Friday, March 29, 2024

The Beatles Ready 50th Anniversary “Let It Be” With 5CD Box Set Including Unreleased Original Mix

Share

Yes, yes, yes. we’ve been talking about the “Let It Be” 50th anniversary edition for eons. And now it’s finally on its way.

Even though the actual 50th anniversary was a year ago in May, at last the gang at Apple Records has announced a 5 CD set that includes engineer Glyn Johns’s much bootlegged but never officially released original mix of the Beatles’ final release. This is what we’ll all be buying this box set for. I listened to the title track “Let it Be” last night and it really is the best of all the versions we know.

The box set has 57 tracks including a new stereo mix of the original album (12 tracks); 27 previously unreleased outtakes, studio jams, and  rehearsals; the previously unreleased 1969 Get Back LP mix by Glyn Johns, newly mastered (14 tracks) and an EP of 4 tracks that includes Glyn Johns’ unreleased 1970 mixes: “Across The Universe” and “I Me Mine” and Giles Martin & Sam Okell’s new stereo misxes of the “Don’t Let Me Down” & “Let It Be” singles.

Whew!

All of this comes October 15th, three weeks before Peter Jackson’s documentary, “Get Back,” which expands the original “Let it Be” movie into a multi-parter that shows how cool the making of this penultimate album was in 1969.

It also coincides with the release of Paul McCartney’s two volume memoir, “The Lyrics,” which covers 154 songs from his career.

And then…that will be it. We’ve reached the end of Beatles anniversaries. Apple might serve up new editions of “Revolver” and “Rubber Soul,” but basically all the albums have been remixed, remastered, boxed up, and so on. It’s been a phenomenal run, really. The only thing left would be a bootleg series, something like the Stones or Springsteen do now for themselves.

Just a PS about “Let it Be”: It’s still the weirdest story how they made the album and the movie, kind of walked away from the whole thing, and then went back and made their masterpiece, “Abbey Road,” which they then released right away. And held “Let it Be,” letting Phil Spector mix the final release. And also, that all of this was made between, say 1966 and 1969, just three whole calendar years, from “Revolver” through “Pepper,” “White Album,” “Let it Be,” “Abbey Road,” “Magical Mystery Tour,” all the singles like “Hey Jude,” “Penny Lane,” and “Strawberry Fields.” It’s completely insane when you think about it. Amazing, brilliant, and insane.

LET IT BE SPECIAL EDITION

Tracklists

SUPER DELUXE [5CD+1Blu-ray + 105-page hardbound book in slipcase | digital audio collection]

CD1: Let It Be (new stereo mix of original album)

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

CD2: Get Back – Apple Sessions

1: Morning Camera (Speech – mono) / Two Of Us (Take 4)

2: Maggie Mae / Fancy My Chances With You (Mono)

3: Can You Dig It?

4: I Don’t Know Why I’m Moaning (Speech – mono)

5: For You Blue (Take 4)

6: Let It Be / Please Please Me / Let It Be (Take 10)

7: I’ve Got A Feeling (Take 10)

8: Dig A Pony (Take 14)

9: Get Back (Take 19)

10: Like Making An Album? (Speech)

11: One After 909 (Take 3)

12: Don’t Let Me Down (First rooftop performance)

13: The Long And Winding Road (Take 19)

14: Wake Up Little Susie / I Me Mine (Take 11)

CD3: Get Back – Rehearsals and Apple Jams

1: On The Day Shift Now (Speech – mono) / All Things Must Pass (Rehearsals – mono)

2: Concentrate On The Sound (mono)

3: Gimme Some Truth (Rehearsal – mono)

4: I Me Mine (Rehearsal – mono)

5: She Came In Through The Bathroom Window (Rehearsal)

6: Polythene Pam (Rehearsal – mono)

7: Octopus’s Garden (Rehearsal – mono)

8: Oh! Darling (Jam)

9: Get Back (Take 8)

10: The Walk (Jam)

11: Without A Song (Jam) – Billy Preston with John and Ringo

12: Something (Rehearsal – mono)

13: Let It Be (Take 28)

CD4: Get Back LP 1969 Glyn Johns Mix

1: One After 909

2: I’m Ready (aka Rocker) / Save The Last Dance For Me / Don’t Let Me Down

3: Don’t Let Me Down

4: Dig A Pony

5: I’ve Got A Feeling

6: Get Back

7: For You Blue

8: Teddy Boy

9: Two Of Us

10: Maggie Mae

11: Dig It

12: Let It Be

13: The Long And Winding Road

14: Get Back (Reprise)

CD5: Let It Be EP

1: Across The Universe (unreleased Glyn Johns 1970 mix)

2: I Me Mine (unreleased Glyn Johns 1970 mix)

