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Los Beatles : Un Dia en la Vida
They are the most popular and accomplished musical artists of this century. But for more than three decades, the secrets behind the Beatles' unparalleled artistic evolution were beyond reach--sealed in a locked room at London's Abbey Road Studios. In this comprehensive and brilliantly rendered book the only "outsider" to gain access to these invaluable musical archives provides a new, fascinating look at the music and artistry of the Beatles, revealing how four untrained musicians merged their collective genius into a single creative force, how they came together to paint pictures with sound...and how album by album, the Beatles transformed the landscape of popular music forever.
Combining literary analysis and investigative reporting with page-turning storytelling and musical explication, author Mark Hertsgaard has written the first serious biography of the music of the Beatles. A Day in the Life takes readers inside the Beatles' creative process as never before, from the first tentative run-throughs in the studio of such classics as "Eleanor Rigby" and "I Want to Hold Your Hand" to the final master tapes.
Here we learn how George Harrison's stirring composition "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" was completely transformed from an achingly meditative acoustic masterpiece to a hard-rocking hit--in forty-four takes. We recall how the fantastic final mix of "Strawberry Fields Forever" opens the door to a psychedelic utopia, but discover it is the haunting solo version that takes us down to the core of John Lennon's disillusioned soul. And only here do we see how the Beatles' audacious ability to reinvent themselves stamped the group's unfolding ingenuity on each album like a fingerprint.
With rare insight, Mark Hertsgaard unlocks the mystery of the century's most dynamic musical collaboration: the competitive and creative partnership of John Lennon and Paul McCartney. A Day in the Life traces the way Lennon and McCartney worked together and paints an intricate picture of the composers as we have never seen them before: Paul, the optimistic foil who made John's ominous fragments whole...John, the natural poet who injected raw sexuality into "I Saw Her Standing There" by making a simple five word change.
Smart, fresh, compulsively readable, A Day in the Life reveals John, Paul, George, and Ringo not as celebrities or cultural icons but as musicians whose work will be remembered as some of the most important art of the twentieth century.
Combining literary analysis and investigative reporting with page-turning storytelling and musical explication, author Mark Hertsgaard has written the first serious biography of the music of the Beatles. A Day in the Life takes readers inside the Beatles' creative process as never before, from the first tentative run-throughs in the studio of such classics as "Eleanor Rigby" and "I Want to Hold Your Hand" to the final master tapes.
Here we learn how George Harrison's stirring composition "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" was completely transformed from an achingly meditative acoustic masterpiece to a hard-rocking hit--in forty-four takes. We recall how the fantastic final mix of "Strawberry Fields Forever" opens the door to a psychedelic utopia, but discover it is the haunting solo version that takes us down to the core of John Lennon's disillusioned soul. And only here do we see how the Beatles' audacious ability to reinvent themselves stamped the group's unfolding ingenuity on each album like a fingerprint.
With rare insight, Mark Hertsgaard unlocks the mystery of the century's most dynamic musical collaboration: the competitive and creative partnership of John Lennon and Paul McCartney. A Day in the Life traces the way Lennon and McCartney worked together and paints an intricate picture of the composers as we have never seen them before: Paul, the optimistic foil who made John's ominous fragments whole...John, the natural poet who injected raw sexuality into "I Saw Her Standing There" by making a simple five word change.
Smart, fresh, compulsively readable, A Day in the Life reveals John, Paul, George, and Ringo not as celebrities or cultural icons but as musicians whose work will be remembered as some of the most important art of the twentieth century.
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First published January 1, 1995
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About the author
Mark Hertsgaard
16 books22 followersMark Hertsgaard is an American journalist and the co-founder and executive director of Covering Climate Now. He is the environment correspondent for The Nation, and the author of seven non-fiction books, including Earth Odyssey (1998) and Hot: Living Through the Next Fifty Years on Earth (2011).
