We’ve got the vinyl out because it was 50 years a go TODAY that the Beatles released their final album, Let It Be. Recorded in January 1969, then shelved for fifteen months, by the time this movie tie-in album made it into the record shops the Beatles had acrimoniously gone their separate ways. Contemporary reviews were generally hostile, ‘a cheapskate epitaph’ said the NME and following closely in the wake of the magnificent Abbey Road, at the time Let It Be paled in comparison. Phil Spector had been brought in at the eleventh hour by Lennon and Harrison to add some polish to the original ‘warts and all’ tapes but to many, including Paul McCartney (taking particular exception to The Long and Winding Road), the result was patchy. Now with half a century of hindsight, perhaps time has been kind to the Fab Four’s final offering; although not reaching the stunning pinnacle of the band’s preceding albums, Let It Be has many highlights and treasures to behold not least the fantastic live performances from the rooftop of 3 Savile Row. The Bootleg Beatles will be performing a special Let It Be and ‘Rooftop’ set on their next tour.