TheBeatles101 said

Joe said
The Hunter Davies book? I've not read the revised edition, just the original, but it's really good for the fly-on-the-wall scenes of songwriting etc. He had tremendous access to the group. It suffers for being authorised and written at a time when certain subjects just weren't discussed, but it's still well worth a read.

Yes.

Davies has stressed that he hasn't altered the original, but has merely added - if I recall correctly - an introduction containing a little history & some explanations and analysis

Thanks for the help.

I have the revised, revised edition. When I read ...]]> Mon, 22 Oct 2012 21:04:40 +0100 http://www.beatlesbible.com/forum/beatles-books/book-suggestions/page-4/#p59471 Beatles books http://www.beatlesbible.com/forum/beatles-books/book-suggestions/page-4/#p59471 Seconding the wholehearted recommendations of "Can't
Buy Me Love" (which I just finished), notwithstanding my continued skepticism about the supposed "And Your Bird Can Sing" interpretation, and one or two minor, inexplicable errors. (10,000 holes in Blackburn, Lancashire??) Gould's musical analysis is excellent (I'll never listen to "Penny Lane" the same way again) and he's got a flair for musically descriptive language. He makes a strong case for SPLHCB to be RE-re-evaluated as the Beatles' greatest achievement, the way it used to be. And his take on the sociological aspects of the '60s in America and England is pretty interesting ...]]> Mon, 22 Oct 2012 18:55:53 +0100 http://www.beatlesbible.com/forum/beatles-books/book-suggestions/page-4/#p59427 Beatles books http://www.beatlesbible.com/forum/beatles-books/book-suggestions/page-4/#p59427

Joe said
The Hunter Davies book? I've not read the revised edition, just the original, but it's really good for the fly-on-the-wall scenes of songwriting etc. He had tremendous access to the group. It suffers for being authorised and written at a time when certain subjects just weren't discussed, but it's still well worth a read.

Yes.

Davies has stressed that he hasn't altered the original, but has merely added - if I recall correctly - an introduction containing a little history & some explanations and analysis

Thanks for the help.

Joe said
For a good all-round biog, try Jonathan Gould's Can't Buy Me Love. Revolution In The Head is great for analysis of the songs (there are more musicological books but that's the most detailed and accessible). Many Years From Now you can't go wrong with; John by Cynthia Lennon is OK, but nothing too special.

Others will recommend Philip Norman's Shout!, but I'm not a fan. Gould's book is better.

And your thoughts on 'The Beatles: The Authorised Biography'?

I'm reading it at the moment and enjoying it...

Thank you.

Others will recommend Philip Norman's Shout!, but I'm not a fan. Gould's book is better.

I'm considering purchasing 'Revolution in the head', 'Many years from now', & 'John'

Right now, I'm more interested in analysis/background of their music and their life leading up to The Beatles. 

Size isn't a problem as I'm a fast reader and am particularly thirsty for information.

I am now trying to decide which one to get. Oh, decisions, decisions.

http://www.pinkfloydz.com/books.htm

I want to learn some more about them as my passion for the group is rapidly growing but I want to read well-informed information not just any old rumours and suchlike strung together.

is, in my opinion, the single most well-written, engrossing, entertaining, informative and visually beautiful book about The Beatles that will ever be written. It's been narrowly, and unfairly, categorized as a 'reference' book, but I don't think anyone who has read it would agree.

It works on multiple levels: the format is strictly linear, as in not bouncing around to out-of-sequence events, or intermingling various bits of them into a comfortable paragraph or two so the author can theorize on some "deeper meaning" or mold them into a personal opinion he/she thinks the reader is just desperately anxious ...]]> Sat, 29 Sep 2012 02:13:41 +0100 http://www.beatlesbible.com/forum/beatles-books/book-suggestions/page-3/#p58554 Beatles books http://www.beatlesbible.com/forum/beatles-books/book-suggestions/page-3/#p58554 I'm sorry, linkjws, in my last comment I mistakenly wrote Can't Buy Me Love when I was thinking of You Never Give Me Your Money - Huge Mistake. The latter is far superior to the former, so let me correct this: You Never Give Me Your Money 'is the one to read after you've ingested a few other books that deal mainly with The Beatles' history from childhood to breakup.'

There are some really sad moments in You Never Give Me Your Money, and some that will make a fan furious, such as this passage regarding three ex-Beatles attending Eric Clapton ...]]> Sat, 29 Sep 2012 00:10:46 +0100 http://www.beatlesbible.com/forum/beatles-books/book-suggestions/page-3/#p58548 Beatles books http://www.beatlesbible.com/forum/beatles-books/book-suggestions/page-3/#p58548 So all that can be verified is that Sinatra made a disparaging "moptops" remark and used the term "bird". Hmm. I wish there a credible source for this thing - people all over the internet are quoting Gould's book like it's gospel!

EDIT: OK, it's here: http://www.esquire.com/features/ESQ1003-OCT_SINATRA_rev_#ixzz21fhVqmka

Mentioned on the And Your Bird Can Sing article, naturally. http://www.beatlesbible.com/songs/and-your-bird-can-sing/comment-page-1/#comment-373537

There's no proof that Lennon based the song on this, but neither is there proof that it's about Mick Jagger/Marianne Faithfull/anyone else. Only conjecture.

Sinatra did indeed say something dismissive about groups with "mops of hair" (not the Beatles specifically) in the April '66 issue of Esquire magazine, and "And Your Bird Can Sing" was recorded that same month. But unless Gould can point to the very Lennon interview in question, I'm still skeptical. The whole thing sounds like a silly rumour mixed with supposition.