The Beatles‘ studio swan song is getting a major revamp. Apple Corps Ltd./Capitol/UMe announced on Thursday morning (August 26) that the band’s legendary 1970 album Let It Be will reissued on Oct. 15 in a series of special edition packages, including new mixes in stereo, 5.1 Surround and Dolby Atmos. The expanded edition that will feature never-before-released session recordings, rehearsals and studio jams, as well as a previously unreleased 1969 Get Back LP mix by Glyn Johns.
Three songs from the revamped collection dropped for the first time digitally on Thursday as part of the set’s preorder launch, “Let It Be” (2021 Stereo Mix), “Don’t Let Me Down” (first rooftop performance) and “For You Blue” (Get Back LP Mix). Following on the heels of previously released anniversary Special Editions of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (2017), The Beatles (‘White Album’) (2018) and Abbey Road (2019), the new Let It Be has been mixed by producer Giles Martin and engineer Sam Okell with the new stereo mix of the album guided by the original “reproduced for disc” version by Phil Spector and sourced directly from the original session and rooftop performance eight-track tapes, according to a statement.
The physical and digital Super Deluxe collections will feature 27 previously unreleased session recordings, a four-track Let It Be EP, and the never before released 14-track Get Back stereo LP mix compiled by engineer Glyn Johns in May 1969. The sessions for the album kicked off on Jan. 2, 1969 on the soundstage at Twickenham Film Studios in London, with cameras and tape rolling for 21 days as the band rehearsed new originals and jammed on older songs. The whole thing ended with the group’s historic 42-minute Jan. 30 rooftop gig at their Apple Corps headquarters before a small group of friends and family.
According to a release, producer Johns included “false starts, banter between songs, early takes rather than later, more polished performances, and even ‘I’ve Got A Feeling’ falling apart with John [Lennon] explaining, ‘I cocked it up trying to get loud.'” The band shelved the project to record their 1969 Abbey Road album, with the Let It Be dropping in May 1970 along with the film of the same name; the Let It Be Special Edition will be joined by the anticipated three-part Peter Jackson film The Beatles: Get Back (debuting on Nov. 25 on Disney+) and a hardcover book of the same name.
“I had always thought the original film Let It Be was pretty sad as it dealt with the break-up of our band, but the new film shows the camaraderie and love the four of us had between us,” wrote Paul McCartney in his foreword for the Let It Be book. “It also shows the wonderful times we had together, and combined with the newly remastered Let It Be album, stands as a powerful reminder of this time. It’s how I want to remember The Beatles.”
Check out details for the Let It Be special editions, the track listings and the three new mixes below:
Let It Be Special Edition (Super Deluxe): 57 tracks
5CD + 1Blu-ray (album’s new stereo mix in hi-res 96kHz/24-bit; new 5.1 surround DTS and Dolby Atmos album mixes) with 105-page hardbound book in a 10” by 12” die-cut slipcase
180-gram, half-speed mastered vinyl 4LP + 45rpm 12-inch vinyl EP with 105-page hardbound book in a 12.5” by 12.5” die-cut slipcase
Digital Audio Collection (stereo + album mixes in hi res 96kHz/24-bit / Dolby Atmos)
- Let It Be (new stereo mix of original album): 12 tracks
- Previously unreleased outtakes, studio jams, rehearsals: 27 tracks
- Previously unreleased 1969 Get Back LP mix by Glyn Johns, newly mastered: 14 tracks
- Let It Be EP: 4 tracks
- Glyn Johns’ unreleased 1970 mixes: “Across The Universe” and “I Me Mine”
- Giles Martin & Sam Okell’s new stereo mixes: “Don’t Let Me Down” & “Let It Be” singles
The Super Deluxe CD and vinyl collections’ book features McCartney’s foreword; an introduction by Martin; a remembrance by Johns; insightful chapters and detailed track notes by Beatles historian, author, and radio producer Kevin Howlett; and an essay by journalist and author John Harris exploring the sessions’ myths vs. their reality. The book is illustrated, scrapbook style, with rare and previously unpublished photos by Ethan A. Russell and Linda McCartney, as well as never before published images of handwritten lyrics, session notes, sketches, Beatles correspondence, tape boxes, film frames, and more.
