11.21pm
13 February 2010
1.42am
13 November 2009
2.38am
13 February 2010
2.54am
13 November 2009
1.05pm
13 February 2010
8.32pm
14 October 2009
Sunii said:
Drug use, what the songs mean, secrets, maybe a biography about one of the boys….that kind of stuff.
Sunii,
some of the best books have already been discussed on this topic on the forum, so take a look at the various ones and maybe one will interest you.
Hunter Davies's biography is the best biog (I think) as a whole group, but remember it was written in the sixties. Solo-wise Many Years From Now is the closest you'll get to a McCartney autobiography and I Me Mine is the same for George. In it they both talk about their songs. If you want to find out all about John growing up and as a Beatle then Cynthia Lennon's autobiography called John is very good as is the one by his half sister Julia (I think that's called My Brother John???). Blimey I could go on and on……
"If we feel our heads starting to swell.....we just look at Ringo!"
If you're a John fan, I recommend two interview books: All We Are Saying by David Sheff and Lennon Remembers by Jann S Wenner. Those should give you a very good idea of his character. In AWAS he gives memories of plenty of Beatles-era songs. McCartney does the same in All Those Years Ago, which I think is an essential purchase.
The Hunter Davies book is good, but personally I'd wait for Mark Lewisohn's Beatles biog. Most of the other biogs seem pretty flawed in one way or another, although I've heard very good things about Jonathan Gould's Can't Buy Me Love (which I own but have yet to read).
Can buy me love! Please consider supporting the Beatles Bible on Amazon
Or buy my paperback/ebook! Riding So High – The Beatles and Drugs
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11.36pm
14 October 2009
Joe said:
“….but personally I'd wait for Mark Lewisohn's Beatles biog. Most of the other biogs seem pretty flawed in one way or another….”
That's a big ask of patience Joe! Isn't Lewisohn supposed to be doing three volumes with 4 year intervals (or something similar)? I'll be close to my pension by then
And don't you mean Many Years From Now for Paul? You've had me 'googling' for a book I didn't know about….
"If we feel our heads starting to swell.....we just look at Ringo!"
Oh damn, yes, I meant Many Years From Now. It was a long day yesterday…
Can buy me love! Please consider supporting the Beatles Bible on Amazon
Or buy my paperback/ebook! Riding So High – The Beatles and Drugs
Don't miss The Bowie Bible – now live!
4.35pm
5 February 2010
I second the recommendation for Many Years from Now. I thought that book was just absolutely fabulous. However, it is slightly out-dated (what is it, 13 years old now?), so if you want to fill in some of the gaps, get Carlin's book Paul McCartney: A Life – that covers his career with “Wings” and beyond, Linda's death, his marriage to and divorce from Heather Mills, and a bit more.
I still like Norman's John Lennon : The Life for a good biog about John.
I've also enjoyed Spitz's biography The Beatles: The Biography, but I've heard some complaints about it. I thought it was a good read, but my eyebrows went up a couple of times, like when he made reference to “Harry the Horse” in the song “Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite.” Would a real Beatles follower make that blunder? And shouldn't the author of a Beatles biography at least be a solid follower of their work?
Not a bit like Cagney.
This put me off reading the Spitz book: http://www.beatlesnews.com/new…..rrors.html
I've got Philip Norman's Lennon biog but I've been putting it off as I really didn't enjoy Shout!. One day I'll get to it. He's good at the research and interview stuff (though I think Mark Lewisohn did a lot of the former in Shout!), but I dislike his prose style.
Can buy me love! Please consider supporting the Beatles Bible on Amazon
Or buy my paperback/ebook! Riding So High – The Beatles and Drugs
Don't miss The Bowie Bible – now live!
11.39pm
13 February 2010
12.57am
Joe said:
This put me off reading the Spitz bookhttp://www.beatlesnews.com/new…..rrors.html
I've got Philip Norman's Lennon biog but I've been putting it off as I really didn't enjoy Shout!. One day I'll get to it. He's good at the research and interview stuff (though I think Mark Lewisohn did a lot of the former in Shout!), but I dislike his prose style.
