Let It Be (song)

• 1. Dreams And Visions

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  Paul McCartney dreamed of his mother Mary Patricia McCartney in 1956 after she had died of cancer. He was fourteen years old at the time. The dream told him to let it be and that all would be alright. This vision became the seed for a song written by McCartney himself. Another account exists from road manager Malcolm Evans who claimed McCartney saw him during meditation sessions in India in March 1968. Evans stated Paul came to him saying let it be while he stood there. Evans also recalled driving McCartney home at three o'clock in the morning during rain and darkness in London. McCartney initially called the song Brother Malcolm before changing the title to avoid confusion.

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• 2. Recording Sessions And Takes

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  The Beatles rehearsed Let It Be properly at Twickenham Film Studios on the 3rd of January 1969. They recorded only mono tracks for syncing film cameras without making multi-track recordings for release. A single take featured McCartney alone playing piano and singing vocals. The first attempt with other band members occurred on the 8th of January 1969. Multi-track recording began on the 23rd of January at Apple Studios. The master take arrived on the 31st of January 1969 as part of an Apple studio performance. McCartney played a Blüthner piano while Lennon used a six-string electric bass. George Harrison and Ringo Starr took their usual roles on guitar and drums respectively. Billy Preston contributed Hammond organ sounds. Take 27-A served as the basis for all officially released versions of the song. Take 27-B appeared in the film Let It Be alongside Two of Us and The Long and Winding Road.

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• 3. Production Conflicts And Mixes

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  George Martin produced the single version released on the 6th of March 1970. This mix featured softer guitar solos and orchestral sections mixed low compared to the album version. Phil Spector remixed the track for the Let It Be album on the 26th of March 1970. His version included Harrison's second guitar solo overdub and more prominent orchestration. Spector added delay effects to Starr's hi-hat during the second verse. He also increased backing vocal volume significantly. Glyn Johns attempted mixes on the 28th of May 1969 and again on the 5th of January 1970 but these remained unreleased until later decades. The 1969 Johns version best exemplified his drum recording techniques. These early attempts were eventually included in the 2021 Super Deluxe release of the album.

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• 4. Posthumous Releases And Restorations

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  A previously unreleased January 1969 take appeared on Anthology 3 in 1996. This version recorded on the 25th of January 1969 lacked heavy production elements. McCartney had not yet written the final verse when this take was captured. Studio talk between Lennon and McCartney preceded a the 31st of January 1969 take. Another version emerged on Let It Be... Naked in 2003 using parts from both Take 27-A and 27-B. Ringo Starr disliked Phil Spector's drumming approach so this remix featured his original stripped-down style. Tom-tom overdub rolls disappeared entirely from this version. A new mix of the film take called Take 28 appeared on the 2021 Super Deluxe edition of the album. The single version originally showed incorrect running time of four minutes one second instead of three minutes fifty-two seconds.

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• 5. Critical Reception And Legacy

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  Derek Johnson reviewed the single for NME admiring McCartney's performance and pseudo-religious lyrics. John Gabree found the lyrics dangerous politically but viewed it as possibly McCartney's best musical work. Richard Williams said McCartney's compositions seemed looser and less concise than before. AllMusic critic Richie Unterberger described it as one of the band's most popular ballads. Ian MacDonald claimed it achieved popularity out of proportion to its artistic weight. Richard Riegel included it on his 1996 list of ten most overrated Beatles tracks. Lennon disavowed involvement with composing the song in an 1980 Playboy interview saying nothing to do with the Beatles. The track ranked number two on CILQ-FM's Top 500 Pure Rock Songs Of The Century list. It entered the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2004. Rolling Stone placed it at number eight on their Greatest Songs list in 2010.

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• 6. Notable Live Performances

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  McCartney performed Let It Be during Live Aid charity concert on the 13th of July 1985 facing a global television audience exceeding one billion people. His microphone failed for the first two minutes making hearing impossible for stadium attendees. David Bowie Bob Geldof Alison Moyet and Pete Townshend returned to stage to back him up. He later joked about changing lyrics to include feedback. A memorial service for Linda McCartney took place at St Martin-in-the-Fields church in Trafalgar Square in 1998. McCartney Harrison and Starr sang together before a congregation of seven hundred people. Concert for New York City occurred on the 20th of October 2001 at Madison Square Garden following September 11 attacks. McCartney led a crowd rousing rendition as part of that finale. He performed privately for Russian president Vladimir Putin in Kremlin before playing Moscow Red Square in 2003.

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