Paul McCartney: A Life

I ate this book like a Boston cream pie. We've been staring in the rear view mirror so long at the Beatles we've almost completely lost the past, replaced now by a boundless present, the soft blur of time knocking the edges off the Beatles and the Rolling Stones alike. Close your eyes (and I'll kiss you), if you're at least 55 years old, and remember what it felt like to hear the Beatles for the first time!Carlin comes as close as any writer to setting the scene in sparing but often powerful and poignant prose the wonder and thrill of hearing I want to Hold Your Hand for the first time, and reconstructing the Humpty-Dumpty roly-poly grail of rock and roll history - what actually happened with the Four - that can never be put back together again, at least from Paul's perspective, and he does it without Paul's input, apparently.Two books in two years, Norman's John Lennon: THE Life in 2008, and Carlin's Paul McCartney: A Life this year, couldn't be more different and yet they oddly achieve the same goal, one kicking over rock after rock like a spell-binding CSI episode, and the other in a song of its own, as told around a campfire. Both are very well written and very worth reading for those who want to remember or for those who never knew. As Peter Ames Carlin makes perfectly clear in his book, Paul McCartney: A life, I was responsible for the Beatle's breakup long ago in the hell-war-wonder years of 1970. Really. Yes, ME and a billion others just like me who couldn't dig up the manners to just say, "Hey, Boys, thanks for the ride. Thanks for everything on the long and winding road," and then just got on with life. It was just so beyond possible that these four-in-one ended badly in the very messy 1970. Together they would rock my universe from Meet the Beatles in 1964 ever after (right down to singing every song from every album to my young wife as we lay on our bed in our rented former gas station shortly after we married in Santa Fe). It was a long night, saying goodbye to England (where I traveled often after Tolkien's magic and Lennon-McCartney's mojo) and to the Beatles and hello to my new life. Plus I can't sing. But I can sing Beatles' lyrics, maybe better than Paul or Ringo who can't seem to remember all the words anymore.A few years ago I took Audrey to one of those Plastic Beatles shows where that magic happens when you suddenly realize it doesn't matter that the band not only isn't the Beatles but weren't even born when the Beatles cut their last record, and the songs and music just carry you back and it's 1964 all over again and everyone is singing so loud and even the little kids know the songs.I had just finished Norman's monumental work , and I was excited to see Carlin's book come out right on Norman's heels, and even hoping someone would do the same for George and Ringo before the decade is out. But I was also suspicious because I was never at ease about who was who in the band, and how it all worked, and who screwed it up (because, CLEARLY, I was NOT ready for the Beatles to end it, so someone screwed it up). I suspected Yoko and Linda of course, but I really deep down felt one of the four was to blame. Turns out they all were, Paul least of all. I knew I was wrong and I even suspected I was wrong for the same reasons - I was growing and moving on and so were the four guys who formed a band and had a laugh that turned into a tour through the Looking Glass that never ends.Carlin, not the first to do so, weaves the tale once again in compelling prose, a storyteller really, a late night in the flickering darkness remembering what actually happened, at least as far as anyone can recall through the haze of almost 40 years. The acrid smell of hash and mota is gone, the fear/desire of LSD long forgotten, and the story weaves on, a tapestry of beautiful minds and remarkable human beings growing up together from children to adults and then stepping out into their own wide open spaces, nothing out of the ordinary, really, except for how unbelievably extraordinary it all was.Carlin's book is well worth the 24 hours pretty much non-stop it takes to read the 340 pages plus notes, if only to see the past less darkly, to remember things worth remembering, and to bury things best forgotten. In the end, it mattered that the Beatles did what they did, "world-bending" music/ideas/glory that informed the rest of time, our time. At least three generations and now four have risen in the glow of Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, or were there, the kids knowing the Beatles chops as well as their great grands did, and modern music to this day branches from the Beatles tree in the sense that they grew a new musical bean stalk in the sky with diamonds that freed generations of musicians and fans to do whatever they pleased, and whatever moved them and us (Paul had the idea to do what Dave Matthews and Creed and doing now, showing their "live" concerts in theaters for short runs and big money).Carlin makes the case that McCartney was the "mother" in a dysfunctional and otherworldly talented family in which John was the "ne're do well father," George the rebellious older child fighting for a place at the table, and Ringo the youngest with his "model airplane" just doing what the family did. Of course it's impossible to accept any book about the life of one Beatle without the counterpoint view of the other Beatles, but Carlin includes just enough of the other three to help us keep them in some perspective. In that sense this is a very good bio of the Beatles, which may increase our understanding in time as more people who were "there" (fans and readers included) have time to reflect and tell the kids and the prescient how it really was.Paul's driving desire to grow and develop, personally, professionally, and with his band, and his short fall from grace after the breakup, is balanced by his growth as a human being, a rather plain, often brilliant, often gracious man who loves his family and does his best to carry on after hitting heights not attained before or since by any group of musicians, probably not by human beings. It is no surprise that he was never again as good alone as he and Lennon and Harrison and Starr were together. None of them could be. None of us could be.I realized that though I felt the buzz of Paul's work in the background, and though a few worthy things broke out here and there, I can't really tell you too much about what he did in the years after 1970, until the Concert for George in 2003, at least, or maybe the middle 90s when he woke up and started playing what we dang well wanted to hear, which was not Wings.The truth is Sir Paul has carried on with his share of ups and downs, living the best way he can, knowing that at the age of 20-27 or so, he landed on the Moon, or maybe much deeper space, in places no humans had ever been before, and that nothing he could possibly do after that would ever be as magical or as important. An early astronaut who stepped famously on the moon dust in 1969 advised those who do something similar, if that's possible, to remember where they are on the stage when the lights go out, because you have to find your way off the stage alone, such being the nature of fame. Paul felt the lights go out, just as they all did, and just as they all did, he got up and carried on after awhile because "God loves a trier," as his Dad and Grandpa would say.The lights never really went out for any of the Beatles. Ringo's time as the train conductor was fitting and even admirable. Though Carlin and others marginalize his role, the public understands that Ringo was the Rodney King of the Beatles, and, in the end, the kindly old witness who smoothes the collective frosting on the cake so everybody has a good time, oh yeah. George's wonderful self discovery and rise as a human being of great spiritual power made sense and was so inspiring. He never missed a beat on his way out the door, amassing the most credible post-Beatles repertoire (because most of his prolific output of (often Lennon-McCartney assisted) Beatles songs were never allowed out of the house until after the break. George became the servant leader of his peers through one thoughtful and prophetic move after another (and incredibly fortunate husband of the stunning Olivia, parents of the nearly perfect Dahni) beginning with his double album and Bangladesh and ending with the Traveling Wilbury's. John's brief passionate life with his family, the family he always wanted, left him a martyr forever captive in our minds, forever leaving us to wonder what might have been. Yoko more than credibly carried on and deserves far more credit for the afterword than she will ever achieve.Paul, for good or ill (Ringo, too), is not shielded by death from our continuing gaze, thank heavens. As he grows older he grows closer to the beginning and continues to inspire us with the magic that he brought us so long ago, now again the "Golden Beatle," playing that impossibly good music, all of it, almost like old times. Carlin tells his story with grace and love and at just the right remove, and his tale is a tale worth hearing, told by a talented writer with just the right bits of intelligence, information and analysis to let us believe that we are hearing it for the very first time once again...yeah, yeah, yeah.

