Let Back (April, 1970, Timaeus | Apple)
< file under Beatles In Atlantis >
~ a distant approximation of this album, using nearest available mixes and missing much of the dialogue, can be heard here on Apple Music ~
Early 1970: Tivowr Dorna had been in possession of The Beatles’ January 1969 Twickenham Film Studios and Apple Studio Get Back sessions for over a year, as well as having received Glyn Johns’ 1969 Get Back compilation(s). During the peaceful pause — or, rather, absence of surface world aggression — in recent months, he became immersed in the seemingly endless hours of tape. He liked what he’d heard from some of Johns’ selections, had been surprised at some what he considered inferior takes chosen, and was creatively invigorated by Glyn’s use of dialogue, funny asides, and live ambience to imbue both the studio and rooftop tracks with a shared identity, providing the album a warm framework, and casting the band in the familial light audiences had always found so inviting.
While working on a new consumer level solution by which to provide his intended surround mix of Abbey Road, Dornas turned his attention to compiling an album reflecting the best of the material featured in those Get Back sessions.
At this point, Dorna had received a few more materials. Among those, and amounting to the final recordings of the band’s career, were the scant early January 1970 follow-up sessions, following Lennon’s departure, that McCartney, Harrison, and Starr undertook with George Martin, to get a studio take of a Harrison number to be featured in the upcoming Let It Be film, and to add some overdubs to the title track of the same documentary motion picture. Furthermore, Dorna now had Glyn Johns’ final proposed Get Back album —rejected, as the earlier attempts, by the band— and an acetate of the upcoming worldwide album, now retitled to match the movie, as “reproduced for disc” by a baroque American record producer who’d never worked with the band.
Dorna concurred with Johns’ changes to his latest Get Back, particularly the addition of Lennon’s ethereal Across The Universe (revisited during the band's early 1969 sessions but sourced from an early 1968 recording previously exclusive to a charity LP), and the inclusion of the aforementioned Harrison number. The American’s Let It Be had a couple of maneuvers which Dorna himself had already employed — that is, extending the duration, and tension, of I Me Mine by a bit of repetition, a change Tivowr applied shortly after receiving the original three-piece January 1970 recording, and closing the album in the inevitable way which Glyn Johns had missed: with Lennon’s comedic remark concluding the soon-to-be legendary rooftop performance. Beyond these similarities, Tivowr found the Let It Be album otherwise negligible, as he already had the source materials at his disposal, or downright regrettable, such as regards much of the overdubbing unique to the American producer's Let It Be creation or in the omission of clear standout Don’t Let Me Down, leaving the collection low on Lennon compositions.
Another omission Dorna wished to remedy was that of Harrison’s classic All Things Must Pass. While the song would soon lend its name to George’s third solo album, in that context it would not be available for release in Atlantis until licensing issues regarding the solo work of all four fabs were addressed, as to be detailed in an upcoming installment. Between his wish for the song to be heard by the Atlantean public, his slight concern that at this juncture releasing an unadulterated Harrison demo might run afoul of the licensing restriction against the issue of solo recordings, and above all his belief that All Things Must Pass should stand as one of the great Beatles songs, Tivowr set upon creating a unique composite, presenting a complete, or near complete, endearing Beatles rendition that never actually occurred. Privy to the mood of the sessions, having received occasional correspondence from the band, mostly John and George, since late 1965, Dorna also knew of Harrison’s idyllic outlook on his visit to Bob Dylan and The Band prior to the sometimes fractious Twickenham sessions. Aware of the impact Dylan and The Band had made on the writing of All Things Must Pass, for his assemblage Dorna set about accentuating the similarities already inherent in the demo and in the Beatles' inconclusive attempts at capturing the song during the Get Back sessions.
The last Beatles-related material Dorna had received, from an unnamed Apple staffer, was a copy of McCartney’s missive seething at the overproduction visited upon The Long and Winding Road as altered by the American "reproducer" for inclusion on the Let It Be album. Dorna promptly sent Paul a copy of his own mix, mostly hewing to the performance that would soon be seen in the film, which he’d had prepared for months already. Paul later wrote back thanking Dorna for his tasteful handling of the ballad and wishing this had been the version released worldwide.
