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List Price: $52.98 | | Label: Toshiba EMI Japan
Salesrank: 98678
Released: November 20, 2003 |
| Our Price: $32.84 |
| Used Price: $32.79 |
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| Media: Audio CD |
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Let It Be... Naked Track Listing:
1. Get Back
2. Dig a Pony
3. For You Blue
4. Long and Winding Road
5. Two of Us
6. I've Got a Feeling
7. One After 909
8. Don't Let Me Down
9. I Me Mine
10. Across the Universe
11. Let It Be
Editorial Review:
Japanese edition of 2003 album contains the same amount of tracks as all other two disc versions but includes a bonus Japanese booklet & obi-strip. EMI.
Description of Let It Be... Naked:
Re-recorded, remixed, overdubbed and repackaged--all before its 1970 American release, mind you--Let It Be has long been the most second-guessed album in the Beatles otherwise sterling catalog. This curious, three-decade-late, stripped-down rethink offers up yet another spin on what started as a back-to-the-roots album/documentary project called Get Back in January, 1969, but ended up as the band's de facto swan song 18 months later. Paul McCartney in particular has long been irked by producer Phil Spector's grandiose orchestra and choir overdubs to the title track and "The Long and Winding Road," and indeed the "bare" versions here have a distinct, plaintive charm lacking in Spector's typical pomp. All the various snippets of studio and live chatter that seasoned the original have been removed, leaving the recordings to be judged on their essentially live-in-the-studio merits. If the intent was to "de-Spectorize" the album, the inclusion of John Lennon's 1968 benefit track "Across the Universe" and George Harrison's "I Me Mine" (which marked the last-ever Beatles session in January, 1970) in their original versions seems equally odd, the legendary producer having appended them to the album's original track listing in the first place. The rambling "bonus disc" of conversation and song snippets culled from hundreds of hours of session and film tapes may fascinate diehard fans, but it also underscores the murky, often unfocused state of affairs the Fabs found themselves in during the last year of their remarkable career. --Jerry McCulley
Let It Be... Naked Reviews:
A Great Companion Piece to a Controversial Album 
2009-12-10 - I first listened to the original LET IT BE album as a kid, and thought that it was strange, but excellent. Today, I still feel that way about it. Then, I listened to the LET IT BE...NAKED album and realized how much they 'cleaned up' the album. It wasn't that the original album had any profanity in it. It was just that they removed the dialouge and the musical sounds made by Phil Spector. I think that this album is neither better, nor worse than the original album. It's just different.
I read that Paul McCartney, as well as many critics and fans, was not pleased with the original album because he was not satisfied by the musical additions that Phil Spector made as well as the not-so-professional methods of the other songs (with all the laughing, false starts, and gibberish.) Anyway, I probably don't have anything brilliant or innovative to say, considering that there are hundreds of other critiques about this album already, but I'd like to discuss the songs:
"Get Back"- This version is different in that it does not include any jokes or gibberish such as when John Lennon sings, "Sweet Loretta fart, she thought she was a cleaner" on the original version. Moreover, unlike the version on the PAST MASTERS album, it does not include the ending where Paul says, "Get back Loretta. Your mama's waiting for ya...wearing her high heel shoes...and a low neck sweater. Get back home Loretta." Even though this is left out the song still rocks. I'm also glad that Billy Preston's piano solo was not edited from this version!
"I Dig a Pony"-The original version has a false start. You don't hear it in this version. Plus you don't hear any dialouge at the end of song as you do on the original version. This is a well-arranged song with efficient and enjoyable guitar solos.
"For You Blue"-In the original version, you hear John say, "Queen says no to pot smoking...F.B.I. movies..." You don't hear that here. This George Harrison song is fairly easy-going, but at the same time, not boring.
"The Long and Winding Road"-In the original version, you hear the over-the-top orchestral and choir arrangements by Phil Spector. However, in this one, all of this is cut out. It's more back-to-basics, and features a well-done electric organ solo by Billy Preston.
"Two of Us"-In the original version, you hear John cracking jokes prior to the beginning of the song. In this version, it's left out. This is a great easy-going ballad with great lyrics and instrument arrangements.
"I've Got a Feeling"-The version on this album is somewhat different than the one on the original album. Paul shouts his vocals in areas which are different than the original version, you hear Billy's Preston's piano playing more clearly, and you don't hear any gibberish after the song ends. This song is a well-written rocker.
"One After 909"-Here's another great rock 'n' roll song which is not too different from the original version. The vocals are somewhat different throughout the song, and you don't hear the group sing the old British song, "Oh, Danny Boy" after the song ends.
"Don't Let Me Down"-Another well-written song by John, where the vocals are different on this version than on the original version. You hear Billy Preton's brilliant piano playing as well as the great arrangement of the other instruments by all the Beatle members.
"I Me Mine"-Written by George, this is an exellent version, without the choirs and orchestral arrangements of Phil Spector on the original version. It should also be noted that John was the only member not present during the recording of this song.
"Across the Universe"-This version is different from both the original album version as well as another version featured on another album called, NO ONE'S GONNA CHANGE OUR WORLD, which was a charity album released back in February, 1968 for the World Wildlife Fund. On the version, released on the charity album, you hear bird sound effects, two girls singing choir backgrounds, and well as additional vocals. On the original LET IT BE version, you hear all of these features removed and hear choir and orchestral arrangements provided by Phil Spector. Whereas, on this version, you hear John playing his guitar and singing. (His voice is not overdubbed like on the other two versions). Plus you hear echoing at the end of the song as well as some sound effects. This is a moving version which is well-arranged.
"Let It Be"-This version is different from the original album version in that it does not have some of the orchestral arrangements provided by Phil Spector. You hear the vocals and Billy Preston's organ playing more clearly. Also, George plays a different guitar solo from the original album version and the version a the PAST MASTERS album. Along with that, there is no extra verse at the end of the song, unlike the version on the original LET IT BE album. The version here like the other two is sensational.
