on the Apple LP/CD "Let It Be" as well as the Capitol/Parlophone LP/CD "The Best Of George Harrison". The song was the B-side to the North American single "The Long And Winding Road/For You Blue" on Apple 2832.

"For You Blue" was performed live by George Harrison on his November-December 1974 "Dark Horse" tour. The song was also included in the Genesis Publication as "Songs by George Harrison" CD released in 1987.

"For You Blue" was also performed live at the Concert for George which took place at the Royal Albert Hall on November 29 2002. The performance has vocals by Paul McCartney. This version can be heard on the Warner 2 CD "Concert For George".

Lead Me To Your Door

The next song on the Apple LP/CD "Let It Be" is an original Lennon/McCartney composition written mainly by Paul entitled "The Long and Winding Road". This piano ballad is considered one of Paul's favourites as he has been playing this song live in concert throughout most of his touring career.

A rehearsal run-through of the song with Paul solo on piano can first be heard during the Twickenham Studios rehearsals of January 09 1969.

The first proper recording of "The Long And Winding Road" took place on Sunday January 26 1969 at Apple Studios whereby the band ran through the song several times in order to teach Billy Preston the chords. After about an hour or so or rehearsal, a take of the song was recorded and used on the Glyn Johns version of the "Get Back" LP. It would also stand that the bases for this version would be overdubbed later and used on the official Apple LP/CD "Let It Be"; but more on that later. This particular version can also be heard on the Apple 3-LP/2-CD "Anthology 3".

There are slight differences in my sources for this blog as to the next recording date for "The Long And Winding Road". This is specific to the performances of the song from January 31 1969 at Apple Studios, a day after the rooftop concert. Seven takes (13 to 19) of "The Long And Winding Road" were recorded. Take 19 can be seen and heard in the "Let It Be" film. The J.C. Winn source tells us that none of these takes were used for the Apple "Let It Be" LP/CD while Lewisohn suggests that take 19 was also used for the Apple "Let It Be" LP/CD.

Upon listening to both takes, it is clear that the January 26 1969 recording was more likely used for both the "Get Back" unreleased LP and the Apple LP/CD "Let It Be" commercial release. The liner notes of "Anthology 3" also tell us that the version heard on the Anthology and the commercial version are the same with the difference being the later overdubs.

And so the massacre began on April 01 1970 with Phil Spector in the producer's chair: Both EMI studio one and studio three were used to overdub strings, brass and choir onto "The Long And Winding Road".

The next day on April 02 1970, the stereo mix for "The Long and Winding Road" was a combination of two take edited together from a previous three attempts at the stereo mix. This mix was issued on the Apple LP/CD "Let It Be".

"The Long And Winding Road" was also issued as a single in North America on May 11 1970 with the catalogue number (Apple 2832). The B-side was "For You Blue".

"The Long And Winding Road" can be found on the following : Apple LP/CD "Let It Be", the Apple 2-LP/2-CD "The Beatles 1967-1970", the Capitol/EMI 2-LP compilation "Love Songs", the Parlophone/EMI Capitol of Canada LP "The Beatles' Ballads", the Capitol/EMI compilation LP "Reel Music", the Capitol LP "The Beatles: 20 Greatest Hits" (north american issue only), the Apple/EMI compilation 2-LP/CD "1". The version heard on the Apple/EMI LP/CD "Let It Be...naked" is the version recorded on January 31 1969 (the same as heard in the movie).

Live performances by Paul McCartney include the 1975/1976 tours and a version of the song from this tour can be heard on the Capitol/EMI 3-LP/2-CD "Wings Over America". The version of "The Long And Winding Road" that appears on the movie soundtrack for "Give My Regards To Broad Street" was recorded at AIR studios in London in November 1983. This soundtrack version appears on the Columbia LP/CD "Give My Regards To Broad Street". Another live version came from a pre-tour rehearsal in April 1989 at Hog Hill in England. This is avialable on the Odeon/EMI (Japan only) CD "Flowers In The Dirt - Special Package". The song was also performed on the 1989-1990 tour resulting in it's inclusion on the EMI 3-LP/2-CD "Tripping The Live Fantastic" as well as the EMI LP/CD "Tripping The Live Fantastic - Highlights". The song was also performed at the 1993 "New World" tour. It was also performed during the 2002 tour and a version can be heard on the Capitol 2-CD "Back In the US" as well as on the EMI 2-CD "Back in The World". The song has also been performed at the 2005, 2008 and 2010 tours.

