McCartney can't just 'let it be'-- and it's better

Let it Be has always been one of the most controversial Beatles albums. The last Beatles effort to be released before the band's breakup in 1970, Let it Be was actually recorded before Abbey Road, amid much tension between the band members. Compounded with the disharmonious atmosphere of the recording sessions were Phil Spector's additions of overdubbed orchestral arrangements to the original tracks.\nSpector's treatment of the album always bothered Paul McCartney, and this year he decided to do something about it. The new version of Let It Be was released "naked" of all of Spector's overproduction, dialogue between tracks and original Let It Be tracks "Dig It" and "Maggie Mae." Let It Be… Naked does contain one song formerly omitted from the album, "Don't Let Me Down," and a radically rearranged track listing.\nThe result is a satisfying, cohesive Beatles album, just the way one feels John, Paul, George and Ringo originally intended it, minus the intricate production of the Beatles' psychedelic Sgt. Pepper days and Spector's overshadowing instrumentation but simply adorned with the creative genius of the songwriting that made them famous. Let It Be… Naked ends with the title track, an appropriate requiem to the divorce of the greatest rock band the world will ever know.