The Unreleased Beatles
My girlfriend Terry gave me a wonderful new Beatles' book for my birthday this year. It's called "The Unreleased Beatles", by Richie Unterberger. A smart gal, Terry. She knew to get me a book that had just been published. Getting me any Beatle gift is a gamble (i.e., I already have it or don't want it).
At almost 400 pages of dense text, it's packed with fascinating info about the music AND film that have never been officially released on record, tape, CD, video or DVD.
Even though I'm not a big bootleg guy, I have read most of the Beatle books out there and have always felt I knew pretty much everything. WRONG.
For example, I was surprised and thrilled to read the fact that a recording of the Quarry's Men's gig on the day John met Paul exists. Apparently, it contains four songs and the recording is "rough". EMI bought it from the owner about ten years ago and it has yet to be released. How did I not know that!? Was I in a comma back in 1994 when it was auctioned by Sotheby's?
And that's just the tip of the iceberg. Studio outtakes, home recordings and radio shows are all described in fabulous detail. Stories you've heard a million times are retold with new tidbits and smart insights. You can open to any page and find something of interest.
And the film/television section is super, too. The trivia and details are riveting. There are also a lot of photos of bootleg covers which is also pretty damn cool.
It's a large soft cover, and seems like a real bargain at $35.
At almost 400 pages of dense text, it's packed with fascinating info about the music AND film that have never been officially released on record, tape, CD, video or DVD.
Even though I'm not a big bootleg guy, I have read most of the Beatle books out there and have always felt I knew pretty much everything. WRONG.
For example, I was surprised and thrilled to read the fact that a recording of the Quarry's Men's gig on the day John met Paul exists. Apparently, it contains four songs and the recording is "rough". EMI bought it from the owner about ten years ago and it has yet to be released. How did I not know that!? Was I in a comma back in 1994 when it was auctioned by Sotheby's?
And that's just the tip of the iceberg. Studio outtakes, home recordings and radio shows are all described in fabulous detail. Stories you've heard a million times are retold with new tidbits and smart insights. You can open to any page and find something of interest.
And the film/television section is super, too. The trivia and details are riveting. There are also a lot of photos of bootleg covers which is also pretty damn cool.
It's a large soft cover, and seems like a real bargain at $35.
posted by John Goins at 9:02 PM
1 Comments:
It really is a great book, I got it after reading your post and it's jam packed with info. Amazing that 35 years after the break-up, there's still new info exploding out on the fab four...
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