Beatles biographies?

John & Paul's first meeting in the Lewisohn book is electrifying.

like I'm on the edge of my seat waiting for them to hear elvis

Totally. That's one of the most exciting things about this book (and what will no doubt be amplified in future installments): you have some idea of what's about to happen, but when it happens, it's incredibly thrilling, and fleshed out with more detail than you could've possibly imagined. And it's not just Elvis: their discoveries (spoiler alert?) of Motown ("What's this then? 'Tamla'? Detroit?") and Goffin-King, via the Shirelles ("Hey Paul, let's snap up every record that has 'Goffin-King' on it") are reported by Lewisohn in a way that really communicates the excitement they felt at hearing those records for the first time. And that's another great thing about this: the massive pre-rock 'n' roll context that Lewisohn necessarily sets up makes those music discoveries really jump. For the first time I got some sense of what it must have been like for John and Paul to hear "Money" or "Long Tall Sally" for the first time with little precedent for either.

Yeah that lengthy description of John speechless when he first hears Little Richard -- so great.

I'm genuinely moved by the little efforts various parental figures make towards their musical interest, especially given how well he's contextualized their financial situations ...that story of George's mum sitting up with him til the wee hours making cups of tea and giving him encouragement make me a little teary. And Ringo's stepfather carting that drumkit all the way from wherever it was on like four different trains. <3 <3 <3 Oh and that student giving John the harmonica for not one but TWO songs :)

Aw, all these little details make me wonder whether the full-length is the one to buy after all...?

does the full-length one really cost like 10 times more than the regular one? if I'm gonna read this, I want to do it right, but only once

Same. UK amazon shows the full-length at £120 as opposed to £15 (for the short one, which I've already got but not read). It was £60 there on release, gah.

And Ringo's stepfather carting that drumkit all the way from wherever it was on like four different trains

Oh man, that one really got to me. Poor little Richy was supposed to have died about four or five times, and they were gonna do anything they could to make him happy.

I know it's crazy to think how he could have ended up!

I enjoyed how much it revealed that George was always George - little use for formal education, sardonic wit, can't be bothered with church, obsessive about cars and guitars . . .

you guys are making me want to read this

the Bob Spitz book I got a few years ago for Xmas is gathering dust (deservedly so)

It's worth it just for the stuff about Neil Aspinall and Mona Best, frankly. But it really is worth it. I've read *everything* over the years, and this made it all feel very fresh.

Yeah. Also feel like he gives a lot more context re the John/Mimi/Julia arrangement, or at least a lot more than I realized.

Yes, that and the whole Fred Lennon situation. And "Twitchy."

All the "new" characters at the periphery are pretty interesting, and while Lewisohn obviously deserves a lot of credit for finding and interviewing them, you wonder why no one did before (particularly the drummer that couldn't stay on because he didn't want to quit his day job).

Also, wtf, no interviewer ever asked Lennon about Sutcliffe?

Pulled out the first Anthology set to listen to the other day -- I'd listened to it here and there but I never really was jazzed about it. The Lewisohn book has made all the difference to my enjoyment of it, because now I understand more of the context about when and how the early recordings came about, and where they occur in the book etc

so good

Has anyone read the long version yet?

It's back down to £74 on amazon uk, post-Xmas, and I've got to say I'm on the brink.

I'm reading the long version on kindle, really enjoyable.

Pulled out the first Anthology set to listen to the other day -- I'd listened to it here and there but I never really was jazzed about it. The Lewisohn book has made all the difference to my enjoyment of it, because now I understand more of the context about when and how the early recordings came about, and where they occur in the book etc

Agree 100%. All of a sudden those early performances felt more like looking through a keyhole at some historic event of enormous significance instead of early scraps.

If the long version comes out in the US, or one falls in my lap, I would gladly give this a second read.

Ultimately, my one criticism of Tune In is that in a great many spots, Lewisohn encounters a grey area and assumes/implies what must have happened. Of course he always cites it, but I can easily imagine future film/miniseries versions of this including some of his guesswork as canon. Then again, it is mythology so that's not the worst thing that could happen.

Also can well imagine that as this book is read, many interesting letters and emails will make it to Lewisohn and shed light on the grey areas. Glad I read this at the library because a corrected edition will eventually be the standard text. Can't really believe there will be any need for another history of the Beatles after this one is complete. They'll just keep updating it like the encyclopedia (RIP).

I agree about the grey area bits. Kinda jolts you out of the detail into fanboy pondering...but again, like you say, it's not the worst thing that could happen.

