The Beatles, ‘All I Want Is …’ (Masterjedi MJ1510)
Glyn Johns’ Late May 1969 Get Back Lineup – The One After 909 / I’m Ready / Save The Last Dance For Me / Don’t Let Me Down / Dig / I’ve Got A Feeling / Get Back / For You Blue / Teddy Boy / Two Of Us / Maggie Mae / Dig It / Let It Be / The Long And Winding Road / Get Back Reprise
Ron Furmanek’s Let It Be Film Mix – Two Of Us / Let It Be / The Long And Winding Road / Get Back 1 / Don’t Let Me Down / I’ve Got A Feeling / One After 909 / Dig A Pony / Get Back 2, Get Back Reprise
The really rather inventive Masterjedi label have returned with yet another ‘Let It Be’ compilation – with the Apple DVD release still in limbo but apparently in the close horizon – it’s been a labor of love for the desk top bootleggers to produce their own version of the much maligned, ‘Cardboard epitaph’. Historically minded, Masterjedi have instead compiled the ‘final’ Glyn Johns acetate before the project was given over to Phil Spector to supervise. This version was put mixed for stereo on the 28th of May 1969 and has been given the alias ‘Compilation 2 & 3’ (From the beatlesource site)
The sources for the first part of the disk come from the boxed set ‘Thirty Days’ by Vigotone (Remember that? I thought it might be a little too exhaustive to splash out $700 on a boxed set at once but found no problem in justifying laying out $50 for each volume of the Yellow Dog ‘Day By Day’ set – Go figure!) with a stray sources chipped in from the early Yellow Dog CD ‘Get Back and 22 Other Songs’ (A CD that utilized some of the earlier Glyn Johns acetates with bite sizes of the other available Get Back material that was out there at the time but was, of course, far less complete than the 17 disk set from Vigotone.)
The second half of the disk comes from an upload to the Internet earlier this year of the second half of the ‘Let It Be’ movie, remastered in 1987 by Ron Furmanek. These are stereo mixes prepared from the extant material available to Apple at that time to flesh out the sound for the advancements in home technology at the time (I know ..) the video itself was never released for whatever reason but has found itself in to the hands of high end collectors.
This internet leased video only featured half of the film, the latter half that was recorded in the basement studios at Apple, the Beatles headquarters with the full film due from HMC later this year. The sound has been cleaned up by Masterjedi for release and sounds great – especially for an internet cut.
It works fantastically well despite the recording measures made at Apple and brings more of a buff to the sound that we’re used to. Despite having no visuals behind it, there’s no quibble as by this time, the Beatles had put the troubles and misery of Twickenham sound studio behind them, the songs were much more fleshed out, there are a lot less arguments – a lot less chatter, much more music. The only change made is a cut to street level during ‘I’ve Got A Feeling’ which would have affected the flow of music – it’s expertly filled in from the Rockbound multitracks, so well finished you’d strain to hear the joins.
The release is a brilliant and dedicated compilation, a standard Masterjedi release, in fact. The work put in to fix the final compilation is expedient and justified, the EQ work to the ‘Let It Be’ film is very smooth and will do until HMC release their audio and visual extravaganza.
The only bone I have to pick is once again aesthetic – the green is printed too dark from the original production but it’s pleasing to see that the pressed disk keeps the original art (which is beautiful) and there’s that spelling of ‘Tedy Boy’ on the back sleeve which grates a little, other than that, full marks. Another great product by Masterjedi.
