11:11 Dig It and Maggie Mae

I made the point that many of the songs in Abbey Road's Long One medley aren't songs at all but song fragments but Dig It takes that to the extreme. A 12 minute semi improvised jam over the most unoriginal chord sequence known to man, only 50 seconds was worth salvaging.

It's not a song, it's a mildly amusing outtake that belongs on something like Anthology.

The Beatles hadn't released a cover since Act Naturally in 1965 and Maggie Mae was to be the last. A traditional folk song about a Liverpool prostitute sung in exaggerated scouse accents (Mary McCartney had always taught Paul to 'talk posh' and Lennon was brought up in a fiercely middle class household) it had enough charm to be a great track – if only the band could have made it through an entire take.

The Best Of Let It Be (pt.5) - Dig It For You, Blue Maggie Mae!

For You Blue

LIB - Recorded on 25 January 1969 (except for Lennon's “Queen says 'no' to pot smoking FBI movement” comment). The lap steel is panned hard left and the 'prepared' piano hard right. Harrison's acoustic guitar is almost non existent except for the intro.

LIBN - A remix of the original version – piano and steel panning is reversed - lap steel right, piano on left with the piano a lot louder and the lap steel quieter. The Lennon quote is removed. According to engineer Hicks a lead vocal which was overdubbed in the original session was used and an incomplete guide vocal was removed, but it isn't clear whether the guide was used alongside the overdub on LIB on instead of it. I can't hear any difference. I almost wonder if he meant guitar track, as the acoustic guitar is much louder and clearer especially during the solos.

A3 - A different take recorded same day as LIB. Harrison's meandering (but cool) acoustic intro is replaced with a piano intro. The piano (right) is not 'prepared', the acoustic guitar is left and the steel centre. The song a much more laid-back feel overall and Lennon's vibrato is much more restrained. The piano solo and Harrison's humorous asides (“Elmore James got nothing on this baby”) are missing. Oh, and the drumming on the intro sounds like a typewriter.

Dig It and Maggie Mae

These songs only appear on the original Let It Be as does Lennon's “and now we'd like to do 'Ark The Angels Come” comment which was perceived as a sly dig at the hymn-like Let It Be which followed Dig It on the original album.

The mix of For You Blue on LIBN is far superior to LIB. However since both mixes feature the worst sounding instrument the Beatles ever committed to tape (McCartney's prepared piano) and one of the worst played (Lennon's lap steel) I'd take the less energetic but far more listenable Anthology version. I would have loved a complete take of Maggie Mae but there isn't one and I'd happily lose Dig It completely.

Best Versions

For You Blue – Anthology 3
Dig It – LIB
Maggie Mae – LIB