[bigred]The Gospel According To The Beatles (Hardcover)[/bigred]
[lilred]by Steve Turner[/lilred]
[lilred]August 1, 2006[/lilred]



From Publishers Weekly
In 1967, drug guru Timothy Leary proclaimed, "The message from Liverpool is the Newest Testament, chanted by Four Evangelists—saints John, Paul, George, and Ringo." Leary certainly captured the feelings of a generation pursuing freedom from old social conventions and searching for love in the lyrics, looks and music of the Beatles. In less than a decade, the group evolved from the fun-loving frantic boys of A Hard Day's Night (1964) to the philosophical poets of Abbey Road (1969) and Let It Be (1970), weaving more references to religion and spirituality into their music. Acclaimed pop music writer Turner (A Man Called Cash) unsuccessfully attempts to reveal the "gospel" of the Fab Four in this plodding book. He recounts the already well-known biographies of each Beatle, pointing out that each had some early brushes with either the Church of England or Roman Catholicism. Turner takes John Lennon's now-infamous 1966 claim that the Beatles were "more popular than Jesus" as his starting point and then examines superficially the well-known turn East that the group took in the late 1960s. The book lacks in-depth interpretations of the Beatles' song lyrics and fails to account for the rich and complex meanings that arguably make their lyrics some of the most religious in rock.

From Booklist
John Lennon famously proclaimed the Beatles were more popular than Jesus. Music journalist Turner says they were a kind of religion in themselves, and in this entertaining look at their religious and spiritual influences and ideas, he examines each of the Beatles' attitudes toward religion. Lennon, who sang in his local church choir while growing up in Liverpool, was fascinated by the life of the historical Jesus. Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr didn't have particularly strong religious feelings. George Harrison increasingly leaned toward Eastern religion. They had in common skepticism toward orthodox religion. Turner follows the arc of the Beatles' remarkable career and also examines their individual lives. While much of the information and anecdotes Turner relays is familiar to Beatles fans, his spiritual perspective refreshens it all. A longtime Beatles admirer, Turner clearly loves the band and the music they created. Fellow fans are sure to appreciate the personal engagement that he brings to the material.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/0664229832/?tag=imwan-20

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[bigred]John[/bigred]
[lilred]by Cynthia Lennon[/lilred]
[lilred]August 1, 2006[/lilred]



Amazon.com
This isn't Cynthia Lennon's first book about her legendary ex-husband. A Twist of Lennon--a slim volume that John tried to suppress on grounds of libel--came out in 1978. But now, 25 years after his death, she finally feels ready to tell the "full and truthful story" of their life together. Why? In his foreword, son Julian writes of their being "dismissed or at best treated as insignificant bit players" in the story of John's life; it's Cynthia's goal, with John, to set the record straight. She does make a case for being more than just "the impressionable young girl who fell for him, then trapped him into marriage," and it's moving to read, in his own words, of John's love for his son. And while there's nothing new in her account of the Fab Four's rise to fame, as the greatest success story of the rock era, it's a legend that bears retelling. But most salient of all are Cynthia's sketches of pain, regret, and intimidation. John was indeed a brilliant, loving man, but he was also "passionately jealous," "verbally cutting," sometimes abusive, and often neglectful. (It is hinted that his behavior may have paralleled that of the woman who raised him, his Aunt Mimi.) Unfortunately, Cynthia's "response to John's provocative and cruel behavior was to stick by him more solidly than ever...[feeling] that if he could trust me and believe that I loved him he might soften."

It's not this dysfunction, however, but rather John's use of LSD, on which she blames the emotional "chasm" that led to the failure of their marriage. And though the Lennons' divorce comes relatively late in the book, the pages that follow are by far the saddest, as they chronicle John's increasing distance from and neglect of his former family--especially Julian, who would only see his father three times after he moved to New York in 1971. It's no surprise that Cynthia lays much of the blame for this at the feet of Yoko Ono, who is described as controlling and insensitive, especially in the wake of John's murder. But even though there's a lot of bitterness and resentment in these pages, it's not overwhelming, being offset by Cynthia's fierce love for her son and her continuing affection for her ex-husband. A full picture of John Lennon's life will never exist as long as Ono judges herself unable to write about their time together, but John goes a long way toward improving the situation.

