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26+ oeuvres 315 utilisateurs 11 critiques

A propos de l'auteur

Kenneth Womack's books include Sound Pictures, Long and Winding Roads, The Cambridge Companion to the Beatles, The Beatles Encyclopedia, and New Critical Perspectives on the Beatles. He delivers some fifty invited Beatles talks a year to audiences across the nation, while sharing his insights with afficher plus media of all stripes, including National Public Radio, ABC, CBS, NBC, and Voice of America. afficher moins

Comprend les noms: Womack Kenneth

Crédit image: Photograph by Marissa Carney

Œuvres de Kenneth Womack

John Lennon, 1980: The Final Days (2020) 16 exemplaires
Made to Order: The Sheetz Story (2013) 12 exemplaires
I Am Lemonade Lucy (2019) 8 exemplaires

Oeuvres associées

A Clockwork Orange [Norton Critical Edition] (2010) — Contributeur — 914 exemplaires

Étiqueté

Partage des connaissances

Nationalité
American
Pays (pour la carte)
USA

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Critiques

While I truly enjoyed this book (though I truly got tired of the terms "calculus" and "on heat" and "for the ages" and "bravura"...Womack truly needs a thesaurus...and a better editor), overall, this and the preceding volume are a fantastic overview of Martin's role in producing the Beatles.

...The problem is...that's most of what the two books are about. Though this one spans 1966 to 2016, over 80% of the book is 1966 to 1970—four years—then he crams the next four and a half decades into that last 18% of the book. And, yes, while Martin perhaps never again saw the solid run of success he had with the Beatles, he contributed significantly to a lot of incredible musicians' albums, and also built three major recording studios. While I love the Beatles, and I loved learning his influence on them...this IS a book about Martin. I was looking forward to getting past the Beatles and learning more about the last almost fifty years of his life as well.

So, that was a bit of a disappointment.
… (plus d'informations)
 
Signalé
TobinElliott | 1 autre critique | Mar 24, 2024 |
Quite a good biography of one of the most influential people in the history of popular music. There's no denying the influence Martin had on the sound and success of the Beatles, and Womack does a lot of good work to set the stage and fill in some of the blanks.

Overall, I really enjoyed it, however Womack has a bad habit of repeating himself, and truly overusing certain expressions (such as "calculus" and "soaring" and "for the ages", etc.).

For all of that, while he blithely skips over what feels like significant events (Martin's mother had a head injury that changed her personality and ultimately killed her, yet we aren't told what actually happened?), and Martin himself seems to get a bit of a short shrift once the Beatles come on stage, it's still a fascinating read, and I'm looking forward to the second volume.… (plus d'informations)
 
Signalé
TobinElliott | Mar 7, 2024 |
Living the Beatles Legend by Kenneth Womack offers a wonderful look at Mal Evans life and particularly his long association with The Beatles, collectively and separately.

Like so many fans of the band, I heard a lot about Evans, certainly saw him in the background quite a lot. What I really enjoyed about this biography, specifically the parts directly involving the band, was the flipping of the script. So much of what I knew about Evans was still centered on The Beatles, with him on the periphery, even when the role he played was essential. Here, while the band is still front and center, Evans is more centered, more prominent. We forget sometimes that people around celebrities are still human beings living their own lives, though in this case Evans chose to put The Beatles pretty much at the center of his own life.

I can only imagine, until the follow-up book comes out, just how much memorabilia Evans collected. I, like many my age, have/had quite a bit of "stuff." All of the US albums including the later collections (the first album I bought with my own money, shortly after it was released, was Revolver. Prior to that my parents and sister had bought the albums for me), most of the UK albums, the various figurines, posters, books, ticket stubs (from concerts I didn't go to, but a friend of my sister's would give me hers), various items from the fan club, and the intangible of having met two of the members, though well after their time together. Yet as much as I cherish all that, it doesn't even remotely compare in either quantity or quality to what Evans collected. The only similarity is that we, Evans as well as all the other fans who did likewise, did it out of love and admiration.

I feel confident recommending this book to everyone with an interest in The Beatles. I know some volumes have been criticized, unjustly in my opinion, for not always having enough about the band, even when those books are about another person or aspect of Beatlemania. This biography will satisfy even those fickle readers, largely because Evans placed the band in the center of his own life and thus prominently in his own biography. But make no mistake, this is Mal Evans' story and it is a fun one for the most part.

Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.
… (plus d'informations)
 
Signalé
pomo58 | Sep 9, 2023 |
Solid State: The Story of Abbey Road and the End of the Beatles by Kenneth Womack is a 2019 Cornell University Press publication.

Come together, right now-
Over me

Beatles fans never pass up an opportunity to read a new book about the group, no matter how many others they have read in the past. The Beatles are endlessly fascinating and even after all these years, when one might wonder what there might be left to talk about that hasn’t already been analyzed to death, it turns out there are always fresh angles to explore and discuss.

Even if you aren’t a diehard fan of The Beatles, this book will still hold your interest, especially if you have any knowledge of recording technology or music history.

While there can be a little confusion about the last Beatles album- Abbey Road was the last official Beatles album all four members worked on together. (Let it Be was released after the group disbanded-and is a story for another day.)

In 1969, the group was coming apart at the seams. While the machine still rolled on, they were in the process of mentally and emotionally divorcing themselves from each other and the group as a whole, having moved on to other planes- at least spiritually, if not bodily.

You're asking me will my love grow
I don't know, I don't know
You stick around, now it may show
I don't know, I don't know

While their frustrations with legal matters, and their palpable burnout simmers within the pages of this book, the forefront of the book is focused on the various recording techniques used in the making of the album and how the songs and music came together to eventually become one of the best albums of all time.

The Moog synthesizer, stereophonic sound, eight track reel to reel, as opposed to 4- track and other studio polish and garnishes used for the first time by The Beatles, which contributes to its historical significance. Oddly enough, at the time, it was this production that led many critics to initially complain about its lack of authenticity.

Of course, the Alan Parsons name drop may also be of interest to those who were not aware of his participation in the making of this album. His most notable claim to fame, besides his own personal projects, was his work on ‘The Dark Side of the Moon’ by Pink Floyd- and for his work on the Lord of the Rings movies.

It is amazing how this album came together, considering everything going on behind the scenes. The exciting studio wizardry juxtaposed against the turmoil within the band’s stratosphere, shows the various ways the music is symbolic and a mirror into the lives of the group at that time. While so many things The Beatles did musically inspired people and blazed trails artistically, The Abbey Road album influenced the way music was made and continued to be an example for years to come.

Overall, this is an interesting book, especially for Beatles fans, but also for anyone who enjoys music history.

Little darling, the smiles returning to the faces
Little darling, it seems like years since it's been here
Here comes the sun
Here comes the sun, and I say
It's all right
… (plus d'informations)
 
Signalé
gpangel | 1 autre critique | Dec 1, 2019 |

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Statistiques

Œuvres
26
Aussi par
1
Membres
315
Popularité
#74,965
Évaluation
4.1
Critiques
11
ISBN
97

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