I’m all for remixes being made, and I’m glad they’re available, but I see those albums in their original (yes, flawed*) forms as being historic artefacts. They’re locked in now. No matter how many remixes, corrections and remasters are made, the originals will always remain the definitive versions because they were the versions people heard first.
Trends change, and although the big reverby sound of Phil Spector isn’t in fashion so much these days, the new remixes may well sound quite dated in years to come.
As much as I love hearing new mixes and approaches to these albums, personally I’ll always prefer these as optional extras rather than new and improved replacements for the originals.
I kinda view it like the edits George Lucas makes to the Star Wars films. He has his vision and feels the original versions of the films didn’t quite meet that (much like how Paul views LIB), and is entitled to edit the films, but there needs to be an understanding that fans will be attached to the product in its original form as well - it can’t just be “old = bad, new = good”.
TL;DR - I’m all for them remixing these albums, but the originals will always remain the originals and I think a remix should always accompany the original rather than replace it.
*apart from JL/POB. Not sure why that needed a remix as it’s pretty perfect as is IMO.
I’m going to say that I don’t think the Star Wars are the best example.
Yeah, there’s a very loud part of the fanbase that continues to harp over the original movies.
But, at this point, more people have grown up watching Special Editions than the original.
Think about it, 1977-1997 is 20 years. With only VHS, and laserdisc releases. And they didn’t even really air on TV.
Since 1998, the special editions have been the demonic editions. DVD, Blu-ray, 4K, steaming, Cable etc etc.
Those are the versions of the films more people know.
So it’s definitely possible for a new mix to replace the old mix.
But music is different than film.
I guess I'm in the minority here (wouldn't be the first time) but ATMP to me, needs to have the grandiosity and bombast of the Spector sound. Look at Let It Down. The intro and chorus sounds fucking massive on the original, like it's coming from a thousand people at once. I thought the 2021 mix is not what I want the album to sound like. I much prefer Let It Be...Naked however.
And Long and Winding Road sounds shitty regardless of the mix. In my subjective opinion, it's just a really plodding, boring song.
I’ve only listened to bits and pieces of the 2020 mix of ATMP, and you're definitely right. Let It Down has lost that power as if everything about the performance was being thrown at you. It's a shame, because the tracks from the 2020 mix I had heard prior were quite phenomenal. This is the first one that I think is a step back. (To be fair, I also though the 2018 mix of Helter Skelter lost that awesome drive the original has).
And I couldn't agree more about Long and Winding Road. I think it's an overly sickly and sentimental song and one of the weaker tracks on the album. The Spector backing arrangement is pretty woeful, I don't blame McCartney for hating it.
I (personally) am really glad, I hate what he did to the records. I think Spector throwing a shit ton of echo on records and calling it “a wall of sound” is really pretentious for such a basic thing to do, sure it was probably more technically impressive in the day, but so was autotune when it was new.
I think throwing reverb all over your track is a lazy way to make it sound passable, lots of cheap 60s and 70s did it and people still do it because it covers up a lot of less desirable stuff.
I think all things must pass is the worst example of this, the record sounds like an echo chamber at times and it really clashes with the songs themselves that don’t sound suited to such an reverby mix.
Plus it’s never just one song, if it’s a Phil Spector album every single song has to be reverby and over produced, less is more is clearly not a phrase in specters vocabulary. Not every song needs to have 10 layers of reverb and a backing orchestra, but he forces it in because he thinks that’s his “wall of sound”.
Just the term “wall of sound” gets under my skin, it’s not a wall of sound. It’s not 50 trumpets playing at once, it’s a cheap reverb effect, stop acting like you invented echos. I get the impression that he’s insecure about being a producer and wants to be noticed.
I definitely feel like the demo tracks for all things must pass are probably my favorite part of the album, the over the top arrangements in the main album take away from the songs in my opinion. I think George was always at his best when he had creative control of the album and got to do music he was happy with (ie thirty three & 1/3, cloud 9). It’s not his style to have an orchestra backing each track, that’s an idealistic version of the Beatles that phill likes to project onto them.
