The Beatles (20th Century Composers) [Paperback]

Allan Kozinn (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 19, 1995 | Series: 20th Century Composers

This text is part of the 20th-century composers series, examining composers in a biographical context, and offering a comprehensive study of key figures in the creation of 20th-century music. None of the books in the series presume a knowledge of specialized terms or musical notation. Each book in the series features a list of works, a bibliography, and a discography.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Do John Lennon and Paul McCartney really belong up there in the Serious Music pantheon with the likes of Alban Berg, Igor Stravinsky, and Richard Strauss? The editors of the Phaidon 20th-Century Composers series obviously think so. What's more, author Allan Kozinn makes a strong scholarly case for the Beatles, who in a stunningly short time moved from fairly basic, four-chord ditties to musically sophisticated compositions that hold up well to the present day. Kozinn, a classical music critic for the New York Times, is also a long-time Beatles aficionado who knows the difference between the stereo and monophonic versions (sometimes an extra "woo" creeps in) of the early songs. He appreciates them both as pop phenomenon and musical pathfinders, and his writing is consistently top-notch. As with all the Phaidon books in this series, there are no musical examples given, but Kozinn does a superb job within the restrictions of the series' format. Beatles fans will want to own this one, and classical music lovers interested in understanding the phenomenon might also give it a try.

From Publishers Weekly

What? Another book about the Fab Four? Kozinn, a classical music critic for the New York Times and author of Mischa Elman and the Romantic Style, avoids another repetition of facts already known about John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr by focusing more on the music and less on the personalities. Yes, there is the history?the group's Liverpool roots, and the long hours spent at all-night Hamburg dives?but Kozinn gives real insight into the influences of Chuck Berry, Roy Orbison and skiffle bands. While Kozinn notes that the Beatles generated "a perfectly balanced, freakishly rare form of musical and personal chemistry," he also shows how Lennon, McCartney and Harrison grew farther and farther apart as composers, each developing his own voice, each making his own experiments. Kozinn is also master of the small details. Abbey Road was supposed to be called Everest; the original lyrics to "Yesterday" were "Scrambled eggs/ oh lady, how I love your legs." Most important is the author's descriptions of the songs. The Beatles released about 10 hours of music, the author says, with nary a loser in the lot. Kozinn is a thorough, persuasive guide through the Beatles' musical bridges, crescendos, odd bars and dialogue loops?for the most part without the snappy, shallow patter of too many rock critics. Photos.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Phaidon Press (October 19, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0714832030
• ISBN-13: 978-0714832036
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 6.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #970,295 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Analysis Of The Beatles Work As Serious Musicians, January 22, 2003

By 

David L Glenister (San Francisco, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Beatles (20th Century Composers) (Paperback)

First off - this book is not a biography. It's an analysis of the Beatles compositions and recordings, with the aim of explaining what makes the Beatles' music unique and important in music history. The book quotes Leonard Bernstein's often-stated opinion that Lennon and McCartney were "the Schuberts of our time". The book treats them as such - important composers / singers / musicians.

I've read approx. 15-20 books on the Beatles, and as a composer myself, this is the most interesting I've read. Why? Because the author understands *music*, and the structure of compositions. This is clear from the very beginning.

He only focuses on the Beatle's "story" as subtext to the changes in their music. So don't expect lots of arguments pro / con McCartney taking over the band with Sgt. Pepper's, whether Ono REALLY broke up the Beatles (she didn't - that's naive and awfully simplistic).

These events / changes are only background fodder for discussing the music. I find that incredibly refreshing.

So what you can expect is what makes the harmonies sound so amazing, or rhythmic influences, compositional trends, growth in lyric-writing, depth of instrumentation, the musical contributions of George Martin, etc.

And I've read the previous reviews posted here, and have to say: This author isn't pro-Lennon and anti-McCartney. Even while complimenting a particular Lennon melody, he writes words to the effect, "...which is interesting because Lennon is not known for being a great melodist, at least not as long as McCartney is around."

