The Songs of John Lennon: The Beatle Years

Rating:
Summary: Interesting though flawed
Review: An interesting analysis of 20+ Beatles era John Lennon songs. The highest praise I can offer the book is that I did honestly gain a greater understanding of the manner in which Lennon composed his songs. I did have trouble understanding some of the musical jargon Stevens used, though to his credit he explains most of the terminology he employs in the book in the first chapter. Most irritating to me were a couple of misquotes of Lennon's lyrics, numerous typos, and surprisingly (since this was written by a college professor) a number of usage errors. Worth buying if you're interested in this sort of thing. However, Alan W. Pollack's analysis of the ENTIRE official Beatles' canon is a far more informative, better written, and comprehensive look at Lennon's ouvre.

Rating:
Summary: Interesting though flawed
Review: An interesting analysis of 20+ Beatles era John Lennon songs. The highest praise I can offer the book is that I did honestly gain a greater understanding of the manner in which Lennon composed his songs. I did have trouble understanding some of the musical jargon Stevens used, though to his credit he explains most of the terminology he employs in the book in the first chapter. Most irritating to me were a couple of misquotes of Lennon's lyrics, numerous typos, and surprisingly (since this was written by a college professor) a number of usage errors. Worth buying if you're interested in this sort of thing. However, Alan W. Pollack's analysis of the ENTIRE official Beatles' canon is a far more informative, better written, and comprehensive look at Lennon's ouvre.

Rating:
Summary: All You Need Is...this book!
Review: Songwriting, much like painting, sculpting and dancing, is an art form. The ability to construct a series of repetitve phrases, set against a (typically) diatonic tune, one which hopefully sticks in your brain, long enough to force you to buy a CD of something you heard only once is not only art - it's simply magic...

And in John Stevens' "The Songs of John Lennon", the magician's secrets are revealed...

Throughout the course of this book, we're not only given some very interesting and detailed history about the song(s) in question (as well as recording and release information) but all this, together with comprehensive and brilliantly detailed descriptions relating to Lennon's song Structure, Phrasing and 'Prosody' (ie, versification/metrical structure).

Now, if these terms are a bit scary to you, fear not -- as Stevens carefully outlines the basic terminology and is consistent with his usage throughout. Whether you're in the garage band, a professional songwriter, or a student looking for some answers about how great pop songs are constructed, this book serves not only as a reference guide, but almost as a 'Songwriting Cookbook', full of great, original recipes...and as Stevens reveals, just like in cooking, the essence of a great song still requires you to 'salt to taste'. This was often Lennon's game, as a few simple twists here and there (either melodically or lyrically) often changed the entire feel of a particular song, delivering the critical element to make it a hit.

Quite simply, this book is unlike any other. And for the musicians, songwriters, and even music lovers out there who've ever wondered, "How did he do it?", you'd be hard-pressed to find another piece of prose that is more poetic and lyrical than this.

So, if you can't make it to Boston to take Stevens' Lennon class (he's a professor @ Berklee College of Music), don't fret...(no pun intended). "The Songs of John Lennon" just might be the most valuable 4-year college course you've ever taken - and you don't even have to live in the dorm!

All you need is love? Indeed...and *this* book.