by Ian Leslie.
Hardback (7.25×9.75 inches). 444 pages. 2025.
I couldn’t help humming Beatles songs while reading this book. Virtually every chapter is a deconstruction on how the interaction of Paul McCartney’s and John Lennon’s personalities intertwined to create what now classic rock and roll songs. It is also an evolution of the songwriting, from simple chords, lyrics, and music to more sophisticated themes and orchestration. I can’t say I knew each and every song discussed, but the vast majority have been played on the radio over the years and are quite familiar.
I’ll leave the music theory to the experts, but a couple of notions stand out in my memory. McCartney and Lennon were not trained at an early age — they just picked up a guitar and played. As McCartney was left-handed, he initially turned a guitar upside down to play, forming a somewhat mirror image when playing with John. He later restrung the strings. They were not flush with cash back in the early days.
Initially, they would work out songs and then bring them to the group to refine. Later, they used the recording studio as their song incubator, bringing fragments of music and lyrics to work on together. George and Ringo were part of the creative process as well, as was producer George Martin.
Pity I couldn’t have used my connections at EMI to be a part of a Beatles album. The chairman of EMI records at the time was Sir Joseph Lockwood (p259), no doubt a distant relation who would have recognized my obvious talent and allowed me to play lead rattle on a song.
After mid-60s, the Beatles stopped organized touring. The contract called for two albums and two singles per year. They also consumed copious amount of drugs — LSD was an early favorite.
But over it all was their abiding friendship that drove their creativity. Even when they were involved in major disagreements that ultimately caused the break-up of the band, they remained in loose touch.
The book contains 17 black and white photos and four color photos.
If you are looking for a book about how friendship stoked the creativity of two of the most talented rock and roll songwriters in history, here’s an excellent examination of the music and lyrics of John and Paul.
Enjoyed it.
— Reviewed by Russ Lockwood
