Which version do you prefer? Feel free to elaborate on your choice if you like.
Stripping off the production overkill for Naked was a nice idea–I’ve always favored the bootlegged non-orchestrated version of “Long and Winding Road”–and including “Don’t Let Me Down” was a big plus, but if the point was to bring the album back in line with its original audio-verité/“the Beatles as nature intended” concept, then Naked falls down by eliminating the between-track studio/rooftop chatter and the impromptu bits like “Dig It” and “Maggie Mae.” (Hell, I’ve always wanted them to release the full, unedited “Dig It” jam!) I’ll go with the original album. It’s flawed, but it has more character.
The stingy 12-minute “Fly on the Wall” bonus disc was a missed opportunity, too.
Is the DVD only 12 minutes?!
Beatles albums are pretty much always maximum price so I’m slooowly working my way through collecting their non-studio-canon output (the Anthology albums, Love, any album that wasn’t included in the 2009 box set, etc.) and Let It Be… Naked seems like the least important to get, but I imagine I’ll be buying it soon because I’ve almost got everything else. Anyway the point is even though it is annoyingly expensive I always thought “well, at least it comes with a bonus DVD” - but 12 minutes! That sounds almost as crap as the “mini-documentaries” (i.e. weird boring moving picture things) from the remasters.
I used to own a copy of J. Lennon and Y. Ono’s Two Virgins.
All I can say is Please John and O, put on some clothes.
It’s not a DVD, just a CD. I was wrong about the time, though–it’s 22 minutes, not 12.
No question in my mind - “Naked” wins, hands down. The songs were written with a stripped-down production aesthetic in mind, and work far better in that context. Phil Spector took what could have been one of the Beatles’ best albums and turned it into a turd; the producers of “Let It Be… Naked” were just returning the songs to their intended glory.
Plus, George’s solo in the “Naked” version of “Let It Be” is the single best piece of guitar playing he ever did. It is the epitome of a good solo - one that elevates the emotional tone of the song at exactly the moment it needs to.
I can take or leave the between-song chatter (although I do miss John’s “Sweet Loretta Fart” bit). The important thing is the songs themselves, and the “Naked” versions are vastly superior.
I don’t own Let It Be… always considered it too “schmaltzy”. So I bought the Naked version, and it’s … a little less schmaltzy.
I prefer Naked sonically, plus it doesn’t make me think of murder as much.
Well how about that, I always thought it was a DVD! A CD actually makes the purchase more attractive to me now, I’ll always prefer bonus audio over bonus video.
Definitely agree with this. I’ve had the bootleg for ages, and it was nice to be able to buy an official copy of most of it, but the long version of “Dig It” would have been nice to include. My bootleg also has a version of “Teddy Boy” with John chiming in.
I was forced to listen to “Long and Winding Road” over and over again the summer it was being played by Top 40 stations, and despise the Spector travesty. This one isn’t great, but at least it isn’t a crime against nature.