This is a follow-up to our previous round-up of recently released books on The Beatles.
The Beatles Fab But True (Schiffer) By Doug Wolfberg
Wolfberg offers sixteen, chapter-length, individual stories about The Beatles that may be known to some fans of the group, but here receives an in-depth sort of retelling. Wolfberg digs deep and the stories reflect his richly detailed research and keen insights. The stories unfold in chronological order and collectively provide an almost alternative short-hand history of the singularity of The Beatles phenomenon. He also offers a postscript for every chapter that brings the stories up to date.
Wolfberg thankfully doesn’t just merely retell these stories, but through fresh analysis, brings into focus what really happened, and in some cases debunks some of the myths and incomplete narratives that can get preserved for posterity in some articles and books on the group. The book is a beautiful hardcover tome, with glossy pages and a dust-jacket and is fully illustrated. It is another book that makes for great reading straight through or by cherry-picking certain chapters or just paging through it.
Paul McCartney: The Lyrics (Liveright) By Paul McCartney
Originally released in November of 2021 as a two-volume hardback set in a slipcase, covering 154 songs, presented alphabetically, that McCartney has written, this new paperback edition includes seven additional songs: “Bluebird,” “Day Tripper,” “English Tea,” “Every Night,” “Hello, Goodbye,” “Magical Mystery Tour” and “Step Inside Love.”
The book includes lyrics and annotations by McCartney and is beautifully illustrated. The original volume was nearly 900 pages and this new paperback edition is closer to 600. The size of the new edition is smaller and everything has been condensed into one paperback edition. For those who couldn’t afford the $100 original set, this new one is much more affordable at only $30 list price.
The book works as an excellent companion to McCartney’s recently released 1964: Eyes of the Storm coffee-table photo book. It also works well with Many Years From Now, published in 1997, by Barry Miles. While McCartney didn’t officially appear as that book’s cowriter or state it was done with his cooperation, Miles has been a close friend of McCartney’s since the 1960s and McCartney’s input makes it close to an authorized biography, but it is clearly still Miles’ own work and take on things.
George Harrison: The Reluctant Beatle (Scribner) By Philip Norman
Philip Norman has had one of the more illustrious careers as an author of music books. His Shout!: The Beatles in Their Generation, published in 1981, was one of the first big books on The Beatles. He has also written about the Rolling Stones, Mick Jagger, Elton John, Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, and Buddy Holly, among others. He has also written novels, plays and other non-music works of non-fiction.
With this new Harrison book, Norman has now written about all of The Beatles as solo artists except for Ringo Starr. Norman seeks to reflect Harrison’s sometimes precarious place in The Beatles, as the often junior-partner in the firm to Lennon and McCartney. He also points out the many contradictions that were the complicated life and persona of the man. There’s plenty on his life and work after The Beatles, including his interest in Indian culture and spiritualism, his marriages, solo career, Handmade Films, and the Traveling Wilburys. Norman draws from his decades of interviewing people close to The Beatles and Harrison, as well as using his own notes from being a part of key activities related to Harrison’s life.
Abbey Road: The Inside Story of the World’s Most Famous Recording Studio (Penguin) by David Hepworth
There have been some fine books on Abbey Road Studios, including the monumental coffee-table tome Abbey Road: The Best Studio in the World by Alistair Lawrence and The Story of the World’s Most Famous Recording Studio by Brian Southall. While the coffee-table book is a stunning, mostly visual celebration of the studio, Southall’s book has been perhaps the best definitive narrative history, although one that was a somewhat authorized account. That book came out many years ago and the story was due for a journalistic refresher.
Hepworth, former Old Grey Whistle Test host and veteran British music magazine editor and author, updates the story and offers a keen perspective on the long history of the legendary studio. None other than Paul McCartney wrote the foreword.
The book goes deep into the technical aspects of the studio and while The Beatles are the lead actors and central figures, this is an expansive history that covers all the years of the studio’s existence and is very much written from a British perspective. The book is filled with photographs, letters, drawings, record sleeves, memorabilia and more throughout and includes a playlist of some of the music recorded at the venerable studio.