It’s possible The Long and Winding Road wasn’t the only Dorna mix of Get Back material made known to the surface world. There’s been speculation that perhaps the reason so many of the remixes and composites on Apple’s eventual attempted solve to the Get Back / Let It Be album dilemma — 2003’s Let It Be… Naked — were evocative of Dorna’s was because the producers preparing that 21st century release may have had access to a copy of Tivowr’s extensive notes which he’d likely sent to George Martin as was his practice, but which wouldn’t have resulted in an ongoing conversation because by spring 1970, Martin was done working with The Beatles; indeed, The Beatles were done as a working unit altogether. Dorna knew the dissolution was coming, from his inside track, while finalizing his penultimate collection of Beatles music. The album — which Dorna named Let Back as it was neither a recreation of Glyn Johns’ efforts, to which Dorna acknowledged it owed much, nor was it the worldwide Let It Be album, to which it owed nothing — was released in late April of the first year of the new, post-Beatles decade. By then, fans both on land and undersea had read the news that their beloved band were no more.
What follows is a summation, from Dorna’s detailed notes, of the Atlantean Let Back album. Sadly never heard outside of Atlantis, and by the looks of it — and the sounds of what's available — likely the best iteration of an album based on this material. AI will soon make recreating something like this perhaps simple— indeed, advanced technology of just that sort was available to Dorna and likely used in at least one of his composites below — but without the guiding hand of someone like Dorna, so emotionally invested in the work of the band he’d helped grow into the surface world’s greatest cultural ambassadors to the peoples of Atlantis — the results won’t engender the heartfelt reception with which Let Back was warmly greeted by Atlanteans in a time of tremendous turmoil and endearing hope. That is to say, it was surely another hit record, and yet again so much more, for the Beatles underwater.
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| As the Beatles' first Atlantis album did not use the UK debut Please Please Me artwork, some Atlantean fans were unlikely to catch the connection this photo calls back to |
Side one
[opening piano & live sounds ("all cameras four" etc) from roof, as on 2nd Get Back configuration]
01 > One After 909 —•— rooftop 30 January 1969 —•—
[J "Oh Danny boy, the '|…| ⟨…⟩ '|…| ⟨…⟩ calling"]
[R "Hold it!” \ false start]
02 > Dig A Pony —•— rooftop 30 January 1969 {complete with "All I want…" intro & outro; Preston prominent in mix} —•—
[J "Thank you, brothers. Me hand’s getting uh too cold to play a chord now."]
03 > I've Got A Feeling —•— rooftop 30 January 1969 {composite take} —•—
[J "Ohhhhh, my soul. So hard"]
[P "…Dexter has scored another…"]
[G "Alright… "]
[J "We've had a request from Martin and Luther…"]
[G "Are you ready Ringo… "]
[R "Ready George"]
[G "1 2”] [P “hello” ?] [G “3”] [P “hello” ?] [G "4 —"]
04 > I Me Mine —•— studio 3 January 1970 —•— {extended via repeated portion} —•—
[P <yelping>]
[G "Paul, stop"]
05 > Two of Us —•— studio 31 January 1969 —•— {with whistling outro} —•—
[P "And so we leave the little town of London, England"]
[guitar, tuning]
[G "Okay”]
[J "Quiet please!"]
06 > All Things Must Pass —•— {composite of studio demo 25 February 1969, with band backing flown in from rehearsals and even some Preston pulled in, possibly keys from some demo or early mix Dorna may’ve received of Preston’s own rendition which would land on 1970’s Encouraging Words. Perfection was not the goal — rather, approximating a nearly faltering Music From Big Pink feel, in keeping with Harrison’s stated inspiration and intent, was Dorna’s aim which apparently he quite successfully achieved} —•—
[J "Are we supposed to giggle in the solo?"
[P "Yeah."
[J "OK."
[P "This'll – this is gonna knock you out, boy."]