Come On, Baby, Don't Be Cold As Ice

The next song on the Apple LP/CD "Let It Be" was an oldie that was written jointly by Lennon/McCartney entitled "One After 909". This was actually a second attempt at recording and performing this song for commercial release. The first attempt was back in March 1963 when "One After 909" was recorded but abandoned and not released until much later after the band had split up ( see my blog entry on October 07 2009 for details).

This new attempt for the "Get Back/Let It Be" project had the Beatles playing thier usual instruments (with the addition of Billy Preston on electric piano for the recording). The song was a little faster and more upbeat than the previous attempt.

The song was rehearsed at Twickenham Studios on January 03 1969 and was the most complete song at this time due to the fact that it was an older composition. The suggestion that the song be added to the live show for the conclusion of the movie was undertaken on January 07 1969 also at Twickenham Studios. The Beatles continued to rehearse the song on January 08 and 09 1969 ( an excerpt of the rehearsal from the 9th can be seen in the "Let It Be" film).

On January 28 1969 at Apple Studios in London, The Beatles recorded three takes of "One After 909" which remained unissued. The Beatles also rehearsed the song once again the following day on January 29 1969 once again at the same location: Apple Studios.

On January 30 1969, The Beatles performed "One After 909" live recorded on the roof of the Apple headquarters building (3 Savile Row). This performance (1 take) was included in not only the "Let It Be" film, but also the "Get Back" LP and the Apple LP/CD "Let It Be". John Lennon sang a line from "Danny Boy" at the end of the track.

A stereo mix of "One After 909" was attempted on February 05 1969 at Olympic Studios by Glyn Johns for the "Get Back" LP. This mix was added to the two versions for the latter.

Almost a year later on March 23 1970, Phil Spector remixed "One After 909" for stereo in three attempts with the last mix being used for the commercial release on the Apple LP/CD "Let It Be".

"One After 909" is available on the Apple LP/CD "Let It Be". The same take with a slightly different stereo mix is available on "Let It Be....Naked" without the "Danny Boy" line at the end of the track.

"One After 909" was performed live by Paul McCartney and Elvis Costello in April 1995 from St. James Palace in London. The song was also performed live on December 13 2010 by Paul once again from the Apollo Theater in New York City.

Everybody Pulled Their Socks Up

The first song on side two of the Apple LP "Let it Be" or track 08 of the CD equivalent is an original Lennon/McCartney composition entitled "I've Got A Feeling" with the first part written mainly by Paul and the "Everybody Had A Hard Year" section written mainly by John.

"I've Got a Feeling" was first rehearsed at Twickenham Film Studios starting on January 02 1969. There is also a filmed performance of the rehearsal for "I've Got A Feeling" in the "Let It Be" film from January 08 and 09 1969 once again at Twickenham Studios.

"I've Got A Feeling" was first properly recorded on January 22 1969 from Apple Studios in London, whereby this specific take (?) was used not only for the first two line-ups of the Glyn Johns produced "Get Back" LP acetates, but can also be heard on the Apple/EMI 3-LP/2-CD "Anthology 3". (There is some confusion on my part as the source from Winn says January 22 1969 consisted of the "Get Back" takes for the song, but Lewisohn states it as being from two days later on January 24 1969.)

There was another take of "I've Got a Feeling" from a few days later on January 27 1969 once again from Apple Studios and is only available on the bootleg "Singing the Blues" in mono. The following day the song was performed again but the tape ran out and it has not been released.

On Thursday January 30 1969, The Beatles played live on the rooftop of 3 Savile Row in London (the building was Apple headquarters in those days). There were two versions of "I've Got a Feeling" recorded. The first version was used on the commercial Apple LP/CD "Let It Be" and footage from this take also appears in the film. The second take was not used.

On Wednesday February 05 1969, "I've Got A Feeling" was given a stereo mix with two attempts at Apple Studios.

Another stereo mix for "I've Got a Feeling" was conducted at Olympic Sound Studios for the "Get Back" project by Glyn Johns on March 10 1969.

