Thoroughly researched and detailed, Mark Lewisohn's "Complete Beatles Chronicle" will satisfy even the most knowledgeable Beatle fan. This monster reference book provides the who, what, when, where and why of nearly every day in the life of the Beatles. Every concert, recording session, film and TV appearance is painstakingly noted and described. In many cases, Lewisohn provides exact times and lengths of recording sessions. This is great for those of us who just have to know exactly when and where our favorite Beatle songs were recorded! Only upon examining the Beatles' grueling schedule can one truly appreciate how diligently John, Paul, George and Ringo worked to attain their status as the world's premier rock band. Simply put, the Beatles' earned everything they got and Lewisohn, arguably the world's foremost Beatle authority, drives that point home in this remarkable document. In addition to the daily entries, the author also includes rare photos, notes, concert bills and recording session track sheets. The overall scope and magnitude of "Chronicle" is nothing short of staggering. No other book provides such an accurate and detailed account of the Beatles' daily routines. Hard-core fans have long respected the dedication of Mark Lewisohn and, once again, have been rewarded with a Beatle document unlike any other. Highly recommended.

this is the 3rd book on the beatles by mark lewisohn that i have gotten, & it is sort of a combination of the 1st 2, "the beatles live", & "the beatles recording sessions"(the 2nd book paul mccartney wrote the intro to because he admired the 1st book so much).i swear, i have been reading books on the beatles since they have been being written from 1964 on, & these books by mark lewisohn are really all you need - maybe include hunter davies "the beatles",1968. "the beatles live" was my favorite, it describes so well the early days of the group in liverpool & hamburg.
if you know a lot about the beatles but you havnt read any of lewisohns books yet, you will find SO much info you didnt know. he researched these books for years, was given access to everything at abbey road, every show they ever did from 1957 on that is possible to know anything about is chronicled. Lennon would have LOVED the "live" book, it brings to life so well those early days in hamburg that he loved to remember.I dont know what else to say, i cant recommend them enough. these books are the next best thing to having a new beatle album, which we know can never happen.

Why is this the "First Beatles Book One Should Read?" Simply put, Marc Lewisohn (an EMI records reseracher) volume is a true labor of love, but not a "tell-all" or a "I was John Lennon's mailman" rip off.

This is a true, scholarly effort. It is a day-by-day account of The Beatle's professional, not personal, affairs. More than just what they did where on an particular day, it shows how hectic their early days were, how incredibly frantic was the Beatlemania in Britian and the USA and their best work (from Revolver on) evolved in the studio.

The book is intelligently writtena nd produced. Each year is a separate chapter, starting first with an introduction which puts that year in perspective to the Beatle's career. What follows is a day by day retelling of every concert, recording sesson, Radio/TV appearance, etc. It's a great companion to Anthology (CDS and video) as you get an idea as to how certain events played how, how certain songs were recorded and again, how crazy the early 60's were for the Beatles.

If anyone wants to know the who, what, where and why (especially why the Beatles broke up as professional musicians) this book, which first appaeared in 1992 and is finally reprinted, is the one book to have. I've read it once and plan to go back again and again.

This is the kind of book that you would read cover to cover. But if you were a fussy fan you would want this book in your collection for reference.

The best book about the Beatles, with "The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions", of same author.

Mark Lewisohn set a new standard for primary source research in rock music. This vastly informative book combines, in slightly truncated form, his brilliant day-by-day books "The Beatles Recording Sessions" and "The Beatles Live." Also included are film and radio appearances. Along the way are many suitable and wonderful photographs. Great for browsing or for obsessive fans to devour start to finish.

This is one of the finest biographies I have read in years -- it penetrates deeply into the formative experiences and motivations of this strange and reclusive figure, and brings him vividly to life. Many interviewees discouraged the author from this task, but he persevered, and we have much to thank him for. All Benny Hill fans will now watch and enjoy his familiar sketches -- shamelessly recycled over the years -- with an added appreciation for their origins and rationale. Lewisohn helps us to delve into the psyche of this mysterious man, at once the embodiment of little Englishness, yet also a sensitive soul and a student of foreign cultures and languages.

