Customer Reviews

The Beatles Swan Song: "She Loves You" & Other Records

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Bruce Spizer's new book is another winner! You can't just buy one of his books. You need them all. Swan Song fills in, very nicely, the rest of the albums and singles which weren't covered in the Vee Jay, Capitol and Apple books. There are also some extras added from new information gathered after the publications of the previous books.

Do yourself a favor and order this new book. And if you haven't already done so, get Bruce's other fine books. You need them as a set!

I wish every author would take as much care when researching and compiling Beatles books.

Bruce Spizer has long since established himself as our leading U.S. Beatles record historian with his incredible books on the subject of American Beatles records. This latest offering is yet another masterpiece that rounds out Bruce' journey into the incredible and vast world of the Beatles albums and singles issued in America during the golden age of Beatlemania during the 1960's and beyond.

If you're familiar with Mr. Spizer's previous works on the Beatles U.S. records such as his reknowned Vee Jay, Capitol, and Apple Record books, this book completes the circle of detailing and organizing all the various U.S. records issued on "other record labels" who attempted to either jump start the Beatles in America, or cash in on them once their fame and popularity was secured. Labels such as "SWAN", "MGM", "ATCO, "METRO", and many others who issued Beatles records in the 1960s and beyond are featured here in their entirety and with comprehensive background information. Bruce covers them all and with fantastic detail, layout and illustration.

Besides the wealth of information this book provides (much of it never before published), it is also very much a visual joyride with it's many high resolution photographs of the various and colorful record covers and labels. This is indeed, a trademark of all of Mr. Spizer's books and that is what sets his books apart from all others.

There's simply no question, you have to get this great book. Some of Mr. Spizer's previous offerings are now themselves collectors items commanding many times their original cover price. Get this latest offering while it is yet available and I'm sure you'll agree it's one of the best ever written period!

By now, Bruce Spizer's renown is such that no one needs to introduce either him or his research. While everyone waited breathlessly for the Capitol and Apple books, most people have probably wondered, "What else is there?"

The research on Swan Song reminds us of the groundbreaking work that went into the Vee-Jay book. Before this book, collectors did not know about Swan's factories. They merely speculated as to who put out The Savage Young Beatles. Few people thought to examine the MGM and Atco discs in any detail. In this, then, the final book contains the most thorough research in the series.

With the set now complete, you'll essentially have information about every North American Beatles record pressed while the group was together. Bruce also gives us the stories behind the Capitol compilation albums, reissues of the earlier Capitol/Apple records, every known pressing of the Hard Day's Night album, and more -- all in the level of detail to which his readers have become accustomed.

I own the entire set, and I consult them constantly. Even if you forgot to buy the others -- or didn't know they existed (!) -- I recommend strongly that you buy this one.

What more can be said about Mr. Bruce Spizer, the New Orleans resident and Beatles historian? This sixth, and final, book in his critically acclaimed series of books about the American-released records from The Beatles is unlike anything else in literary history. What this man has accomplished is a sheer work of genius. This book, "The Beatles Swan Song: 'She Loves You' & Other Records" brings a very fitting close on a great work. In this volume, Mr. Spizer goes into great detail about The Beatles' records that were released on the Swan, United Artists, Decca, MGM, Metro, Atco, Clarion, and Polydor labels in the U.S.A. during the mid-to-late 60s, when all of these labels tried to jump onto the Beatles bandwagon only after the group became successful in America. Swan had the rights to release the "She Loves You" single, while United Artists equally did the same with their version of the "A Hard Day's Night" album. With every known existing variation of picture sleeves, album covers, record labels and other promotional materials, Spizer has once again conquered this subject matter on a grand scale. Just as informative is his chapters devoted to the Capitol releases during the 70s and 80s. Featured are "Rock 'N' Roll Music", "Love Songs", "The Beatles At The Hollywood Bowl", "Rarities", "Reel Music" "20 Greatest Hits", "Past Masters" and the British-configuration albums from 1988. There is also noteworthy installments about the unreleased "Sessions" LP from the mid-80s; the reissue singles and albums showing all label variations; picture discs and colored vinyl; Mobile Fidelty Sound Lab; and even updated information regarding the original Vee-Jay, Capitol and Apple releases. Altogether, this book brings a fitting conclusion to an excellent body of work.

This and all the other Beatles Books by Bruce Spizer are the absolute best Beatles Books on the planet. They are full of facinating facts, pictures and stories. These books are great history lessons for all fans. Even The Beatles themslves should be thanking Bruce for these books because there is information in these books I am sure they never knew about themsleves or their records in the USA. I suggest all Beatles fans buy Bruce's books.

I was lucky enough to see Bruce Spizer at the 2007 Chicago Beatlefest.
I purchased the book "The Beatles Swan Song" and was very happy that Bruce personally signed the book for me.
This "blooming book" / (i.e a reference to A Hard Day's night)is a must read!!!!!
The book is hard back and the print is very legible (even for my eyes) and the graphics are just lovely.
The content?....let me say this again, "Thank you Bruce, I appreciate your work and research you did."
"THE BEATLES SWAN SONG" book is simply an amazing piece of work!!! VERY HISTORICAL!!!

While not a book for casual readers wanting to learn about the Beatles, this is an indispensable, necessary reference book for anyone interested in the details of the vinyl record output of the Fab Four.

If you are familiar with the author's earlier efforts, you know that you need this one too.

If you want to learn about their original releases on Capitol, Apple, Vee-Jay, buy his earlier books. This one covers Swan, MGM, Polydor, Decca, United Artists, post-Apple Capitol Records and a hodge podge of others.

My only disappointment is that he isn't going to give the Spizer Treatment to all of the non-Beatle artists recordings released on vinyl on Apple Records. But his Herculean efforts so far are quite an accomplishment for any mortal. To track down details on those other, sometimes very obscure artists, may be too much to ask of one man.....

This latest installment of Bruce Spizer's books on the Beatles American Records is another "must-have" for fans and collectors of Beatles records. Informative, entertaining and full of wonderful color pictures is how I can best describe his latest work. This edition contains a wealth of information on so many different label releases. You need this book to document the many official and "unofficial" labels. I went through the book in less than a month. Highly recommended!

I have all of Bruce Spizer's Beatle related books and this final instalment matches all of the others for sheer detail and quality. It's a mind boggling journey through all of the Beatles "other label" US releases and certainly an education for collectors and fans alike. I especially like the "Capitol in The 70's & 80's" chapter covering the various compilation Lp's issued such as "Hollywood Bowl", "Rock & Roll Music" "Reel Music" & "Love Songs"..this completes a "Capitol" loose end.
It's a typically thorough book and sits proudly alongside the other Spizer instalments and the 50+ other Beatles tomes on my bookshelf. Well done Bruce. Very recommended to Beatles fans and Collectors alike.

Mr Spizer is the ultimate Beatle book author.In both content and quality he is outstanding.This book like all the others before it is very helpful and entertaining.