He has covered climate change, politics, economics, the press, and music since 1989. His best-known work as an author is On Bended Knee: The Press and the Reagan Presidency (1988), which described the way the Reagan White House "deployed raw power and conventional wisdom to intimidate Washington's television newsrooms." He has also written for magazines and newspapers such as The Guardian, Vanity Fair, Scientific American,Time, Harper's, and Le Monde. He has been a commentator for the public radio programs Morning Edition, Marketplace, and Living on Earth, and taught writing at Johns Hopkins and the University of California, Berkeley. Hertsgaard lives in San Francisco.
He has covered climate change, politics, economics, the press, and music since 1989. His best-known work as an author is On Bended Knee: The Press and the Reagan Presidency (1988), which described the way the Reagan White House "deployed raw power and conventional wisdom to intimidate Washington's television newsrooms." He has also written for magazines and newspapers such as The Guardian, Vanity Fair, Scientific American,Time, Harper's, and Le Monde. He has been a commentator for the public radio programs Morning Edition, Marketplace, and Living on Earth, and taught writing at Johns Hopkins and the University of California, Berkeley. Hertsgaard lives in San Francisco.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 61 reviews
September 18, 2008
Hertsgaard examines the Beatles' music chronologically, and places it within its time, its musical context, and its level of innovation.
Biography impinges only tangentially. This is written at a very high level of analysis, but written with a graceful tone and suppleness of
thought.
Even though he is talking about chord changes, etc, a nonmusician can follow.What he tries to illuminate is the powerful joy the Beatles music radiates.
He is unabashedly a fan, but never lets his love for his subject permit him to sentimentalize his analysis. He is clear in teasing out the contributions of all four guys, and sends one running back to the recordings to hear this or that part. He does a wonderful job of pinpointing all the musical innovations that began with the Beatles,
and describes in soaring prose the combination of sheer pleasure, eroticism, and straight-ahead rock and roll that was their music.
Hertsgaard sticks to primary sources and material closest to the four, trying to present as much of the truth as can be known.
A great read--carried it around with me, even on the subway, for two days.
Biography impinges only tangentially. This is written at a very high level of analysis, but written with a graceful tone and suppleness of
thought.
Even though he is talking about chord changes, etc, a nonmusician can follow.What he tries to illuminate is the powerful joy the Beatles music radiates.
He is unabashedly a fan, but never lets his love for his subject permit him to sentimentalize his analysis. He is clear in teasing out the contributions of all four guys, and sends one running back to the recordings to hear this or that part. He does a wonderful job of pinpointing all the musical innovations that began with the Beatles,
and describes in soaring prose the combination of sheer pleasure, eroticism, and straight-ahead rock and roll that was their music.
Hertsgaard sticks to primary sources and material closest to the four, trying to present as much of the truth as can be known.
A great read--carried it around with me, even on the subway, for two days.
July 5, 2016
Har aldri lest en "biografi" så oppslukt i et av bandmedlemmene (Lennon), hvor det ender med at forfatteren glemmer helt bort et av de andre medlemmene. Det er så mye Lennon-worship og så absurd lite Ringo i denne boka. Det er faktisk mer om George Martin enn det er om Ringo her. Det beste med A Day In The Life er at forfatteren har peil på det tekniske bak innspillingene The Beatles gjorde og kan sitt av musikkteori. Da er det gøy at han har tilgang til mange sjeldne opptak fra Abbey Road Studio BABY! Meeen boka later som den handler om musikken til Beatles, og prøver å nørde litt ut på det, men velger altfor mange ganger å synse om Lennon og livet hans (det er seriøst helt sinnssvakt hvor høyt han elsker John Lennon)
June 28, 2020
The book started off as an article for 'The New Yorker' magazine in 1995 regarding 'The Beatles Anthology' project. The author was granted access to the groups musical archives locked away in a room at Abbey Road Studios in London. This gave Hertzgaard the unique perspective of being able to listen to a song being developed in the studio from the first take to the finished product. This well researched book is part biography and part musical analysis of song and album development. The reader also learns tidbits about particular songs and how members of the group functioned together as they evolved. I would have given it five stars, but I felt that I wanted more time spent on the musical development aspects. After all there are many strictly biographical sources on the group. A quick read, it also includes a listing of Beatles recordings, a bibliography, and quite extensive notes that document sources for each chapter. I also recommend former Beatles sound engineer Geoff Emerick's book 'Here, There, and Everywhere'.