Although I agree that Lewisohn's will definitely be worth the wait, I think Sunii could get a lot out of the Spitz bio. The errors are unforgivable, yes… but there are no “major” factual errors. It's a really well-written book that gives you good, deep insight into the history of the band and the relationships within it. Great info on the early days! (Which really fascinates me.)
Also, I loved Norman's Lennon bio… much better than Shout! He's very heavy on John's early days (childhood up until stardom) and he presents controversial themes very fairly (in my opinion). Also, it's one of the few books that presents John in a balanced way… a very troubled, but also a very loving person.
Sunii, I suggest you read Spitz and note the errors mentioned. I think that reading something by a 3rd party gives good insight and (mostly) non-biased history. Whatever you read, just remember there are many sides to the story…
1.17am
13 February 2010
iCaramba said:
Although I agree that Lewisohn's will definitely be worth the wait, I think Sunii could get a lot out of the Spitz bio. The errors are unforgivable, yes… but there are no “major” factual errors. It's a really well-written book that gives you good, deep insight into the history of the band and the relationships within it. Great info on the early days! (Which really fascinates me.)
Also, I loved Norman's Lennon bio… much better than Shout! He's very heavy on John's early days (childhood up until stardom) and he presents controversial themes very fairly (in my opinion). Also, it's one of the few books that presents John in a balanced way… a very troubled, but also a very loving person.
Sunii, I suggest you read Spitz and note the errors mentioned. I think that reading something by a 3rd party gives good insight and (mostly) non-biased history. Whatever you read, just remember there are many sides to the story…
Thanks! When I read your review on the book, I immediatley ordered it! Even though you said there are a few errors, I will easily be able to point them all out and not take in any false info. I am excited about recieving it! You make it sound like a really good book..so thanks again!
Thursday night your stockings needed mending.
8.24pm
27 February 2010
I can’t believe this! As I said in other thread, I’ve just bought Philip Norman’s “John Lennon : the life”! What a coincidence!
It was in a mall, waiting for Tim Burton’s “Alice in Wonderland”… another book related to good old Johnnie.
I'd like to say "thank you" on behalf of the group and ourselves and I hope we passed the audition.
John Lennon
7.02pm
5 February 2010
You know what I would like to find? A decent biog about Ringo. But I’ve only seen two possible titles that looked any good (both were by Clayson, Ringo Starr : A Life, and Ringo Starr : Straight Man or Joker?), and neither of them seem to have gotten very good reviews. What’s a Beatles fan to do?
Not a bit like Cagney.
6.17pm
20 February 2010
I own two books, “John,Paul,George, and Ringo” and “Beatles Gear” The first one is like a timeline book of everything the Beatles did, its like Anthology but better. I found it at my local Barnes and Noble. The latter book is about their guitars they played and was ordered from Amazon.
I am the walrus that lives in a yellow submarine because I like to be in an octopus' garden
10.08pm
14 December 2009
Sunii said:
iCaramba said:
Although I agree that Lewisohn’s will definitely be worth the wait, I think Sunii could get a lot out of the Spitz bio. The errors are unforgivable, yes… but there are no “major” factual errors. It’s a really well-written book that gives you good, deep insight into the history of the band and the relationships within it. Great info on the early days! (Which really fascinates me.)
Sunii, I suggest you read Spitz and note the errors mentioned. I think that reading something by a 3rd party gives good insight and (mostly) non-biased history. Whatever you read, just remember there are many sides to the story…
Thanks! When I read your review on the book, I immediatley ordered it! Even though you said there are a few errors, I will easily be able to point them all out and not take in any false info. I am excited about recieving it! You make it sound like a really good book..so thanks again!
I think I read somewhere that many of the errors in the Spitz book have been corrected in later editions.
Paul: Yeah well… first of all, we’re bringing out a ‘Stamp Out Detroit’ campaign.
2.21pm
I highly recommend “Here, There And Everywhere ” by Geoff Emerick. He was The Beatles sound engineer on Revolver , Sgt. Pepper , Magical Mystery Tour and Abbey Road and he even talks about working with Paul on Band On The Run in 1973. Very interesting insight especially from a musician’s or engineer’s standpoint.
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