Golden Nuggets #16: The Beatles- Let it Be

Welcome to the sixteenth installment of The Golden Nuggets series, where I take a listen and provide a little commentary to the top song on the Billboard charts from fifty years ago. A blast from the past to get inside the heads of yesteryear's listening public. Today, we have a challenge. What am I going to say about the Beatles' 'Let it Be' that hasn't been said about a million times before over the half century since it's release. I guess we'll find out together. If you've somehow never heard this song, or need a quick refresher, you can listen to it here. I attached the single version, as the album version has a slightly different mix and a different George Harrison guitar solo, but we're talking about singles charts on Golden Nuggets (maybe I'll do Golden Albums at some point if this quarantine gets me super bored), so let's get into it.

As I've said, this song is super popular, even now, and The Beatles are one of the most famous bands in the world, even fifty years after their breakup (this song actually peaked at #1 for the first week of its two week spot at the top the same week the split was announced: April 12, 1970), so finding stuff to talk about that hasn't been mined before might prove a little difficult. I'm sure everyone is aware of the failed Get Back sessions before Abbey Road was recorded that produced this song, as well as the subsequent and controversial remix by Phil Spector. I'm sure all have at least heard of the accompanying film (seriously, can we get a rerelease of that? I know it doesn't paint a super glamorous portrait of the band, but it's history, man), and of the 2003 release of the stripped down Let it Be...Naked that stripped most of Spector's contributions (which coincidentally was released the same year he allegedly shot a woman in the face. A way to distance the Beatles from that legacy, perhaps?) I'm sure people even know that the "Mother Mary" being referred to in the lyrics is Paul McCartney's mother, and not as many people thought, Mary mother of Jesus (The Beatles weren't Catholic, they came from English Protestant backgrounds, that's a weird thing to assume). So, what's left to talk about?

I guess I might go into my personal thoughts about the record. The "words of wisdom" this song preaches may be able to be taken a couple of different ways, but to me, it kind of sounds like a just sit back and enjoy the ride and things will unfold as they should "Hakuna Matata" sort of philosophical nugget, or as the group had said previously, quoting ancient manuals and Timothy Leary "turn off your mind, relax and float downstream". I may be totally off base, but that's what I get. I can't help but feel this way during these trying times. One can take all the necessary precautions, but I feel like one also needs to relax a bit. Bad things are going to happen, and a lot of the time, they're beyond anyone's comprehension or control. It's best to sit back, relax, roll with the punches, and let it be. Plus stress has been known to reduce immune response. Just saying. 

As for the song, it's enjoyable enough. Very uplifting and emotionally powerful. Seems like 1970 audiences were really into these types of tunes. It's an interesting contrast, because in 2020 every pop hit seems to have a listless, depressing tone about it, and to be honest, the political landscape is pretty similar to those days. Maybe 50 years of the same has just burned everyone out, and there's not that much positivity any more in the mainstream, which is a shame. I hope that this crisis will come to an end soon, and that some hope can come back to the world, and music can rise from the doldrums, all while side stepping the 'Imagine' covers and benefit song templates that reek on insincerity and out of touch celebrities pandering to their audiences.

So, that's it for now. I'll be back soon to take a look at the next Golden Nugget to dominate the airwaves in 1970, 'ABC' by the Jackson Five. Stay safe and stay healthy, stay inside if you're fortunate enough to be able to. As for me, I'm back to my "essential" warehouse job, supplying the tri-state area with ephemeral crap they don't need. See you next time.

"Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use."

Golden Nuggets #15: Simon & Garfunkel- Bridge Over Troubled Water

Hello there, and welcome to the fifteenth edition of the Golden Nuggets series, where I take a look at the top Billboard chart hits from fifty years ago, and reflect on the listening habits of a bygone era. This time, we'll be taking a look back at the title track from Simon & Garfunkel's monumentally successful and final album, Bridge Over Troubled Water. If you're unfamiliar with the track, or just need a quick refresher, you can listen to the track here. With the introductions out of the way, we can proceed.

I feel like "Bridge Over Troubled Water" is a song that can make me tear up at any point in my life. It's just an amazingly powerful and uplifting song, and something that I feel a lot of people could use right now, instead of cynically, and predictably, letting R.E.M's "It's the End of the World as We Know It" climb the charts (yes, that's happening). It's a great song to hear to raise your spirits and know that someone is there for you. Plus, the string arrangements and Art Garfunkel's solo vocal performance are absolutely gorgeous. I know Paul Simon wrote the song, and he's a little regretful that he gave Garfunkel the vocal duties here, but sorry dude, it's his song now, don't care who wrote it. Paul Simon's voice is fine, and probably would have made a serviceable enough track, but it's Garfunkel's delicate timbre and higher register that really takes this song into the stratosphere. It's like listening to "I Shall Be Released" from Music from Big Pink and then listening to the Bob Dylan original that he eventually released on a compilation. Sure, Bob Dylan wrote the song, and I (unlike many others) think is voice is emotive and fine on its own, Levon Helm's falsetto is undeniable.

This song held the top spot on the Billboard charts for 6 whole weeks. That's crazy. I know we live in an era where "Old Town Road" was essentially unstoppable, but you've got to think, there was a lot more competition for pop dominance back then. What pop acts exist now? This held off the Beatles and the Jackson Five to become the top selling single of the entire year. That being said, I can't imagine this being on the radio for so long. This is not a song I'm always dying to hear. Who wants to get teary eyed every time they turn on pop radio? Especially when pop radio was what it was in 1970 (that is to say, a lot more ubiquitous in American culture than it is now). I feel like I might be a little more partial to hearing "The Boxer" off the same album on the radio, because although it's still a very powerful song (Simon opened his performance after 9/11 with it to lift New York up) it doesn't always make me cry like a total bitch.

So, that's my opinion on the song. Check back soon for my opinion on the next song in the Golden Nuggets series, the title track to the Beatles' swan song "Let it Be". I'm sure I'm the first person to ever talk about that undiscovered gem. Anyway, I'll be trying to maybe write a bit more, seeing as I don't have a lot better to do, given this whole pandemic situation. Hopefully, everybody's staying safe, staying inside, and keeping clean. Also, if you don't absolutely need to go outside, don't. As a person who by my state is considered an employee of an "essential and life sustaining" business, it kind of frustrates me to see people who could be staying inside just walking around like business as usual, or maybe even more so just to spite some unknown entity. I would love to stay inside, but my job prevents me from doing so, and I'm not getting paid that well to risk my life so you chumps can walk around all casually (warehouse workers don't exactly get paid like doctors you see). Anyway, rant over. Catch you on the flip side.


"Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use."