Dig It

The thing is, according to the rules I've set for myself, I HAVE to one day listen to those songs that the Beatles commercially released in a very half-assed way. My goal is to work my way through EVERY song in the canon, after all. Now, I'm trying to save these kind of half-songs for days when I just don't have time to/don't feel like/don't have the energy to write very much.

So today, we have "Dig It," basically an extended jam the Beatles embarked upon during the ill-fated Get Back sessions. It's one of the only songs that gives a writers' credit to all four of the Beatles, but again, unsurprising considering it's basically a jam. Now, there's nothing WRONG with a jam, especially not when it's the Beatles doing it. I'd have loved to hear a lot more of this than we get even get on the Let It Be album, frankly, but for some unfathomable reason Phil Spector stuck a version on the album that clocks in at 49 seconds. It's kind of dumb-- in my mind, you have to either commit to releasing these random studio jam sessions, or not. To put on 49 seconds of it is just a tease: it makes no sense, and it sounds out of sync with the rest of the album. It's no wonder they just left it off a few years ago when they released Let It Be Naked, which was basically a do-over of this accursed album.

Anyway, as I said, there's nothing wrong with "Dig It." It's just musicians messing around, but it's the BEATLES messing around, so it's more rewarding than one might think. There are several much longer versions of this available on bootleg, but frankly it's not like it's a work of great genius anyway, so I think we can be content with this three-and-a-half minute version that's featured in Let It Be (the film). And, you know, like I said-- I had to do "Dig It" one of these days, and today I'm super busy. I promise tomorrow will be better.

"Dig It," released in the U.K. side A track 5 of Let It Be, May 8, 1970; in the U.S., May 18, 1970.

I am indebted for all discography information to the tremendous Beatles-Discography.com.