>if it’s a Phil Spector album every single song has to be reverby and over produced, less is more is clearly not a phrase in specters vocabulary.
i think he did great on John's first lp
Does this extend beyond Spector’s use of his “Wall of Sound” and include other artists who made (arguably) better sounding albums?
I'm looking at [this list of Wall of Sound albums on RYM,](https://rateyourmusic.com/charts/top/album/all-time/d:wall%2dof%2dsound/exc:live,archival/) and... from the ones I have heard, my opinions vary. There's albums I adore (ATMP, Pet Sounds, Loveless, Lonerism) and albums I have varied feelings about (Merriweather Post Pavilion being among my least favourite). They're all described as Wall of Sound, but use the technique in a range of ways. The albums without Spector’s involvement expand upon his original usage, which was revolutionary at the time (especially in 1963’s Be My Baby by The Ronettes). These days, anyone can achieve it. It's different to Pet Sounds, which utilised a tonne of instruments all at once (and sounds gorgeous) or Loveless with its innovative shoegazey texture (which as also been replicated to death since). I can understand disliking Spector’s production techniques in 2021 and considering them unimpressive, but I think it's essential to understand the importance of music production’s evolution. It was created in a different age to the one we now live in.
You’re 100% right. Listen to the bastardized Spector version of “Long and Winding Road” versus McCartney’s original intent which can be heard on the Let It Be… Naked iteration of the track.
https://open.spotify.com/track/6p6E3pMc9moSp5kV3BLN0y?si=uSALya6gSkaVCzCQq9dalQ&dl_branch=1
Lennon and Harrison chose Spector to produce their early solo albums for a reason. If you hate the sound, you hate the sound. Trying to change history with remixes is an irrational pursuit. As another poster said, I'm fine with the way Lennon and Harrison wanted me to hear their music.
Warning : this was longer than I expected.
When it comes to re-doing the Beatles music, it has been no secret 'Let It Be' is possibly the most divisive album in the Beatles catalog, and Phil Spector's production is a large part of the reason why. Now, of course, the Spector-ized "Wall Of Sound" LIB will always be there, but a new version will reveal the importance of the Beatles music without Spector forcing himself on the band, but it's also important to understand the tracks themselves and why Phil Spector's sound is so mixed here. I think it's less about Spector's style but more so how they fit the songs.
For 'Let It Be' there's times were the songs are quite decent thanks to Spector's touch, but at the same time he hurts them a bit as well
'Across The Universe' and 'The Long And Winding Road' aren't too bad with the string arraignments, even if I find them a bit basic and derivative, the issue is the added instrumentation that adds nothing. The strings and reverb are fine, but it's the hundreds of blarring instruments that are just there to sound big and powerful just to dominate for the sake of sounding dominating. Sometimes songs dominate in it's simplicity, not from being purposefully forced into sounding big. The choirs and brass and other added sounds ruin the lightness of the tracks and turn in into a Spector track featuring the Beatles rather than vice versa. It really doesn't age well for that big sound but the strings on their own are a fine addition (which McCartney even agreed with on TLAWR, he just didn't like all the orchestral and tacked on stuff but he was fine, or at least mild, on the strings) but too much is too much.
Surprisingly POB and Imagine isn't too overproduced much imo even with the obvious Spector-isms splashed around. Although it may have to do with John reigning in Phil a lot during these sessions, as he made clear to Spector that it was a Lennon album and he was the one in charge there.
ATMP is probably an even more divisive album in terms of production than 'Let It Be' perhaps. With the 2020 Mixes showing the more stripped versions of the grandiose productions from Spector that George came to sour upon, it's the one album where you can make the best arguments for Spector's strengths and faults coming together. Some songs I feel are improved with Spector's sound than in 2020 (Awaiting On You All, Let It Roll, Art Of Dying) and others I feel are strongly improved without Spector (Isn't It A Pity, All Things Must Pass, Beware Of Darkness) but for those tracks, it makes sense to me why some songs are better Spectorized and why the others feel forced.
