Although Phil Spector’s production style was significantly different from George Martin’s, his influence did make a mark on The Beatles’ recordings.
Paul used a fuzz box on the bass on ‘Think For Yourself’. When Phil Spector was making ‘Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah’, the engineer who’s set up the track overloaded the microphone on the guitar player and it became very distorted. Phil Spector said, ‘Leave it like that, it’s great.’ Some years later everyone started to try to copy that sound and so they invented the fuzz box. We had one and tried the bass through it and it sounded really good.
In 1966 Phil Spector signed a recording contract with Ike and Tina Turner, with whom he produced ‘River Deep – Mountain High’. Spector considered it to be his best work, but it was a commercial failure in the US. He temporarily withdrew from the music industry and became something of a recluse.
Spector returned to recording in 1969, signing a production deal with A&M Records. Although a Ronettes single, ‘You Came, You Saw, You Conquered’, wasn’t a success, he fared better with ‘Black Pearl’ by Checkmates, Ltd, which reached number 13 on the Billboard chart.
The following year Allen Klein brought Spector to England.
I think that Phil Spector approached Allen Klein and was trying to get some work, or somehow he was hanging out with Klein – probably because he knew Klein was in with The Beatles. I think Klein suggested to us that we should get Phil Spector to come and listen to the tapes of Let It Be.Phil Spector made the kind of records that I like: the wall-to-wall sound. I was a big fan of his, and we had spent some time with him in the early Sixties, when he was in London. So I was all for the idea of getting Phil involved. Also, he’d been through a bad patch and he’d given up making music, and I think he was trying to get back into it. I saw it as a way of helping him back on his feet.
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Harrison invited Spector to a recording session for John Lennon’s ‘Instant Karma!’ single; the first of many such collaborations.
John phoned me one morning in January and said, ‘I’ve written this tune and I’m going to record it tonight and have it pressed up and out tomorrow – that’s the whole point: “Instant Karma!”, you know. So I was in. I said, ‘OK, I’ll see you in town.’ I was in town with Phil Spector and I said to Phil, ‘Why don’t you come down to the session?’There were just four people: John played piano, I played acoustic guitar, there was Klaus Voormann on bass and Alan White on drums. We recorded the song and brought it out that week, mixed – instantly – by Phil Spector.
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‘Instant Karma!’ was a success, and Lennon and Harrison invited Spector to work on The Beatles’ abandoned Get Back session tapes from January 1969. The recordings had been mostly produced by George Martin, and were intended to show The Beatles without studio trickery or overdubs. At least two attempts were made to turn the tapes into an album before Spector’s arrival.
I didn’t like Phil Spector’s Let It Be at all. I’d always been a great admirer of him. I always thought his recordings were fantastic – and he actually created some great sounds. But what he did with Let It Be was to do all the things, and not so well, that we hadn’t been allowed to do; and I kind of resented him for it, because to me it was tawdry. It was bringing The Beatles’ records down a peg – that’s what I thought. Making them sound like other people’s records.
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Spector applied the Wall Of Sound techniques to a number of The Beatles’ songs. Although the back-to-basics policy was adhered to on the majority of Let It Be’s tracks, he applied heavy production to four songs: ‘Across The Universe’, ‘I Me Mine’, ‘Let It Be’, and ‘The Long And Winding Road’.
I like what Phil did, actually. He put the music somewhere else and he was king of the ‘wall of sound’. There’s no point bringing him in if you’re not going to like the way he does it – because that’s what he does. His credentials are solid.
Upon completing his work he sent each of The Beatles an acetate copy, along with a long letter explaining his decisions and promising to make any requested changes.
That made me angry – and it made Paul even angrier, because neither he nor I knew about it until it had been done. It happened behind our backs because it was done when Allen Klein was running John. He’d organised Phil Spector and I think George and Ringo had gone along with it. They’d actually made an arrangement with EMI and said, ‘This is going to be our record.’EMI came to me and said, ‘You made this record originally but we can’t have your name on it.’ I asked them why not and they said: ‘Well, you didn’t produce the final thing.’ I said, ‘I produced the original and what you should do is have a credit saying: “Produced by George Martin, over-produced by Phil Spector”.’ They didn’t think that was a good idea.
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I think the Spector’s work in Let It Be was very good. The original concept of Get Back was broken for The Beatles on January 1970 but the guilty was Spector, who begun works only on march. Let It Be was a huge sucess. “The Long and Winding Road” the last Top Hit. The Richard Hewson arrangement is wonderfull. Perfect for this take from 26-01-1969.
If you don’t liked LET IT BE hear the Glynn Johna Mixes. This will be The First Official Bootleg of the History.
The original and honest concept from Get Back Sessions was there but neither The Beatles liked this.
