EMI's the Complete Beatles Recording Sessions: The Official Story of the Abbey Road Years

Rating:
Summary: The making of the Beatles records
Review: For at least 4 years, this book has been out of print (it was originally published in 1988). The Beatles Anthology CD releases probably had something to do with this. Nevertheless, if you're interested in the complete recording sessions, this is the book to read. It begins with their 1st EMI session in June 1962 (back when Pete Best was still the Beatles' drummer, before Ringo Starr replaced him) and ends in 1970 with the remixing of the Let It Be sessions with Phil Spector. The only thing that's dated is the often repeated phrase "This remains unreleased to this day" in reference to songs "Leave My Kitten Alone," "Not Guilty" (the Beatles' version), "One After 909" (the 1963 version), "12 Bar Original," "That Means a Lot," "What's the New Mary Jane" and "How Do You Do It." This book features anecdotes about what went on during the studio sessions (some the Anthology listeners and viewers already know about and more), photographs, interviews and insights by producer George Martin, Norman Smith, engineer Geoff Emerick, session drummer Andy White (who took Ringo's place on the single version of "Love Me Do") and an insightful interview with Paul McCartney. Yes, Mark Lewishon has done his homework here with research and hours upon hours of listening to the Beatles' session tapes. In a perfect world, many of these still unreleased sessions would be available for listening, legally (of course, there would be some tracks which would leave the listener thinking "Ok, now I know why they didn't release this"). I'd like to see an updated version of this book (many of Mark's comments concerning the songs and other additional tracks mentioned above will have to be replaced with "Until the release of The Beatles Anthology 1 [or 2 or 3], this take/track remained unreleased"). He'd have to include a section for the Beatles Anthology CD's and DVD collection ("You can hear part of this take on Part 1 [or Part 3 or Part 8] of The Beatles Anthology").

Rating:
Summary: The making of the Beatles records
Review: For at least 4 years, this book has been out of print (it was originally published in 1988). The Beatles Anthology CD releases probably had something to do with this. Nevertheless, if you're interested in the complete recording sessions, this is the book to read. It begins with their 1st EMI session in June 1962 (back when Pete Best was still the Beatles' drummer, before Ringo Starr replaced him) and ends in 1970 with the remixing of the Let It Be sessions with Phil Spector. The only thing that's dated is the often repeated phrase "This remains unreleased to this day" in reference to songs "Leave My Kitten Alone," "Not Guilty" (the Beatles' version), "One After 909" (the 1963 version), "12 Bar Original," "That Means a Lot," "What's the New Mary Jane" and "How Do You Do It." This book features anecdotes about what went on during the studio sessions (some the Anthology listeners and viewers already know about and more), photographs, interviews and insights by producer George Martin, Norman Smith, engineer Geoff Emerick, session drummer Andy White (who took Ringo's place on the single version of "Love Me Do") and an insightful interview with Paul McCartney. Yes, Mark Lewishon has done his homework here with research and hours upon hours of listening to the Beatles' session tapes. In a perfect world, many of these still unreleased sessions would be available for listening, legally (of course, there would be some tracks which would leave the listener thinking "Ok, now I know why they didn't release this"). I'd like to see an updated version of this book (many of Mark's comments concerning the songs and other additional tracks mentioned above will have to be replaced with "Until the release of The Beatles Anthology 1 [or 2 or 3], this take/track remained unreleased"). He'd have to include a section for the Beatles Anthology CD's and DVD collection ("You can hear part of this take on Part 8 of The Beatles Anthology").

Rating:
Summary: It may be Out of Print, but . . .
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: It may be Out of Print, but . . .
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: The Best Book On The Beatles' Recording Sessions
Review: 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.