There's been so much written about this band I really thought this guy would labor to bring his post beatle career to life. And I certainly thought--because the beatle's recording engineer wrote a great book a couple of years back, Geoff Emerick, "Here, There, and Everywhere"--I certainly thought because of important revelations in that book that this guy would go to some lengths to give McCartney his real due, which is that from Rubber Soul through Mystery Tour he was basically the Beatles arranger/producer and George Martin just dropped in occasionally to see if Paul needed anything.You see, the thing a lot of people don't really consciously register about the Beatles is that--well,of course they had the fantastic song writing team. The Beatles had two songwriting geniuses, people who say it was just one or the other are ridiculous because if they'd only had one they would have looked much more like the Beach Boys, who had one. The Beatles had two, which is why we're still talking about them.But they had something else, too. If you'll indulge me a short anecdote to illustrate.In about 1982 I was lying alone in my apartment in the dark listening to a radio interview with Nelson Riddle, the music arranger who was a legend in the music business--he worked with nat king cole, with Frank Sinatra (for crying out loud), etc. At the end of the interview they asked him if there were any MUSIC ARRANGING GENIUSES working in the music business at that moment. He had a one-word answer: "Wings."My point is that not only did the fabs have the writing team, they had a genius arranger/producer in paul McCartney. I remember arguing this years ago to a professional songwriter from Nashville and he interrupted me to say, "You're arguing the obvious--no one in the music business would deny that--"I expected this point to be made and illustrated in this book but it wasn't. Just the same old crap: "Paul didn't pay the musicians enough. He argued with John. Linda had a baby." I expected more. This has all been done and done and done.He did mention Lennon's "Come Together" was just a chuck berry style rocker until paul got hold of it, slowed it way down, invented the bass lick, invented the "shoom" sound on the mic, invented the drum part and wrote the electric piano solo which he then taught to Lennon. Listen, there were a LOT of songs lennon brought in that went like that. Geoff Emerick said McCartney regularly had a huge impact on Lennon songs but rarely did it work the other way around. Next time you listen to a lennon song like "Sexy Sadie" or "Cry Baby" from the White Album ask yourself how much those un-be-lievable arrangements contribute. Those are truly great songs but just listen to the artistry of those freaking arrangements--how the different instruments compliment each other like a little symphony, how they work together to express unified musical ideas. Then listen to Band on the Run and then listen to any solo lennon album and tell me who you think took that Beatle sound with them when they went their separate ways.I also really appreciated him pointing out something I'd known quite a while--that McCartney basically taught john and george how to play guitar, he even had to teach lennon how to tune one.I was also fascinated that mcCartney even as almost a child would not just play you a song but "give a performance" and when he played for boy scouts at camp, even if it was an audience of two hundred, it didn't phase him.As a songwriter he was not really any better than Lennon but in every other category he dwarfed everyone around him. He was in many ways the heart and soul of the Beatles. I've long said his big mistake was that if he wanted to be the pretty one he damn sure shouldn't have been the most talented one. That's really what so many people had against him back in that era, he couldn't be the main one cause he was so obviously the pretty boy. Well, he was the main one. Maybe not fair but true.The bottom line is if you've read more than one other book about Mr. McCartney you are probably going to find this a fairly entertaining rehash. The definitive book about him waits to be written. (Actually the one by Geoff Emerick was far superior to this because he had so much new to add and I appreciate it).Lastly, I just read this book sitting on a plane and couldn't believe he gave a song-by-song description of the album Abbey Road. Is there anyone above the age of twelve in North America who hasn't heard Abbey Road? Do we really need to read a description of something even my seventeen year old daughter knows backwards and forwards? This sounds bitchy but it really struck me as almost filler. Tell me something I DON'T know, please. Thankyou for your attention.P.S. I've been a fan of theirs since the first downbeat on ed sullivan and I NEVER liked paul more than john or john more than paul--i was always a total fan of both and totally in awe of their band. I even loved george and ringo.