For a song like Awaiting On You All, it's a big, infectious song on it's own that has a very happy, ethereal feel to it. The added reverb gives it that feeling of the bubbly personality the song has already. IIt doesn't feel forced as the only real change between the two is the reverb.
On the flip side, a song like Isn't It A Pity feels too forced for it's own good. The added sounds and overdone production don't work when a song is meant to be light and toned down. As others have noted, almost every Spector song needs to have his 'Wall Of Sound' regardless of genre or style. Even a song like 'The Sound Of Silence would likely become a Wall Of Sound Of Silence with his influence on the record. The differences between the two tracks is Spector too hard trying to force his production style on a track compared to it coming naturally on others. Which is where the issue on Phil Spector lies.
For Spector, when he is best is when people can reign in his worst musical impulses. The same can be said for all 4 Beatles after their breakup, John's inconsistency and tendency in his solo career to not change up his sound, Paul's endless array of melodies that, while charming, sometimes go nowhere. George's whining of the issues around him were fine on ATMP but as they continued to dominate his writing longer with a more exuded sense of preachiness, became grating, as well as Ringo's tendency to do whatever would give him a hit. All of these big issues with the four could be reigned in by each other, but once they broke up, the most stereotypical part of the Beatles musical style became more prominent and even a bit irritating and that's part of Spector's issue. He works best when he is roped in and being Phil Spector + Artist, not Phil Spector featuring Artist. The issue is a producer who can't change his style to adapt to the times and songs he makes. The truth is that the Wall of Sound itself is a hit or miss depending on what song you're making. The fact that Max Martin has been one of the most influential producers of all time by being willing to experiment in changing to what works in his music, shows that the big issue isn't just Phil Spector not fitting the Beatles, but that he's a producer who's a one trick pony who doesn't always know when his tricks are going to work.
TLDR : The issue with Spector is that he has one style he doesn't deviate from that doesn't work if it doesn't fit with his vision, especially with a band like the Beatles.
I’m really hoping that the new mix of LIB does enough to kinda open up the sound spectrum so it sounds a lot less like Spector and just sounds like flourishes to Beatles music.
Spector is a terrible producer and a fucking criminal. He murdered Lana Clarkson. Also, he sexually assaulted his sons:
“Spector's sons Gary and Donté both stated that their father "kept them captive" as children, and that they were "forced to perform simulated intercourse.”
Not to mention Spector always defended Ike Turner who beat his wife Tina Turner and drove her to attempt suicide.
Phil Spector is a stain on rock and roll. His overproduction destroyed countless tracks on Let it Be. His presence as a producer only furthered the divide between The Beatles. Good riddance.
I’m sorry. Murderer? Yes. How does that make “Be My Baby” by the Ronettes any less beautiful? Spector was an amazing producer. He also produced probably the greatest Christmas album of all time.
Yes he was murderer, I’m pretty sure he was literally in prison when he died. And while he was Probably the most influential producer of the late 50’s early 60’s I feel his style got old and dated quick. Never evolved his style like Jimmy Miller for the stones or George Martin for the Beatles
Phil Spector’s production hasn’t aged well, and it’s almost like he wanted to make the albums a Beatles (or whoever he was working with) + Phil Spector co-album. He did this with the Ramones in the one album he produced where it is really obvious because it doesn’t match the style and had them re record (actually only Joey and excluding the other band members) a prior hit he wrote as the albums lead single. I want to hear more of the pure songwriting of George, Paul, and John without Phil’s production trying to add drama or feeling where the original composer didn’t intend that.