April 16, 2014
I felt this was an excellent book. It does a nice job of incorporating the history of the Beatles (individual members, band as a whole, Martin), offering insight into the musical compositions and album creations process, and providing some insight into the personalities involved under an objective position. The writer does a great job incorporating research into this work and offering points of view – but in a way that is reasonable and non-biased in his own writing. The insight into the music is most impactful and really offers the evolution and importance of their work. Not to mention the innovative tricks and experimentation. The chapters follow the path of the musical creation – and I took a moment to listen to songs in sequence – and the book really came alive in that manner. I really did not find any glaring fault – although it could be argued there are more comprehensive works. But the intent is to look at the music in close terms and the Beatles are such a complex biography – this book has nice balance and is not overdone. I also valued the insight into the Lennon / McCartney relationship – but maybe more importantly – how critical George Martin was to the band too.
June 22, 2014
So enjoyable. I fairly tore through this book since I picked it up yesterday morning. And I followed the author’s suggestion and listened to Beatles music as I read. Its focus is primarily on the music and the innovations the Beatles brought to recording and songwriting and covered each recording chronologically which makes perfect sense to me, as that is how I did my own essays on my fab four – Queen. How I would love to access their work tapes as MH had to the Beatles. As for the writing, it is quite good. He is sometimes repetitive in the descriptive phrases he uses, but I know from experience that it’s easy to do when writing of music. His accounts of the sessions, the relationship of the four men, and the break-up is very balanced. He doesn’t fall into the easy clichés and in fact makes meticulous notations to justify what he’s written concerning things known to the surviving Beatles. A brilliant book.
January 24, 2025
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
January 31, 2026
Best musicians ever argue with a WALL!!!!!
March 5, 2014
Jeg har haft denne bog stående på hylden siden 1995 n tid hvor min beatles feber havde toppet og stille var på retur. Af uransable oversager har bogen fået lov til at stå ulæst på min reol indtil nu hvor jeg er igang med at få læst reolen igennem inden jeg må købe nye bøger. Men en af grundende til den har fået lov at stå uberørt så længe er den afstand jeg lage til det band der var det største i min verden som 14 årig. Jeg har simpelt hen fornedret bandet og forbundet det med mine år som uerfaren lytter.
Det sagt har jeg efter at have læst denne bog der tager udgangspunkt i musikken og ikke de egentlige begivenheder fundet min glæde ved Beatles og har spillet dem non stop når jeg ikke lige har skulle læse eller vært på studiet. Det er ikke mange bøger der vender en mismodig holdning til begær men Mark Hertsgaard klare det til fulde med hans bog om 66'ernes største band. men nu gør emnet det nok også lidt nemmere.
Jeg kan kun varmt anbefale denne bog der er skrevet i et let tilgængeligt og varmt sprog. den er nørdet men forlager ikke at læseren skal være nørd eller ekspert. bogen ønsker som sådan bare at fortælle om de fire drenge fra Liverpool og underholde læseren med dette emne.
Det sagt har jeg efter at have læst denne bog der tager udgangspunkt i musikken og ikke de egentlige begivenheder fundet min glæde ved Beatles og har spillet dem non stop når jeg ikke lige har skulle læse eller vært på studiet. Det er ikke mange bøger der vender en mismodig holdning til begær men Mark Hertsgaard klare det til fulde med hans bog om 66'ernes største band. men nu gør emnet det nok også lidt nemmere.
Jeg kan kun varmt anbefale denne bog der er skrevet i et let tilgængeligt og varmt sprog. den er nørdet men forlager ikke at læseren skal være nørd eller ekspert. bogen ønsker som sådan bare at fortælle om de fire drenge fra Liverpool og underholde læseren med dette emne.