He also references the fact that McCartney was (by far) the best musician in the group, and also a better lead guitarist than Harrison, although he says it as gently as possible.

The reality is that Lennon led the Beatles for the first few years, with McCartney assuming more and more responsibility circa Rubber Soul, and really taking over with Sgt. Pepper, as Lennon could no longer be bothered with being the leader anymore. Towards the end there was a real struggle to maintain the vision of the Beatles that each person had - and their visions were different. So there was a clash (beginning with the White Album, most likely), and that never strayed far from the studio I'm sure. And this book does reflect that reality - but it doesn't make judgments either way. Nor should it - it's irrelevant to the discussion at hand: The musical revolution taking place in Studio 2 at Abbey Road.

Personally, I am an admirer of both writers / singers for their individual talents and abilities, and I think this book reflects on their musical contributions to the 20th century rather well.

A must for aspiring music writers / critics, musicians and composers.

Curiously, I would say Beatlemania-type fans need not apply; there are real biographies out there with loads of stories & trivia - this book is a serious review of what made the music so new, and original, so historically important. It treats the Beatles as if they belong in the same breath as Bernstein, Monk, Ellington, Porter, Wagner, Schubert, etc. If that's what interests you, this book is DEFINITELY for you.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars competent but unbalanced, February 9, 2000

By 

C. Cleveland (Dryden, NY United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Beatles (20th Century Composers) (Paperback)

Kozinn's book is a competent summary of the Beatles' performance and recording career, and is refreshingly calm and balanced in its discussion of the causes for the Beatles' disbanding. It's a safe book for the relatively uninformed to read. But it fails in its stated intention of getting at the "mechanisms" of the Beatles' innovative genius. Although Kozinn is genuinely appreciative of Lennon's genius, the book commits the common sin of dismissing McCartney's contributions as a sort of idiot savant knack for commercial melodies. Without getting more than about 20% McCartney into the Lennon-McCartney mix, you really can't get a grip on the songbook or the remarkable recording revolution these two young men were responsible for. A more accurate title would have been "John Lennon and Other Musicians."

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Oh no ... not another one of those!, February 18, 2010

By 

I. I. Adolph "Ziggy" (Johannesburg, South Africa) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Beatles (20th Century Composers) (Paperback)

The sleeve jacket of Allan Kozinn's book says it all: Lennon's face fills the front cover, McCartney is relegated to the back and Harrison and Starr don't figure at all. He might as well have called his book "John Lennon & Co." So this is yet another one of those biased books that regards Lennon as the prime force behind The Beatles and McCartney as a frothy lightweight. There have been too many of these now and I'm getting sick of it.

Many of McCartney's most profound and inventive masterpieces - such as "Eleanor Rigby", "The Fool On The Hill" and "Blackbird" - receive scant analysis by Kozinn, while some of Lennon's lesser works have praise heaped upon them. Slight and insubstantial fillers like "I Should've Known Better" and "If I Fell" are described as "three-dimensional", while the crabbed and obsessive "I Want You (She's So Heavy)" - regarded by Robbie Robertson of The Band as "noisy s..t" - is praised for being "innovative"! He even gives Lennon credit for contributions McCartney actually made, such as the mellotron intro to "Strawberry Fields Forever". McCartney contributions to Lennon songs - such as the backing vocal that anticipates rather than responds to the main melody of "Help" - are all but ignored.

I agree that Lennon was a genius, but so was McCartney. And McCartney's talent was more MUSICAL.

Recent comments and books by Beatles' engineers Norman Smith and Geoff Emerick have firmly established that McCartney was not only the group's de facto musical director and producer, but also it's most naturally talented musician as well as it's main musical force. Yet books like these still ignore or underestimate his incalculable contribution to The Beatles' art.

I wasted my money on this book. If you want an objective, balanced and unbiased analysis of EVERY Beatles song, rather read Ian McDonald's "Revolution In The Head". He praises the group's triumphs, but is not afraid to be scathing about their failures, whoever was responsible for them.