Not that bad of quality, its a little beaten up, but cant complain price is fair.

If you're looking for a comprehensive Mac bio, try Howard Sounes' `Fab'. This tome, though a few hundred pages shorter, is written with much more literary flair and Carlin tells the story well, especially the chapters on Paul's Liverpool youth. And there ARE some things here that I've seen nowhere else.However, it does share a few irritating features with the Sounes' bio: intrusive opinionating on Mac's works. And factual errors' such as: His account of George Harrison quitting the `Get Back' sessions is just plain wrong. And the final take of `Get Back' on the rooftop is not "sloppier, with John missing his guitar break..." A policeman orders Mal Evans to unplug John's amp but thankfully George has the presence of mind to plug it right back in again some seconds later. The interval nixes most of John's solo, but the band, led by Paul's electrifying vocals, rallies and goes on to create one of one of rock `n' roll's greatest recorded/filmed `live' performances. Also, Carlin knocks `Two of Us' for John's allegedly distancing himself from the song--but the recording is a gem with perfect harmony from John. What more do you want, Pete? Furthermore, Paul's single `Another Day' went to number one on the NME carts in Britain; Carlin claims it never got beyond #2.And, uggghhh, he characterizes the merciless ornamentation on `The Long and Winding Road' as a case of Spectorization no worse than on `Across the Universe'. Hardly. For good reason Lennon liked the latter and McCartney loathed the former. And so on.OK, enough with the nitpicks. This is a VERY GOOD medium-length read and perfect for those who believe that 563 pages of Mac bio a la Howard Sounes is `de trop'.

Being a Brit and a lifelong fan of the Beatles, I thought I had read everything there was to read about them but I found this book by Sr. Paul gave me another insight, especially into him.

Paul McCartney: A Life  I have hundreds of books on the Beatles and quite a few solely dedicated to Sir Macca. Some I have read in an attempt to reconcile myself with parting with such large amounts of cash and have soon become bored and put them down. I ended up reading this one simultaneously with another recent publication which claimed to be unbiased, accurate etc etc. fab my *rse! I have to conclude that having simply compared the two (alongside my own knowledge of the Fabs and Macca) that A Life is one of the best reads of MaccaBeatleness (and believe me books on these two subjects are published thick and fast). The research and attention to detail on who's quoting this and that is spot on, together with little bits ive never heard about (e.g Macca arranged for a fridge to be delivered to a neighbour of the Asher family ('65ish) as a thank you for his covert part 'the escape plan'... through his house/over roofs!). These little anecdotes made this book special to a discerning and long time fan. Paul McCartney: A Life

Great reader of audio book. He can speak Liverpudlian, RP, Scot, American, New Yorker etc etc fluently! Added hugely to the pleasure of the book. Content is fine. I suspect if a reasonable journo spent time on media clippings, vids etc of Macca they could write this book. Not stunningly insightful but a pleasant 'read' for a Mc cartney fan and not a hagiogrpahy.

Great easy transaction. I recommend this seller highly! Item was shipped quickly and was in perfect condition! Thanks very much!

Very interesting book, my daughter had it on loan from the library and it was such a good read that we bought a copy. Actually find myself quoting things from this book so it must be good.