April 19, 2020
I have owned this book for more than 20 years but am glad I waited until the age of Spotify to get around to reading it. It was great to read about the Beatles’ musical evolution, chapter by chapter while at the same time listening to that musical evolution, album by album. (All the outtakes and demos now readily available helped, too.) I’ve always liked the Beatles, but reading how their music came together made me appreciate them even more. Although the author argues that inaccurate gossip printed about the Beatles over the years distracts from their musical achievements, I did enjoy all the apparently accurate gossip sprinkled throughout the book — for example, how John Lennon, the saintly icon of Imagine and Give Peace a Chance and All You Need Is Love, had a cruel and occasionally violent streak. Only downsides: the book descends into worshipful hagiography every now & then — an ever-present danger for any book devoted to a band and written by a devotee; some of the descriptions of music are incomprehensible (the arrangement of “Here Comes the Sun,” for example, is “airy yet grounded, gentle yet bombastic”?); and the Beatles are referred to as “lads” once or twice too often. Overall, though, a great companion to an audio survey of the Beatles.
November 9, 2009
A must-read for any Beatles fan, really. I think I remember a boy I had a crush on in college going on and on about this book--it's an accessible, straight-forward, not-too-gushing explanation of what made the Beatles' music (and it really does focus on the music and not much else) so good and important and rocking. It came out right around the Anthology, and I think it'd be fun to re-read sometime while listening to the albums when reading the chapters about them. I go through an intense Beatles phase every 3 years or so (though this most recent phase has lasted a lot longer than others, thanks to Rock Band and new friends who dig them) and am glad I picked this one up this time.
September 30, 2016
Excellent archival work and research into the blood, sweat, and tears involved in the Beatles' recording sessions, written in a chronological fashion. My favorite takeaway quote was from George Martin in 1993: "All the sounds we were making in 1967-1968 you can now get by pressing a button. So people SELECT rather than CREATE. Nobody's PLAYING, just assembling digital information, and we get a lot of sterility, which is why music is going down the pan and Nintendo and Sega are taking over."
April 5, 2024
He leído muuuchos libros sobre los Beatles y está ha sido la mejor para mí hasta ahora. Es muy completa y se centra en la música y los aportes de cada integrante. El escritor tuvo acceso horas y horas de material de grabación en Abbey Road y trasmite de gran manera esa experiencia en el libro.
Espero poder releerlo pronto.
Espero poder releerlo pronto.
October 8, 2020
Even though I started listening to rock music after the Beatles broke up, because of my older brothers I had albums of their and have always enjoyed reading about their story. A Day in the Life is one of the better ones. He talks about the music itself, the artistry, as he puts it. And he does so in a way that is neither simplistic or overly technical. I felt privy to the gradual improvement of the group, both in their songwriting and instrumentation.
But of course it is not only about the music. You can't provide a history of their talent without giving a sort of history of the four moptops as well. I saw one negative review that stated there was nothing new in this book - wow, they sure have read a lot more than I have. There was a lot new here for me. And the author was very scrupulous and fussy about using reliable and authentic sources. He gives some sources as he writes and there are a lot more in the back of the book, so I feel comfortable about accuracy.
And the book was well-written enough to hold my interest throughout. There are a lot of wonderful tidbits here. For example, George Martin said that if you have one Beatle in the room, it is okay, and with two or three of them, so much the better, but when you have all four Beatles in the same room, that is when the magic happens. This book captures a lot of that magic, in my opinion.
But of course it is not only about the music. You can't provide a history of their talent without giving a sort of history of the four moptops as well. I saw one negative review that stated there was nothing new in this book - wow, they sure have read a lot more than I have. There was a lot new here for me. And the author was very scrupulous and fussy about using reliable and authentic sources. He gives some sources as he writes and there are a lot more in the back of the book, so I feel comfortable about accuracy.
And the book was well-written enough to hold my interest throughout. There are a lot of wonderful tidbits here. For example, George Martin said that if you have one Beatle in the room, it is okay, and with two or three of them, so much the better, but when you have all four Beatles in the same room, that is when the magic happens. This book captures a lot of that magic, in my opinion.
