In March 1970 the session tapes were given to American producer Phil Spector, with McCartney's reluctant agreement. Spector worked on the tracks and compiled the eventually released album - by now entitled Let It Be. The album and the film with the same name were released on May 8, 1970; the Beatles had already broken up by that time. The movie captured on film the critical tensions within the band, and also included footage from the rooftop concert. The rooftop performance closed with the song "Get Back", and afterwards Lennon remarked, "I'd like to say 'thank you' on behalf of the group and ourselves, and I hope we passed the audition." The joke was added to the studio version of the song that appeared on the album.
Several songs from the recording sessions have been released officially in versions different to those on the Let It Be album. "Get Back"/"Don't Let Me Down" and "Let It Be" were released as singles in 1969 and 1970, respectively. "Across the Universe", a Lennon composition recorded in February 1968, was added to pad out his sparse contributions to the album, having previously been released in its original form as part of the World Wildlife Fund charity album No One's Gonna Change Our World. The Glyn Johns version of "The Long and Winding Road" was released in 1996 on The Beatles Anthology 3.
Six tracks were live performances, in accordance with the original album concept: "I've Got a Feeling", "One After 909", and "Dig a Pony" from the rooftop performance, and "Two of Us", "Dig It" and "Maggie Mae" from studio sessions. However, the album versions of "For You Blue", "I Me Mine", "Let It Be", "The Long and Winding Road" and "Get Back" featured editing, splicing, and overdubs. The twelfth track on the album was a slowed-down version of the original 1968 recording of "Across the Universe", which was deemed superior to any of the January 1969 performances of the song.
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