Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 5.0 | |
Overall | 5.0 |
Music | 100% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
English: Dolby Atmos
English: Dolby TrueHD 7.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (96kHz, 24-bit)
English: LPCM 2.0 (96kHz, 24-bit)
None
Blu-ray Disc
Six-disc set (1 BD, 5 CDs)
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 5.0 | |
Video | 0.0 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 5.0 | |
Overall | 5.0 |
Let It Be has occasionally been dismissed as "second tier Beatles", sometimes even by members of the Beatles themselves, and yet it's salient to note (no pun intended) that when Rolling Stone asked its readers to rate the Top 10 Beatles album, Let It Be made it to the list, albeit in eighth place. Fans of the band are going to already know about a lot of the difficult back story to the album's recording, subsequent delay, and then eventual retooling by Phil Spector, all of which is covered in some detail in the really sumptuous hardback book which is included with this release, but for those who aren't aware of the long gestation and problematic birth of this album, just sitting back and listening to Let It Be can be a thrilling experience. This so-called "Super Deluxe Edition" joins a number of previous Beatles releases which offered Blu-rays as part of their package, including The Beatles: Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, The Beatles: Abbey Road and The Beatles (known popularly as The White Album).
Let It Be's sole Blu-ray disc does have a video component, and indeed a bit more of one than is sometimes included on what are in essence audio Blu-rays. In this case there is an AVC encoded 1080p 1.78:1 animated menu which offers what appears to be a "version" of the book included with this release, which opens and has pages turn when, for example, either the Album or Audio Options selections on the Main Menu are chosen. Probably more interesting to fans will be a series of film strips which roll in and out and provide some great candid shots of the album being recorded. There are quite a few of these, but they do ultimately loop back around and repeat. Because this is really not video that can be assessed in the traditional sense, I'm leaving the score above blank, but the imagery here is certainly sharp enough the details in the Kodak film strips are discernable.
Let It Be features LPCM 2.0, DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and Dolby Atmos audio options. My hunch is a lot of audiophiles are going to be flocking to this release in anticipation of the Atmos track, but I have to say for me personally the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track was the clear winner of the three, and in fact the half point I've deducted from what would have been a perfect audio score above is because I was so surprised (not in a good way) by what I heard on the Atmos track. But first, the positives. All three tracks actually show sterling fidelity, with beautiful clarity and in the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track in particular, a really gorgeous midrange and low end that is especially noticeable in some of the piano work and some of the orchestral flourishes. The stereo track probably understandably sounds a bit more compressed and focused than the 5.1 track in terms of the placement of vocals, but that said, I personally still preferred the 5.1 track, which keeps the vocal nicely forward while noticeably upping overall amplitude and especially the aforementioned energy in the mid- and lower ranges. The surround track isn't necessarily "showy", even in songs where you might expect it to be (like Across the Universe), but it noticeably opens up the soundstage and provides a really nicely immersive listening experience. Now, as to the Atmos track, I was struck instantly by its anemic amplitude, which is noticeably softer than either of the other tracks (the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track sounded at least slightly hotter than the LPCM 2.0 track to my ears). There's also a kind of curious "distancing" factor at play in this version which may be attributable to the engagement of the Atmos channels, but I didn't find it "useful" or frankly very appealing, though some may feel it adds a suitably "spacy" ambience to tunes like the aforementioned Across the Universe. In toggling between the three tracks (and just a note that I had to do that via the disc menu, the Audio button on the remote didn't work), there was no question in my own tastes as to my favorite, though the stereo track is great, and if you pump up the volume, the Atmos track is less problematic.
As I've mentioned in other reviews of deluxe sets featuring audio Blu-rays, one man's "supplement" is another man's "main feature", and my hunch is many consumers may consider the Blu-ray disc the supplement in this set. Those of us who know better (yes, that's a joke) will nonetheless consider the following items to be the extras:
Some fans were reportedly upset that this "Super Deluxe Edition" of an iconic Beatles album didn't include hours and hours of unreleased material, and while that may be so, this is still an incredibly impressive collection that provides music lovers a very rare peek behind the scenes of an album being fashioned under duress and with an obvious difference of opinion about what the final product should sound like. The audio Blu-ray has great sounding LPCM 2.0 and (especially ) DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 tracks, but I found the Atmos track to be my least favorite option on the disc. The CDs and book are an amazing resource and should provide a lot of entertainment value and/or information for folks. Highly recommended.
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1969
Super Deluxe Edition | Blu-ray Audio
1967
1966
1964
50th Anniversary Edition
1979
Abridged
2017
Deluxe Edition
2013
Live at The Newport Folk Festival 1963-1965
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1995
1970
1990
1988
2014
1992
Blu-ray Audio | Limited 50th Anniversary Super Deluxe Edition | The White Album
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2010-2013
1981
2011