What Kraftwerk lost with the duo’s departure was a nebulous but undeniably deep emotional core, however much Neu! initially shared in their drone-heavy compositional style. It’s always worth the double-take to remember that Neu! founders Michael Rother and Klaus Dinger were early fixtures of Kraftwerk. With their demise, the world lamented the true “end of the ’60s,” and Let It Be became a mantra for moving on. Outside influences probably played a factor, but by the time Let It Be hit the racks, the Fab Four had little collective patience left. Even as John and Paul were reportedly at each other’s wing-collared throats during the recording sessions, they manage to sound positively infatuated on the tender, Dylan-esque “Two of Us” and the gutsy blues-rocker “I’ve Got a Feeling.” But even though they’re still jointly credited, it’s their solo contributions that most stand out-John’s glistening, Eastern-accented “Across the Universe” and Paul’s anthemic title track burned themselves into the collective unconscious on sheer songwriting muscle. Though recorded prior to Abbey Road, it was released a year later and could be considered a more fitting coda to the Beatles’ long, winding road. Often overlooked among the rest of the Beatles discography, Let It Be rings with more than a handful of truly charming, memorable moments. It sounds impossible but it’s absolutely true-that’s the ecstatic intensity captured on this session. An admittedly demanding listen, these 50 minutes of collective madness are so unified and driven even the dude playing sleigh bells rocks as hard and heavy as Miles on diffused trumpet. But one listen and you understand individual names aren’t important-song titles and run times seem irrelevant as well. Of course, the band is incredible: Herbie Hancock and Chick Corea on keys, John MacLaughlin on guitar, and Jack DeJohnette, Al Foster, Billy Hart, and Mtumbe on drums and percussion. On the Corner blows past the kids and the streets-this is the sound of longing, passion, and rage milked from the primal source and heading into the dark beyond. They say Miles was looking to connect with kids on the streets. A more dense, hypnotic, surprising, sensual, down album I’ve yet to hear. Or so I’ve always imagined-I’ve never sampled the stuff, but if I did, I’d want Miles’ most controversial record spinning on the hi-fi. On the Corner is the sound of icy hot heroin coursing through the veins.
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