Finally on Monday March 23 1970, Phil Spector remixed two takes of "I've Got A Feeling" from Room 4 of EMI studios. The first mix was from a take on January 28 1969 (although sources used for this blog include the statement that the tape ran out befor the ending of the song) as well as the live rooftop take from January 30 1969. The rooftop take was used for the commercial LP/CD.

"I've Got A Feeling" is available on the Apple LP/CD "Let It Be". A combination of the first and second take performances from the rooftop concert of January 30 1969 and with a remix including bringing up the electric piano played by Billy Preston can be heard on the Apple/EMI LP/CD "Let It Be...Naked".

She'll Never Walk Down Lime Street Anymore

The last song on side one of the Apple LP "Let It Be" and track 07 of the CD "Let It Be" is a traditional song not written by the Beatles but arranged Skiffle-like by them. The song is entitled "Maggie Mae".

This track was recorded on Friday January 24 1969 live at Apple Studios during the "Get Back" project. The tune was kept and added to both the unreleased "Get Back" LP and the Apple LP/CD "Let It Be".

The song was first mixed in stereo by Glyn Johns for the "Get Back" LP on Thursday March 13 1969. This mixing took place at Olympic Studios, London.

Finally, on Thursday March 26 1970, Phil Spector remixed "Maggie Mae" in two attempts with the second attempt being used for the commercial release. This mixing took place in Room 4 of EMI studios.

The Apple label on the original Apple LP versions contain various credits for this song. In the UK, the label reads the credit as "Trad. arr. Lennon/McCartney/Harrison/Starkey". First issue labels in North America give the credit as "P.D." (Public domain). Later US labels denote the credit as "P.D. arr. Lennon;McCartney;Harrison;Starkey".

B.B. King....And Doris Day

The next song on the "Let It Be" Apple LP/CD is credited as an original composition written by all four Beatles Lennon/McCartney/Starkey/Harrison and it is basically an improvisation on four chords repeated over and over with both John and Paul adding vocals made up as the song goes along. The name of the song is "Dig It".

Two versions of the song were recorded: the first version of the song was probably more suited to the title "Can You Dig It" as this was supposedly the lyric repeated over and over on January 24 1969 at Apple Studios. Although the music from this first version is currently unreleased, the quote from John Lennon at the end of the song made it onto both the "Get Back" LP and the "Let It Be" LP : "That was 'Can You Dig It' by George Wood, now we'd like to do 'Hark The Angels Come'". This saying was crossfaded just before the beginning of the title song for "Let It Be".

The second version of the song was recorded two days later on January 26 1969 also at Apple Studios: This consisted of John on bass, Paul on grand piano, George on guitar, Ringo on drums, Heather Eastman on occasional vocal (not on the commercial version) and George Martin on shaker for percussion. Over 12 minutes of the improvisation was recorded on tape and the longest version is available (over 8 minutes) on the vinyl LP bootleg "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da" and "Dig It" (original bootleg titles for sure...LOL !!). Unfortunately, this long version is only available in mono.

Glyn Jones would later edit this recording and present 4 minutes of the song on his future "Get Back" LP line ups. This recording would once again be edited down under one minute for inclusion by Phil Spector on the Apple LP/CD "Let It Be" and tagged with the above quote.

On January 28 1969 at Apple Studios, a third jam on the "Dig it" theme continued but this version was not to be released.

A rough stereo mix ( from version two) was conducted at Olympic Studios by Glyn Jones on the evening of January 30 1969 for acetate purposes. These were unreleased and probably cut for the Beatles to listen to.

A proper stereo mix (once again version two) was conducted at Olympic Studios by Glyn Jones for inclusion on the "Get Back" LP which was eventually scrapped and remains unreleased to date.

The master banding and the compiling of the songs for the "Get Back" LP including version two of "Dig It" was completed on Wednesday May 28 1969 at Olympic Studios by both George Martin and Glyn Jones. This LP remains unreleased.

On Monday August 11 1969, a mono tape copy of "Dig It" was made of the March 13 1969 stereo mix for acetate purposes. This took place in the control room of EMI studio three and was taken away by Mal Evans for Apple.

A second version of the "Get Back" LP was once again banded and compiled by Glyn Jones at Olympic Studios and containing the "Dig It" track. This was completed on January 05 1970 and contained additional material not available on the first version.

