Tune In

Going back to the Hunter Davies book, I have read a lot about The Beatles.  A lot.

But this new book, All These Years (Volume 1), by Mark Lewisohn, is nothing short of amazing.  After a lifetime of listening, watching, playing and reading, you’d think you’d get to the point where you know it all.

Wrong.

The plot doesn’t change, of course.  But with 800 pages that only get you to the end of 1962, this book is dense.  Fascinating additional details, wonderful new insights, and more than a few myths exploded.

Can’t wait for the next volume.

Satisfaction

I recently read Philip Norman’s biography on Mick Jagger.  It could have been called Satisfaction:  Mick Jagger and the Invention of Corporate Rock.

I mean, we all know The Rolling Stones are a major brand and a well-oiled machine.  Kinda like Apple but, with more wrinkles – and a few more urban myths.

But what I realized reading this book is that Jagger was acting more like a CEO than a rock star right from the beginning. 

If you think about the Stones over the last 20 years or so, no problem seeing him in that light.  But in the 60’s and 70’s?  Deaths, drug busts, mars bars, blood transfusions, radio bans, prime minister’s wives …  this band was a train wreck. 

But the train somehow kept rolling, and Jagger managed his way through the mayhem.

Anyway, an interesting read, with enough salaciousness to keep most people amused.  That is why we read rock biographies, right?