From Publishers Weekly
Cynthia Lennon, John Lennon's oft-overlooked first wife, is so soft-spoken, her voice threatens to trail off at times. But Lennon's voice of experience taps a well of feeling no audio actor could truly access. From teenage love to Beatlemania to spiritual pursuits in India, Lennon successfully conveys the excitement and trauma of an intimate life with one of pop culture's most cherished figures. She also uncorks opinions on rival Yoko Ono, often in bitter tones. This straight-from-the-horse's-mouth narrative is lovingly introduced by Julian, Cynthia and John's only child, and should capture the imagination of even the most casual fan. It's disappointing that Random House decided on an abridgment since this is a never-before-heard take on a well-worn subject. The production is capped off with a brief, artificial-sounding author interview with wooden questions and Lennon's rehearsed answers. But fans of Lennon and the Beatles, as well as those interested in 1960s and 1970s popular culture, should find this a satisfying, albeit abbreviated, listen.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/0307338568/?tag=imwan-20

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[bigred]The Beatles Illustrated Lyrics[/bigred]
[lilred]edited by Alan Aldridge[/lilred]
[lilred]August 31, 2006[/lilred]



Book Description
A must-have for every Fab Four fan, this classic visual tribute to their music is now available in a handsomely repackaged and affordable paperback edition.

The music and lyrics of the Beatles have proven them to be artists of the page as well as the stage and have here provided inspiration to dozens of artists. Rendered in full color on every page are extravagantly colorful scenes and images, from the psychedelic visions evoked by “Strawberry Fields” to the youthful innocence that springs from “She Loves You.” Witty commentary and candid insights from John, Paul, George and Ringo make this a very special and personal tribute.

About the Author
Alan Aldridge is an award-winning graphic designer and artist based in London. He was also a colleague and friend of the Beatles. This extraordinary collection is the result of his idea to have artists illustrate their songs in any and every way possible for print.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/1579126162/?tag=imwan-20

I don't think anyone has mentioned this new Beatles book on ICE or IMWAN. This thing has to be seen to be believed!

http://www.recordingthebeatles.com

My copy arrived earlier this week. I am as far as one can get from being a technophile, but this book is absolutely epic in size, weight, breadth and reach. One can get lost for hours on end in this thing. You cannot appreciate the sheer volume of the book without seeing it for yourself -- think of something along the lines of the Complete Far Side book, but shorter in height and even thicker than that book.

Jay

Damn you, Jay.

I'm placing an order.

Sorry, DanO!

I have it. It is humongous.

I hope to get this in the near future. I just can't for the time being. Between the ton of CDs & DVDs I've already ordered for the 4th Quarter, awaiting the anticipated pre-order for the next Grateful Dead title and for the Cowboy Junkies book, already buying 3 new Springsteen books, books on Duane Allman, The Rolling Stones and The Doors as well as going to Best Buy to buy some Sanford and Son Seasons I've been wanting for a long time, my money is pretty much stretched thin for the time being. Plus, there's always other stuff out of the music realm I like getting too. I've been wanting to get the new U2 by U2 book as well. I dropped a big hint to my Mom on that one for my birthday. And then there's the Beatles Love and the Deluxe Edition of Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest I'll be getting as well.
As usual, it's another intense 4th Quarter for me again.