Finally, on March 27 1969, "Dig It" was edited down to less than one minute and mixed for stereo by Phil Spector at EMI studios, room 4 in one attempt. Quite a long history for one little improvised song.

"Dig It" is available on the Apple LP/CD "Let It Be" and was not released on it's subsequent future companion Apple/EMI LP/CD "Let It Be...Naked".

A performance of "Dig It" can be seen in the movie "Let It Be".

A proper stereo mix

Flowing More Freely Than Wine

The first of two original George Harrison compositions to appear on the Apple LP/CD "Let it Be" was entitled "I Me Mine". The fourth song on side one of the LP (the third song being "Across The Universe" previously discussed in an earlier post) was written in five minutes by George and first demonstrated to Ringo the next morning on January 08 1969 at Twickenham Studios. This segment can be seen in the "Let It Be" film. Another segment of the song being rehearsed later in the afternoon from the "Let It Be" film features Paul, George and Ringo working on the tune while John and Yoko waltz throughout. This segment was also filmed on January 08 1969 at Twickenham Studios.

During the "Get Back" project and through the recording of the songs at Apple Studios during the month of January 1969, "I Me Mine" was not recorded.

During the editing of the film at some point, it was decided that the segment featuring the song was going to be left in the film and therefore the recording of the song needed to be released on it's soundtrack. "I Me Mine" (and "Across The Universe") are therefore the two songs that are featured on the Apple "Let It Be" LP/CD that were not recorded during the January 1969 "Get Back" sessions at the Apple building.

The multi track recording of the song took place on January 03 1970 at EMI studio two. Only three Beatles were present as John was away in Denmark at the time. "I Me Mine" has the distinction of being the last Beatles recording session as a group. The session started with the recording of 16 basic tracks. Take 16 was deemed best and used on the commercial versions of both the "Let It Be" Apple LP/CD as well as the "Get Back" LP . Once the basic track was completed, overdubs included the vocals ( George lead and George/Paul backing), electric and second acoustic guitar (played by George), electric piano and organ (played by Paul). At this point the song was only 1 minute 34 seconds in duration. There was only one middle eight.

Since the Beatles were dissatisfied with the first version of the unreleased "Get Back" LP in January 1970, Glyn Johns (producer) was asked to return to the studio in order to re-compile the song line-up for a new master tape. This was done at Olympic studios on Monday January 05 1970. One of the tasks was to drop "Teddy Boy" ( a song not shown in the film and re-recorded by Paul for this first solo LP) and add "I Me Mine". Take 16 was used and mixed into stereo with an edit of some dialogue flown in from a previous take. The length of the song was still under 2 minutes. This version can be heard on the second attempt of the "Get Back" bootlegged LP. Another version of take 16 with the original count-in and take announcement can be heard on the bootleg LP "File Under: Beatles".

Another version of take 16 (with dialogue from previous take 15) at it's original length can be heard on the Apple/EMI 3-LP/2-CD "Anthology 3".

On Monday March 23 1970, Phil Spector extended "I Me Mine" by adding a second middle eight and then repeated a verse in order to bring the song to it's current length of 2 minutes 25 seconds. There were also three stereo mix attempts at this session with the third mix being used for orchestral overdubs at a later session. I assume that this is the same mix heard on "Anthology 3".

On Wednesday April 01 1970, an orchestra was brought into EMI studio one (the board used was in studio three) and brass, strings and drums were overdubbed onto "I Me Mine" after two tape reductions were attempted and completed.

The next day on April 02 1970, Phil Spector mixed "I Me Mine" into stereo once again. Three attempts were completed with the third one being used for the Apple LP/CD "Let It Be".

"I Me Mine" is available on the Apple LP/CD "Let It Be". It can also be heard as take 16 without the orchestral overdub and with the extended length with a new mix on the Apple/EMI LP/CD "Let It Be...Naked".

I Pick A Moondog

The second song on side one of the fab "Let It Be" LP is an original Lennon/McCartney composition written mainly by John entitled "Dig A Pony" or is it "I Dig A Pony". Upon observation, I've noticed that the UK LP pressings show the song on the back cover and on the Apple label as "Dig A Pony". The CDs from 1987 and the remasters from 2010 also show the song as "Dig A Pony". The vinyl LP releases in their original form from the Candian Box set and the USA gatefold both have the title as "I Dig A Pony" on the back covers as well as on the Apple labels.

