Long and Winding Roads: The Evolving Artistry of the Beatles [Paperback]

Kenneth Womack (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 30, 2007

In Long and Winding Roads: The Evolving Artistry of the Beatles, Kenneth Womack brings the band's story vividly to life—from their salad days as a Liverpool Skiffle group and their apprenticeship in the nightclubs and mean streets of Hamburg through their early triumphs at the legendary Cavern Club and the massive onslaught of Beatlemania itself. By mapping the group's development as an artistic fusion, Womack traces the Beatles' creative arc from their first, primitive recordings through Abbey Road and the twilight of their career.

In order to communicate the nature and power of the band's remarkable achievement, Womack examines the Beatles' body of work as an evolving art object. He investigates the origins and creation of the group's compositions, as well as the songwriting and recording practices that brought them to fruition. Womack's analysis of the Beatles' albums transports readers on a journey through the Beatles' heyday as recording artists between 1962 and 1969, when the band enjoyed a staggering musical and lyrical leap that took them from their first album Please Please Me, which they recorded in the space of a single day, to Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, the White Album, and Abbey Road—albums that collectively required literally thousands of hours to produce. In addition to considering the band's increasing self-consciousness about the overall production, design, and presentation of their art, Womack explores the Beatles' albums as a collection of musical and lyrical impressions that finds them working towards a sense of aesthetic unity. In Long and Winding Roads, Womack reveals the ways in which the Beatles gave life to a musical synthesis that would change the world.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Mention in The Bookseller

(The Bookseller )

Mention in Memphis Flyer (Leonard Gill )

"Any music library strong in Beatles surveys and references will welcome Long and Winding Road: The Evolving Artistry of The Beatles, which takes quite a different approach than most biographical focuses. The one maps the group's evolutionary trends from their first recordings to the height — and then fall — of their career. The Beatles' body of songs — not their lives — are considered on an analysis which does include some biography, but doesn't make this the focal point. The result is more well-rounded than most Beatles coverage with an emphasis on music over inspirational influences." —James A. Cox, The Midwest Book Review, February 2008

(James A. Cox )

"Good on recognizing precursors to Beatles' songs, Womack does a fine job of bringing out the group's accelerated aesthetic development." —CHOICE (B. Diemert )

"Womack does a fine job of bringing out the group's accelerated aesthetic development."
-Choice, 2008

Mention in The Bookseller

(, )

Mention in Memphis Flyer (, )

"Any music library strong in Beatles surveys and references will welcome Long and Winding Road: The Evolving Artistry of The Beatles, which takes quite a different approach than most biographical focuses. The one maps the group's evolutionary trends from their first recordings to the height – and then fall – of their career. The Beatles' body of songs – not their lives – are considered on an analysis which does include some biography, but doesn't make this the focal point. The result is more well-rounded than most Beatles coverage with an emphasis on music over inspirational influences." —James A. Cox, The Midwest Book Review, February 2008

(, )

“Good on recognizing precursors to Beatles’ songs, Womack does a fine job of bringing out the group’s accelerated aesthetic development.” –CHOICE (, )

About the Author

Kenneth Womack is Professor of English and Head of the Division of Arts and Humanities at Penn State University's Altoona College.

Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Continuum (May 30, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0826417469
• ISBN-13: 978-0826417466
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #774,444 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Kenneth Womack is Professor of English and Associate Dean for Academic Affairs at Penn State Altoona. He is the author or editor of numerous books exploring literary and popular culture. Much of his current work is devoted to examining the aesthetic qualities of the Beatles' unparalleled achievement. He has published three books devoted to the group, including Reading the Beatles: Cultural Studies, Literary Criticism, and the Fab Four (2006), Long and Winding Roads: The Evolving Artistry of the Beatles (2007), and The Cambridge Companion to the Beatles (2009).

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Essential Book About The Beatles, October 28, 2008

By 

Jay Murphy "Jay Thing" (Landover Hills, Maryland United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Long and Winding Roads: The Evolving Artistry of the Beatles (Paperback)

As a somewhat obsessive fan of the Fab Four, I've read dozens of books about them. Books about their public personas and private lives, about how some of their songs came to be written and experiences they shared as a group of young men in one of the most exciting periods of rock history. But aside from George Martin's slim journal about the making of the "Sgt. Pepper's" album, I'd never read one about their 'evolving artistry' as author Kenneth Womack succinctly puts it. The focus of this book is clearly that- from song structure and content to gaining more artistic control of how the songs were sequenced on their later albums and the cover artwork that accompanied them as well as which directions their music would take. Copiously footnoted and lovingly detailed, "Long and Winding Roads" is a must-have for longtime fans and folks that are just discovering the magic of the Beatles' music.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The result is more well-rounded than most Beatles coverages with an emphasis on music over inspirational influences., February 4, 2008

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Long and Winding Roads: The Evolving Artistry of the Beatles (Paperback)

Any music library strong in Beatles surveys and references will welcome LONG AND WINDING ROADS: THE EVOLVING ARTISTRY OF THE BEATLES, which takes quite a different approach than most biographical focuses. This one maps the group's evolutionary trends from their first recordings to the height - and then fall - of their career. The Beatles' body of songs - not their lives - are considered in an analysis which does include some biography, but doesn't make this the focal point. The result is more well-rounded than most Beatles coverages with an emphasis on music over inspirational influences.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Long and Winding Road, March 25, 2009

By 

William Baker (Dekalb,Il,USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Long and Winding Roads: The Evolving Artistry of the Beatles (Paperback)

Superbly written this insightful study draws upon neglected materials and a thorough comprehensive knowledge of the Beatles.Interweaving chronology, personal biography with background, the author produces the best study of the Fabulous Four. He explains their iconic status in our culture and their universality.We now know so much more about the Long and Winding Road of the Fab Four through the canvas of consummate narrative skills. His work will be hard to replace.