Let It Be Special Edition (Deluxe): 26 tracks
2CD in digipak with a 40-page booklet abridged from the Super Deluxe book
- Let It Be (new stereo mix of original album): 12 tracks
- Previously unreleased outtakes, studio jams, rehearsals: 13 tracks
- Previously unreleased 1970 mix for “Across The Universe”
Let It Be Special Edition (Standard): 12 tracks
1CD in digipak (new stereo mix of original album)
Digital (album’s new mixes in stereo + hi res 96kHz/24-bit / Dolby Atmos)
180-gram half-speed mastered 1LP vinyl (new stereo mix of original album)
Limited Edition picture disc 1LP vinyl illustrated with the album art (new stereo mix of original album)
Let It Be SpecialEdition tracklists:
Super Deluxe [5CD+1Blu-ray + 105-page hardbound book in slipcase | digital audio collection] CD1: Let It Be (new stereo mix of original album)
1: Two Of Us
2: Dig A Pony
3: Across The Universe
4: I Me Mine
5: Dig It
6: Let It Be
7: Maggie Mae
8: I’ve Got A Feeling
9: One After 909
10: The Long And Winding Road
11: For You Blue
12: Get Back
CD2: Get Back – Apple Sessions
1: Morning Camera (Speech – mono) / Two Of Us (Take 4)
2: Maggie Mae / Fancy My Chances With You (Mono)
3: Can You Dig It?
4: I Don’t Know Why I’m Moaning (Speech – mono)
5: For You Blue (Take 4)
6: Let It Be / Please Please Me / Let It Be (Take 10)
7: I’ve Got A Feeling (Take 10)
8: Dig A Pony (Take 14)
9: Get Back (Take 19)
10: Like Making An Album? (Speech)
11: One After 909 (Take 3)
12: Don’t Let Me Down (First rooftop performance)
13: The Long And Winding Road (Take 19)
14: Wake Up Little Susie / I Me Mine (Take 11)
CD3: Get Back – Rehearsals and Apple Jams
1: On The Day Shift Now (Speech – mono) / All Things Must Pass (Rehearsals – mono)
2: Concentrate On The Sound (mono)
3: Gimme Some Truth (Rehearsal – mono)
4: I Me Mine (Rehearsal – mono)
5: She Came In Through The Bathroom Window (Rehearsal)
6: Polythene Pam (Rehearsal – mono)
7: Octopus’s Garden (Rehearsal – mono)
8: Oh! Darling (Jam)
9: Get Back (Take 8)
10: The Walk (Jam)
11: Without A Song (Jam) – Billy Preston with John and Ringo
12: Something (Rehearsal – mono)
13: Let It Be (Take 28)
CD4: Get Back LP – 1969 Glyn Johns Mix
1: One After 909
2: I’m Ready (aka Rocker) / Save The Last Dance For Me / Don’t Let Me Down
3: Don’t Let Me Down
4: Dig A Pony
5: I’ve Got A Feeling
6: Get Back
7: For You Blue
8: Teddy Boy
9: Two Of Us
10: Maggie Mae
11: Dig It
12: Let It Be
13: The Long And Winding Road
14: Get Back (Reprise)
CD5: Let It Be EP
1: Across The Universe (unreleased Glyn Johns 1970 mix)
2: I Me Mine (unreleased Glyn Johns 1970 mix)
3: Don’t Let Me Down (new mix of original single version)
4: Let It Be (new mix of original single version)
Blu-ray: Let It Be Special Edition audio mixes Dolby Atmos 96kHz/24-bit DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 96kHz/24-bit High Res Stereo (2019 Stereo Mix)
SUPER DELUXE VINYL [limited edition 4LP+12-inch EP + 105-page hardbound book in slipcase]
LP One: Let It Be (new stereo mix of original album)
Side 1
1: Two Of Us
2: Dig A Pony
3: Across The Universe
4: I Me Mine
5: Dig It
6: Let It Be
7: Maggie Mae
Side 2
1: I’ve Got A Feeling
2: One After 909
3: The Long And Winding Road
4: For You Blue
5: Get Back
LP Two: Get Back – Apple Sessions
Side 1
1: Morning Camera (Speech – mono) / Two Of Us (Take 4)
2: Maggie Mae / Fancy My Chances With You (Mono)
3: Can You Dig It?
