Let It Be

Other known matrix variants

Known matrix stamper variants of this pressing (different mother numbers, stamper letters, or re-cuts).

  1. Variant 2
    A
    Phil+Ronnie J̶S̶ ̶-̶ ̶1̶7̶,̶5̶0̶0̶ -7 6351 A Bell Sound sf #1
    B
    Phil+Ronnie J̶S̶ ̶-̶ ̶1̶7̶,̶5̶0̶1̶ -7 SOAL-6351 B #5 Bell Sound sf
  2. Variant 3
    A
    No 2 SOAL-1-635'1 JS-17,500-9
    B
    SOAL-2-635'1 JS-17,501-9

Tracklist

Side A

  1. Two Of Us (3:33)
  2. Dig A Pony (3:55)
  3. Across The Universe (3:51)
  4. I Me Mine (2:56)
  5. Dig It (0:51)
  6. Let It Be (4:01)
  7. Maggie Mae (0:39)

Side B

  1. I've Got A Feeling (3:38)
  2. One After 909 (2:52)
  3. The Long And Winding Road (3:40)
  4. For You Blue (2:33)
  5. Get Back (3:09)

Labels & dead wax

Visual reference for this specific pressing. Click any image to enlarge.

Side A — Let It Be
Side A
Side B — Let It Be
Side B
Back sleeve — Let It Be
Back sleeve

How to authenticate this pressing

Specific verification cues for this exact variant.

The first and decisive test to identify Canadian press is the catalogue number on the label. The Canadian Let It Be carries SOAL 6351 on both sides, with the side noted in brackets: "(SOAL 1-6351)" on side 1 and "(SOAL 2-6351)" on side 2. This is the Canadian box-set number and is sufficient on its own to confirm the country of production. The perimeter print on this label is minimal and asymmetric: side 1 has no text along the edge, while side 2 carries a single perimeter line along the lower arc, "MFD. BY APPLE RECORDS, INC." This is not a full rim text running around the whole circumference, as on British labels, but one short line repeating the formula from the label face. Do not look here for a "Made in Canada" notation on the perimeter, then, because there is none on either side; identification of the country rests on the catalogue number, not on the edge print.

Historical context & other notes

In Canada, Let It Be appeared in 1970 as a deluxe box set under the catalogue number SOAL-6351. The edition was prepared and distributed by Capitol Records (Canada) Ltd. The box contained the disc, a sleeve, and the 160-page book The Beatles Get Back with photographs by Ethan Russell, graphic design by John Kosh. Unlike the United Kingdom, where the PXS 1 box set gave way after six months to the standalone PCS 7096 album, the Canadian market did not get a separate, cheaper edition under a new number. SOAL-6351 was the only 1970 edition and remained so until it was withdrawn.

The pressing of Canadian Apple records relied in this period on two facilities, and Let It Be was no exception. The first was RCA Victor, which cut the mastering lacquers for Capitol Canada releases when none were supplied by Capitol USA. The pressing of the discs took place at the RCA plant in Smiths Falls, Ontario. The second production facility was the Compo Company, whose new factory in Cornwall, Ontario had taken over almost all production of high-volume hits during the 1960s. The split came down to throughput: the older RCA plant in Smiths Falls could not keep up with demand, while Compo in Cornwall could complete the entire production cycle in under a day, which, given the 48-hour delivery requirement of the time, made it the preferred manufacturer.

The Canadian disc did not use the British YEX matrices. The run-out area on both sides shows the signature "Phil + Ronnie", the marking of the New York studio Bell Sound, and the crossed-out numbers JS 17500 and JS 17501, pointing to masters of American origin (even though the United States never received the box set).

On the collector market, the Canadian SOAL-6351 box was rare from the very beginning. It was withdrawn from production relatively quickly (in 1970 already, after a single pressing), because the cost of producing the book alone made the set uneconomical. The short, one-off production translated into a lasting shortage of this release on the market. A further factor was its fragile construction: the Get Back book had weak binding, and complete copies with pages that have not come loose and an undamaged record sleeve are a rarity today. The value trajectory has run steadily upward over the following decades, although the Canadian box remains cheaper than the British PXS 1; complete, well-preserved sets reach prices on the secondary market in the region of several hundred Canadian dollars.

One final point of interest: the "Phil + Ronnie" signature in the matrix number marking is a trace of the involvement in the production of Phil Spector and his then-wife Ronnie Bennett.

Other releases

This album's releases in other countries, or special editions within the same market. Full per-country chronology lives in each country's hub page.

Market value

from $37 to $727
≈ €32 – €621