I don’t understand why people are so passionately for the one or the other version.
I love them both, but lean to the original, Phil Spector version. It has a flawless sound.
This isn’t truly “naked”; there’s some sort of musical business going on (synthesizer?), that is not Paul on the piano, nor any instrument the other boys played.
A commenter on the Spector version explained why I find it so moving. Let me extend what he said.
Notwithstanding the lyrics, which are those of a love song, this is a song of the end of a long journey, a journey on which millions of fans joined The Boys. I became a fan in 1964 in First Grade, at the age of six or seven, either when I saw them for the first time on The Ed Sullivan Show, or in A Hard Day’s Night.
I can’t think of any comparable musical adventure.
(Sinatra sang for over 50 years, but he didn’t compose songs, or play musical instruments. Not that his career was less dramatic; it was just so very different from that of The Beatles. On the other hand, Sinatra was, for about 12 years, one of the world’s greatest movie actors.)
No other rock group ever compared to The Beatles in terms of musical quality, but at the same time, the intensity of their fame, what it did to their egos, the fact that their founders were singer-songwriters, and John Lennon’s heroin habit and personality cult, predestined them to have a relatively short run.
“The Long and Winding Road” (Original released version, remastered 2009)
Released on: 1970-05-08
Producer: Phil Spector
Composer-Lyricist: Paul McCartney
“Long and Winding Road”
Words and Music by Paul McCartney
The long and winding road,
That leads to your door,
Will never disappear,
I”ve seen that road before
It always leads me here
Lead me to your door.
The wild and windy night,
That the rain washed away,
Has left a pool of tears,
Crying for the day.
Why leave me standing here?
Let me know the way.
Many times I've been alone,
And many times I’ve cried,
Anyway you’ll never know,
The many ways I've tried.
And still they lead me back,
To the long winding road
You left me standing here
A long, long time ago
Don't leave me waiting here
Lead me to your door
But still they lead me back
To the long winding road
You left me standing here
A long, long time ago
Don't keep me waiting here
Lead me to your door
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
“The Long and Winding Road” (Naked Version/Remastered 2013)
Postscript, 3:25 a.m., Monday, July 27, 2020:
I've listened to this version a few more times, and have concluded that there is no "naked" version. If Paul had accompanied himself on the piano, without any other instruments, that might have justified the description "naked." But instead, there's all kinds of crap going on, above all, that damned synthesizer, which just sounds awful.
Released on: 2014-01-01
Associated Performer, Vocals, Guitar, Bass Guitar, Lap Steel Guitar, Producer: John Lennon
Associated Performer, Guitar, Vocals, Sitar, Tambura, Producer: George Harrison
Associated Performer, Vocals, Bass Guitar, Acoustic Guitar, Piano, Synthesizer, Organ, Producer: Paul McCartney
Associated Performer, Drums, Producer: Ringo Starr
Associated Performer, Keyboards, Organ: Billy Preston
Associated Performer, Organ, Percussion, Producer: George Martin
Producer, Studio Personnel, Mixer: Paul Hicks
Producer, Studio Personnel, Mixer: Guy Massey
Producer, Studio Personnel, Mixer: Allan Rouse
Studio Personnel, Engineer: Glyn Johns
Studio Personnel, Mastering Engineer: Steve Rooke
Composer-Lyricist: Paul McCartney
2 comments:
jerry pdx
Many critics gave Let it Be bad reviews, many still think it's a mediocre album. As Lennon might say: Fookin' bollocks!
While I might agree it's not their best album, maybe even their (I don't want to say "worst" because that's misleading) least great album, but that's like saying Da Vinci's Lady with an Ermine isn't as great as the Mona Lisa.
Let it Be is a classic album, has a few flaws but so what, perfection is boring and next to the White Album, it's the one I've listened to most over the years.
Very pleasant memory here.Funny,I don't remember that song being played that much in Grand Rapids in 1970.A lot of "Raindrops Kwep Falling on My Head","Let it Be"-yes.Oh well,I was just a kid.I DO remember listening to the radio all the time in 1967-68--just because of the riots.Heard a lot of great music then and it's my favorite era to listen to(1967-1972).
--GRA
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