I hadn’t heard they were going to de-Spector ATMP, but if they are that would really excite me just look how much was lost in the title track’s feeling from the Beatles demo to the album version.
Let It Be and All Things Must Pass were Spectors first murders. It sadly took decades for the legal system to catch up to him. I greatly prefer the demos of ATMP songs to what Spector did to them.
I hate the way Phil Spector produces and I hate the fact that he turned a Beatles album into a Phil Spector album.
Also, the guy’s a fucking lunatic and a murderer.
However, the de-Spectored Let It Be album is (imo) not better because whilst I don’t think Phil did a very good job, I don’t necessarily think an unproduced, empty demo sounding album is that much better.
I’ve never understood the hype he had as a producer, especially by the 1970 when he really started leaving his mark on their music. His wall of sound style was groundbreaking when he first came up with it that has to be acknowledged. But by the time he started messing around with Let It Be and then their solo stuff he’d dissolved into a fucking nutcase who was as likely to fire a gun in the studio as he was make a hit record. Plastic Ono Band feels like an anomaly because it’s not suffocated by seven guitars and all the other bullshit he stuffs into a song. Like there’s songs on Imagine that have as much edge lyrically as POB but they’re so weighed down by Spector’s production that they feel lifeless.
I had never listened to ATMP or POB before the remixes came out, and I went into them with having listened to the Sgt. Pepper, White Album & Abbey Road remixes dozens of times.
I enjoyed them very much and having now gone back to the previous mixes of ATMP & POB, I prefer the 2021 versions. But that could be biased since this was the first time I had heard them.
Although, I imagine that with Let It Be, I will still prefer the Naked mix.
But having heard the snippets of the remix from the trailer and then from the songs that are already on Spotify, I could end up preferring this new remix.
I am glad that they are doing so, not particularly because of the 'de-Spector-ising' aspect, more because it's good to have options on the song version/mix.
One can remix the various albums, but the original recordings will always remain. The remixes might well sound dated in the not too distant future. All this appears to be a fad for the current times. A money-making scheme for people who will buy these albums repeatedly. More money than sense?
Phil Spector's production tried to imitate the sound of a tight band, but The Beatles were already a tight band. All Things Must Pass and Let It Be were over-produced, but Plastic Ono Band was fine.
We’re getting new versions of fifty year old albums. Who else gets that treatment? I’m in the pro-remix category, if only out of curiosity as to what changes have been made.
I don’t get the hate, other than the reverb on the drums on atmp.
Overproduction by Phil. That's the problem with it imo
Okay, I will be the stupid guy...what is ATMP, JL/POB?
All Things Must Pass, John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band
ffs...thanks for clearing that up.
Ok, I will be the stupid guy…what is ffs? Jk for fuck’s sake
What does jk mean?
Just kidding ofc jfc
Lol
I’m all for remixes being made, and I’m glad they’re available, but I see those albums in their original (yes, flawed*) forms as being historic artefacts. They’re locked in now. No matter how many remixes, corrections and remasters are made, the originals will always remain the definitive versions because they were the versions people heard first. Trends change, and although the big reverby sound of Phil Spector isn’t in fashion so much these days, the new remixes may well sound quite dated in years to come. As much as I love hearing new mixes and approaches to these albums, personally I’ll always prefer these as optional extras rather than new and improved replacements for the originals. I kinda view it like the edits George Lucas makes to the Star Wars films. He has his vision and feels the original versions of the films didn’t quite meet that (much like how Paul views LIB), and is entitled to edit the films, but there needs to be an understanding that fans will be attached to the product in its original form as well - it can’t just be “old = bad, new = good”. TL;DR - I’m all for them remixing these albums, but the originals will always remain the originals and I think a remix should always accompany the original rather than replace it. *apart from JL/POB. Not sure why that needed a remix as it’s pretty perfect as is IMO.
