In 1969, when Phil Spector was launching his A&M productions, The Beatles began sessions for an album they hoped would restore a more straightforward approach to their music. Their recent singles, "Get Back" and "Lady Madonna", had already turned them in that direction.

By 1970, however, The Beatles were in disarray. Paul had outgrown the group and was working on his first solo album; John had just released "Cold Turkey", following "Give Peace A Chance" which set the wole world singing; Ringo had made the "Sentimental Journey" album which could only have only been intended as a present for his parents; and George, although "Something" had been a huge success, still seemed restricted to Beatles' B-sides and two cuts per album.

Given the working title "Get Back", sessions for the new album proved difficult as the individual Beatles continued to move toward separate careers. The sessions dissolved into dissension, with John and Paul at each other's throat, and the unfinished tapes were deemed unworthy of release.

Phil Spector, whose relationship with The Beatles had been maintained through intermittent exchanges of congratulation over the years, had been recommended by The Beatles manager, Allen Klein, who was also a friend of Phil Spector, to undertake the task of preparing the "Get Back" tapes for release. The resulting album, "Let It Be", proved to be The Beatles' final package of new material, meeting with a barrage of criticism from the rock press and Beatles fans alike, accusing Spector of ruining The Beatles sound. The track, "The Long And Winding Road", received the most outrageous criticism of Spector's work. Deemed as "mushy and over-produced" by some critics, the record boasts a bigness that seems fitting for the group's farewell release. The original demo, which used a piano to create a scaling effect, was greatly improved upon by the addition of an orchestra and string passages. Spector combined these with a chorus that could easily stand in for a heavenly host.

Despite less-than-enthusiastic reviews for Phil's production, the album sold several million copies. Harrison and Lennon were sufficiently impressed to request Phil's services for their first solo efforts. Their results were impressive as well. In hindsight, those who have since heard the pre-Spector versions of the material appearing on various bootlegs over the years, know that he salvaged an otherwise unmarketable product and should be commended for it.

[NOTE: The above intro from Jack Fitzpatrick's "Collecting Phil Spector" and Richard Williams' "Out Of His Head: The Sound Of Phil Spector".]