Customer Reviews

Fab Four FAQ: Everything Left to Know About the Beatles . and More! (Faq Series)

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4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
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1 star:		(1)

 

 

Not strictly an "FAQ," as the title suggests, but better, because authors Shea & Rodriguez have unearthed Beatles-related information that practically NO ONE would even think to ask about. Great fun, with loads of insider details, insights, and surprises. Separate chapters encompass live performances, unreleased tracks, variant recordings, original (and unused) song titles, uncredited Beatle studio help on the records of others, the Beatles' in-studio collaborators, unusual cover versions of Beatles songs, the boys' movie careers, wives & girlfriends, and much more. And all told, mind you, via extraordinary research and lively prose. This is NOT a mere list book, but a smart, essential addition to your Beatles collection. Pleasing foreword by Byrds founding member Chris Hillman; and a charmingly personal afterword by Apple songwriter/recording artist Jackie Lomax. Plus dozens of unusual photos, drawings, and other epehemera.

Even the most ardent Beatle fan just might find something new in this well written, fact filled book. Easy to browse through and unfailingly interesting.

...at least in my collection of Beatles literature, which began with the original edition of Tony Carr's The Beatles An Illustrated Record and was most recently augmented by five of Bruce Spizer's excellent hardbacks on the group's American record releases. This volume, while hardly exhaustive in terms of the detail that could have been gone into on the subjects it covers, did a good job of reminding this long-time fan that there are still many nooks and crannies in the lives and careers of the Beatles worth looking into. Even material on matters I would not normally have found interesting as such drew me in, and before I knew it I'd practically read the darn thing from cover to cover!

I didn't expect much when I picked up this book. Having read the Davies and Norman Beatles biographies, Lewisohn's superb books on their recording sessions, all the Spizer books on their American records, Bill Harry's encyclopedia, and numerous other tomes, I figured Shea and Rodriguez would just rehash the same old Beatles trivia. Happily, I was mistaken! This book is a genuine treasure! Between Chris Hillman's foreword and Jackie Lomax's afterword there is a wealth of info that even dyed-in-the-wool Beatlemaniacs can sink their canines into. Sure, some of it has seen the light of day before but a lot of it is surprisingly fresh -- or at least freshly presented. You'd be hard-pressed to find a similar book organized in such an entertaining and highly readable fashion. I was actually sad when I came to the end! Another bonus, though: It's a great reference text!

The chapters are cleverly titled with snippets of Beatles lyrics and the topics include such fun reads as Beatle children, Beatle wives and girlfriends (are you listening, Bill Harry? Your vaunted encyclopedia totally ignored Maureen Starkey!!), villains in the Beatle story, fellow actors and actresses in their movies, their favorite brands of instruments, musical role switches on certain songs, obscure people in the Beatles orbit, other acts that toured with them, songs they wrote for others, etc., etc., etc. "Fab Four Faqs" is really a misnomer; the book is actually a long series of lists but fleshed out with some revealing (to me, at least) details. The authors have a witty, often irreverent, style but their love for their subject spills from every page.

At various times throughout the book, Shea and Rodriguez say that "another book" is needed to cover many of the people, places, and events they only allude to because of space constraints. I can only hope they're serious.....

There's always more to learn about the Fab Four and this book is one to read. Written concisely in an easy to read, fun format, even an ardent Beatles fan will discover new facts.

If you claim to be a true Beatles fan, you will not want to pass up this book. No historical tome, this book is a collection of fascinating facts, some of which you will learn for the first time reading these pages. This clever, trendy book is broken up into sections that make it more encyclopedic, and thus, easy to put down and pick up again for repeated convenience and ease of reading. This book not only covers facts about the Beatles, but also about other groups and artists of their time. For example, I was interested to learn that Frank Sinatra once recorded a birthday song for Ringo's wife, Maureen, as she was a Sinatra fan!

All in all, this book is a more-than-interesting read that you can always go back to when you need a Beatles fix!

Somehow this marvelous guide to JPG&R slipped under my radar screen when it was published in 2007. Let's see, 2007 was the year we brought our new son home from Guatemala and the year I (later) suffered a heart attack and died. (Hint: always have your heart attacks in ER). Humm; I guess those are good enough excuses. In any case, this informative and wonderfully-written volume by Stuart Shea and Robert Rodriguez is a must-have; it belongs on the shelf of every Beatles fan.

For all those who thought they knew a lot or everything about the Beatles, FAB FOUR FAQ is a revelation. Not only did Shea and Rodriguez unearth much new and interesting material but they packaged it in an appealing style and delivered the info in a critical yet sympathetic style. Above all, FAB FOUR FAQ is a tasteful book. Shea and Rodriguez look at JPG&R and all the others who were part of the Beatles world at one time or another and present fair-minded summaries of each. Case in point: Yoko. Who has been more controversial than Mrs. Lennon? After a three-page summary of her life and times, here's how the authors sum her up: "Not all of her many facets are attractive, nor are all of them evil. In that regard, she's just like the rest of us, only she happens to be the widow of John Lennon."

The book's sub-title claims it has EVERYTHING LEFT TO KNOW ABOUT THE BEATLES...AND MORE! Chapters include Beatle beginnings, the various record labels that released Beatle albums, Beatle myths, notable Beatle photo sessions, Beatle instrumentals, goofs and gaffes that made it on to the vinyl, shining moments from George/Ringo/John/Paul, London when the Beatles were king, essential Beatle books, songs that had their titles changed, Beatle friends/lovers/hanger's on/business associates and so on. FAB FOUR FAQ is the kind of book you can read cover to cover or just randomly jump in and find something new and intersting about JPG&R. Photos, some rather rare, are scattered throughout the book.

At $19.99, FAB FOUR FAQ is a steal. It's entertaining, informative, witty, affectionate yet critical...and tasteful; a fitting guide to the life and times of Messers. Lennon, McCartney, Harrison and Starr. Highly recommended.

This is a very fun read. A breezy easy trip through Beatledom. I've read about fifty Beatle books and this one's in the top ten.

This is a great book to have. It is a long book, but it is really interesting read. This book is broken into parts, so you deal with the early Beatles and then move to the later Beatles. It has alot of information and details that seem fresh compared to other books. I especially like that it covers the people in the Beatles lives. It is easy to go back to certain chapters if you want to use it as a refernce guide, later. My only complaint is that there is no index, and for a book this size there should be. But, I was reading an article on something to do with the Beatles and went back to this book and found it easy to go back to for the information. I would say this book has a little of everything in it, from recordings, to people, to buisness, to instruments, and beyond.

Ok, so I was happily reading my book, learning all about thFab Four FAQ: Everything Left to Know About the Beatles . and More! (Faq Series)e beatles. More precisely I was on page 238, when suddenly I come across a totally different book which was the beginning of 33 pages of some book talking about "criminal law, procedure, and evidence"! WTF

then it's all beatles from page 271! They stole 33 pages from me :( I'm very disappointed, the book is great though. I came to the review section to see if this happened to anyone else and apparently it didn't, so i'm the only loser! I hope they can replace my misprinted book :)