Best Springsteen and Beatles book

This is for all non-EC or peripheral-EC topics. We all know how much we love talking about 'The Man' but sometimes we have other interests.
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VonOfterdingen
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Best Springsteen and Beatles book

Post by VonOfterdingen »

This might have been discussed another time around here, but...

Which book about The Beatles and Springsteen should I get? I have never read any books about them and there are way too many to chose from.

Its much easier with EC :)
I'm not buying my share of souvenirs
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Jack of All Parades
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Re: Best Springsteen and Beatles book

Post by Jack of All Parades »

For myself I have found three books of value over the years relating to the Beatles.

The Beatles by Hunter Davies

Can't Buy Me Love- The Beatles, Britain and America by Jonathan Gould

The Beatles Day by Day by Mark Lewisohn

For general appeal and knowledge I did like the group biography The Beatles by Bob Spitz. I also liked Here, There and Everywhere My Life Recording the Beatles by Geoff Emerick. It is not necessarily a Beatle book but I find the collected Rolling Stone interviews with John Lennon also of interest.

I cannot offer anything about Springsteen as he is not an intense favorite for me. Good luck in your reading efforts.
"....there's a merry song that starts in 'I' and ends in 'You', as many famous pop songs do....'
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bambooneedle
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Re: Best Springsteen and Beatles book

Post by bambooneedle »

Dave Marsh's Born to Run: The Bruce Springsteen Story, (Doubleday) 1979, is excellent. A very insightful read full of anecdotes and it quotes him extensively. It is very thorough in covering early autobiographical details, how he would lock himself up in his room for 8 hrs and practice and fight with father, what he was like at school, his early bands, the people who guided his career... you get a real sense of the stuff that formed him. I think most of the quotes where he waxes philosophically about his art etc - which are very candid and very interesting - are circa the Darkness On The Edge Of Town and eve of River period when Marsh wrote it. And it includes awesome b&w pictures.

It is out of print now but Marsh combined it and a later book (Glory Days - covering up to the Born In The USA period. BTW, I read this one as well and although it was very good it wasn't as intimate in its details as the first. It glossed over more, and the author got a bit carried away with his own analysis) and further writing into another book: Bruce Springsteen Two Hearts: The Definitive Biography, 1972-2003, so I'd check that out. Don't know whether it includes all the pictures of the earlier volume.
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Otis Westinghouse
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Re: Best Springsteen and Beatles book

Post by Otis Westinghouse »

And let's not forget 'Revolution in the Head' by Ian MacDonald. It analyzes every single Beatles song in order of recording and is a feat of amazing scholarship, both in terms of technical analysis of the songs and dissection of how they relate to the context they sprang from. I don't always agree with his judgements on songs, but the book is a superb work of analysis and a great companion to listening to their music.
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terryhurley
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Re: Best Springsteen and Beatles book

Post by terryhurley »

Agree with "Revolution in the head" and I would certainly highly recommend any of Mark Lewisohn's books.

For the insider's story of the Fabs - Cynthia's first book (A Twist of Lennon- now reissued) and Allan Williams' book (The Man Who Gave The Beatles Away) are superb. Both written pre-1980, of course.

I can't offer any guidance on Brooooce.
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wardo68
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Re: Best Springsteen and Beatles book

Post by wardo68 »

Christopher Sjoholm wrote:Can't Buy Me Love- The Beatles, Britain and America by Jonathan Gould
I've been reading and/or collecting Beatle books for 30+ years (and no, I'm not bragging) and I thought the Gould book was exceptionally insightful. For completeness, the Spitz book is up there. My other favorites tend to be more for the completist (Lewisohn, Spizer, John Winn).
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VonOfterdingen
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Re: Best Springsteen and Beatles book

Post by VonOfterdingen »

Thanks a lot for the suggestions. Ill look into them and to figure out which ones to get first.
I'm not buying my share of souvenirs
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bambooneedle
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Re: Best Springsteen and Beatles book

Post by bambooneedle »

Just found this very good online source for The Beatles - http://www.icce.rug.nl/~soundscapes/DAT ... s_on.shtml

Eg. notes on I Need You: http://www.icce.rug.nl/~soundscapes/DAT ... /iny.shtml
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LessThanZero
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Re: Best Springsteen and Beatles book

Post by LessThanZero »

The Beatles Anthology is decent. Too obvious?
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