Review of Let It Be (1970) by Stephen M — 10 May 2008

I wouldn't be surprised if the reason why "Let It Be" is so difficult to obtain legally has something to do with Paul McCartney's awareness that he comes across as a bit of a twat in it. When he's not bullying George Harrison about his playing, he's bitching to John Lennon about Harrison's reluctance to perform in front of a live audience. There's also something cringe-making about the way in which McCartney earnestly pitches his songs ("Let It Be" and "The Long and Winding Road") straight down the barrel of the camera, while the other band members generally try to ignore the film crew.

In the short-term, giving up touring in 1966 immeasurably improved the quality of both The Beatles' song-writing and their record production, but it also gave them too much free time to devote themselves to dubious religious enlightenment and naïve business ventures; in the era of Peace and Love they were a soft touch for parasitic spongers. If the formation of Apple Corps was a significant nail in the coffin of The Beatles, so too was the fact that, by stopping touring, they had effectively cut themselves off from their raison d'être: their audience. The famous rooftop concert that ends "Let It Be" is the perfect metaphor for the demise of The Beatles themselves. There they are on the roof of the Apple Building, working-class heroes turned businessmen, playing their hearts out for the public one last time - to a crowd of curious but largely unappreciative white-collar conservatives. It's a spectacle as tragic as it is uplifting.