The book is not unblemished. Benny's 50s farce, "Who Done It", is not nearly as abysmal as the author suggests (it's adequate slapstick with a few laughs -- how many 50s British movies has Lewisohn seen, there are many worse!). Benny's frugality is surely comprehensible in a man who had withstood wartime privations; and that character trait, combined with the much-hyped locker-room chit-chat with Bob Monkhouse, was regrettable but entirely standard male behavior for the 1950s. Despite all the conventional wisdom to the contrary, Benny did evolve. And--again with respect to Lewisohn--Benny scaled some of his finest heights of inspiration during his latest years with Thames. I am thinking of the Chubby Dodds documentary, and Murder on the Orient Express, and the "Family" skit, which bring smiles and laughter without fail, though I know them back to front. Of course, he was a comedian who operated rather too comfortably within his decent but clearly defined artistic parameters. Yet what was comforting for Benny was also reassuring for us... Lewisohn is right that Benny Hill's work will return to favor some day. It deserves to.

This is a fascinating, first-rate biography of one of the twentieth century's most beloved comedy figures; a man who is now largely overlooked in his home country despite having been its most successful comic export outside of Charlie Chaplin. Benny Hill was a complex man who led a simple (if somewhat peculiar) life, and this book provides tremendous insight into not only his personal foibles and professional endeavors, but also the motivations and reasons for his intriguing private behavior and public rise and fall. Drawing on extensive research and fresh interviews with many of the key figures in Benny's life, Mark Lewisohn's writing combines warmth, empathy and humor with analysis, objectivity and attention to detail -- the comic inventiveness and outright stealing of other artists' ideas; the abnormally excessive frugality; the sexual indulgences and hopelessly failed relationships... whether you want to know about the man's career, his love life or the fact that he just loved a quick game of Kalooki, it's all here. Buy this book!

I brought this book and read it from cover to cover a number of years back and I continually pick it up to check the facts. The book has a wealth of information about the live performances of the Beatles from 1957 to the last live performance on the 29th August 1966 at The Candlestick Park San Francisco. It details what songs were played and who sang the lead vocal. A breif history of the period under review. Remember Beatlemaina in Adelaide back in 1964 where more than 300,000 fans lined the streets to see their heros. Its all descibed here. This is a must have book and despite being able to have some of this book reproduced in Mark Lewisohn's The Complete Beatles Chronicles, you still need this book. Its worth the search for it.

Oky, Adelaide, Australia Dec 2000

I gave this book to my brother when he moved to London, and he later said it was addictive to have around and use to visit where the Beatles did what they did. I visited him since then, and used the book myself to visit scenes from the movie HELP and A HARD DAY'S NIGHT, go to Chiswick House to see where The Beatles filmed the "Paperback Writer" and "Rain" videos, and go to many other Beatles London sites. This is a must-have book for anyone who is a Beatles fan and is going to visit London. Or for anyone who wants to be an armchair explorer of their old haunts. It's entertaining reading even if you'll never go to London.

Almost ten years ago I bought this book --hardcover-- in Mexico City, noy quite knowing its content. As a growing Beatles fan myself, I found it as a perfect guide to the group's development into studio techniques. If one wants to know how the Beatles turned the recording studio into an instrument in itself, one just has to read in detail: the 1962-1966 period (when the simplest, most straightforward music was composed) has only 60 pages, whereas the complex 1966-1970 period accumulates 120. One can know the origin of the backwards tapes, the tape edition (ie, at the end of "...Mr Kite!"), the outside musicians, the psdychedelic "sonic textures", the fundamental roles of producer George Martin and engineers Norman Smith and Geoff Emerick. One can even know the names of the orchestra performers. One can know the problematic "Get Back" sessions held in January 1969. This book opens a window to the landscape of the big experiments going on in Abbey Road studio two where the history of popular music changed. It's no surprise Paul McCartney calls this book "the bible".

I have been a dedicated Beatles fan for many years. The Beatles have been with me for years and have inspired many of my own works. Listening to the albums and watching the Beatles' movies has been a very important part in my life, and owning this book is the ultimate experience. I'm twenty-two and unlike my mother and father who were actually around to experience The Beatles, I have grown up only listening and watching everything about them. If you have ever wondered about the background of a certain song or the reasons behind certain lyrics, you need only turn this book. I bought this at a flea market when I was about twelve and I continue to pick it up and read or find about a certain song or recording day in the life of the amazing group that we call The Beatles. This book is a must have for the Beatles collector, and will be more valuable beyond its price.

Anybody with even a passing interest in The Beatles must have this book. Set out in a diary format it gives details of all recording sessions by the group. Sometimes it gets fairly technical with details about recording equipment, overdubs, etc but it is still essential information. One criticism, if you can call it that - most Beatles songs have gained legendary status and it can be quite disconcerting at times to have them clinically dissected in this fashion. But that is a small criticism. The fact that the book is apparently out of print is deplorable. It would be good if it were issued free whenever anybody buys their first Beatles CD, it is that important. It isn't a book, it's a rite of passage.

