What are your "fab four" Beatles books for the famous desert island?

Easy peasy. Tune In, the next two Lewisohn books, and Recording the Beatles.

 

Just noticed that Lewisohn's "Beatles Recording Sessions" has a new pre-order date for September of 2018. I wonder if he is updating the previous editions, or if the original book is simply being "re-printed"?

 

Lewishon
Spizer
Sulpy

 

I'm banking on a reprint...hope I'm wrong...the first one who finds out please post an announcement.

 

I think that would be boring....considering how deep he goes in the current volumes he doing...

 

2 good choices but, one would have to have a guitar for #2!

 

Ipod or phone...it would fit nicely

 

Forgot about this one. Even though it was written between Anthology 1 and 2, and some gems had still yet to surface (such as complete Revolution 1) there's still a ton of interesting info and this book is huge. This is where I first found out about the Beatles Help 78 rpm Production Acetates, that really blew me away.

 

I love Revolution in the Head for its amazing dissections of Lennon’s psychedelic songs.

 

The Beatles: Ten Years That Shook the World
The Beatles Are Coming - Bruce Spizer
Beatles Gear - Andy Babiuk
The Beatles Anthology
Rough Guide to the Beatles

 

“The Beatles: 10 Years That Shook the World” is a great book - far and away my favorite Beatles book. Fabulous photographs, insightful articles - if you can only buy one book on the Beatles, The is the one to get.

 

I love Revolution In The Head, even if McDonald's "The Sixties? I was there, maaaaaan- where were you?" vibe gets a little old after a while. Odd that he indeed praises Lennon's psychedelic opuses in the book yet goes on to completely skewer "Across The Universe", which even Lennon considered to be one of his best songs.

 

I never got Spizer's original Vee-Jay Story book but it appears The Beatles Are Coming repeats much of the same very interesting material and details w/r to the court case with Capitol. Does anyone know if the original Vee Jay book contains any other significant historical info on Vee Jay Records that's not in The Beatles Are Coming?

 

Is that still being updated ?

 

I'm not sure how many times I've read Revolution In The Head. Open a bottle of wine, stick on any Beatles album, and get ready to read what he has to say about each track. Do I agree with his every opinion? Hell, no! In fact, I think he hates anything that even remotely rocks - especially Helter Skelter - but who doesn't like lucidly-expressed opinions? Isn't that why we come here?

 

What Recording Sessions book ?

 

Lewisohn's Recording Sessions book does not appear to have been updated, although to be fair Lewisohn does have bigger fish to fry right now than updating that book.

He's passed on now, but I can just imagine Ian McDonald posting here- given how opinionated he is about All Things Beatle I reckon he'd last about three days here before being driven away by all the hardcore "Beatles Never Bad" fanboys...

 

Thought I read here that it was getting updated. No biggie I guess.

 

Roy Carr has died, 1 July. He was the surviving author of 'The Beatles, an Illustrated Record' the 1975 book that was in a way the best quick (and pithy) study of The Beatles records.

 

Just to re-join my own thread...

Lately, I've really been into these two:

Beatles '66: The Revolutionary Year
By Steve Turner

Inside The Yellow Submarine by
Robert Richard Hieronimus

 

I have just 3 favorites.

"An Illustrated Record"
"The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions"
"The Love You Make"

 

I think "Beatles '66" is an excellent book. Nothing particularly new but it takes an engagingly closer focus into events we already knew about. i don't know if I'd put it in the "must-have" group but I'm glad I bought it.

 

Songwriting Secrets of The Beatles
Every Sound There is the Beatles' Revolver and the Transformation of Rock and Roll
Walter Everett books on The Beatles are great reads.

 

'The Love You Make"...the first "muckraker" Beatles bio. Many more to follow....

 

Yes, with the Beatles, I find that it eventually becomes normal to zero in on a specific year, topic, event. Some of my favorites all time are the Bruce Spizer books that are great for their historical detail yet are spread over different labels the band's (US) records were on.

Likewise, I like the '66 book, Shea Stadium book, and others that really dive into the significance of just one year, event, film, etc.

I still think the single most amazing thing about the group was their sheer stunning growth and impact covering ALL seven years. Yet, to relay that all in a BOOK is always daunting or less than ideal, in my opinion.