Revolution: The Making of The Beatles' White Album (The Vinyl Frontier series) - Softcover

Quantick, David

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1556524706 ISBN 13: 9781556524707

Publisher: Chicago Review Press, 2002

Synopsis

Most books about the Beatles reveal the big picture first and ask questions afterward. This book reverses that approach. Revolution takes a fresh and often funny look at the magnificent and sometimes idiotic career path of the Beatles through the prism of one vital album-a record considered by many (including John Lennon) to be the one on which they reached their peak as songwriters. It focuses not just on the intimate recording details and creative process, but on the politics, music, and culture of the era, as well as the band's individual development amid increasing dissolution. In crisp and witty prose, the inside stories behind the making and release of the album are revealed: how the White Album got its look and name; why it included the most experimental track the Beatles ever recorded; how it inspired the bloody massacres of Charles Manson and his "family"; why Ringo Starr walked out on the sessions and who replaced him; the actual identities of "Dear Prudence," "Sexy Sadie," "Martha My Dear," "Julia," and "Bungalow Bill"; on which song Yoko sang lead; which song is about Eric Clapton's teeth; what songs were left off the album; and much more.

About this title

About the Author

David Quantick has written for most of the world's rock magazines, including Spin and NME. He is the author of The Clash and Beck and writes and presents radio and TV shows about music. He lives in London, England.

From Publishers Weekly

Beatles fans know more about the Beatles than the Beatles know about themselves. Thus any addition to the hundreds of Beatles books needs an angle-some inspired criticism or a little new dirt-to make it necessary. Sadly, author Quantick (The Clash; Beck) delivers no such hook in his short, dull tribute to the band's White Album, his all-time favorite record. Quantick tells the well-known stories behind each of the 30 songs on the sprawling double-player. Fans will recall that McCartney wrote "Martha, My Dear" for his Old English sheepdog and that Lennon's "Dear Prudence" was about Mia Farrow's sister Prudence, who was apparently spending too much time indoors, meditating. Quantick fails to clearly articulate why he thinks the album's so brilliant, but rather tosses out impenetrable nuggets such as: "Like all great albums, the White Album is both a snapshot of the time it was recorded and a piece of music that stands alone, outside time and fashion"; and that the White Album is the only Beatles record "that would be superb if it had been recorded by any other greatest rock and pop band of all time."
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Chicago Review Press
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 1556524706
• ISBN 13: 9781556524707
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 192