I love guitars. And that's putting it mildly. I worship guitars. I eat, sleep, and breath guitars... if that makes sense. And, in fact, my dream guitar would be the 1964 black Rickenbacker 325 which John Lennon bought and was his favorite guitar for nearly three years.

So, when I found this book, I absolutely had to have it. I spent weeks reading it (it's very large, long, and in-depth), but I loved every minute of it. The instruments are so amazing, from the famours Hofner bass, to the little known electric sitars presented to John and George way back when. This book even turned me on to recording equipment and amplifiers, which I had previously considered the lesser parts of making music. I was wrong. They are just as fascinating and important as guitars and drums.

Of course, in order to enjoy this book, you really need to like what you're reading about. I wouldn't reccomend this for people who want to learn about the Beatles themselves. This book is about Beatle equipment and how they used it, not about the Beatles personal lives, although one could hardly mistake the subject of this book from the title and cover.

A wonderful, detailed book with beautiful glossy photos and more information than you could wish for on everything from guitar volume knobs to bass drum pedals. A must for every rock music fanatic.

For the true Beatles fanatic (and is there any other kind?) comes this look at the specific guitars, electric keyboards and organs, effects pedals, drums and amps used by the Liverpool lads. The author is a musician himself, from the retro-rific Chesterfield Kings, and his interest in the Beatles "sound" led to extensive research into their original instruments... The topic may seem a little goofy at first, but after a bit of browsing, this handsome coffeetable book gets pretty engrossing. After all, what could be more iconic in rocknroll culture than a glimpse at the very Fenders, Gibsons and Hammonds from which so many pop hits would emanate. Babiuk also parallels the musical growth of the band to their acquisition of various instruments -- when John or George got a new guitar, it was often to learn a new performance style. A nerdy but neat look at the fab toys of out favorite moptop combo.

The Christmas present I never got, so I bought my own copy. This book meticulously covers a topic not widely known by a lot of people, even fans of the Fab Four. It's about time someone wrote a book on the instruments and equipment the Beatles used to craft their wonderful songs. The book is a must in the library of Beatlemaniacs, those interested in rock music, musical instruments, and the recording arts. However, I wish the author could have hired better, more thorough proofreaders, as this edition had a few incorrect spellings (e.g., look for "Geroge" Harrison). Despite all that, it's a great read!

"Wingspan" is a glossy book of photos for fans, combined with some scraps of comment by McCartney (interviewed, it should be noted, by his own daughter Mary.) It's good to finally get some information about Paul's Wings years. This is obviously Paul making his own case, though he is certainly honest about matters such as his frustration with the band's ever-changing lineup, as well as his 1980 arrest for pot in Japan. Overall, one cannot help but admire the bravely carefree attitude with which Paul formed this new band and made some spotty but often good music. Above all this book is meant to be a tribute to Linda McCartney, a defense of her role in the band, and an inspirational look at how a family man can combine work and play. Personally I would have liked to see more in-depth interviewing by someone more impartial, as well as interviews with other band members, most especially Denny Laine who stayed with Wings through the entire decade but is given rather short text shrift here. But then, I'm grateful for what we get. As Paul comments, Wings wasn't rocket science, it was just making music, and this is a fun, breezy book about a fun band.

As a second generation Beatles fan, I truly loved Wings. It's a shame so little has been written about Paul and his band....until now. While I do wish more details would emerge about Paul's relationship with Denny Laine and Jimmy McCullough, I am grateful for Wingspan (DVD and book). If Linda had lived to help with this project, I believe she would have felt free to recollect both good and not so good times on the road. Because the Beatles legacy is so huge, I feel not enough respect and appreciation is given to Wings' legacy, not even by Paul himself! Perhaps in time, we'll learn more. For now, Wingspan is the best tribute yet.

Has Paul McCartney finally found the writing partner to fill the void created by the breakup of his liaison with John Lennon? If "Wingspan" is anything to go by, then he may well have done so. Mark Lewisohn, the much-celebrated Professor Emeritus of Beatledom, proves himself to be the ideal sidekick to Macca, collaborating with the Great Man on a wonderfully informative book that leaves no stone unturned in its effort to detail every facet of a fascinating period in the life of a multitalented artist. So vivid are the recollections that it's almost as if you're right there with Paul, Linda and their troupe of kids and collaborators. Lennon & McCartney were a legendary team, but Lewisohn & McCartney are a pretty formidable pair in their own "write". They should try working together on some songs...

