Let It Be - The Making of the Beatles Final Album Book 2 -- a book review

 

In 2024, I read an amazing book about the Beatles' Get Back Sessions written by Terry Wilson.   If you are interested in my review of that book, click right here.  

The author stated that part 2 would be released in 2026, and, right on time, it was published a month or so ago; I just finished reading it this week.   Part 2 picks up where Part 1 ended and continues into the Apple Sessions of the Get Back sessions.   

Just like I said about the first book, I am amazed by the detail the author, Terry Wilson, researched to get the complete picture of these infamous sessions. Not only did he use all of the books available on the subject, but he also used the Nagra tapes and video documentation.  And he debunked the myth that George was unhappy throughout the session and that everyone was miserable.  He did show that the whole Allen Klein fiasco was going on at the same time and how it affected the group.  He also showed how Billy Preston did not come in to "save" the band, and that Magic Alex wasn't fired after not having Apple Studio ready in time.  

The big build-up in the book is, of course, to the rooftop concert, and Wilson goes into great detail about the concert and who was on the roof with the Beatles.  He also tells the story of the painting seen behind Ringo's drums during the rooftop performance and how Neil Aspinall ended up with it.  There is also a lot of research on the next day's performance at Apple, focusing on the slower number—something I feel gets totally overlooked—but those songs are performances as well. 

What I also enjoyed was that the story did not stop there.  While he no longer had the Nagra tapes and video to refer to, Wilson dug into the "mystery" sessions at Apple in February and all the other sessions up to January 1970 for the songs on the Let It Be album.   I really found the talk about how the Glyn Johns Get Back album was leaked to radio stations and bootlegged interesting.  He kept the story going through Disney+ and Anthology 4, which I think was the perfect way to tell the full story of Let It Be. 

With the announcement of the opening of 3 Savile Row in the near future, I feel like this volume of the book was very timely.   It was hard for me to put it down, although I did find volume 1 to be a little more interesting, but that was just personal preference.   I can't recommend this book enough for fans who want to read the minute details of the Get Back Sessions.   All the books from the past are now obsolete because Terry Wilson's two-volume set covers everything completely.  Check it out!