The Beatles Anthology

What a book The Beatles Anthology is! Each page is brimming with personal stories and rare vintage images. Snapshots from their family collections take us back to the days when John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Richard Starkey were just boys growing up in Liverpool. They talk in turn about those early years and how they came to join the band that would make them known around the world as John, Paul, George and Ringo. Then, weaving back and forth, they tell the astonishing story of life as The Beatles: the first rough gigs, the phenomenon of their rise to fame, the musical and social change of their heyday, all the way through to their breakup. From the time Ringo tried to take this drum kit home on the bus to their much anticipated audience with Elvis, from the making of the Sgt. Pepper album to their last photo session together at John's house, The Beatles Anthology is a once-in-a-lifetime collection of The Beatles' own memories.

Interwoven with these are the recollections of such associates as road manager Neil Aspinall, producer George Martin and spokesman Derek Taylor. And included in the vast array of photographs are materials from both Apple and EMI, who also opened their archives for this project. This, indeed, is the inside story, providing a wealth of previously unpublished material in both word and image.

Created with their full cooperation, The Beatles Anthology is, in effect, The Beatles' autobiography. Like their music has been a part of so many of our lives, it's warm, frank, funny, poignant and bold. At last, here is The Beatles' own story.

The book would be worth it just for the photos alone, which
are beautifully reprinted--many from the early years are actually in
color--chronicling dozens of previously unpublished, intimate moments
taken straight from the group's personal archives. But what really
makes this one essential is the text itself, which is taken from
interviews conducted with Paul, George and Ringo in the 90s and an
exhaustive compilation of Lennon quotes from all points in his life (I
recognized many, but there were also some I've never seen before).
Even after the dozens upon dozens of biographies which have recounted
the group's earth-shattering tale ad nauseum, you feel like you're
reading it for the first time. All four bandmembers speak with a
thousand times more wit, frankness and detail than all of their
previous biographers combined; in fact, they manage to offer up
juicier tales, and more interesting spins on already known events,
than anything you've read before even in the most gossipy bios--and
you get it this time knowing that it's honest (you know it's honest
when you hear conflicting memories about certain events!).

"Anthology" is especially revealing when it comes to the
childhoods and Hamburg era: you get to hear about the first time
George got laid (right in front of the other three bandmembers!), or
when Ringo was a member of the Dingle gang, or what they did at
teenage parties. The detail is so thorough and vividly recalled for
the early years (and butressed by the photos) that you feel like
you're living it as it actually happened. No stone is left unturned
about the famous years, either: George and Ringo philosophize about
their first LSD trips and the meaning of "Tomorrow Never
Knows", the Maharishi controversy is finally put to rest (hint:
he never made a pass at anybody), and new insight is shed on the
evolution of the friendships between John and the other three. More
is made about the breakup than was on the "Anthology"
videos, including Yoko's presence and the business hassles, as well as
the making of "Abbey Road". Finally, all of this is told
with such an elegant sense of Beatle humor that even the heaviest
moments are a joy to read. Also included are excerpts from Stu
Sutcliffe and Brian Epstein's personal diaries. With this volume now
finally released, the only other essential Beatle books to get are
Lewishon's "Beatles Chronicle" and Miles' "The Beatles:
A Diary", both of which give exact reference dates and
descriptions for every live show, radio, recording and filming session
(as well as more great photos).



A joyful book!   October 28, 2000
Candace Scott (Lake Arrowhead, CA, USA)
67 out of 74 found this review helpful

How can any Beatles fan not be delirious over the arrival of this book? I spent four hours glued to it, lovingly turning each page, laughing, smiling and astounded over so many previously unseen photos. I have 400 Beatles books in my collection in many different languages. This book beats them all in content, style, text, arrangement and producing pure bliss in the reader. Some of the early photos from the Cavern and Hamburg years have appeared before in Mike McGear's 1977 book, but there are other new photos when the boys were so young it's almost piercing to look at them.

My only slight criticism is that much of the text was lifted directly from the Beatles Anthology series. This was disappointing, but the soaring positives of this weighty book cancel out any whining. For all of us Beatles fans, this is the apex of what will be offered for a long time. You will cherish this book and get endless hours of fascination and enjoyment from it. John, Paul, George and Ringo...still producing powerful emotions. They always will.


The "War and Peace" of Beatles Biographies   November 20, 2000
32 out of 33 found this review helpful

Wow. First off, one can't help but marvel at the fact that this book is HUGE! This makes every other Beatles biography look rather pathetic in comparison. The sheer number of superbly reproduced, and more often than not never-before-seen, photographs is mind-boggling. This is the absolute definitive story of the Beatles, as told by them, so all the speculation and conflicting stories that have surfaced in previous books is completely irrelevant. If you are a Beatles fan, then this book is an absolute MUST. And believe me, once you buy this book, you will be able to retire any and all of your existing Beatles biographies for use as coasters, placemats, puppy training papers or the like. I also strongly encourage you to look into the new CD, "Beatles 1." All 27 of the original number 1 singles have been digitally remastered (spectacularly, I might add!) and the sound is unbelievable.


Informative and Personal   October 5, 2000
Beatle23 (Evanston, IL USA)
51 out of 57 found this review helpful

With the wealth of info already out there on The Beatles, one may ask "Do we need more?" In some cases, the answer would be... "No." In this case, I say "Welcome."

This book is huge for one thing. There are a lot of pictures you've seen before, but a lot of personal pics seen for the first time. Like the video Anthology, we get to see a more personal side to The Beatles in this book. One drawback is that you'll notice some of the same images from the video as you do in here. Also, in terms of content you'll often just see written quotes from the video. Regardless, there is plenty of new material here to make this a "5 star" effort. Having read almost every Beatle book out there, I would have to say this is a definite buy.

Final Note: Once again, only drawback is some overlap with the video Anthology which is expected.


Got to Get This Into Your Life...   October 6, 2000
Michael Cluff (Galloway, NJ USA)
21 out of 21 found this review helpful

Just got the "Anthology" yesterday, and let me throw a few words at you:

Hefty. Dense. Comprehensive.

Pictures? It's crammed with them.

Is it readable? While most books made up of interview quotes can be frustratingly Helter Skelter, the quotes in "Anthology" are edited so that the book flows in a highly readable narrative style.

I feared that this book might be a cheap cashing-in. Rather, it's a beautifully mammoth effort.