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Title: The Love You Make: An Insider's Story of the Beatles by Peter Brown, Steven Gaines ISBN: 0-451-20735-1 Publisher: New American Library Pub. Date: 01 November, 2002 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $16.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.64 (22 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: Interesting read, but...
Comment: I first read this book in 1986 and found it very engrossing and a well written insider's account of what Beatlemania was really about behind closed doors. However, that's the problem. Today I look at the book as a "tell all" that makes the Beatles nothing more than greedy sex/drug addicts that created music on the side.
If you read the book, then you know he is not too flattering about Paul's escapades. In a 1984 interview with Playboy, Paul & Linda disowned the book and felt betrayed by Brown, whom they had once considered a good friend. The interview also says that Brown tricked them into spilling the beans, claiming he was writing a book on the 1960s music scene, and not The Beatles specifically. If you read the intro to the book, Brown claims he had "full" cooperation of the surviving Beatles and Yoko Ono, and that they willing let the cat out of the bag for the information that makes up most of the juicy details of the book. As a result of this book, you hardly see Peter Brown mentioned by any of the Beatles these days, much less anyone else. For someone who was also close to the band, you wonder why it's full of factual errors and such. And Brown tries to make it appear he was there 24/7 with all the Beatles. A lot of the material seemed to have been lifted off various articles and interviews done around the time the book was written, and re-written into narrative form as if he were there.
Brown also clumsily ends the book with that poem John wrote Stu Sutcliffe in 1961 ("I can't remember anything without a sadness..."). However, that is taken out of context, since it only contains the first verse. If you read the actual full poem, it becomes full of Lennon's trademark "color metaphors" (if you will) that hardly fits his epitaph, since the book concludes with his assassination.
Stick with Nicholas Schaffner's "The Beatles Forever."
Rating: 4
Summary: Loved it then, Love it now
Comment: It seems as though many people have rated this poorly. I have to disagree. I've read many books about the Beatles and this is one of my favorites. I first read this after seeing the Beatles Anthology on T.V. when I was eleven years old. I loved this book. Reading "The Love you make" is a guilty pleasure like no other for any Beatles fan. Although there are inaccuracies it's a good read.
Rating: 2
Summary: Should have been called "The Love You TAKE:
Comment: ...A Fountain Of Misinformation."
One of the things that I found the most agitating about this book is the fact that the author, Peter Brown, titled it after one of the Beatles' most profound lyrics, when he obviously doesn't LOVE the Beatles like you or I do. In fact, he seems to have an apparent axe to grind against most of the Beatles and their associates. Upon nearly every mention of Brian Epstein's, George's, Ringo's, and especially Paul's name, Brown manages to slip in a subtle (and occasionally blatant) put-down. John also gets his share of the smack, but it is far less vicious and accusatory. The reason for John's somewhat (for lack of a better word) "gentle" treatment, I believe, is because his tragic death occured when this book was about halfway finished, therefore making this book probably one of the first writings to have that "John was smart and always right and Paul was dumb and wrong about everything he did" attitude. Brown's favoritism towards John is too obvious (perhaps because John "immortalized" him in song), especially in the final three chapters where he discusses each of the Beatles' lives after the breakup--Paul, George, & Ringo share one chapter between them, while John gets a full two!
Some of the more annoying characteristics of Brown's words include his selling himself and this book on the fact that he was an "insider" and building up his own importance. ("I told Paul to junk it . . . but Paul's ego wouldn't let him consider this.") The phrase "revealed here for the first time" also becomes quite irritating. The worst thing, however, is that most of his "facts" are completely or at least partially wrong! (I rolled my eyes quite often throughout this book.) The book reads like a fictional story rather than a biography. What I mean is, Brown retells the stories of events that happened as if he were there, which, for at least 95% of them, he wasn't. (For example, in his story of George's visit to Haight-Ashbury: "Out of the crowd came a guitar, which was thrust into George's hands. 'No...no, please,' George stammered, trying to return it. 'Play!' someone shouted in the crowd . . . George gave Pattie a sick look. He began to strum a few chords, but the acid made the cheap guitar feel like a lump of cheese in his hands . . . George insistently returned the guitar, with profuse apologies, and they tried to make a break for it back to the car. Angry hoots were heard as the mood of the rejected crowd turned malevolent." I know it's been long documented that George had a bad time there, but there is plenty of literary and photographic proof that Brown's version isn't accurate.) Reading this book reminded me a lot of the kids in grade school who'd tattle about every little thing, usually making up lies. To give Brown his due, I do admit that his first-hand recounts of the terrifying incidents in Japan and the Phillipines which happened during the Beatles' final tour are excellent.
Brown's strong point is obviously his knowledge of the financial aspect of the Beatles' lives, as he quotes quite a few figures throughout the book (how accurate they actually are can't be certain). However, when discussing their songs, lyrics, or phyches, he appears rather foolish. Unprofessionally for a biographer, he can't seem to keep his personal opinions to a minimum. (What I found most hilarious was that, towards the end of the book, he mentions a project comprising of video footage of the Beatles being put together by Neil Aspinall. Brown calls it "pathetic." Well, 15 years later, this "pathetic" project turned out to be The Beatles Anthology...something much bigger and much better than Peter Brown's little storybook.)
I rate this book 2 stars because, inaccuracies aside, it actually IS entertaining. However, believe in many of Brown's words and you'll end up feeling depressed, I'm sure, as he absolutely does NOT focus on ANYTHING positive. If you haven't read many Beatles books yet, this is definately not recommended. For an unbiased look at the Beatles, try Nicholas Schaffner's "The Beatles Forever," which came out a few years before "The Love You Make."
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