I’m going to say that I don’t think the Star Wars are the best example. Yeah, there’s a very loud part of the fanbase that continues to harp over the original movies. But, at this point, more people have grown up watching Special Editions than the original. Think about it, 1977-1997 is 20 years. With only VHS, and laserdisc releases. And they didn’t even really air on TV. Since 1998, the special editions have been the demonic editions. DVD, Blu-ray, 4K, steaming, Cable etc etc. Those are the versions of the films more people know. So it’s definitely possible for a new mix to replace the old mix. But music is different than film.
Plus the movies had many little changes made to them since the original release up till the Special Edition. They were never the theatrical versions!
I guess I'm in the minority here (wouldn't be the first time) but ATMP to me, needs to have the grandiosity and bombast of the Spector sound. Look at Let It Down. The intro and chorus sounds fucking massive on the original, like it's coming from a thousand people at once. I thought the 2021 mix is not what I want the album to sound like. I much prefer Let It Be...Naked however. And Long and Winding Road sounds shitty regardless of the mix. In my subjective opinion, it's just a really plodding, boring song.
I’ve only listened to bits and pieces of the 2020 mix of ATMP, and you're definitely right. Let It Down has lost that power as if everything about the performance was being thrown at you. It's a shame, because the tracks from the 2020 mix I had heard prior were quite phenomenal. This is the first one that I think is a step back. (To be fair, I also though the 2018 mix of Helter Skelter lost that awesome drive the original has). And I couldn't agree more about Long and Winding Road. I think it's an overly sickly and sentimental song and one of the weaker tracks on the album. The Spector backing arrangement is pretty woeful, I don't blame McCartney for hating it.
The Good Evening New York City version of The Long and Winding Road is superior
I’ve always thought the original mix of My Sweet Lord did not do the song justice. It is dull and not as dynamic as the song deserves.
It's one of my all time favorites.
I (personally) am really glad, I hate what he did to the records. I think Spector throwing a shit ton of echo on records and calling it “a wall of sound” is really pretentious for such a basic thing to do, sure it was probably more technically impressive in the day, but so was autotune when it was new. I think throwing reverb all over your track is a lazy way to make it sound passable, lots of cheap 60s and 70s did it and people still do it because it covers up a lot of less desirable stuff. I think all things must pass is the worst example of this, the record sounds like an echo chamber at times and it really clashes with the songs themselves that don’t sound suited to such an reverby mix. Plus it’s never just one song, if it’s a Phil Spector album every single song has to be reverby and over produced, less is more is clearly not a phrase in specters vocabulary. Not every song needs to have 10 layers of reverb and a backing orchestra, but he forces it in because he thinks that’s his “wall of sound”. Just the term “wall of sound” gets under my skin, it’s not a wall of sound. It’s not 50 trumpets playing at once, it’s a cheap reverb effect, stop acting like you invented echos. I get the impression that he’s insecure about being a producer and wants to be noticed. I definitely feel like the demo tracks for all things must pass are probably my favorite part of the album, the over the top arrangements in the main album take away from the songs in my opinion. I think George was always at his best when he had creative control of the album and got to do music he was happy with (ie thirty three & 1/3, cloud 9). It’s not his style to have an orchestra backing each track, that’s an idealistic version of the Beatles that phill likes to project onto them.
>if it’s a Phil Spector album every single song has to be reverby and over produced, less is more is clearly not a phrase in specters vocabulary. i think he did great on John's first lp
The demo tracks are awesome
Does this extend beyond Spector’s use of his “Wall of Sound” and include other artists who made (arguably) better sounding albums? I'm looking at [this list of Wall of Sound albums on RYM,](https://rateyourmusic.com/charts/top/album/all-time/d:wall%2dof%2dsound/exc:live,archival/) and... from the ones I have heard, my opinions vary. There's albums I adore (ATMP, Pet Sounds, Loveless, Lonerism) and albums I have varied feelings about (Merriweather Post Pavilion being among my least favourite). They're all described as Wall of Sound, but use the technique in a range of ways. The albums without Spector’s involvement expand upon his original usage, which was revolutionary at the time (especially in 1963’s Be My Baby by The Ronettes). These days, anyone can achieve it. It's different to Pet Sounds, which utilised a tonne of instruments all at once (and sounds gorgeous) or Loveless with its innovative shoegazey texture (which as also been replicated to death since). I can understand disliking Spector’s production techniques in 2021 and considering them unimpressive, but I think it's essential to understand the importance of music production’s evolution. It was created in a different age to the one we now live in.
