The Beatles Literary Anthology

Rating:
Summary: Essential to any Beatles library
Review: Obviously this book should be picked up by any hardcore Beatles fan, but it might be even more essential if you're just a casual Beatlemaniac. Why? Because it contains excerpts from the vast volume of writing on the Fab 4 which you'll probably just dip a toe in otherwise. This anthology compiles magazine articles, both contemporary and retrospective, excerpts from biographies and autobiographies, analysis of music, "I was there" recollections, and dissections of the Beatles as a cultural phenomenon. The last category is often the weakest, since it tends to combines pompous extrapolation with incorrect "facts" and worthless repetition of conventional wisdom, i.e. that George Harrison didn't write any worthy songs till Abbey Road. Yeah, right: even leaving aside his love 'em/hate 'em Indian experiments, the White Album contains gems like the underrated & chilling Long, Long, Long and the widely acknowledged masterpiece While My Guitar Gently Weeps.

But that's a minor quibble, and the book is full of buried treasures, too many to mention. I'll focus on the cream of the crop here. Culled from original drummer Pete Best's autobiography, we hear the tale of how Best got sacked for Ringo, this time from the horse's mouth (including an interesting anecdote about Best and manager Brian Epstein). Epstein himself has an entry, a truly fascinating account of discovering the Beatles in a sweaty Cavern performance. Then there's an eyewitness account of the Elvis-Beatles meeting which, contrary to press releases of the time, did not go well. Primarily due to Lennon's acerbic mouth.

Speaking of John, we get to see how far left he swung after expressing doubt about politics in "Revolution": in an interview with British radicals, he pledges admiration for Chairman Mao and is brimming with angry Marxist rhetoric. A quote included in this section brings him down to earth by describing the room full of air-conditioned fur coats he and Yoko kept around this time that they were attacking capitalists. Future feminist Gloria Steinem submits a circa '64 interview with John Lennon which spends more time painting a vivid picture of the Beatles' chaotic stage show and backstage milieu than talking to the "sarcastic Beatle." A Q&A with George Harrison expresses his spiritual views, and the best interviews in the book are taken from Playboy, including one with all the Beatles in '65 in which they come off as surprisingly frank and honest. They describe themselves as agnostics and freely discuss topics ranging from sex to religion. Also included is Maureen Cleave's 1966 portrait of Lennon which caused all the controversy by quoting his thoughts on Jesus.

And though I've already criticized a lot of the Beatles punditry, there are exceptions: mainly stuff written at the time, before the Beatles legend was set in stone. Pieces by Paul Johnson and John Gabree debunk the Beatles as musicians and pop icons, Gabree a tad more effectively than Johnson, whose arrogant vitriol is truly shocking. Also critical is William F. Buckley, condemning what he sees as the Maharishi's vapidity and scolding the group for not looking in their own backyard, accusing them of being ignorant of Christianity and Western thought. Pauline Kael is observant as always in her review of Yellow Submarine, and excerpts from the diaries of Andy Warhol and Noel Coward reveal their take on the pop phenomenon.

Chances are you'll find whatever it is you're looking for in this book. Starting with the Beatles' roots in working-class postwar England and the art schools of the 50's, through their gigs in Hamburg and the Cavern Club, into the first outside analysis that greeted the early singles and albums, past first-hand accounts of Beatlemania at the height of its madness (it's astounding nobody died in the frenzy), the recording of Rubber Soul, the first evidence of backlash against the Beatles' popularity, lots of cultural commentary on Sgt. Pepper, into the dissolution of the band. And all kinds of cultural phenomena surrounding the group are put under the microscope too. Swingin' London, the Maharishi, Charles Manson, the rock renaissance of the 60's, even the bootlegs of the 70's and the spoof group "The Rutles" are touched upon. One of the most entertaining sections details a rabid Beatles convention, in which publicity-hound DJ Murray the K puts in his 2 cents on Yoko. Near the end of the book, there's quite a bit of ink spilled on the murder of John Lennon and the quieter death of George Harrison and, you know, the dream is over.

Quite a stocking stuffer.