The Beatles’ final album, Let It Be, holds a complex legacy among fans and critics. It’s regarded as one of their most electrifying works, featuring unforgettable tracks like ‘Across The Universe,’ ‘I Me Mine,’ ‘Get Back,’ and ‘Long and Winding Road’. However, it also encapsulates the turbulence that marked the band’s last days together. Tension among the group members, especially as their relationships soured, is woven into the very fabric of the album’s production, overshadowing its musical achievements.
Released just a month after the Beatles’ official breakup, Let It Be was a commercial triumph. But critics, when the album first hit the shelves, were less than impressed. They found it ‘too clean,’ its polished sound—thanks to Phil Spector’s production—removing some of the rawness that made the Beatles’ early works so captivating.
The album’s title track is a perfect reflection of the band’s internal struggles. While the Beatles had spent years threatening to go their separate ways, the moment had finally come. As the decade turned, creative tensions came to a head. John Lennon’s desire for authentic rock and roll clashed with Paul McCartney’s penchant for music hall whimsy. As McCartney’s Sgt. Pepper’s era morphed into increasingly experimental work, Lennon fired back with the boundary-pushing The White Album. Their songwriting had diverged to the point that they were creating for individual tastes, possibly even for their solo careers.
McCartney’s Let It Be song—one of the band’s most iconic—emerged from a dream in which he saw his deceased mother. Yet, Lennon, ever the critic, was dismissive. He saw it as far removed from the essence of the Beatles. In an interview with Rolling Stone’s David Sheff, Lennon was blunt: “That’s Paul. What can you say? Nothing to do with the Beatles. It could’ve been Wings.” Lennon also believed McCartney was chasing the success of Simon and Garfunkel’s ‘Bridge Over Troubled Water,’ a notion that deeply insulted him. For Lennon, music was a profound expression of the soul, not a calculated attempt to replicate another’s commercial success.
In an unreleased interview from 1970, Lennon laid bare the emotional strain that defined the Beatles’ final chapter. He described the band’s creative process as grueling, saying, “We were going through hell. We often do. It’s torture every time we produce anything. The Beatles haven’t got any magic you haven’t got. We suffer like hell anytime we make anything, and we got each other to contend with. Imagine working with The Beatles, it’s tough.”
Lennon went on to explain that the joy had been drained from the process, leaving only tension. “There’s just tension. It’s tense every time the red light goes on,” he lamented, referring to the recording process. He also stated that the album felt unfinished, almost as if it were a project reluctantly wrapped up. “We never really finished it. We didn’t really want to do it. Paul was hustling for us to do it. It’s The Beatles with their suits off.”
Looking back, it’s clear that the Beatles’ split was inevitable. The personal and creative distances between the band members had grown too wide, making the continuation of their musical journey impossible. Though fans may have wished for more, the breakup felt like the natural conclusion to a band that had already drifted apart. For them to find personal fulfillment, they each had to walk their own path.
