The Complete Beatles – The Story Behind Every Track Written by the Fab Four is a wonderful index of all the songs authored by the Beatles with tidbits of back story included, who wrote the song, how it came together and the inspiration, if known, for each song. While perhaps not everyone wants to know the details behind such songs as “Polythene Pam” or “Dear Prudence”, I was totally engrossed.

Beatle music is the soundtrack of my teen years, and every Beatle song evokes a memory, an occasion or an event. It is obvious that the author, Steve Turner, was also a fan as he exclaims, ““the elements of surprise in the tunes that made them so captivating when they were first released still sound unexpected. They have a magical capacity for retaining their freshness.” Along with supplying all the lyrics of their songs, this book is a timeline for the group itself. The early songs reflect their original enthusiasm and excitement while later on John’s jaded poetry and Paul’s world weary attitude as the group dynamics are unwinding combine to produce some amazingly complex and original music.

The Complete Beatles is large book, with hundreds of both color and black and white photographs, and information on the four members of the group, their various partners and friends, associates and fellow artists. During the course of reading this book, I often found myself digging out my old Beatle tunes and hearing them in a different way. Lots of good information here and although this is a book that will mostly appeal to die-hard Beatle fans, it was a five star read for me. ( )