Let It Be

:"Let it be" may also refer to a translation of the French phrase Laissez-faire, or the Hebrew word amen.

The Get Back sessions

The album, originally titled Get Back, was planned to be the Beatles coming full circle. After increasing use of overdubs and multi-layered recordings on recent albums, the group wanted to record the new album live in the studio, just as they had done for their first few albums in the early 1960s. In keeping with the concept, the cover artwork was going to be an update of the cover of their first album, Please Please Me, with the band looking down the stairwell of EMI's headquarters office block in Manchester Square, London.

Related Topics:
Overdub - 1960s - Please Please Me

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There were discussions during the January 1969 rehearsals at Twickenham Studios about possibly recording the album completely live during a surprise concert performance - possibly in a dance hall or on top of a submarine. The actual live performance was on the rooftop of The Beatles' Apple Studios at 3 Savile Row; this concert was cut short by the police after local complaints about the noise, though several of the songs recorded during the rooftop concert did eventually wind up on the album.

Related Topics:
January - 1969 - Twickenham Studios

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Hundreds of songs were rehearsed during the Get Back sessions, including covers "Stand By Me", "Ain't She Sweet", "Maggie Mae", "Words Of Love", "Blue Suede Shoes", and songs that would eventually end up on Abbey Road including "Mean Mister Mustard", "Maxwell's Silver Hammer", "Oh! Darling", "She Came In Through The Bathroom Window" and "Golden Slumbers". A number of early versions of songs that would eventually end up on Beatles solo albums were also rehearsed, including Lennon's "Jealous Guy" (which was called "Child Of Nature" at the time), Harrison's "All Things Must Pass", and McCartney's "Teddy Boy" and "Junk" (which was originally written for the White Album).

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Apple Electronics' Magic Alex had promised the band the world's first 72-track studio for the recording of this album, but unfortunately, the results of his efforts were pathetic and unusable. The band instead had to borrow two 4-track machines from EMI.

Related Topics:
Magic Alex - EMI

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