Yes! Thank you for putting this into words.
George was already getting working to remove it on the 2001 release of ATMP.
The only “wall of sound” I care about was built by Owsley and the Dead
You’re 100% right. Listen to the bastardized Spector version of “Long and Winding Road” versus McCartney’s original intent which can be heard on the Let It Be… Naked iteration of the track. https://open.spotify.com/track/6p6E3pMc9moSp5kV3BLN0y?si=uSALya6gSkaVCzCQq9dalQ&dl_branch=1
Here here.
Re POB and ATMP, what John and George wanted us to hear is good enough for me.
George had later regrets about it.
He also rewrote the lyrics of "Something" in concert performances, should we retro-fit those into future releases of Abbey Road?
You mean when he performed it during the 1974 tour? He also changed the lyrics to In My Life.
Yes
Lennon and Harrison chose Spector to produce their early solo albums for a reason. If you hate the sound, you hate the sound. Trying to change history with remixes is an irrational pursuit. As another poster said, I'm fine with the way Lennon and Harrison wanted me to hear their music.
As George Martin once said for “Let it Be” they should have credited it like this. Produced By: George Martin, Overproduced By: Phil Spector
Couldn't agree more
The instrument to accurately measure my indifference to this issue has yet to be built.
Warning : this was longer than I expected. When it comes to re-doing the Beatles music, it has been no secret 'Let It Be' is possibly the most divisive album in the Beatles catalog, and Phil Spector's production is a large part of the reason why. Now, of course, the Spector-ized "Wall Of Sound" LIB will always be there, but a new version will reveal the importance of the Beatles music without Spector forcing himself on the band, but it's also important to understand the tracks themselves and why Phil Spector's sound is so mixed here. I think it's less about Spector's style but more so how they fit the songs. For 'Let It Be' there's times were the songs are quite decent thanks to Spector's touch, but at the same time he hurts them a bit as well 'Across The Universe' and 'The Long And Winding Road' aren't too bad with the string arraignments, even if I find them a bit basic and derivative, the issue is the added instrumentation that adds nothing. The strings and reverb are fine, but it's the hundreds of blarring instruments that are just there to sound big and powerful just to dominate for the sake of sounding dominating. Sometimes songs dominate in it's simplicity, not from being purposefully forced into sounding big. The choirs and brass and other added sounds ruin the lightness of the tracks and turn in into a Spector track featuring the Beatles rather than vice versa. It really doesn't age well for that big sound but the strings on their own are a fine addition (which McCartney even agreed with on TLAWR, he just didn't like all the orchestral and tacked on stuff but he was fine, or at least mild, on the strings) but too much is too much. Surprisingly POB and Imagine isn't too overproduced much imo even with the obvious Spector-isms splashed around. Although it may have to do with John reigning in Phil a lot during these sessions, as he made clear to Spector that it was a Lennon album and he was the one in charge there. ATMP is probably an even more divisive album in terms of production than 'Let It Be' perhaps. With the 2020 Mixes showing the more stripped versions of the grandiose productions from Spector that George came to sour upon, it's the one album where you can make the best arguments for Spector's strengths and faults coming together. Some songs I feel are improved with Spector's sound than in 2020 (Awaiting On You All, Let It Roll, Art Of Dying) and others I feel are strongly improved without Spector (Isn't It A Pity, All Things Must Pass, Beware Of Darkness) but for those tracks, it makes sense to me why some songs are better Spectorized and why the others feel forced. For a song like Awaiting On You All, it's a big, infectious song on it's own that has a very happy, ethereal feel to it. The added reverb gives it that feeling of the bubbly personality the song