February 8, 2022
there was good and bad in this. the focus on the music was a definite plus, and the writing was engaging enough. and of course i appreciate that he cited his sources (even if he did it in the most annoying way possible dear god had this man never heard of a footnote). though he still managed to get... so many things factually incorrect. i recognize that he really did attempt to make it correct, so i will be forgiving and say he just didn't have the correct information. (though really, saying paul was right handed...). this also had a comically clear bias in favor of john. that's not exactly shocking, but i did stop being as amused by it when nearly every chapter started with a few pages about him before remembering that there were other people in the band. i get it, everyone has a favorite, but come on my guy. and if it spent 60% of the time on john, and 30% on paul, there was just that 10% left for george and ringo to split. that can be somewhat explained away by the focus on the music (after all, john and paul wrote almost all of it), but it still got tiring.
overall a well written and interesting take. that actually cited its sources (even though it was still riddled with mistakes). in beatles terms, that makes this practically a goldmine.
overall a well written and interesting take. that actually cited its sources (even though it was still riddled with mistakes). in beatles terms, that makes this practically a goldmine.
March 3, 2018
The primary emphasis of Hertsgaard's book is his focus on the music: how it was made and why it's good. Yes, there is a well-reasoned chapter on the breakup, as well as chapters on some of the mythic features associated with the Beatles (songwriting, production, Beatlemania, for example). But even in those chapters, Hertsgaard stays with the strength of the book, its analysis of what John, Paul, George, and Ringo said, cross-referenced with people who were close to them and their work, like George Martin, Pete Shotton, Derek Taylor, and, according to the author, fifty hours of listening to EMI's recording tapes of the Beatles in the studio.
The weakness of this book comes from having little primary research, beyond the recounting of studio chatter and rough drafts of their songs. He invited Paul, George, and Ringo to be interviewed; they refused. He does rely quite a bit on Mark Lewisohn's work, which is very reliable, but then why not just read Lewisohn?
That said, this is a very readable and informative compendium of well-chosen secondary sources on the Beatles' music.
The weakness of this book comes from having little primary research, beyond the recounting of studio chatter and rough drafts of their songs. He invited Paul, George, and Ringo to be interviewed; they refused. He does rely quite a bit on Mark Lewisohn's work, which is very reliable, but then why not just read Lewisohn?
That said, this is a very readable and informative compendium of well-chosen secondary sources on the Beatles' music.
February 3, 2019
This book provides a good analysis of the Beatles’s music, album-by-album, and is very well-researched and true to life. However, the writing could have been better—the words “literally” and “virtually” appear many times per chapter, which is hard not to notice and quickly becomes annoying. Otherwise, this book is definitely worth reading if you’re looking for something more analytical, and I’d recommend it to any serious Beatles fan.
November 1, 2019
This is one of the best books focusing on the Beatles songs but much less on the soap opera of their lives. The observations of the book are less musically literate (and much less opinionated) than those of L. Ian MacDonald's 'Revolution in the Head' but have more insightful observations specifically about lyrics, which are often given short shrift in analyses of the Beatles art .
A great start for those looking for Beatles books to delve into.
A great start for those looking for Beatles books to delve into.
July 2, 2019
Excellent overview of the band's career and the circumstances and history behind the songs and albums. Hertsgaard loves the music, admires each member for his contribution, and he lauds Lennon and McCartney equally, which frankly is the only angle from which a book like this works well. A very concise summery of the breakup, and the accompanied litigation regarding McCartney and Klein, not an act of spite by McCartney, but one of closure. A text book for new fans, and for older fans who may wish to pull their appreciation more greatly into focus, re-evaluate context, so that they might revisit those songs anew. After all, living is easy with eyes closed...
Altogether very enjoyable.
March 24, 2022
Segir manni svo sem ekki mikið nýtt en er læsileg og oft skemmtileg, og þematísk nalgunin er ágætt uppbrot frá hefðbundinni frásögn í tímaröð. Líður fyrir skelfilegt vanmat á Hvíta albúminu og oft klúðurslega þýðingu.
August 31, 2017
Good info on specific Beatles classics. Some stuff unknown to me.
July 2, 2018
I read this book about the same time the Anthologies were coming out. The book and those DVD's go hand in hand and I would recommend reading this book and listening to the music together.