4: Don’t Know Why I’m Moaning (Speech – mono)
5: For You Blue (Take 4)
6: Let It Be / Please Please Me / Let It Be (Take 10)
7: I’ve Got A Feeling (Take 10)
Side 2
1: Dig A Pony (Take 14)
2: Get Back (Take 19)
3: Like Making An Album? (Speech)
4: One After 909 (Take 3)
5: Don’t Let Me Down (First rooftop performance)
6: The Long And Winding Road (Take 19)
7: Wake Up Little Susie / I Me Mine (Take 11)
LP Three: Get Back – Rehearsals and Apple Jams
Side 1
1: On The Day Shift Now (Speech – mono) / All Things Must Pass (Rehearsals – mono
2: Concentrate On The Sound (mono)
3: Gimme Some Truth (Rehearsal – mono)
4: I Me Mine (Rehearsal – mono)
5: She Came In Through The Bathroom Window (Rehearsal)
6: Polythene Pam (Rehearsal – mono)
7: Octopus’s Garden (Rehearsal – mono)
Side 2
1: Oh! Darling (Jam)
2: Get Back (Take 8)
3: The Walk (Jam)
4: Without A Song (Jam) – Billy Preston with John and Ringo
5: Something (Rehearsal – mono)
6: Let It Be (Take 28)
LP Four: Get Back LP – 1969 Glyn Johns Mix
Side 1
1: One After 909
2: I’m Ready (aka Rocker) / Save The Last Dance For Me / Don’t Let Me Down
3: Don’t Let Me Down
4: Dig A Pony
5: I’ve Got A Feeling
6: Get Back
Side 2
1: For You Blue
2: Teddy Boy
3: Two Of Us
4: Maggie Mae
5: Dig It
6: Let It Be
7: The Long And Winding Road
8: Get Back (Reprise)
12-Inch Let It Be EP
Side 1
1: Across The Universe (unreleased Glyn Johns 1970 mix)
2: I Me Mine (unreleased Glyn Johns 1970 mix)
Side 2
1: Don’t Let Me Down (new mix of original single version)
2: Let It Be (new mix of original single version)
DELUXE [2CD in digipak with 40-page booklet]
CD 1: Let It Be (new stereo mix of original album)
CD 2: Outtake Highlights
1: Morning Camera (Speech – mono) / Two Of Us (Take 4)
2: Maggie Mae / Fancy My Chances With You (Mono)
3: For You Blue (Take 4)
4: Let It Be / Please Please Me / Let It Be (Take 10)
5: The Walk (Jam)
6: I’ve Got A Feeling (Take 10)
7: Dig A Pony (Take 14)
8: Get Back (Take 8)
9: Like Making An Album? (Speech)
10: One After 909 (Take 3)
11: Don’t Let Me Down (First rooftop performance)
12: The Long And Winding Road (Take 19)
13: Wake Up Little Susie / I Me Mine (Take 11)
14: Across The Universe (unreleased Glyn Johns 1970 mix)
STANDARD [1CD | digital | 1LP vinyl | limited edition 1LP picture disc vinyl] Let It Be (new stereo mix of original album)
Watch a trailer for the Let It Be reissue below.
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