This book shed a lot of light onto one of the greatest and most tragic figures in modern music. Much of what I knew about Jimi was based on rumors and vague interpretations about what he and his music stood for. However, this book presented a detailed look into his life. Through personal accounts from those around him, the author paints a detailed portrait of who Jimi really was. Although I have always been drawn to Jimi by his music, the book showed his personal side, which is equally as compelling. The weakness in my opinion was the lack of detailed information on his early childhood years. Although his father Al would play an important role in the Jimi Hendrix legacy (and still does to this day), their relationship (or lack thereof) is rarely mentioned. Also, there could have been more written about how much influence he had on music. The discography is very inclusive, but it lacks detailed commentary. Overall, I enjoyed the book a great deal and would highly recommend it to anyone interested in learning more about Jimi Hendrix.

This book takes an inside look at the life and legend of the man that was James Marshall(Jimi) Hendrix. His troubled youth and how he had to suffer tremendous hardships just to be noticed. His love affair with blues music and his affinity for the guitar are also well intact. What puzzles me is why so many people would want to drag Jimi's name through the mud and desecrate his legacy and good fortune with lies and deceit. Why couldn't people have respect enough for Jimi and his music to take it seriosuly and treat it like gold, instead of commercializing for their own personal gain and profit? Jimi was a serious artist and this book certainly attests to that. He wasn't in it for the money or fame or recognition. He was simply in it for the music.
He deserved to be treated better by people who called themselves "His Friends." Jimi was a incredible man and amazing guitar player as well, but he was also very human. He had a very vulnerable side to him as well. He had enough problems without people wanting him to be everything to them. He couldn't do that.
He needed someone to love him and someone to respect him and take him at face value instead of having him always be Mr. Rock guitar god. he wanted people to listen to his music and be taken seriously. He was sick and tired of doing the same theatrical tricks that he had done with the guitar night after night, and now he just wanted people to listen to him, and not look at what he was doing with his guitar. he didn't need to prove anything anymore. he'd already done it. it was time for him to move into a new direction. Unfortunately, that new direction was never fully realized during hendrix's lifetime. Only now, after his death do we fully know just exactly what he was trying to achieve. Some things we'll never know. That was the genius of Hendrix. To keep people guessing. He'll never know how much of an impact he has had and continues to have on people's lives even to this day. God Bless You, Jimi. We Love You, Man!!!

This biography was written to, as the title states , set the record straight. After Jimi Hendrix's 6-year career wasw cut short by a drug overdose he was viewed as an anti-establishment, sex and drug addict. However, no one ever focused on his serious vision and path of his music. He started his career as a backup musician for such artists as Curtis Knight and the Squires, the Iskey Brothers, and Little Richard. After that he was signed by Chas Chandler ( formally of the Animals0 signed him and moved to England. There the Experience began. The book shows that Jimi spent hours and hours in the studio to get a song right and kept to himself alot. Totally unlike his stage personallity. I would recommend this book to any music lover. The other musicians' insight into Hendrix's talent and personality makes the book especially interesting. It provides an interestingperspective into the most unique period in music History

Not every fan wants to sit everyday in the studio with the beatles, but if you did you would learn alot about recording techniques. This book helps to show that the beatles were'nt just creative but they got a lot of help from GEORGE MARTIN and the others at abby road studios. It is interesting to learn every exact sound and effect on the songs but does become a bit dry at times.

I bought this book a long time ago when it first came out. As a diehard Beatles fan, I think it is great!! It really goes into the little details of the Beatles in the recording studio and gives the reader something of an idea as to what it was like to be there. By the way, Amazon states this is out of print; however, my local Borders store has a lot of copies in their bargain books for a really cheap price . . .between $4.99 to $9.99 (I can't remember exactly) So check out the closeout sections of your local stores.

This book may be a bit dry for some but it is the best information source on the Beatles' music and recording processes, especially on the evolution of the tracks. Detailed session information, including performers, recording dates, and recording techniques (especially with regard to experimental pieces) are given as well as a generous helping of pictures (particularly the Sgt Pepper and Abbey Road photo shoots). It is a shame that this book is out of print at this time as this is the definitive book on the Beatles' music. If you are a Beatles fan and you are fortunate enough to find one of these books, buy it immediately.