Some days you just want to grow out your beard and sing really sad songs, like "The Long and Winding Road," for example. The version the Fabs do in the video below is the live, in studio version from the film Let It Be and the way Paul intended for it to be done. Yet I, having heard if for the first time the way it was done after Phil Spector got his hands on it, will always prefer the lushly orchestrated version with the angelic choir (which Paul hated in particular). McCartney cited Spector's production on "The Long and Winding Road" as one of six reasons for the legal dissolution of The Beatles. He originally wrote the song at his farm in Scotland and was inspired by the growing tension among the group. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeeaaahhh.....
So I always liked the song but it was ruined for me when I bought a "Beatles for Babies" CD years ago - this is on it in some strange unearthly form. It was like one of those radio station contests where you have to guess the pop song out of its horrible elevator music version. But my kids loved it.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure this is it, but aiiiieeee!!!
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AnPIecyrMSk
Paul has always been my most fav. of the 4, and his compositions have been the ones that move me the most of all their songs.
ReplyDeleteSuch a perfect song for me to hear, thanks...
I always thought it was a shame the Beatles couldn't have stuck to the original concept they had for "Get Back/Let it Be": to rehearse an album of new material, perform it live in concert and release that, warts and all, as their next album. Instead the whole thing was compromised and kind of peculiar. Good tunes, though, and I like the Spector arrangement on L&WR too.
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