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FAB FOUR FAQ
Everything Left to Know About the
Beatles...and More!
Stuart Shea and Robert Rodriguez
510 pages
Hal-Leonard
"This book is, in a way, our love letter to
the Beatles, an attempt to thank them for all
of the pleasure they've given."
Shea&Rodriguez
If it is true what has been claimed-that
there have been as many as 2000 books
on the Beatles in the last 45 years-then
this new effort from Chicagoans Stuart
Shea and Robert Rodriguez should at
least be in the top 100.
Especially if you are one of those
estimated 2 or 3 million Fabs fanatics,
who just have to know almost
"everything" about the group.
Shea is identified on the back of the
book's cover as a "cultural historian,"
and Rodriguez as a "Beatles collector,"
and when you put that CV together you
end up with not just another Beatles
tome.
Rather, Fab Four Faq could be described
as a variation of the New Testament of
Beatles writing int that fact and opinion
and lore are welded and cobbled
together to produce a very coherent and
readable book despite its rather
sometimes arcane subject matter.
Four instance, would the average pop
music reader be interested in the
particulars of 10 of the instruments that
the Beatles used to record their 200 odd
songs?
Probably not, but in the hands of Shea
and Rodriguez, a whole chapter of such
is actually fun to read, and full of "wow, I
didn't know that."
Then throw in chapters on the Essential
Beatle Bookshelf, group Recording
Innovations, 10 Acts That Opened For
The Beatles, Lover: Wives, Girlfriends,
and One-Night Stands, The Fabs
Medicine Cabinet, Ten Records That
Directly Influenced The Beatles, Beatle
Kids and a splendid time is guaranteed
for most all.
And even this Beatles-overloaded writer
learned plenty of new factoids, with one
of the most interesting being the
authors' take on just who actually
named the Beatles.
Hint: Was it really John Lennon?
Also of note in Fab Four Faq are the
copious illustrations, some of which I
had never seen before.
This book may generate some of the
old, "you like Paul (McCartney) best,"
amongst the vanity press on the Beatles
Internet discussion forums, but then
again that would spare the authors' from
some of the grief that Bob Spitz got two
years ago with his heavily critiqued (by
McCartney) fans chronicle of the group.
Of course you can't please 'em all, all of
the time, but Shea and Rodriguez have
certainly added to the large body of
discourse on the Fabs and done it on
the whole very well.
You can even offer them corrections, as
well at:
FAB FOUR FAQ. COM
Everything Left to Know About the
Beatles...and More!
Stuart Shea and Robert Rodriguez
510 pages
Hal-Leonard
"This book is, in a way, our love letter to
the Beatles, an attempt to thank them for all
of the pleasure they've given."
Shea&Rodriguez
If it is true what has been claimed-that
there have been as many as 2000 books
on the Beatles in the last 45 years-then
this new effort from Chicagoans Stuart
Shea and Robert Rodriguez should at
least be in the top 100.
Especially if you are one of those
estimated 2 or 3 million Fabs fanatics,
who just have to know almost
"everything" about the group.
Shea is identified on the back of the
book's cover as a "cultural historian,"
and Rodriguez as a "Beatles collector,"
and when you put that CV together you
end up with not just another Beatles
tome.
Rather, Fab Four Faq could be described
as a variation of the New Testament of
Beatles writing int that fact and opinion
and lore are welded and cobbled
together to produce a very coherent and
readable book despite its rather
sometimes arcane subject matter.
Four instance, would the average pop
music reader be interested in the
particulars of 10 of the instruments that
the Beatles used to record their 200 odd
songs?
Probably not, but in the hands of Shea
and Rodriguez, a whole chapter of such
is actually fun to read, and full of "wow, I
didn't know that."
Then throw in chapters on the Essential
Beatle Bookshelf, group Recording
Innovations, 10 Acts That Opened For
The Beatles, Lover: Wives, Girlfriends,
and One-Night Stands, The Fabs
Medicine Cabinet, Ten Records That
Directly Influenced The Beatles, Beatle
Kids and a splendid time is guaranteed
for most all.
And even this Beatles-overloaded writer
learned plenty of new factoids, with one
of the most interesting being the
authors' take on just who actually
named the Beatles.
Hint: Was it really John Lennon?
Also of note in Fab Four Faq are the
copious illustrations, some of which I
had never seen before.
This book may generate some of the
old, "you like Paul (McCartney) best,"
amongst the vanity press on the Beatles
Internet discussion forums, but then
again that would spare the authors' from
some of the grief that Bob Spitz got two
years ago with his heavily critiqued (by
McCartney) fans chronicle of the group.
Of course you can't please 'em all, all of
the time, but Shea and Rodriguez have
certainly added to the large body of
discourse on the Fabs and done it on
the whole very well.
You can even offer them corrections, as
well at:
FAB FOUR FAQ. COM