[Nov 15, 2006]

[bigred]The Unreleased Beatles: Music And Film[/bigred]
[lilred]by Richie Unterberger[/lilred]



[title]The Unreleased Beatles[/title] details the incredible wealth of music that the Beatles recorded but did not release. A staggering amount of material is examined, from unreleased studio outtakes, live concert performances, home demo recordings, fan club Christmas recordings, and other informal demos done outside of EMI studios. The book includes chronological entries for all of the Beatles’s unreleased recordings of note from 1957–1970, including special information on BBC radio recordings from 1962–1965. There's also details on unreleased video footage of note from 1961–1970 and outtakes from 1990s interviews filmed for Anthology. An entire section is dedicated to covering Beatles bootlegs, Beatles songs recorded by other artists in the 1960s, and never-recorded material. Lastly, the book includes rare stills from film footage of the group that hasn't been made commercially available.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/0879308923/?tag=imwan-20

AFAIK, every original song recorded by The Beatles has been released. What's left in the vaults is alternate takes, and I think the three Anthology sets have taken care of the best of those.

I would respectfully disagree with that. There are still gems to be found on bootlegs. The Anthology sets did a great job of presenting some of the unreleased material, but it failed miserably with others. I'm thinking primarily of the godawful hatchet jobs done where bits and pieces of multiple takes were taken and mashed together to supposedly give the listener an idea of how the work in progress sounded at various stages of the recording. There were also several instances where the studio outtakes were edited (some more severely than others), but were presented as the actual takes. All of this is understandable since The Beatles have always been far more concerned with putting out a "polished" product than with preserving any sort of historical accuracy

Okay, I wasn't aware of all that revisionism on the Anthology sets. For some strange reason, that wasn't mentioned in the liner notes. But I still maintain that every song The Beatles ever wrote and recorded has been released in some form or other. I guess I'm just not that big on alternate takes, not even with The Beatles or The Beach Boys.

That's cool. Not everyone can be as obsessed as I am.

In the case of the Beatles, I have to agree. I've heard enough of the unreleased Beatles stuff to be thankful that somebody within the Apple organization took it upon themselves to boil down dozens of BBC tracks and countless hours of "Let It Be" material down to a listenable amount, as well as remixing outtakes like "Not Guilty" and "Leave My Kitten Alone" into an "official" form (which may or may not be "historically accurate"--but wasn't any remixing George Martin did on the original music released back in the 1960's intended to make the original songs just as "polished and presentable" as the "Anthology versions?) Sure, there are some interesting recordings that never made it onto the official "Anthology" releases (the full orchestral take of "Strawberry Fields Forever", the Christmas records, and once upon a time I was fascinated to hear the full-legnth version of "Dig It") but I find the overall entertainment value of most of the Beatles bootlegs (especially the live recordings) to be lacking. The six "Anthology" CD's and the BBC set do an excellent job of telling the Beatles story entirely through unreleased material while never getting boring or redundant.

For what it's worth, it was rumored for a few years that eventually the Beatles would release a boxed set of all of the Anthology music--inevitably containing exclusive unreleased bonus tracks...

That's all well and good, but I have to have it all.

One day we should set up a "Collect-Off" between you and Jimbo. Like the Pillsbury Bake-Off but with compact discs.

I may have the numbers, but I'm sure Jimbo has a much wider variety.

I wasn't particularly interested in the unreleased stuff until a friend lent me a couple of "Ultra Rare Trax" CDs. I think I enjoy some of the stuff on those as much, if not more than the official stuff. The one song I'd love to see get a release is the "live" version of Revolution (the one in the video clip) Personally I think it's better than the official single. Love the bom-shooby-doowops!.

Revolution's ommision was my biggest letdown of the entire anthology series! When Vol 3 came out, I was floored the 'live' version was not included.

Just for curiosity's sake, what kind of numbers are we talking?

It's on Vigotone Records' Revolution.

Somewhere around 1200 I think. I haven't taken a count in a while. Last time I did (2-3 years back), I was just under 1000. Mind you, this includes bootlegs.

Hey Frank: Just to clarify, is that just the Beatles? If so, I'm not even close. However, if we're talking all CDs, add an extra zero there.

No-one could possibly own over a thousand different Beatles CD's.