The Beatles : The Biography
POSTED ON 11/01/2005 | PERMALINK |1 Comments | BOOKMARK

With this massive opus, veteran music journalist Spitz (Dylan: A Biography) tells the definitive story of the band that sparked a cultural revolution. Calling on books, articles, radio programs and primary interviews, Spitz follows the band from each member's family origins in working-class Liverpool to the band's agonizing final days. Spitz's unflinching biography reveals that not only did the Beatles pioneer a new era of rock but they also were on the cutting edge of rock star excess, from their 1961 amphetamine-fueled sets in the clubs of Hamburg to their eventual appetites for stronger drugs, including marijuana, LSD, cocaine and, eventually for John Lennon, heroin. Sex was also part of the equation; in 1962, when the band cut its first audition for Sir George Martin, all four members had a venereal disease, and both John's and Paul McCartney's girlfriends were pregnant. Spitz details the tangled web of bad business deals that flowed from novice manager Brian Epstein (though the heavily conflicted Epstein can be forgiven since he was in uncharted territory). Although this is a hefty volume steeped in research, Spitz writes economically, and with flair, letting the facts and characters speak for themselves. In doing so, he captures an ironic sadness that accompanied the Beatles' runaway success—how their dreams of stardom, once realized, became a prison, forcing the band to spend large parts of their youth in hotel rooms to avoid mobs and to stage elaborate escapes from literally life-threatening situations after appearances. As with all great history writing, Spitz both captures a moment in time and humanizes his subjects. While some will blanch at the unsettling dark sides of the Beatles, most will come to appreciate the band even more for knowing the incredible personal odysseys they endured.
I'm about 1/3 of the way into this book and it is the most engaging biography I have ever read. In stark contrast to the "official" story of the Beatles presented in their anthology (AKA mythology), Spitz pulls together data from interviews and just about every book every written about the subject to assemble something that rises above the trivia and timelines of so many uneccesary Rock and Roll books and becomes a historical novel. And while Beatles fanatics are already complaining about incorrect dates and ages, it's hard for any rational person to find fault with the depth of research that went into this project.

Grab the book and check out the splendid prologue the next time you're at the bookstore. You'll find it very hard to leave without that book under your arm.

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1 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

I love the Beatles songs...I am looking forward to know more news about about Beatles .....i always come here to know more about beatles .,..,.,and i can enjoy the music for free...that is great!!I would like to share this with the Beatles fans...
http://www.beatles-mania.com/album/id_75_The_Beatles_One.html

Thu Nov 03, 02:11:00 AM  

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