Customer Rating:  
Summary: Revisionism: By and For McCartney
Comment: Paul McCartney needs to stop hiring people to write books painting him that try to tear down John Lennon while building himself up to the level of rock god.
I first noticed it in Many Years From Now. It continued in Geoff Emerick's book Here, There and Everywhere. Now this. They all follow the same pattern: Paul good, John bad. Add to his attempt to switch around the songwriting credits (McCartney-Lennon) and you have the work of a desperate man more worried about his legacy than his art.
Listen, if McCartney was such a genius in the 1960's - making experimental films and cutting edge Stockhausen-esq avant garde music - then where is it? Lennon actually made the films and the music and had the events, and he boldly put it out there.
I'm sorry, Paul; you'll have to do better than to employ a bunch of hired guns to write your praises. Deliberately treading on the back of a dead man like John Lennon, over and over again, is simply inexcusable.
It's getting so pathetic, I'm actually beginning to believe those freaks were right when they said you were dead.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Great Book. Prompt Shipping
Comment: I think for someone who has been in the public eye for 45 years 'Macca,' has been the epitome of grace under pressure. The book could have used less sarcasm and pointed out more of what has been an incredible career by any measurement. Why not more elaboration on the very unique qualities of why Sir Paul is STILL a force to reckoned with in the Industry? He has always shown incredible class and dignity-qualities in increasing short supply unfortunately, replaced by a genre of "tell all, grab-a-buck-today-while-you-can" individuals. Even in the most difficult, private circumstances when one party chose to make them very public, he is a rarity. By remaining silent and dignified-knowing the best interest of his child trumps all,this says more than anything else.
Customer Rating:
Summary: The Enduring Beatle
Comment: Paul McCartney is the enduring remnant of The Beatles. Surely the other three have assured legacies, but McCartney represents the continued flourishing of the Beatles' success story. Christopher Sandford's biography 'McCartney' is excellent for bringing The Beatles' (and McCartney's) legend thoroughly to the reader. After having read the groundbreaking 'Shout' by Philip Norman, an insider's account with Peter Brown's 'The Love You Make,' and John Swenson's primer 'The Beatles Yesterday and Today,' Sandford's story is still a find. The content is formidable, chock-full of quotes, accounts of bickering and reconciliation, his love life, and any backstage summations of touring and recording.
Taking some familiar paths, the author manages to break new ground mostly by being comprehensive and exhaustive with his research. The greatest merit of his book is his ability to vividly show McCartney's childhood and the historic meetings of the other three of the fab four. Sandford visually and almost audibly transports us to that primitive time and place before they were famous. His details of McCartney's musical father and his heartwarming mother are fascinating. To his credit even the familiar stories don't feel like retread. Later the format changes for most of the solo career. He gathers press conferences, anecdotes, and reviews to stock up his presentation. Overall, I believe he is fair to a point. He injects both enthusiasm and criticism for the superstar Beatle, but he always gives him his due. Even when the text gets highly critical, he cleverly lets others do most of the talking. (This is no small factor given the fact that most writers are hyper-critical of the most commercially successful Beatle.) Admirably, Sandford does a yeoman job of separating rumor from fact and dispenses evidence on every claim and counter-claim he makes.
