Over thirty years after the band broke up, and with only half the members still alive, it can be difficult to remember what a phenomenon the Beatles were. Hysteria followed them wherever they went, and million of fans lined up overnight outside record shops every time they releases a new album. The whole spectacle prompted John Lennon, in an ill-advised comment, to say,“We’re more popular than Jesus.”

　　That might have been an overstatement, but not by much. The Beatles defined a generation, thrilled the world, and changed music forever. In fact, today it’s hard to find a musician or music fan that hasn’t been influenced by the Beatles.

　　But the release of Let It Be…Naked is set to introduce a whole new generation of music lovers to the Beatles. Let It Be was one of the last albums the group released. Produced by Phil Spector, famous for his“wall of sound”concept, the songs are backed by rich, full instrumentals that were added in postproduction. Some members of the band weren’t happy with the result, and felt the beauty of the songs was lost in the instrumentals, but spector got his way in the end.

　　For Let It Be…Naked, the engineers went back to the original session taps, producing the album the way Beatles had originally intended–with simple arrangements that focus on the songs. The result is a completely different sound which, when held up against the original Let It Be, affirms the Beatles as the greatest rock band in history. No doubt critics and fans will endlessly debate the merits and flaws of the two albums, but they’ll all be glad for the chance to compare them.