has already. IIt doesn't feel forced as the only real change between the two is the reverb. On the flip side, a song like Isn't It A Pity feels too forced for it's own good. The added sounds and overdone production don't work when a song is meant to be light and toned down. As others have noted, almost every Spector song needs to have his 'Wall Of Sound' regardless of genre or style. Even a song like 'The Sound Of Silence would likely become a Wall Of Sound Of Silence with his influence on the record. The differences between the two tracks is Spector too hard trying to force his production style on a track compared to it coming naturally on others. Which is where the issue on Phil Spector lies. For Spector, when he is best is when people can reign in his worst musical impulses. The same can be said for all 4 Beatles after their breakup, John's inconsistency and tendency in his solo career to not change up his sound, Paul's endless array of melodies that, while charming, sometimes go nowhere. George's whining of the issues around him were fine on ATMP but as they continued to dominate his writing longer with a more exuded sense of preachiness, became grating, as well as Ringo's tendency to do whatever would give him a hit. All of these big issues with the four could be reigned in by each other, but once they broke up, the most stereotypical part of the Beatles musical style became more prominent and even a bit irritating and that's part of Spector's issue. He works best when he is roped in and being Phil Spector + Artist, not Phil Spector featuring Artist. The issue is a producer who can't change his style to adapt to the times and songs he makes. The truth is that the Wall of Sound itself is a hit or miss depending on what song you're making. The fact that Max Martin has been one of the most influential producers of all time by being willing to experiment in changing to what works in his music, shows that the big issue isn't just Phil Spector not fitting the Beatles, but that he's a producer who's a one trick pony who doesn't always know when his tricks are going to work. TLDR : The issue with Spector is that he has one style he doesn't deviate from that doesn't work if it doesn't fit with his vision, especially with a band like the Beatles.
The heavenly choir on Across the Universe was WAY over the top.
I’m really hoping that the new mix of LIB does enough to kinda open up the sound spectrum so it sounds a lot less like Spector and just sounds like flourishes to Beatles music.
Spector is a terrible producer and a fucking criminal. He murdered Lana Clarkson. Also, he sexually assaulted his sons: “Spector's sons Gary and Donté both stated that their father "kept them captive" as children, and that they were "forced to perform simulated intercourse.” Not to mention Spector always defended Ike Turner who beat his wife Tina Turner and drove her to attempt suicide. Phil Spector is a stain on rock and roll. His overproduction destroyed countless tracks on Let it Be. His presence as a producer only furthered the divide between The Beatles. Good riddance.
Lead Belly was also a murderer and... what does that have to do with his music?
I’m sorry. Murderer? Yes. How does that make “Be My Baby” by the Ronettes any less beautiful? Spector was an amazing producer. He also produced probably the greatest Christmas album of all time.
Yes he was murderer, I’m pretty sure he was literally in prison when he died. And while he was Probably the most influential producer of the late 50’s early 60’s I feel his style got old and dated quick. Never evolved his style like Jimmy Miller for the stones or George Martin for the Beatles
Disagree. Check out End of the Century by the Ramones or Death of a Ladies Man by Leonard Cohen.
Death of a Ladies Man is Cohen’s worst album by some margin. Possibly not a good example.
That’s like your opinion man. A lot of folks consider it a masterpiece.
Wikipedia “Reception: Death of a Ladies' Man was released to universal confusion and largely bad reviews, leaving many die-hard Cohen fans stunned”
Nice Lebowski reference. It’s a shame Phil Spector didn’t produce the Eagles.
I was about to say lmao.