Although mainly a lucid and fascinating read, Sandford at times becomes unnecessarily convoluted. At times he will make statements that require one to reread a passage, making it unnecessarily opaque. (For the grammarian, tracing pronouns to their antecedents is sometimes a chore. In other words it's occasionally difficult to keep track of those for whom he speaks.) However, this is the exception rather than the rule. Capturing the enthusiasm, the thrills, and the chasms, Sandford creates a comprehensive and engaging read for Beatles and/or McCartney fans.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Sandford Did a Good Job
Comment: The editorial from Publishers Weekly that appears on this site was obviously written by someone who either did not read this book, skimmed it,or half listened to it on tape while driving. Nowhere in his book does Sandford insinuate that McCartney isn't 'profound of character', in fact he goes into detail about the musician's good,and yes, profound character, using many examples. He also is not afraid to show Paul as a flawed human being,capable of pettiness,and fits of temper,if the situation warrants it. I will admit, it took me a year to buy this book. I kept passing it up because I've been burned by Beatle bios in the past, especially a horrible, book by someone named Chet Flippo. Also, I read Sandford's book on Kurt Cobain and I found it biased and unfair. By chance I happened to read an interview in Daytripper Magazine with Mr. Sandford where he reveals that before he started the McCartney project he wasn't a huge fan. He thought McCartney was too cutesy(I'm paraphrasing). However, once he began his research he started to understand the complex dichotomy that is Paul McCartney. In reading this book,it is easy to see that Chris 'gets' Paul McCartney. He understands that everything this man is, is the result of his upbringing. The product of a very close knit,clannish,Liverpool Irish family; a childhood on a council estate where money was very tight,and Mom had to work as well as take care of the family. This shaped his attitude toward women at an early age,and it also explains Paul's legendary feelings about money. Another result of his childhood, is Paul's formidal work ethic, and his insatiable need to improve himself culturally. In the past, in some lesser bios,people have attributed these traits to male chauvinism,stingyness,pushiness, and shallow social climbing. But Sandford knows better. He's definitely done his homework. Sandford also recognizes as most people finally do, that Paul along with Lennon was the driving creative and musical force behind the Beatles,not George I'm afraid,or only John, as some revisionists would have you think. Without BOTH Lennon and McCartney, there would have been no Beatles. The only complaints I have about this book are:1)the writting style: he starts off with a beautiful,vivid,telling of a shining night in the budding musical career of Paul's father,leading the reader right into WWII. Great way to start the book, but he doesn't stay with this style. By the second chapter his writing gets sloppy, and choppy. It also would have been nice if he would explain what such Liverpool expressions like "baccy", and "wotcher" mean. How about a chart or something? He also has a habit of only giving you a little bit of info as soon as he gets to a juicy, personal part. ie: who exactly IS Judy Flanders? She seems to be the (underage?) girl who was caught in Paul's motel room in Milwaukee during the 1964 tour. It seems that Sandford must have interviewed her, although you have to try and guess this, because he then implies that she and Paul seem to have continued their relationship...in England. Did she follow the tour and then move to England to carry on the affair? You get this impression although it is not explained. I'm not into guessing games. If you're going to mention something at all, then go into more detail, or don't even bother. He does the same thing later on when describing a fling with a certain Winona Williams at the Beverly Wilshire in 1968. After their tryst, Williams catches Paul in the lobby with none other than Linda Eastman. Words are exchanged and Paul smooths things over by saying he's "about to become a father"(?)Doesn't make sense.This remark is not explained and it's very confusing. Who's father is he about to become? Linda's unborn child? Since they had only recently consumatted their relationship, how is that possible? Again,this is not explained either. Was this the editor's fault? Very annoying. Also Sandford reveals little about Paul's personal relationships,especially with John. He reverts to the style of those lazy Beatle authors,describing John in ways that make him seem like a nasty,vindictive,jerk who only has jealousy for McCartney. Every biographer worth his salt has gone into detail about the complex,symbiotic relationship between these two. A pairing based on mutual respect,admiration, and love. Chris should have known better. And they did write together after 1964. Why do people keep insisting otherwise when Paul has described their writing sessions many times, song by song, well into 1967? These are the reasons I gave this book only 4 stars. But aside from The Anthology,there are really almost no true Beatle bios that would warrant 5 stars. There is always something wrong with them. I'm not talking about the marvelous books about their music. I'm talking about the bios on their lives. These always seem to come up short. Anyway this book is still worth getting because it is one of the better ones.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Two thumbs down
Comment: Poorly written, poorly researched -- it's as if the writer had tried put together a great work of art from torn bits of cocktail napkins... and had a hard time filling in the gaping spaces between.
|
