The Complete Beatles

Tune In: The Beatles: All These Years – Mark Lewisohn – (Three Rivers Press)

A little housekeeping up front; I have never been a huge Beatles fan and wasn’t a huge collector of their music. After reading what I considered to be one of the most interesting Beatles books, Mark Lewisohn’s The Beatles the Recordings, which was a truly fascinating look into the studio process and recording sessions of the band, I did collect a number of the bootleg recordings that had made the rounds for years because it was interesting to tie them back to the various takes that Lewisohn described in the book.

Now many years later, and literally hundreds of Beatles books later, Lewisohn has set out the first installment of what is supposed to be a trilogy of Beatles books chronicling the band’s history. Tune In:The Beatles: All These Years, is exactly what you would expect from Lewisohn; comprehensive, intimate, and utterly intriguing. He does a remarkable job of tracking down the band’s history and offers a real insider’s perspective.

While in many instances Beatles related books come off has shoddy and penned by shady characters, Lewisohn brings an almost historian-like approach to his writings about the band. There is no fan-boy awe in this at all; instead Lewisohn delivers the in depth, thoroughly researched goods that a true Beatles fan is seeking.

Like I said, there are hundreds of books on the Beatles, both as a group and its individual parts, not to mention those in the band’s orbit, but if you want to get a true full perspective on the band, Lewisohn has delivered a great first piece that will have you looking forward to the next two installments.