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Title: The Beatles by Hunter Davies, Edward Lewis ISBN: 0-7861-1500-9 Publisher: Blackstone Audio Books Pub. Date: 01 February, 1999 Format: Audio Cassette List Price(USD): $83.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.54 (24 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: fab book on the Fab Four
Comment: I finished reading this book recently and I have to say it is an excellent book. When Hunter Davies first interviewed the Beatles for this book from 1967-1968, it was before all the bickering and fighting started and before Yoko came into the picture. Davies takes an inside look in thier home and family life, the songwriting process, and recording sessions. It also gives a pretty good background on their childhoods and how they all met. Not to mention a lot of great pictures, including some I never seen before. The only reason I didn't give it five stars was because it is not a totally definative bio. Lots of things were left out because it upset thier family members. For example, it is not mentioned that Brian Epstein was homosexual because it upset his mother at the time. And some things were left out of John's childhood because it upset his aunt Mimi. Other than that, I reccomend that you read this book. It is smart and thouroughly researched. A must have for all Beatles fans!
Rating: 4
Summary: The Beatles as we loved them
Comment: This is a fabulous evocation of the fab four's rise to greatness, written with just the right amount of reverence and objectivity. Davies manages to ellicit some great anecdotes from people who were closest to The Beatles. Mimi, Paul's dad, the Harrisons, close friends, Fred Lennon (John's dad), Pete Best; they all get to have their say. The book is especially strong during the Hamburg years (loosely 59-62). Davies captures the growth in their popularity, attracting interesting characters along the way, yet having no fan base outside Liverpool and Hamburg. He demonstrates so vividly the growing desperation of the boys to make it big. Once the rollercoaster took off then the book is on trickier ground. Davies clearly wants to divulge stuff which The Beatles were not keen on him revealing (Davies was writing the book during 1967/early 68). For instance, Lennon was heavily into drugs at this time and Hunter Davies refers to John as being in a daze. Yes, you have to read between the lines! One of the strengths of this book is its matter-of-fact delivery. Although Davies is clearly a fan he still keeps his feet on the ground. The death of Brian Epstein is well-handled. Remember, this was written before all the Klein, Apple, Ono nonsense hit the fan. Yet Davies manages to convey a growing sense of isolation amongst the group. His pen-portraits of each member is uncannily (eerily) accurate, bearing in mind the general public thought The Beatles were a rock-solid national institution. The book is a cracker and loses a star of its rating only because of a rather mysterious lack of detail around Rubber Soul and Revolver. The rest is gear!
Rating: 5
Summary: Great bio of the legendary band
Comment: This is the only biography authorized by the Beatles themselves, and it gives a detailed account of the rise to fame of the Fab Four, and many details of each band member's life. Davies was asked by Harrison not to print certain details, and an aunt suggested he revise some of the account of John's early life to make it sound better. Some details couldn't be divulged at the time, such as Brian Epstein's gay orientation, and the extent to which John was into drugs, although you get a sense of this from some brief passages in the book although Davies obviously avoids dwelling for too long on these issues. Still, despite glossing over a few negatives like these, Davies nevertheless had access to information that no other writer had, and no doubt the book benefits from that despite its being slightly sanitized.
One thing that distinguises this book from all the other bios is Davies spent a year living and travelling with the Beatles and observing them in their day-to-day lives. The year was 1967, and although the group was soon to break-up, 1967 was still a great year for the band and Davies gives many fine insights and details into the life of the group during this period. Davies enlivens the account with anecdotes and stories from many relatives and friends who knew the Beatles best.
I want to take a brief detour here to tell you about a funny piece of Beatles trivia I discovered recently, and I just have to mention it here, since I don't recall seeing it in the book. Supposedly The Beatles loved cartoons, and a friend of mine who is a big Beatles fan and trivia buff and I got to talking about it, and since I'm sort of a trivia nut myself, he suggested an unlikely cartoon, which was Popeye the Sailor, and challenged me to find a connection to the Beatles. Well, it's not known if this was a cartoon the Beatles liked or not, but after doing only about an hour of research on the web, I came up with a funny but true connection.
I found out one of the songs the Beatles often performed during their Hamburg years, before they were writing all their own songs, was "Falling in Love Again," by Sammy Lerner, an important songwriter of the 40s and 50s. But it so happens that Lerner also was enlisted to write the theme song for the Popeye the Sailor cartoon, which he did. So it turns out that there is indeed a connection between the Beatles and Popeye in that Lerner composed songs for, shall we say, both groups of singers. :-)
Anyway, I hope you didn't mind my little digression, but getting back to the book, this is a fine biography of the Beatles and is especially strong in its treatment of their early years and rise to fame. Although updated in the later edition, there isn't as much information about the post-1970 years, but as others have pointed out about the book, it's about the famous band's rise, not about their fall.
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Title: Ticket to Ride by Larry Kane ISBN: 0762415924 Publisher: Running Press Book Publishers Pub. Date: 01 July, 2003 List Price(USD): $22.95 |
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Title:The Beatles - The First U.S. Visit ASIN: B00018D2X8 Publisher: Capitol Pub. Date: 03 February, 2004 List Price(USD): $24.98 Comparison N/A, buy it from Amazon for $20.48 |
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Title:Concert for George ASIN: B0000CEB4V Publisher: Wea Corp Pub. Date: 18 November, 2003 List Price(USD): $29.99 Comparison N/A, buy it from Amazon for $22.49 |
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Title: Shout!: The Beatles in Their Generation by Philip Norman ISBN: 0684830671 Publisher: Fireside Books Pub. Date: 02 September, 1996 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
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Title: A Hard Day's Write: The Stories Behind Every Beatles Song by Steve Turner ISBN: 0062736981 Publisher: HarperResource Pub. Date: 01 September, 1999 List Price(USD): $25.00 |
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