LET IT BE

First of all, is there any prog on "Let It Be"? If you count the electric organ and string-and-brass orchestration, yes, but there isn't much else. Secondly, Along comes one of The Beatles' overlooked, if not most overlooked, artistic statements. For me in terms of quality this deal is better than "Abbey Road". On "Let It Be" there are seven good tracks and five oh-not-so-good tracks. One of my biggest favorites here is 'Across the Universe', with that rich acoustic guitar timbre, John Lennon's sweet vocal tone, his remarkable singing style, and the proper backing orchestration. My biggest of all favorites on the record is 'The Long and Winding Road', which is criticized by some Beatles fans and critics alike for the unnecessary string orchestration in the background. I think that if I was one of those people, I'd be making a huge mistake because I find the orchestration essential in the song. The strings complete the texture. Also, combination of Paul McCartney's voice and the brass section accompaniment nearly made me cry. This is a piece of essential Beatles music.

The rest of the tracks that appealed to me are also mostly a matter of pop-rock numismatics. 'Dig a Pony', 'Dig It', 'I Me Mine', and others are all worth gnawing on with your teeth. (I wish the boys made 'Dig It' harder than it is on the record. Oh, well.) This is The Beatles going back to basics with some melodic riffs on guitars with sleazy tones, and with more of unique and delicious vocal melodies.

On the part of the tracks that do not do any justice to me, I can't say anything positive about them. They just sound so basic and indistinguishable. But there is one exception: there is a radio version of the title track that does not prominently feature those crunchy guitar parts. Fortunately, it is not so on the album.

Ratings/comments (if you have to ask):

1. 'Two of Us' - * ; 2. 'Dig a Pony' - **** ; 3. 'Across the Universe' - ***** ; 4. 'I Me Mine' - **** ; 5. 'Dig It' - *** ; 6. 'Let It Be' - ** ; 7. 'Maggie Mae' - * ; 8. 'I've Got a Feeling' - **** ; 9. 'One After 909' - **** ; 10. 'The Long and Winding Road' - ***** ; 11. 'For You Blue' - ** ; 12. 'Get Back' - ** ;

The arithmetic average of the ratings above will tell you that the album deserves a three. The album does not give off to me such a mixed vibe if I forget about the weaker numbers. But those numbers are there, so I have to give the album a proper rating: three stars.

Stamp: "I like it."