3: Don’t Let Me Down (new mix of original single version)

4: Let It Be (new mix of original single version)

Blu-ray: Let It Be Special Edition audio mixes

Dolby Atmos

96kHz/24-bit DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1

96kHz/24-bit High Res Stereo (2019 Stereo Mix)

SUPER DELUXE VINYL [limited edition 4LP+12-inch EP + 105-page hardbound book in slipcase]

LP One: Let It Be (new stereo mix of original album)

Side 1

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

Side 2

1: I’ve Got A Feeling

2: One After 909

3: The Long And Winding Road

4: For You Blue

5: Get Back

LP Two: Get Back – Apple Sessions

Side 1

1: Morning Camera (Speech – mono) / Two Of Us (Take 4)

2: Maggie Mae / Fancy My Chances With You (Mono)

3: Can You Dig It?

4: Don’t Know Why I’m Moaning (Speech – mono)

5: For You Blue (Take 4)

6: Let It Be / Please Please Me / Let It Be (Take 10)

7: I’ve Got A Feeling (Take 10)

Side 2

1: Dig A Pony (Take 14)

2: Get Back (Take 19)

3: Like Making An Album? (Speech)

4: One After 909 (Take 3)

5: Don’t Let Me Down (First rooftop performance)

6: The Long And Winding Road (Take 19)

7: Wake Up Little Susie / I Me Mine (Take 11)

LP Three: Get Back – Rehearsals and Apple Jams

Side 1

1: On The Day Shift Now (Speech – mono) / All Things Must Pass (Rehearsals – mono)

2: Concentrate On The Sound (mono)

3: Gimme Some Truth (Rehearsal – mono)

4: I Me Mine (Rehearsal – mono)

5: She Came In Through The Bathroom Window (Rehearsal)

6: Polythene Pam (Rehearsal – mono)

7: Octopus’s Garden (Rehearsal – mono)

Side 2

1: Oh! Darling (Jam)

2: Get Back (Take 8)

3: The Walk (Jam)

4: Without A Song (Jam) – Billy Preston with John and Ringo

5: Something (Rehearsal – mono)

6: Let It Be (Take 28)

LP Four: Get Back LP 1969 Glyn Johns Mix

Side 1

1: One After 909

2: I’m Ready (aka Rocker) / Save The Last Dance For Me / Don’t Let Me Down

3: Don’t Let Me Down

4: Dig A Pony

5: I’ve Got A Feeling

6: Get Back

Side 2

1: For You Blue

2: Teddy Boy

3: Two Of Us

4: Maggie Mae

5: Dig It

6: Let It Be

7: The Long And Winding Road

8: Get Back (Reprise)

12-Inch Let It Be EP

Side 1

1: Across The Universe (unreleased Glyn Johns 1970 mix)

2: I Me Mine (unreleased Glyn Johns 1970 mix)

Side 2

1: Don’t Let Me Down (new mix of original single version)

2: Let It Be (new mix of original single version)

DELUXE [2CD in digipak with 40-page booklet]

CD 1: Let It Be (new stereo mix of original album)

CD 2: Outtake Highlights

1: Morning Camera (Speech – mono) / Two Of Us (Take 4)

2: Maggie Mae / Fancy My Chances With You (Mono)

3: For You Blue (Take 4)

4: Let It Be / Please Please Me / Let It Be (Take 10)

5: The Walk (Jam)

6: I’ve Got A Feeling (Take 10)

7: Dig A Pony (Take 14)

8: Get Back (Take 8)

9: Like Making An Album? (Speech)

10: One After 909 (Take 3)

11: Don’t Let Me Down (First rooftop performance)

12: The Long And Winding Road (Take 19)

13: Wake Up Little Susie / I Me Mine (Take 11)

14: Across The Universe (unreleased Glyn Johns 1970 mix)

STANDARD [1CD | digital | 1LP vinyl | limited edition 1LP picture disc vinyl]

Let It Be (new stereo mix of original album)

 

Roger Friedman
Roger Friedmanhttps://www.showbiz411.com
Roger Friedman began his Showbiz411 column in April 2009 after 10 years with Fox News, where he created the Fox411 column. His movie reviews are carried by Rotten Tomatoes, and he is a member of both the movie and TV branches of the Critics Choice Awards. His articles have appeared in dozens of publications over the years including New York Magazine, where he wrote the Intelligencer column in the mid 90s and covered the OJ Simpson trial, and Fox News (when it wasn't so crazy) where he covered Michael Jackson. He is also the writer and co-producer of "Only the Strong Survive," a selection of the Cannes, Sundance, and Telluride Film festivals, directed by DA Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus.
spot_img

Read more

In Other News