During the "Let It Be" film, there is a sequence of John playing the song to the other Beatles. This clip comes form the rehearsal sessions for the "Get Back" project at Twickenham Studios on January 07 1969. At this point the working title for the song was "All I want Is You".

The Beatles' first proper recording session for the "Get Back/Let It Be" fiasco was on Wednesday January 22 1969 at Apple Studios, 3 Savile Row, London. It is at this first session that "Dig A Pony" was recorded in several unknown takes. One of the "run-through" takes can be heard from this date on the Apple/EMI 3-LP/2-CD "Anthology 3". Another version (take) from this session can be heard on the vinyl bootleg "File Under".

Two days later on Friday January 24 1969 again at Apple Studios, a take of "Dig A Pony" was used by Glyn Johns for his version of the "Get Back" LP.

The song was rehearsed once again on Tuesday January 28 1969 at Apple Studios but no takes form this day have been released.

On Thursday January 30 1969, The Beatles performed on the roof of the Apple Headquarters building at 3 Savile Row, London for a lunch time session. The live rendition of "Dig A Pony" was recorded at this performance (only played once) and this version can be seen in the "Let It Be" film as well as being the performance used for the Apple "Let It Be" LP/CD. Both the movie and the recording have the false start included as part of the performance. Dialogue from the movie both before and after the song as also included on the LP/CD. (For the LP/CD recording, Phil Spector edited out the "All I Want Is..." words just before the first verse and at the end of the song as seen in the movie).

On Wednesday February 05 1969, "Dig A Pony" ( from the rooftop performance of January 30 1969) was given a reference stereo mix at Apple Studios, London.

On Monday March 10 1969, "Dig A Pony" (from the January 24 1969 Apple Studio performance) was given a stereo mix by Glyn Johns for the unreleased "Get Back" LP compilation. This mix was also used for the January 05 1970 second attempt at the "Get Back" unreleased LP.

On Monday March 23 1970, Phil Spector remixed "Dig A Pony" for stereo in two attempts at EMI studios, Room 4. The second attempt (along with the edits previously mentioned) was released as the commercial product we all know and love.

"Dig A Pony" is a great little deep track number. It is available on the Apple/EMI LP/CD "Let It Be". The version found on the Apple/EMI LP/CD "Let It Be...Naked" is practically the same mix as the "Let It Be" version with the electric piano played by Billy Preston brought up a bit in the mix. The same Phil Spector edits are also used.

You And I Have Memories

The first track on the Apple LP/CD "Let It Be" is an original Lennon/McCartney composition written mainly by Paul entitled "Two Of Us". This song was inspired by his association with Linda Eastman as well as a reflection of his partnership with John Lennon. The original title for the song was "On Our Way Home".

An early version of the song can be seen in the "Let It Be" movie where John and Paul are sharing a microphone and the tune has a quicker tempo. This fragment was filmed during the rehearsal for the "Get Back" project on January 09 1969 at Twickenham Studios in London.

The first proper recording for the song happened on January 24 1969 at Apple Studios in the basement of 3 Savile Row, London. The first take from this session can be heard on the Apple 3-LP/2-CD "Anthology 3" complete with feedback. Another take from this session (take unknown) was used for the Glyn Jones produced early unreleased "Get Back" LP for consideration.

On January 31 1969, The Beatles performed various songs acoustically that could not be reproduced from the rooftop concert/performance which had taken place the previous day. Three takes of "Two Of Us" were performed live at Apple Studios on this day and various books credit either take 11 or take 12 as the version heard on the Apple LP/CD "Let It Be". The performance from the film is an edit of two takes and once again it is either 11 and 12 or 12 and 11. Take 10 was a false start.

On March 10 and March 11 1969 at Olympic Sound Studios in London, stereo mixing for the "Get Back" LP ensued. There are unknown stereo mix numbers, but it is known that the "Get Back" version of "Two Of Us" was mixed for stereo on these two days by Glyn Johns.

On Friday April 25 1969, a rough mono mix of the January 31 1969 performance of "Two Of Us" was made in order to cut an acetate of the song. This acetate was given to Paul McCartney who presented it to a New York trio with the name "Mortimer" destined to release the song on an Apple Records single. This single never materialized. The mix took place in Room 4 of EMI studios.