December 6, 2018
very good book, I like it
January 25, 2019
Without a doubt the best book written about the Beatles. Very well written an researced.
Read
August 5, 2020Highly recommended. A very detailed and fun account of the Beatles in studio.
June 29, 2021
Took me awhile to get through this one, but im still giving it a pretty good rating, because I think it is a pretty good book - the issue, for me, was that I already knew most of the stories in the book, and so I was bored with it for the most part. But I kept reading it anyway, partly just for those extra added bits of information, but also because I just really enjoyed the writer.
I just appreciated the way he respected the Lennon & McCartney relationship, and didn’t try to push a solely Lennon VS McCartney narrative. For sure, they had their differences, but Hertsgaard doesn’t at all try reinforce the myth that post-68(ish) they just despised each other; there was still a constant love and kinship between the two (between the four, in fact) but a number of factors got in the way of this. Some might try to pinpoint Yoko, or Epsteins death, or Klein, or the neglect of Georges work etc. as the single greatest contributor to the Beatles breakup - I however, would argue that in all likelihood it was Johns deteriorating mental state (partially due to his childhood trauma, partially due to his drug addiction, as well as a dozen other things).
Im always hoping a Beatles biographer will explore Johns psyche in more depth, but I guess they’re not psychiatrists so I shouldn’t expect so much; but I did appreciate that the writer of this book did appear to acknowledge, and understand this factor to some degree.
What I think I like most about the book though, is simply the genuine love Hertgaard has for the group. Though he has a clear Lennon bias, he doesn’t at all reciprocate this by trying to degrade, nullify or vilify McCartney (unlike Phillip Norman 😡). He loves all four of the group members, though he doesn’t write of them in such away that might be perceived as saccharine, or excessively “fan-girly”, for lack of a better term.
If you’ve never read a Beatles biography, I think this is the one I would recommend the most (so far, I haven’t read every biography, in fairness).
I just appreciated the way he respected the Lennon & McCartney relationship, and didn’t try to push a solely Lennon VS McCartney narrative. For sure, they had their differences, but Hertsgaard doesn’t at all try reinforce the myth that post-68(ish) they just despised each other; there was still a constant love and kinship between the two (between the four, in fact) but a number of factors got in the way of this. Some might try to pinpoint Yoko, or Epsteins death, or Klein, or the neglect of Georges work etc. as the single greatest contributor to the Beatles breakup - I however, would argue that in all likelihood it was Johns deteriorating mental state (partially due to his childhood trauma, partially due to his drug addiction, as well as a dozen other things).
Im always hoping a Beatles biographer will explore Johns psyche in more depth, but I guess they’re not psychiatrists so I shouldn’t expect so much; but I did appreciate that the writer of this book did appear to acknowledge, and understand this factor to some degree.
What I think I like most about the book though, is simply the genuine love Hertgaard has for the group. Though he has a clear Lennon bias, he doesn’t at all reciprocate this by trying to degrade, nullify or vilify McCartney (unlike Phillip Norman 😡). He loves all four of the group members, though he doesn’t write of them in such away that might be perceived as saccharine, or excessively “fan-girly”, for lack of a better term.
If you’ve never read a Beatles biography, I think this is the one I would recommend the most (so far, I haven’t read every biography, in fairness).
February 5, 2023
Muy buena biografía que se concentra más en la música de los Beatles que en las fechas y datos cronológicos.
No solo habla de innovaciones musicales y revoluciones culturales que consiguieron en la música popular, sino también pone énfasis en que aporto cada integrante del grupo y agregando la invalorable colaboración de George Martin.
Mark Hertsgaard tuvo acceso a las 400 horas de archivo de cintas que hay de grabaciones de los Beatles, que juntaron en los 7 años que estuvieron juntos de manera profesional, hoy debe estar subido a Youtube, pero en la década del noventa, eran muy pocos los privilegiados que tenían acceso. Escucho no solo lo publicado, sino las diferentes tomas desechadas. Y las conversaciones entre ellos, lo cual le brindo una noción de como trabajaban. Creo que era en la época de los Antologies y se estaba revisando todo eso.
