Let It Be Super Deluxe Edition

by Kevin Howlett, Paul McCartney, Giles Martin

105 pages, Hardcover

Published January 1, 2021

Reviews

[Keith · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Let It Be Special Deluxe set, along with the Peter Jackson documentary, have redefined the Get Back sessions. What was once thought a gloomy affair has brightened up considerably. While wrought with tension – and anyone in a band will tell you there’s always tension – the Beatles appeared to have a good time when making the music together. And they did so despite agreeing to write a full album’s worth of music, rehearsing it and recording it, and performing it live in front of cameras in less than a month(!).

The various introductions are interesting, busting some of the myths around the sessions, but the core of the book is Ken Howlett’s summary of the recording sessions. For each song, he starts with several paragraphs about the song and its origin. Then he provides an interesting description of how the recording was put together.

This is all very good. I wish I had a little more information about the Glyn Johns version and the EP, but that’s all minor stuff. If you love the Beatles, this book/set is a must have.

(On the music side, I have many quibbles and questions: Why not include the full, on-the-roof performances? Why not include the Let It Be … Naked versions? (Literally, just drop it in the box.) Why does the blu-ray disc only include Phil Spector produced songs? (Who wants to hear the Phil Spector versions in 5.1 surround sound?) They had an opportunity to make this a definitive edition, but balked. (I money was the driver.)

[M-----l · Rating 4 out of 5]

(Rating is for the hardback book, not the music.)

[Rab Nichols · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little disappointing after the wealth of information and bulk of the books accompanying the other releases.