Love that he's got lots of anecdotes from regular Cavern-goes, and the girls who started the fanclub, like not just quotes but long reminiscences. Am only about halfway through and still just loving the hell out of all of it

The amount of time it takes for Ringo to join the band is MADDENING. Also it's hilarious at how long they were 3 lead guitarists and maybe/sometimes a drummer. If they'd have waited another 20 years they could have been a prog band, lol

Brief interview with Lewisohn in today's NYTimes. I thought this was pretty fascinating:

Q: How did you get fresh information from people who had been interviewed about the Beatles many times over the decades? Don’t many of them tell their stories by rote, at this point?

A: Actually, a lot of people in this book were interviewed for the first time ever. But whether it was them, or people who have been interviewed often, I have a technique that is rooted in a psychotherapists’ technique, taking things to the interviews that will unlock memories — that will trigger thoughts that they hadn’t considered for a long time and will put them back into the time frame that I’m interested in. I would take old phone directories, so they could look up their parents’ address, and that would get them talking about other things from the time. Or street directories, maps, photographs. I’d take along a book of old Liverpool cinemas, because everyone has a nostalgia for the cinemas they used to go to in their childhood, especially in the pre-television days. I’d play recordings or video, or show them a contract or a letter, and it always worked: without fail, they were back in the zone, remembering things they hadn’t considered since the event.

Holy smokes, this guy really is some kind of genius.

I'm a bit concerned that he plans on finishing vol.3 when he's 70

Give the man a medal

Robert Caro's 78, and LBJ has only been president for a few months. I'm sure Lewisohn can finish this.

However, I can see how one might worry about Lewisohn's sources/interviewees dying off.

WRITE LIKE THE WIND, MAN

the good thing about this bio is that Lewisohn is happy to make it clear that John and Paul were both almost complete & utter knobs, but in their own unique way

Yeah, and for a bit in Hamburg it looked like Paul might be kicked out of the band. Fortunately for Paul, Pete was hated even more.

I'm a bit concerned that he plans on finishing vol.3 when he's I'm 70

*sings* when we're 64

The postman just arrived with my extended edition. It's a very nice object. It hadn't occurred to me to be aggrieved that I got a 'first edition - reprint' rather than a 'first edition' 'til I saw some chump moaning about it in the amazon reviews. I still don't know how enraged I should be tbh.

That's my 2014 sorted anyway.

Fuck it, I'm reading this thing again. While I was listening to the new BBC dealie I realized I had a much deeper understanding of/appreciation for where they were, how they were, why they were, the insane journey to get there, etc. etc.

Love finding stuff like this: "Had Paul passed [his audition for the Liverpool Cathedral Choristers' Guild], all subsequent events could have turned out very differently, for being in the choir involved a busy calendar of commitments for at least three years and possibly longer."

"subsequent events"...like the transformation of Western popular culture.

Nearly done with the uber version, it's been great, I expected a little more detail on the recording sessions but I guess you can look elsewhere for that shit

2020, though FFS

Somehow, I never knew George Martin's oboe teacher was Jane Asher's mother. Crazy coincidence.

Loving this. Can tell it's going to drive me nuts to wait however long for the 2nd edition.

Also, in case anyone cares, I'm creating a Spotify playlist that contains most of the songs referenced in the book:

https://play.spotify.com/user/darinfabrick/playlist/290CKldsqShkpShOFFxsRk

What a great idea, I'm in.

I've crawled to about page 120, loving it and it's worth taking my time. They are about five years old now. What gets me is all the stories not told - meetings guessed at but not recorded, what Alf and Julia might have got up to, the lists of great aunts and uncles who never lived, and so on and so on. It's like the book could've taken a thousand courses, of which The Beatles is only one.

darin, you're a genius

xpost well put!

thanks! I'll keep adding to the playlist (I'm only at page 300 or so currently).

Ismael otm (and darin, great idea!). I found myself much more gripped by the pre-Beatles-births dramas the second time around.

yeah that family history added a lot more depth to john & ringo's childhoods in particular

that whole bit about him falling out of the hospital bed to see the other kid's toy was so heartbreaking

I may get this as an audiobook. It's 43+ hours long, lol.

I still can't get over the idea that it's going to be 6/7 years before I get to read the next volume.

one wonders, does he have a back up guy/girl to finish it off for him.. *just in case*? his wife maybe (as per the John Peel 'Margrave Of The Marshes' book which was only half-finished when he passed on).

Indeed, does the publisher have him insured? Maybe they sent him off to Bupa before he started.

rachel lichtman ‏@DJRotaryRachel

Not saying the new Beatles book is thorough but I'm 700 pages in and Ringo's great-grandfather just returned a hat.

Hah, that reminds me of a place I used to work where I was in the occasional orbit of the guys that were putting together the Beatles anthology doc, I asked one of them how it was going and he gave me a weary look and said 'yeah really good, we've gotten the rough cut down to 10 hours and Pete Best hasn't even left the band yet'

yeah Anthology is glacial. and *boring* too has to be said.