Es de lectura amena, y no es lineal a pesar de que habla de los discos en orden de edición, pero hay muchas digresiones, yendo para adelante y para atrás.
Es un lindo libro para completar cuando uno ya leyó las biografías canónicas, se nota el intento de cambiar la perspectiva obvia.
La única contra que le encuentro, es que cuando habla de la etapa gloriosa que empieza a partir del álbum Revolver. Utiliza palabras tan merecidamente grandilocuentes que después se queda sin epítetos cuando va avanzando sobre las sucesivas obras maestras que este grupo fue generado, y cuando llega a Abbey Road uno no se sorprende más, lo encuentra todo repetitivo.
No solo habla de innovaciones musicales y revoluciones culturales que consiguieron en la música popular, sino también pone énfasis en que aporto cada integrante del grupo y agregando la invalorable colaboración de George Martin.
Mark Hertsgaard tuvo acceso a las 400 horas de archivo de cintas que hay de grabaciones de los Beatles, que juntaron en los 7 años que estuvieron juntos de manera profesional, hoy debe estar subido a Youtube, pero en la década del noventa, eran muy pocos los privilegiados que tenían acceso. Escucho no solo lo publicado, sino las diferentes tomas desechadas. Y las conversaciones entre ellos, lo cual le brindo una noción de como trabajaban. Creo que era en la época de los Antologies y se estaba revisando todo eso.
Es de lectura amena, y no es lineal a pesar de que habla de los discos en orden de edición, pero hay muchas digresiones, yendo para adelante y para atrás.
Es un lindo libro para completar cuando uno ya leyó las biografías canónicas, se nota el intento de cambiar la perspectiva obvia.
La única contra que le encuentro, es que cuando habla de la etapa gloriosa que empieza a partir del álbum Revolver. Utiliza palabras tan merecidamente grandilocuentes que después se queda sin epítetos cuando va avanzando sobre las sucesivas obras maestras que este grupo fue generado, y cuando llega a Abbey Road uno no se sorprende más, lo encuentra todo repetitivo.
April 24, 2008
See my review of Hard Day's Write, which I read simultaneously with this book for my overview of Beatlesologies. Hertsgaard makes a strong case for the Beatles' influence on pop music, both its significance in the context of the '60s and also on everything that came after. This is a well-written and well-researched biographical study of the group and its members (chiefly McCartney and Lennon, Harrison as songwriter ironically gets short-shrift here from a biographical point of view) that further illuminates the development and recording of each of their releases. It doesn't go song-by-song, which is what makes Hard Day's Write such a fitting contemporary companion. However, it certainly leads readers back to the tracks themselves and will have even the die-hard Beatles fan hearing with new ears, an experience worth the price of admission alone.
August 23, 2007
Probably the best book specifically about the Beatles' career as a band of talented lyricists and genius melody makers, this is a chronological album-by-album song-by-song document of the processes that went into the recording of every song and album they released. The author was given exclusive access to the Abbey Road archives, both paper and tape, and has documented a creative process and an artistic evolution unprecedented in the history of music, and unmatched since. THE must read for anyone who has ever asked the question (as I have on numerous occasions) "How the hell did they DO that!?!?!?"
December 28, 2014
My full and detailed review is on my site at http://rnrchemist.blogspot.com/2014/1...
Overall, a good book and a nice overview of the Beatles as musicians and creatives, although my opinion of the book has cooled considerably since it first came out over 20 years ago. There's nothing too revelatory for any serious Beatles fan and some minor errors abound, but it's a nice overview.
Overall, a good book and a nice overview of the Beatles as musicians and creatives, although my opinion of the book has cooled considerably since it first came out over 20 years ago. There's nothing too revelatory for any serious Beatles fan and some minor errors abound, but it's a nice overview.
February 5, 2008
I have read this book almost ten times, from the day i bought it. If you're a die hard Beatles fan, and likes to know more advance Beatles knowledge, you should read this book. This book not only tell the story of the Beatles journey, also about whats going on behind the making of some of Beatles gems...
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