On Wednesday March 25 1970, "Two of Us" received two stereo mix attempts with the second attempt being used for release. This stereo mix was completed by Phil Spector for the "Let It Be" Apple LP/CD. The opening phrase by John Lennon "I Dig A Pygmy by Charles Hawtrey and the Deaf Aids ! Phase one in which Doris gets her oats !" was edited in by Phil Spector from a recording session at Apple Studios on January 21 1969. This phrase is also seen in the movie "Let It Be".

"Two Of Us" is available on the Apple LP/CD "Let It Be" as well as a cleaned-up remix for the Apple/EMI LP/CD "Let It Be....Naked".

Let It Be

The thirteenth and last Beatles LP before they eventually broke up was entitled "Let It Be". This LP was released in the UK on May 08 1970 (Apple PXS 1). The UK LP was originally housed as a box set which included the outer box, a slipcase to hold an 8.5 x 11 paperback glossy book entitled "The Beatles Get Back" plus the LP and cover. The book and the box were eventually discarded and the LP was re-issued on November 06 1970 as Apple PCS 7096. The black cover features four separate photos of the individual members. The back cover of the LP also features the members of the band in smaller individual photos that are black and white surrounded by thin white lines framing the photos. The back cover states a bit of hype at the top eluding to the fact that this was a "new phase" Beatles album...mainly meaning that most of the songs were performed live with minimal overdubs (which is true in most cases). The back cover of the LP also credits Phil Spector as producer although under the photos a "Thanks" is given to George Martin and Glyn Jones. Original British copies feature the Apple logo at the bottom of the cover. The apple is coloured red. Side one features a whole apple while side 2 features a cut half apple. The labels mention the artist/title/tracklist/publishing credits but no producer credits.

The North American versions of "Let It Be" were released in different formats for Canada and the Unites States. In Canada, "Let It Be" came in the form of the box set with the difference that the outer boxes in the UK were laminated and the outer boxes in Canada were not. Both featured the same book (imports from the UK were housed in Canadian copies). The Canadian box set's catalogue number was Apple SOAL-6351 which was featured on the cover and label of the LP. The cover was the same as the UK with the exception being that the cover was not laminated (as it was in the UK) and that the Apple logo at the bottom of the back cover was green and the blurb underneath related to a Canadian distribution rather than the EMI blurb. The Canadian Apple labels on the disc credit Phil Spector as producer. The box set was discontinued in Canada after six months (the same as the UK) and the catalogue number was changed to Apple SW-6386. Another difference this time: the tracklist of the songs now included publishing credits and timings; the Apple logo was still green but moved to the lower right corner of the back cover.

In the Unites States, "Let it Be" was released on May 18 1970 as Apple AR-34001. This version was never released as a box set but was released as a gate fold LP. The front and back of the LP cover was similar to the others with the exception that there are no white frames around the back cover black and white photos of the individual members, the Apple logo at the bottom of the back cover is red; underneath the logo is the New York address for Apple as well as the "ABKCO" logo (I'll betcha Paul loved that !!). The inner gatefold features photographs by Ethan Russell on either side with one large photo of the Beatles at work in Twickenham Studios on the left and the Beatles at Apple in front of the mixing desk, on the 3 Savile Row rooftop, at Twickenham again and four individual photos on the right. All in colour. The labels for side 1 and side 2 on the record are tinted red apples. This tint indicates the affiliation with United Artist whereby this LP is regarded as an official soundtrack to the Beatles fourth movie for UA. The labels mention the credit for Phil Spector.

There were a lot of negative reviews for the LP at the time and in hindsight I can understand how some people probably thought it was a step back for the Beatles after listening to the very shiny, glossy production of "Abbey Road" which had been released about seven months earlier. One must remember that the tracks for "Let It Be" were recorded before the tracks for "Abbey Road". One must also remember that "Let It Be" contains not only the amazing title track via an Apple single, but another major hit and Apple single "Get Back" as well as a third Apple single that was to be released in North America "The Long and Winding Road". All three song still performed by Paul McCartney with his band on his tours around the world. The LP also contains Lennon's "Across the Universe" and other fantastic classic rock songs.

In the next few posts we will look at the track list.