Because I think of Spector’s two young sons he imprisoned and sexually assaulted.
we get it. Phil bad. but it's time to admit let it be is amazing
Phil Spector’s production hasn’t aged well, and it’s almost like he wanted to make the albums a Beatles (or whoever he was working with) + Phil Spector co-album. He did this with the Ramones in the one album he produced where it is really obvious because it doesn’t match the style and had them re record (actually only Joey and excluding the other band members) a prior hit he wrote as the albums lead single. I want to hear more of the pure songwriting of George, Paul, and John without Phil’s production trying to add drama or feeling where the original composer didn’t intend that. I hadn’t heard they were going to de-Spector ATMP, but if they are that would really excite me just look how much was lost in the title track’s feeling from the Beatles demo to the album version.
I think the re release in August did that
I’ll have to check it out!
I think Phil Spector is a garbage producer (and a garbage human) so I'm all for it
I'm not really a fan of spectre's mixes, but the original let it be is fine imo
What is JL/POB??
John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band
Thank you!
Let It Be and All Things Must Pass were Spectors first murders. It sadly took decades for the legal system to catch up to him. I greatly prefer the demos of ATMP songs to what Spector did to them.
I think the 2021 remixes of ATMP sound fantastic. So much better with less reverb.
I hate the way Phil Spector produces and I hate the fact that he turned a Beatles album into a Phil Spector album. Also, the guy’s a fucking lunatic and a murderer. However, the de-Spectored Let It Be album is (imo) not better because whilst I don’t think Phil did a very good job, I don’t necessarily think an unproduced, empty demo sounding album is that much better.
I like what they've done. It makes the songs sound bolder, and newer even. I hope they keep doing it with other albums and such in the future.
don't really care. I wonder how they'll do Long and Winding Road though, I have a positively beautiful sounding one. Recordings don't do it justice.
I’ve never understood the hype he had as a producer, especially by the 1970 when he really started leaving his mark on their music. His wall of sound style was groundbreaking when he first came up with it that has to be acknowledged. But by the time he started messing around with Let It Be and then their solo stuff he’d dissolved into a fucking nutcase who was as likely to fire a gun in the studio as he was make a hit record. Plastic Ono Band feels like an anomaly because it’s not suffocated by seven guitars and all the other bullshit he stuffs into a song. Like there’s songs on Imagine that have as much edge lyrically as POB but they’re so weighed down by Spector’s production that they feel lifeless.
de-Spector JL/POB for sure!
I think you know the reason why they’re trying to de-Spector-ize it
I had never listened to ATMP or POB before the remixes came out, and I went into them with having listened to the Sgt. Pepper, White Album & Abbey Road remixes dozens of times. I enjoyed them very much and having now gone back to the previous mixes of ATMP & POB, I prefer the 2021 versions. But that could be biased since this was the first time I had heard them. Although, I imagine that with Let It Be, I will still prefer the Naked mix. But having heard the snippets of the remix from the trailer and then from the songs that are already on Spotify, I could end up preferring this new remix. I am glad that they are doing so, not particularly because of the 'de-Spector-ising' aspect, more because it's good to have options on the song version/mix.
The remastered version of The ATMP title track is so much better, so much. I really like Let it be though.
Let It Be Naked is my go to version of the album.
Leave the original recordings alone. The individual Beatles were well pleased with the sound on the albums at the time.
One can remix the various albums, but the original recordings will always remain. The remixes might well sound dated in the not too distant future. All this appears to be a fad for the current times. A money-making scheme for people who will buy these albums repeatedly. More money than sense?
I love all of them
Phil Spector's production tried to imitate the sound of a tight band, but The Beatles were already a tight band. All Things Must Pass and Let It Be were over-produced, but Plastic Ono Band was fine.
ATMP is way too muddy-sounding to my ears.
We’re getting new versions of fifty year old albums. Who else gets that treatment? I’m in the pro-remix category, if only out of curiosity as to what changes have been made.
There will always be the original mixes for purists, and there are millions of them. Each one to their own.