Hey RIAA, here’s a CD I will pay for. I already own the original on tape, LP, and CD, but I’ll buy it again because the music is good.

I wonder if we can correlate Phil Spector’s bastardization of Let It Be (notably The Long and Winding Road) as the beginning-of-the-end of real artistic freedom? At the very least we can probably say it is the beginning of label control over artists (despite the album being an Apple release). Why wait for music to find an audience when you can package a tried-and-true formula over and over? Either way, I’m looking forward to hearing clean versions of the old songs.

One question: Why are they dropping Maggie Mae? I like that song! I may like it because it leads in to the incredible I’ve Got a Feeling, but who knows.

While we’re on the topic, if you’ve never seen the Let It Be video it’s really worth checking out. Despite the rather painful arguments and open hostility there are moments of greatness. My favourite scene sees a solitary George getting down to the business of playing guitar while John-Yoko and Paul argue in the background.

In case you’re wondering, I’m a ‘mild’ fan of the lads.