"Let It Be: Black America Sings Lennon, McCartney and Harrison" by VARIOUS ARTISTS (2016 Ace CD Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

"...Don't Let Me Down..."

I'm a huge fan of England's Ace Records and their stunning CD compilations (who isn't). And you look at the premise here - Soul Artists doing their take on the Fabs - and surely the results will be electrifying and funky as a gnat's chuffer.

But then you play "Let It Be: Black America Sings Lennon, McCartney and Harrison" by VARIOUS ARTISTS and song after song just feels wrong. Nothing ever ignites. It's a strange truth but The Beatles (as soulful as their music was) - doesn't translate to Soul. The Isley Brothers doing Carole King or Stephen Stills - Love Sculpture doing Ray Charles - even Grand Funk doing "Some Kind Of Wonderful" by The Soul Brothers Six - these crossovers all work. And of course you could fill box sets full of other covers that add to the original and even bring out more. But no such luck here - here you get one ill-chosen track after another.

The 16-page booklet is (as always) a thing of beauty - classy photos of Screamin' Jaw Hawkins doing "A Hard Day's Night", Mary Well's tackling "Do You Want To Know A Secret" and Dionne Warwick having a go at "We Can Work It Out". 

Released 30 September 2016 in the UK (October 2016 in the USA) - "Let It Be: Black America Sings Lennon, McCartney and Harrison" by VARIOUS ARTISTS is a typically well presented affair from reissue experts Ace Records. The booklet is a feast - rare picture sleeves - 7" single label repros (RCA for Nina Simone, Capitol for Junior Parker, EMI America for Gary U.S. Bonds) with top-quality mastering from Duncan Cowell and a generous 22-track playing time for Ace CDCHD 1483 (Barcode 029667077026) of 77:54 minutes.

1. Eleanor Rigby - Aretha Franklin

2. Dear Prudence - The 5 Stairsteps

3. Got To Get You Into My Life - Earth, Wind And Fire

4. Do You Want To Know A Secret - Mary Wells

5. The Fool On The Hill - Four Tops

6. Lovely Rita - Fats Domino

7. Here Comes The Sun - Nina Simone

8. Ob La Di Ob La Da - Arthur Conley

9. A World Without Love - The Supremes

10. Tomorrow Never Knows - Junior Parker

11. Don't Let Me Down - Randy Crawford

12. With A Little Help From My Friends - The Undisputed Truth

13. A Hard Day's Night - Screamin' Jay Hawkins

14. She Came In Through The Bathroom Window - Ike & Tina Turner

15. For No One - Maceo & All The King's Men

16. It's Only Love - Gary U.S. Bonds

17. We Can Work It Out - Dionne Warwick

18. Hey Jude - The Temptations

19. In My Life - Boyz II Men

20. Savoy Truffle - Ella Fitzgerald

21. Something - Isaac Hayes

22. Let It Be - Bill Withers

I wish I could say the music worth it. Beautifully presented or not - 9 times out of 10 the interpretations offered here feel like half-hearted cash-ins on a very popular band of the time - the most popular and influential group of all time. Yet somehow the Beatles songs don't really suit Soul. Better is the "Hard To Handle" set in this series where Black Artists have a go at Otis Redding – a combo that actually does work.

In the meantime – if you’re tempted by "Let It Be: Black America Sings Lennon, McCartney and Harrison" - I'd try to get a listen to the CD first before committing...