352: LET IT BE | THE BEATLES
Wiki: Let It Be is the twelfth and final studio album by the English rock band the Beatles. It was released on 8 May 1970, almost a month after the group's break-up, in tandem with the motion picture of the same name. Like most of the band's previous releases, the album topped record charts in many countries, including both the US and the UK. However, the critical response was generally unfavourable, described by critic Richie Unterberger as one of the most controversial rock albums ever.
Rehearsals began at Twickenham Film Studios in January 1969 as part of a planned documentary showing the Beatles' return to live performance. Paul McCartney conceived the project as an attempt to reinvigorate the band by returning to simpler rock and roll configurations. The filmed rehearsals were marked by ill-feeling, leading to George Harrison's temporary departure from the group. As a condition of his return, the members reconvened at their own Apple Studio with guest keyboardist Billy Preston. The project then yielded a single public concert held impromptu on the studio's rooftop on 30 January, from which three of the album's tracks were drawn.
In April 1969, the Beatles issued the single "Get Back", after which engineer Glyn Johns proposed rejected mixes of the album, then titled Get Back, that were widely bootlegged before release. From then, the project lay in limbo as they moved onto the recording of Abbey Road, released that September. By then, John Lennon had departed the group. In January 1970, the remaining Beatles finished the album with the completion of "Let It Be" and "I Me Mine". The former was issued as a single in April 1970, and like all the album's recording to this point, was produced by George Martin.
Get Back was ultimately assembled under the title of Let It Be by the American producer Phil Spector in early 1970. He omitted "Don't Let Me Down", the B-side of the "Get Back" single, and instead included a 1968 take of "Across the Universe". Spector also included excerpts of studio chatter and applied orchestral and choir overdubs to four tracks. The additions offended McCartney, particularly in the case of "The Long and Winding Road". In 2003, he spearheaded Let It Be... Naked, an alternative mix of Let It Be that removes Spector's embellishments.