Blackbird: The Life and Times of Paul McCartney

Rating:
Summary: garbage
Review: I was this close to buying this book at Amazon.com until I read all the bad reviews for it so I decided to borrow it from a library instead. Boy, I am now glad I didn't waste my money on this trash. I know that Paul McCartney wasn't as angelic as his image portrayed him when he was a Beatle but the author of this book makes him out to be a drugged out sleaze bag. It's a real shame trees had to die so this book could get printed. The only purpose this book serves is to line the bottom of a birdcage.

Rating:
Summary: Bias, yet accurate in some aspects
Review: i've read many years from now and in my opinion i consider it a more definite McCartney biography. This one is too bias. The author uses too many interviews with people who had a grudge with McCartney and doesn't balance it out with good reviews. It is still entertaining. You just need to keep in mind that it may not be a completely accurate and balanced portrayal of a legend.

Rating:
Summary: A different angle
Review: If you're the kind of fan who thinks it is a sin to write anything negative about Paul McCartney, stay away from this book. Yes, the author is heavily partial towards Denny Laine and suspiciously supportive of Paul's stepsister Ruth. But he does provide some unusual views of Paul's career. One thing that is difficult for some hardcore fans to understand is that everyone has a right to give their side of the story. All I can say is that I really enjoyed reading this book. And somehow I thought I would when I read the negative reviews from the "Paul-can-do-no-wrong" supporters who felt offended by it.

Rating:
Summary: Biased but still interesting.
Review: In my opinion, this book is not as bad as many people think it is, although it is certainly not the best. Let's just say, it offers a different angle... The weakness of the book is, of course, that a big part of it is based on interviews with people who felt mistreated and not fully appreciated by McCartney. I also found it annoying that the author took liberty to criticize the musical quality of certain songs and albums that I had always admired. It just reminded me of those lame newspaper columns that show up each time Paul releases a new CD - articles written by those musically challenged grungy "rock experts" who can't stand anything that is NOT neurotic, ugly and angry - in other words, something they could identify with! On the other hand, having been a dedicated fan of the Beatles and Paul McCartney for over 20 years now, I was not at all offended by reading that Paul was not a saint. It wasn't hard for me to imagine. Most talented people have difficult personalities. And, yes, the book does show, no matter what the author's intention was, that Paul McCartney IS an outstanding genius, one of the gratest musicians and songwriters of all time. Somehow, I tend to believe Denny Laine, his ex-wife, and many others, who told Giuliano their bitter stories. Unfortunately, we all hurt people's feelings from time to time, and you can't always please everybody. The problem is that when Giuliano put it all together in one book without even bothering to balance it with any other information, he ended up with a very biased picture. However, any intelligent reader, especially an educated McCartney fan, should have no difficulty seeing the real human being - with all his weaknesses and enormous, extraordinary talents, someone who has his ups and downs, - behind the biased portrait painted by Giuliano. And, from this standpoint, I found the book interesting to read. As for Denny Laine, I'm sure he himself now feels uncomfortable about some bits of his interviews that made it into the book. I don't think he ever fancied himself as the 2nd John Lennon, or something. After all, he is a talented guy and a good musician - otherwise he wouldn't have played with McCartney for more than 8 years! Obviously, he holds a grudge, and, most likely, he has his reasons. But don't judge the guy. It was Guiliano's fault that he practically built a book on those personal comments and called it "The Life and Times of Paul McCartney." (By the way, the edition that I have lists only Giuliano as the author.)

Rating:
Summary: MACCA FOR REAL!
Review: McCartney is a mystery but not this great book. I liked it a lot as I do all of Giuliano's works.

Rating:
Summary: WORTH READING BUT NOT EXCITING IN THE LEAST
Review: Paul Mc Cartney was a Beatle , perhaps you know this already . The Beatle stories in this book are fun to read . The losers in Mc Cartney's life also get an opportunity to have a go at him . Most of these were related to the awful Wings business . Mr Guiliano takes Wings seriously . This is amusing . Furthermore he suggests that the writing partnership of Mc Cartney and Denny Laine will be better appreciated in the future . Is this a joke ? I believe this songwriting team's most acclaimed moment was Mull Of Kintyre . Am I alone in despising this simple ditty ? There are many other instances of the author crawling . He refers to several minor personalities as gifted , talented etc . This is a little irritating . The book does , however , detail rather admirably the darker side of Mc Cartney's business life . It appears he is a rather shrewd , selfish and greedy individual . Who knows ? Most of the people associated with him are either hangers on or wannabes . I enjoyed finding a mistake in the text ! Wow ! When Mc Cartney played PAPERBACK WRITER live in recent years , it was not the first time it had been performed live by a Beatle as it was included in the 1966 concerts in Tokyo , so there . A very interesting book , but not that difficult to put down as it gets bogged down in irrelevancies ....like Jojo .

Rating:
Summary: Sketchy narrative is mostly quotations
Review: The author depends heavily on old interviews (that fans have probably read elsewhere) along with his own interviews with disguntled ex-Wings member Denny Laine and Laine's ex-girlfriend, both of whom obviously have an ax to grind. Their intense dislike of McCartney results in pettiness that is indeed laughable. If you deeply dislike Paul McCartney, you will be pleased with this book; if you are a fan or if you are looking for a factual, objective source of information you should definitely look elsewhere. The losers in McCartney's life get here an opportunity to have a go at him . Most of these were related to the awful Wings business. Furthermore he suggests that the writing partnership of McCartney and Denny Laine will be better appreciated in the future . Is this a joke? There are many other instances of the author crawling . He refers to several minor personalities as gifted , talented etc . This is irritating . Frankly, I believe this book it's a bummer.

Rating:
Summary: In a word. Terrible
Review: The book is based on little fact and a lot hearsay and gossip. If the author had been able to corroberate any of the stories i.e. the attempted murder of McCartney by one of his guitarists makes for interesting reading but it is no more interesting than a book on the grassy knoll shooter of Jim Marrs fame.

Rating:
Summary: Beware fans! This author is trying to brainwash you.
Review: The first part is the same old Beatles info that fans have already read millions of times.The next part focuses on the Wings years which in itself is interesting since less information has been written about this period in Paul's life. However it comes across with a bias since the authors main source is the ex-wife of Denny Laine (the guitarist in Wings).

Rating:
Summary: A Waste of Time
Review: This author comes across as a bit of a cowboy. I think Americans (generally) should steer clear of writing books about British rock stars. They're too polite or something. The author lacks credibility and has written a book void of substance. I've heard his book on Pete Townshend is equally pointless and filled with very dodgy "facts". To the author: if you feel like writing another rock biography - don't bother!