Mixing "Let It Be" album

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The day before, April 1, Phil Spector supervised the recording of orchestral and choral overdubs for three songs, “Across The Universe“, “The Long And Winding Road” and “I Me Mine“. On this day, he created the final mixes for those songs. This was also the final day of work for the “Let It Be” album.

Phil Spector and engineers Peter Bown and Roger Ferris made four stereo mixes of “The Long And Winding Road”, named remixes 10 to 13, followed by an edit of remix 10 and remix 13. This edit was released on the “Let It Be” album.

Three stereo mixes of “I Me Mine” were then made, named remixes 10 to 12. The orchestral overdubs were kept lower in these mixes, allowing The Beatles’ instruments and vocals to be the primary focus. An edit of remix 11 and 12 was then made. This edit was released on the “Let It Be” album.

The tape of “Across The Universe” was slowed down, extending the track by nine seconds and changing its key from D to C#. Four remixes (remixes 10 to 13) were then made.

After this last session, acetates of the album were cut and sent out to the four Beatles. That’s how Paul McCartney discovered the work done by Phil Spector, leading him to send an angry letter to Allen Klein on April 14, 1970:

Dear Sir,

In future, no one will be allowed to add to or subtract from a recording of one of my songs without my permission.

I had considered orchestrating ‘The Long And Winding Road’ but I had decided against it. I, therefore, want it altered to these specifications:

1. Strings, horns, voices and all added noises to be reduced in volume.
2. Vocal and Beatle instrumentation to be brought up in volume.
3. Harp to be removed completely at the end of the song and original piano notes to be substituted.
4. Don’t ever do it again.

Signed

Paul McCartney

c.c. Phil Spector
John Eastman

Even at the beginning, Paul said, ‘Yes,’ and then he heard it. I spoke to him on the phone and said, ‘Do you like it?’ And he said, ‘Yeah, it’s okay.’ He didn’t put it down, and then, suddenly, he didn’t want it to go out. It was two weeks after that that he wanted to cancel it.

Ringo Starr – From “The Beatles: Off the Record” by Keith Badman

We were getting a ‘re-producer’ instead of just a producer, and he added all sorts of stuff… backing that I perhaps wouldn’t have put on. I mean, I don’t think it made it the worst record ever, but the fact that now people were putting stuff on our records that certainly one of us didn’t know about was wrong.

Paul McCartney – Quoted in Classic Rock, May 2020

Last updated on January 5, 2022

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