The Beatles by Bob Spitz


I was given this book by a friend who knows I like the Beatles and who knows I am a reader. These are both good points to make given how obsessive I have become about the Beatles as a result - and the fact that it is nearly 1000 pages long. I stayed out of trouble (i.e. didn't buy any more records, books or guitars) and spent time with my wife and kids - albeit in a state of near total ignorance at times...another parallel it turns out.

What this book showed me was that the Beatles were a unique sensation for two reasons: their collective and astonishing gifts with songwriting and a work ethic that was second to none. By the time the Beatles signed their first record deal in 1963, they had already played over 1000 shows in the UK and Hamburg. Not all those shows were a result of this work ethic, but the drive to keep playing, night after night (pills notwithstanding) was clearly driven by something intangible and incredible. The book is an exhaustively researched work that focuses much more on the songwriting craft and process - as well as the gear - than it does on the public sensation. The relationship that John, Paul, George and Ringo shared did not allow for others to get inside. Their tight-knit defenses resisted everything that spouses, in-laws and management could throw at them - at least until John discovered heroin...

Go buy the book and then buy the new Love record that is the soundtrack to the Cirque de Soleil show of the same name. You will never listen to the Beatles the same way. And you will still dislike Yoko Ono.

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