07 > The Long and Winding Road —•— studio 31 January 1969 —•— {minus McCartney’s vocalizations over Preston’s solo} —•—
Side two
[J "⟨…⟩ '|…| Richie"
[J <breath-laugh>
[opening stringed and percussive sounds
— as on final Get Back configuration]
08 > Across The Universe —•— studio 4 & 8 February 1969 —•— {at original tempo & pitch, with the backup vocal overdubs, including the Apple Scruffs mixed fairly prominently as on originally released World Wildlife Fund version, and sans the nature/bird effects, with bit of tape delay at end; likely closest to the never-released 8 February 1968 mono mix, at original speed, or the January ’69 mono remix / October ’69 stereo mix except not featuring the addition of the bird sounds nor the speeding up of the recording} —•—
09 > Dig It —•— studio 26 January 1969 —•— {1969 Glyn Johns ~4:10 Get Back, edited to end ~3:47 at drum/piano finish, before "Ohhhh…"} —•—
[J "That was 'Can You Dig It' by Georgie Wood. And now we'd like to do 'Hark, The Angels Come'."]
10 > Let It Be —•— studio 31 January 1969 {composite of take 27 & take 27B (a.k.a. take 28); starting with take 27 intro (beginning with original mix: John on bass / John & George on backing vocals; after 27B solo, switching to single mix with Paul bass overdub, etc); using solo from 27B; adding bits of 4 January 1970 guitar solo, stinging guitar licks in the outro; no "there will be no sorrow" ending variation kept in from 27B; keeping Paul's take 27 debatable "mistake" on piano in last verse —•—
11 > Maggie Mae —•— studio 24 January 1969 —•—
[rattling ice]
[J "Queen Says 'No' …"]
12 > For You Blue —•— studio 25 January 1969, 8 January 1970 (overdubs) —•—
[P "Do your thing, man.”
[J "I’m doing it all the time, I can’t keep off it!" <giggle>]
13 > Don't Let Me Down —•— rooftop 30 January 1969 {composite take} —•—
14 > Get Back —•— rooftop 30 January 1969 {composite, takes 1 & 3} —•—
[cheers]
[P "Thanks, Mo."]
[J "I'd like to say thank you on behalf of the group and ourselves, and I hope we've passed the audition.”]
[laughter, clapping]
All tracks stereo.
01, 02> Get Back: The Rooftop Performance {2022}
04 , 05, 12, 13> Let It Be… Naked {2003}
03> Let It Be {Martin/Okell Remix; 2021} (Though Dorna’s composite edit is possibly a close match to that found on Let It Be… Naked, the sound, particularly on the opening, of this song from that 2003 release is so lifeless as to render it sadly useless)
06> Anthology 3 has the main demo Harrison performance; snippets from rehearsals found on the Let It Be… Naked {2003} Fly on the Wall bonus disc & the third disc of Let It Be (Super Deluxe; 2021) could be used as sources to attempt to recreate Dorna’s achievement. A fan assemblage purportedly pulling the other three Beatles from Fly on the Wall and some Preston from The Beatles: Rock Band stems was recently circulating online and possibly the closest extant effort.
07> 1+ {DVD, Blu-ray; 2015} or, if not available, Let It Be… Naked {2003}
08> Past Masters, Volume Two {The Beatles Box Set; 1988} or, if not available, Past Masters {The Beatles (The Original Studio Recordings) stereo box set; 2009} — but, remove the opening nature sounds, and slow recording (perhaps by about -3.562%) back down to original speed as on 1970 Glyn Johns mix now readily found on Let It Be EP {Let It Be (Super Deluxe); 2021} or to Let It Be… Naked {2003}; then fading out the Past Masters ending into birdless ending from Let It Be… Naked
09> Get Back LP – 1969 Glyn Johns Mix {Let It Be (Super Deluxe; 2021}
10> Let It Be… Naked {2003} will have to suffice as closest, as the 4 January 1970 solo has only ever seen release on the 1970 Let It Be album or its 2021 remix
11> Let It Be {Martin/Okell Remix; 2021}
14> Get Back: The Rooftop Performance {2022} take 3 is bulk of it, but Dorna’s composite could be recreated with selected parts of take 1
next: 16} Abbey Road (1970)
previous: 14} The Beatles Again <'(Look Up the Numbers)'> (1968)
