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List Price: $18.98 | | Label: Capitol
Salesrank: 1420
Released: November 18, 2003 |
| Our Price: $12.40 |
| Used Price: $6.13 |
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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. The 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 exclusive reissue of 2003 album. This Toshiba/EMI pressing features an insert with Japanese text & lyrics in Japanese & English. Manufactured & pressed in Japan. This album has been direct metal mastered from a digitally remastered original tape to give the best possible sound quality. Includes a bonus seven inch single featuring a unique insight into the Beatles at work in rehearsal & in the studio during January 1969. Gatefold sleeve. 2003.
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:
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.
Let It Be...... Betrayed
2009-09-30 - It's not that this CD is terrible. The Remix/Remastering is excellent. It's just that Paul Betrayed the Original Premise of the "Get Back Project" Again. The Premise was NO OVERDUBS. Now The Beatles betrayed it themselves during the original sessions. And Paul Allowed it to happen again. The Version of "Let It Be" is the same one that 1st betrayed the no over dub rule. He should have used the "There will be no sorrow version from the film and Anthology video. He also mixed take 1 and 2 of the rooftop "Don't Let Me Down". Using the version where Lennon flubs the line would have been sticking to the "Warts and All" idea. Plus the flub does not ruin the song. Either the 2nd or 3rd Live Rooftop version of "Get Back" would have been a more "Naked" choice than the shortened studio version used here. Either the 8 plus minute, or Glyn Johns shortened 4 minute Get Back Mix 2 version would have been nice. The best thing is, with all the "Get Back" Material in circulation, one can go out and make any version you like to suit your taste. So dig this one, then go out and be creative and make your Own "Get Back"/ "Let It Be" Mix.
