As we reported last week, The Beatles will indeed release, on October 15th, an expanded edition of their 1970 album Let It Be. It will coincide with their new Get Back documentary, which will air in November.
Like the deluxe reissues of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band in 2017, The Beatles (‘White Album’) in 2018 and Abbey Road in 2019, Let It Be has been newly mixed in stereo, 5.1 surround DTS and Dolby Atmos by the late George Martin's son Giles Martin.
All these versions feature the new stereo mix of the album as guided by the original “reproduced for disc” version by Phil Spector and sourced directly from the original session and rooftop performance eight-track tapes.
The Special Edition (Super Deluxe) set contains:
- 57 tracks -- 27 of which are previously unreleased
- 5-CD + 1-Blu-ray (album’s new stereo mix in hi-res; new 5.1 surround DTS and Dolby Atmos album mixes)
- 105-page hardbound book in a 10” by 12” die-cut slipcase
- 180-gram, half-speed mastered vinyl 4-LP + 45-rpm 12-inch vinyl EP with 105-page hardbound book in a 12.5” by 12.5” die-cut slipcase
The Super Deluxe CD and vinyl collections’ illustrated book has a foreword by Paul McCartney, in which he writes, “I had always thought the original film Let It Be was pretty sad as it dealt with the break-up of our band, but the new film shows the camaraderie and love the four of us had between us. It also shows the wonderful times we had together, and combined with the newly remastered Let It Be album, stands as a powerful reminder of this time. It’s how I want to remember The Beatles.”
Also included in the book is an introduction byGiles Martin, a remembrance by engineer and producer Glyn Johns, insightful chapters, detailed track notes, previously unpublished photos -- some by Linda McCartney, images of handwritten lyrics, session notes, sketches, Beatles correspondence, tape boxes, film frames and more.
The other configurations are an expanded digital set, a deluxe 26-track set, and a standard 12-track edition.
The bonus material is as follows...
Get Back – Apple Sessions:
- Morning Camera (Speech – mono) / Two of Us (Take 4)
- Maggie Mae / Fancy My Chances With You (Mono)
- Can You Dig It?
- I Don’t Know Why I’m Moaning (Speech – mono)
- For You Blue (Take 4)
- Let It Be / Please Please Me / Let It Be (Take 10)
- I’ve Got a Feeling (Take 10)
- Dig a Pony (Take 14)
- Get Back (Take 19)
- Like Making an Album? (Speech)
- One After 909 (Take 3)
- Don’t Let Me Down (First rooftop performance)
- The Long and Winding Road (Take 19)
- Wake Up Little Susie / I Me Mine (Take 11)
Get Back – Rehearsals and Apple Jams:
- On the Day Shift Now (Speech – mono) / All Things Must Pass (Rehearsals – mono)
- Concentrate on the Sound (mono)
- Gimme Some Truth (Rehearsal – mono)
- I Me Mine (Rehearsal – mono)
- She Came in Through the Bathroom Window (Rehearsal)
- Polythene Pam (Rehearsal – mono)
- Octopus’s Garden (Rehearsal – mono)
- Oh! Darling (Jam)
- Get Back (Take 8)
- The Walk (Jam)
- Without a Song (Jam) – Billy Preston with John and Ringo
- Something (Rehearsal – mono)
- Let It Be (Take 28)
Get Back LP – 1969 Glyn Johns Mix:
- One After 909
- I’m Ready (aka Rocker) / Save the Last Dance for Me / Don’t Let Me Down
- Don’t Let Me Down
- Dig a Pony
- I’ve Got a Feeling
- Get Back
- For You Blue
- Teddy Boy
- Two of Us
- Maggie Mae
- Dig It
- Let It Be
- The Long and Winding Road
- Get Back (Reprise)
Let It Be EP:
- Across the Universe (unreleased Glyn Johns 1970 mix)
- I Me Mine (unreleased Glyn Johns 1970 mix)
- Don’t Let Me Down (new mix of original single version)
- Let It Be (new mix of original single version)
The sessions for what was originally known as Get Back commenced on January 2nd, 1969 on a soundstage at Twickenham Film Studios in London. There they rehearsed with the goal of returning to the stage.
For 21 days, cameras and tape recorders documented almost every moment: first at Twickenham and then at The Beatles’ own Apple Studio, where Billy Preston joined them on keyboards. Together they rehearsed brand new originals and jammed on older songs, all captured live and unvarnished.
On January 30th, with cameras in tow, they ascended to the roof of their Savile Row Apple Corps headquarters and did what turned out to be their final concert before a small gathering of family and friends, and any others who were within wind-carried range of their amps.
The midday performance brought London’s West End to a halt as necks craned skyward from the streets and the windows of neighboring buildings were flung open for a better vantage. A flurry of noise complaints drew police officers to the rooftop, shutting the concert down after 42 minutes.
The Beatles eventually decided to shelve this project in order to record and release 1969's Abbey Road.
But in 1970, tapes made in January 1969, plus some sessions which preceded and followed those recordings were compiled for the Let It Be album, which came out on May 18th, 1970 in America to accompany the release of the Let It Be film.
The release of this new Let It Be collection on October 15th comes three days after the publication of Get Back, the companion book to the three-part documentary that will air in three two-hour segments on Disney Plus on Thanksgiving, November 25th, followed by the 26th and 27th. Get Back was Let It Be's original title.