Spector does what was payed. A presentable album.
I definetely don’t like Phil Spector’s work on ‘Let It Be’, and I’ve got good company on this, namely Glyn Johns, Paul McCartney and ultimately John Lennon himself.
Let it be LP version may be Harrison’s best solo and is the better version.
The rest of the LP is not well produced.
Harrison’s ATMPass is not well produced by Spector. The sound was dates for 1970.
The only decent thing he did on Let It Be was on “I Me Mine.” The horn & string arrangement for that song is quite good. Everything else – “Let It Be,” and especially “Across The Universe” & “The Long And Winding Road” sound terrible.
And why did he remove the acoustic guitar on “For You Blue,” after the intro? I’ll never understand that…
The only thing Spector did right was the edits on “I Me Mine” (which the “..naked” folks re-created).
The horns and strings are superfluous, at best. The really are a distraction and, to me, an annoyance alonge with everything else he did on that album. Despite the songwriting, I always put the original album alongside CCR’s “Mardi Gras:”. Just terrible and a sad finale for each (remember LIB was releases after “Abbey Road”.).
I think the Spector’s work in Let It Be was very good. The original concept of Get Back was broken for The Beatles on January 1970 but the guilty was Spector, who begun works only on march. Let It Be was a huge sucess. “The Long and Winding Road” the last Top Hit. The Richard Hewson arrangement is wonderfull. Perfect for this take from 26-01-1969.
If you don’t liked LET IT BE hear the Glyn Johns Mixes. This will be The First Official Bootleg of the History.
The original and honest concept from Get Back Sessions was there but neither The Beatles liked this.
Spector does what was payed. A presentable album.
The first bootleg that I purchased was the Great White Wonder by Bob Dylan, which later became The Basement Tapes.
I bought the Great White Wonder several months before “Kum Back” was available.
I don’t think the naked version can light a candle to Spector’s creation.
The “Let it be” LP and single was my first contact with the Beatles music, back in 1970 when I was 7 years old. I still have the single with the fantastic B-side “You know my name”. I think Spector’s work on “across the universe” and “the long and winding road” was excellent. But today I don’t really regard this album as a “real” Beatles album. Mind you, even including “Watching rainbows”, “All things must pass” and a couple of others like “don’t let me down” wouldn’t have changed anything, the Beatles were dispirited and Spector used the bits he thought were best. I’ve listened to a quantity of “Get back” sessions bootlegs and they all stink! so when John says “I didn’t puke” when he listened first to the finished product, I ‘m on the same page. IMO, there are 10 real Beatles albums, and Let it be ain’t part of them, but it’s interesting and fun to listen , particularly the 2009 remaster, forget the naked version of 2003! Actually, I’d call it “the beatles b*****d album”, as not all 4 four of them agreed on its content.
this has always been my favorite BEATLES record,but I wouldn’t even think of calling it their best.what appeals to me is the relaxed ROCK&ROLL atmosphere .but (and this is not really in Spector’s favor)the live rooftop stuff is the best. even though his handling of’ the long and winding road’ is heavy handed,I like it. Paul’s ‘naked’ version is a little bit too clean in between songs.you can’t beat the irony of Lennon’s last words on a BEATLES’ record (to laughs)”thank you and I hope we pass the audition”.they (at least chronologically)had just finished conquering the music world,as this was the last LP we got out of them .George Martin was one of the ‘secrets’ of their success,and GOD rest his soul.
“Let It Be…Naked” sounds like a Beatles record- the clarity of the instruments and vocals is similar to “Abbey Road”. The original, in addition to the horrid Spector additions, sounds muddy, echoey, and generally poor. – always did. Could they have included a few of the off-the-cuff comments? Sure, but it adds NOTHING to the music, and that’s what it’s all about.
I’m with you there. Also, nice call on analogizing this release with CCR’s ‘Mardi Gras’. Definitely a tough finale.
Abbey Road was the last album recorded. George Martain was reluctant after he was shafted out of any producer credit. Yes, Phil Spector did turn up the volume, but that is not always the best thing to do. Thankfully, Abbey Road was a beautiful album and a fitting goodbye to working together.
Hi Tony, it was Ringo who said ”thank you and I hope we pass the audition”. pc
It was of course John! It’s on film, easy to verify.
I think “Long and Winding Road ” and “Across the Universe ” were overproduced although Spector ‘s work on “Let it Be” and “I me mine” were fine. But his production work on “Instant Karma!” was outstanding.
I disagree. “Karma” sounds like it was recorded in a cave with performers at one end and the mics at the other.
Let it Be by Spector is inconsistent doesn’t meet the objective.
LAWroad he ruined it.
Let it Be is the only song that he nailed