There's an additional disc called, FLY ON THE WALL, which features The Beatles at work and rehearsal for this album. You hardly hear any shoutings or arguments. Obviously, there were plenty of tensions and fights taking place during the making of this album. I suppose the makers of this album thought that if us fans listened to tensions going on, we would be overwhelmed, but that's just my point of view. This is nevertheless and interesting and enjoyable disk to listen to.
This CD set also features a booklet: One part consists of an essay by Kevin Howlett in which he gives his view about the making of LET IT BE. It's well-written and interesting. The other part of the booklet features sections of The Beatles making discussions and cracking jokes while at work during rehearsal and during the studio sessions. They are very amusing.
Well, after all that has been said about and done to this album, I think that this is an excellent album done on a more professional level. Once again, I don't think it's necessarily better than the original LET IT BE album or the GET BACK single released previosuly. However, it is great for your Beatles' collection. Well, there you have it. Draw your own conclusions!
Stronger and more professional than the original
2009-11-17 - I only gave the original 'Let It Be' three stars. It had some good songs, but in truth it was a pretty ramshackle and unpolished effort. I understand that the band wanted to make a more straightforward rock album, but too often "back to basics" seemed to mean "ragged and unfinished". The inclusion of errors, false starts, bum notes, silly studio patter and so on gave some songs a very unprofessional feel, particularly since The Beatles were perfectionists in nearly every other album they made.
In contrast, what stands out so much on 'Naked' is the professionalism. The songs have been re-mixed to edit out the errors, John Lennon's silly comments have been removed, and subtle uses of production are employed to flesh out and polish the songs. Sometimes a completely different take has been used, or even a combination of several takes, to get the best possible recorded version of a song.
The track listing and running order has been changed as well. Adding the excellent 'Don't Let Me Down' (why was it left off the original???) and losing 'Dig It' and 'Maggie Mae' earns the album an extra star alone. I also think the new track sequence is better; 'Get Back' is a far more purposeful opener than the laid-back 'Two Of Us', and the title track provides a suitably stately and poignant closer.
Most importantly, 'Naked' removes the Wall Of Sound overdubs from 'The Long And Winding Road', 'Across the Universe' and 'I Me Mine'. All three sound much better in the more stripped-back format; obviously 'The Long And Winding Road' is a huge improvement, but 'Across The Universe' too finally gets to show what a beautiful song it really is, compared to the overly-mystical beast it was on the original album.
So 'Naked' is a vast improvement; a really polished and professional piece of work, that tidies up all the loose ends and rough edges of the original. In doing so, it finally allows 'Let It Be' (decades after the fact) to take its place among the other classics in The Beatles' catalogue.
Five stars.
This is the "REAL" LET IT BE album
2009-11-15 - It would have been nice if Capitol/EMI would have included this with the original album in the new REMASTER series....
I have both and wouldn't consider my collection complete without it.
Let it be profitable. 
2009-11-10 - If nothing else, "Let It Be ... Naked" displays the stunning sound quality that is now possible through sophisticated digital remastering.
Beyond that, "Naked" offers a few curiosities, such as a stripped-down, choirless and orchestra-less 'Long and Winding Road', revealing the song's simple beauty, and a nice remix of 'Across the Universe'. Despite the marketing hype that this is "Let It Be" as the Beatles envisioned it, what is evident is that this is another marketing ploy (albeit a musically rewarding one) by EMI to milk the lucrative Beatles catalog for all its worth. "Naked" does add some lustre to "Let It Be"s legacy, although for all its faults, the original version is still the proper one, simply due to its vintage.
My take on Let It Be....Naked
2009-10-27 - There have already been hundreds of coherent and thoughtful reviews on this album, so this review will probably be lost in the jumble. Still, I felt compelled to say something about this album since I just recently discovered it and wanted to explain why I really enjoy it.
First, let me start with the original release. In my case, the only "Let It Be" I had ever experienced before buying this CD was the released version in its 1980's and 2009 editions. Up until recently, my opinion of "Let It Be" was that Beatles fans should just take it for what it is...a slightly jumbled, unfinished collection of rehearsals/early takes. In my opinion, the original release has some great moments and catchy songs that I am convinced would have developed into beautiful Beatles classics had they been fully worked-out and realized during recording sessions. This isn't to say that I don't like the original Let It Be release. On the contrary, I like it very much; however to me, it has a chaotic/pieced together feel and at no point in listening to this CD do I think of it as a polished and complete Beatles album.
With all that said, I purchased "Let It Be...Naked" a little while ago to see how it sounded. I went into it being pretty skeptical and not expecting much. I was pretty upset with how Let It Be...Naked was being marketed: i.e. The way the Beatles wanted the album to sound, etc. At the time, I don't think the Beatles knew how they wanted it to sound so I doubt that this selling tactic is really true. With that said, after listing to Let It Be...Naked all the way through I was pleasantly surprised. My first impression was that this album now makes Let It Be sound like a fully realized album. I understand that this was sort of artificially created (with song selection, editing, mixing tracks, etc.), so for some this may be a contentious point. That being said, I really loved the takes and song selections on this album. I think the title does a decent job describing it.....basically it just feels like some crud has been scraped away for the album and on the whole it is more direct and to the point. As someone who likes the original Let It Be release, listening to this album was a wonderful treat which helped me rediscover and understand these songs in a new way.
For me, this is a necessary Beatles album to own, whether you are a fan of the original release or not. I would still recommend to any Beatles fan that they own both versions of this album, however I think that "Let It Be...Naked" presents some of the original material in a new light and it is a pleasure to listen to from front to back.
