All the Songs

September 1, 2013
Quick: What's the last cover the Beatles ever recorded? If you answered "Maggie Mae," from "Let It Be," then you're likely to inhabit the same geeky, completist universe as French Beatleologists Margotin and Guesdon. Their thoroughness, not to say obsessiveness, yields all sorts of surprises, even for the initiated. Consider, for instance, that "Please Please Me," the group's first official album, was recorded in a single day, February 11, 1963--well, many readers may know that. But who knew that the band took three hours to record two songs, then broke for 1 1/2 hours, then recorded three songs and overdubbed three more, then took another 1 1/2-hour break, then recorded six songs between 7:30 and 10:45? Well, now you do. And who knew that Eddy Thornton, Ian Hamer and Les Condon played trumpet in the 1966 session that yielded the canonical cut of "Got to Get You Into My Life"? (Thornton, by the way, was a member of Georgie Fame and the Blue Flames, while the other two were in-demand jazz players.) There's all sorts of spinoff trivia in these wonderfully well-illustrated pages, from the fact that Humble Pie copped the sound of "Paperback Writer" to the circumstances surrounding John Lennon's "Ballad of John & Yoko" and the eventual tensions that tore the band apart. There are a few modest missteps--it's not particularly useful to know that George Harrison's song "Piggies" was "a social critique light-years away from the Eastern philosophy of which he had become a fervent devotee"--but, for the most part, this is rock-solid stuff. Essential for Beatles fans and a pleasure to read.

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September 1, 2013

French musician Guesdon and music writer Margotin take an exhaustive look at the Beatles' repertoire in this meticulously researched title. Arranged chronologically by album, the book includes for each song basic information (songwriter, track length, number of takes, etc.), a brief discussion of how it was written and recorded, and an overall assessment. While the authors include thorough technical details about sound engineering and production, numerous anecdotes and quotations from the group keep the book entertaining and accessible even to more casual music fans. The design further enhances this title's appeal: yellow boxes with trivia for Beatles fanatics are interspersed throughout, and an array of photographs features images of the group over the course of their career. Biographical information is incorporated where relevant; however, the emphasis here is on the group as they functioned within the studio, and readers will come away with a rich and rewarding appreciation of the Fab Four's innovative and evolving work. VERDICT Although some of the content may be familiar to die-hard Beatles aficionados, most pop music fans will enjoy this engaging and comprehensive guide. Highly recommended. [See Q&A with the authors on p. 114.]--Mahnaz Dar, Library Journal

Copyright 2013 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from January 1, 2014
This hefty gem of a book catalogs every recording released by the Beatles, in chronological order of album release. The Beatles were early adopters of available technology and were known for using innovative techniques, and this book admirably captures the recording process of their English catalog, including all the singles and studio albums. Each song gets a minimum two-page spread, featuring the credits for the recording, a section on the genesis of the song, a narrative on the production, and a paragraph on technical details. While the bulk of the material is not new information, Guesdon and Margotin have done extensive research. They know their stuff (Guesdon is a musician; Margotin, a music critic), and it showsespecially in the Production and Technical Details sections, where the type of equipment is named and described, recording speeds are discussed, and there is much talk of the number of takes each song required and why. Footnotes are found in each entry. Side boxes of trivia (For Beatles Fanatics) are posted throughout, letting readers in on such trivia as If you listen carefully, you can make out an extra voice in the solo part at exactly 1:32 on Any Time at All. Large-scale black-and-white photos abound, with color shots popping up as well. A short glossary of technical and musical terms, an index of albums and songs, a list of release dates, and a general index round out the work.Comprehensive and entertaining, this is a good reference source of music trivia and a must for the circulating collections of most public and academic libraries. Beatles fans will be clamoring for this one.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)