A plethora of recent books on The Beatles have been published lately. Here’s a look at some of the best.
Love and Let Die: James Bond, The Beatles and the British Psyche (Pegasus/Simon & Schuster) by John Higgs This may be one of the most imaginative ideas for a book on The Beatles. Higgs, who has written extensively on William Blake among other topics, neatly draws parallels between the history of The Beatles as a group and as solo artists and the literary and cinematic history of James Bond and how the two relate to British history and culture.
The book is heavy on analysis, but unlike some books on The Beatles, Higgs deftly and with a light touch draws parallels and distinctions of The Beatles and Bond. One could argue that in addition to William Shakespeare, the two entities featured in this book, rank among the most dominant figures of the history of Britain. Higgs comes up with fascinating ways that James Bond and The Beatles are inextricably linked and fans of either 007 or the Fab Four will find much here to make truly engrossing reading.
The McCartney Legacy: Volume 1, 1969-73 (Dey St./William Morrow) by Allan Kozinn and Adrian Sinclair This is the first volume of a trilogy on the life and career of Paul McCartney. The depth of knowledge and engaging writing of the two authors of this book makes clear that their trilogy will most likely become the most comprehensive and authoritative biography of McCartney. While this book is not an authorized biography, the myriad of those interviewed for the book essentially had McCartney’s blessing.
The beginning of the book carefully balances the end of The Beatles with McCartney emerging as a solo artist and how the two at times overlapped. One of the welcome aspects of this book is a more even-handed portrait of Linda McCartney, particularly her place in Wings. The formation of Wings and the group’s slow and sometimes fraught evolution to the breakout success of Band on the Run is vivid and detailed. The group’s time in Africa making Band On the Run and its hard-won success and feel of what many regard as McCartney’s best post-Beatles album, is a highlight. This book takes 720 pages to cover only four years. It will be interesting to see how the authors cover the next 50 years.
Bruce Spizer’s sixth book in his album series is The Beatles Rubber Soul to Revolver (498 Productions). This is the third time Spizer has chosen to feature multiple albums for one of the books in this series. The previous one was Magical Mystery Tour/Yellow Submarine. The other books in the series are The Beatles and Sgt. Pepper: A Fans’ Perspective, The Beatles White Album and the Launch of Apple, The Beatles Get Back To Abbey Road and The Beatles Finally Let It Be. In this book he features not just the American and UK Rubber Soul and Revolver, but also the American, Capitol Records’ release Yesterday and Today. Spizer shares the spotlight with several co-writers and a healthy contribution from a myriad of fans. The book includes lots of rare photos and art, along with detailed recording notes and context of the time and culture which the two main albums were recorded and released.
Peter Asher: A Life In Music (Backbeat) by David Jacks This will no doubt prove to be the definitive biography of producer, musician, and manager Peter Asher. Although it is not an authorized biography, Asher cooperated with the author and likely helped him with the extensive list of those interviewed for this book. And those interviews are what makes this such a lively and all-encompassing read. The interviews with James Taylor and Linda Ronstadt alone make this book worth reading.
Asher discovered, produced, nurtured, managed and guided Taylor’s career for years. Ronstadt had already had a hit with The Stone Poneys and released solo albums, but it was Asher who steered her through her most critical and commercial successes. The Ronstadt material takes the reader on a peaceful, easy journey through the heady Laurel Canyon, ’70s country-rock explosion. The book has plenty more on Asher’s decades-long career as a producer and a manager, but also a time-trip back to England in the ’60s as half of Peter and Gordon and one of the leading lights of the British mid-’60s and psychedelic pop culture scenes. Asher has not written his own memoir, but did write The Beatles from A to Zed: An Alphabetical Mystery Tour (Henry Holt), which was published in 2019.
Top of the Mountain The Beatles at Shea Stadium 1965 (Backbeat) by Laurie Jacobson This hardcover coffee-table book is a celebration of the famous first concert The Beatles played in August of 1965 at Shea Stadium. It is filled with priceless memorabilia and photos. The text is mostly an oral history that features a panoply of people who were there. This is a beautifully produced and affectionately rendered chronicle of the height of Beatlemania in America. An excellent companion book is The Beatles at Shea Stadium: The Story Behind Their Greatest Concert (North Shore Publishing) by Dave Schwensen, which was published in 2013.
Christmas Time Is Here Again by Belmo and Garry Marsh (Belmo Publishing and Number 9 Books) This is an entirely new and updated edition of Belmo’s previous Beatles Christmas book (The Beatles Christmas Book: Everywhere It’s Christmas). There are few books on the group that are so lovingly and affectionately produced. The book is filled with the joy of the season and the rich history of the group and its music and the holiday season. The book is overflowing with timelines, newspaper and magazine clippings, photos, art, pictures of rare memorabilia, discographies and so much more.
Most significant is the depth to which the authors chronicle all the group and solo Christmas-themed recordings and concerts, with an obvious special emphasis on The Beatles’ Christmas messages and the annual extended run of Christmas concerts the group took part in each year in England in 1963, 1964, and 1965. There are only three people who wouldn’t want this book: Jakob Marley, Ebenezer Scrooge, and the Grinch.
The Fest for Beatles Fans will be held on March 31, April 1 and 2 at the Hyatt Regency, in Jersey City, New Jersey, across the river from Manhattan. Some of the special guests that will be appearing include the aforementioned Peter Asher; Joey Molland formerly of Badfinger; Terry Sylvester formerly of the Hollies, Pattie Boyd, musician Mark Rivera, Darren DeVivo of WFUV, and many authors such as the aforementioned Mark Lewisohn, Ken Womack, Alan Kozinn, and Bruce Spizer.
