Customer Reviews

McCartney

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

This is one of the most poorly-written books about a Beatle that has even been published. A major McCartney fan, I was sorely disappointed in it. The writer tries to be hip by using British idioms and inside jokes that few Americans will even understand. He skips over, with merely a sentence, major portion's of Sir Paul's life or explanations of what happened. He teases you with just a small portion of a story, with inadequate detail. It seems to contain few, if any interviews or original documentation; it's all excerpts of previously written stuff. If I hadn't read other bios, I wouldn't have a clue what he was talking about half the time. Almost any book out there will give you a much better picture of this musical genius than Sandford's, which seems to be no more than an extended article in a cheap magazine. He's more interested in style, than in providing the proper biography that Paul deserves.

The genius of the Beatles is that all 4 contributed to their success -- it needed Lennon but it needed McCartney too. It needed Harrison and it needed Ringo -- Pete Best wouldn't have worked. But time has a way of sorting out the survival of the fittest. And it is Paul McCartney -- genius songwriter, versatile singer, creative bass player, great piano player, guitarist and drummer, and innovative production and marketing man. Founding rock'n'roller and show biz ballad writer/singer. The first Beatle to get his girlfriend pregnant (way back in 1962); the last bachelor Beatle in swinging London; the Beatle who impressed Beat writer William Burroughs with his adaption of the 'cut-up technique' to music loops; the Beatle who hung out in the clubs with Keith Richards and Brian Jones, and turned Mick Jagger on to marijuana; the Beatle who was into the artsy crowd while his fellow Beatles, including John Lennon, led a suburban life; the Beatle who Yoko Ono approached first with her work; the Beatle who in 1969 conceived the notion of the famous band hitting the clubs under an assumed name and blowing everyone's mind; and the first rock star who in 1965 both experienced and embraced stadium rock when the Beatles played Shae Stadium. This book fills in a lot of the gaps in the story of McCartney and the Beatles......it helped to convince me that McCartney was an much a music innovator as Lennon ever was. Takes us through the 70s (when McCartney hosted parties with Dean Martin and Led Zepplin and Bob Dylan in attendance) through the 80s through the 90s to 2005 when Paul played the Super Bowl half-time. As a Beatle fan from 1964 who has read every biography on them (including Lennon's)...... A great book worth getting.

The editorial review for this book points out Paul McCartney's Mozartean gift for melody. A pity then it didn't also point out two other Mozartean traits that McCartney shares; a preference for expressing his feelings in music rather than words, and a great love of performing for an audience. Much like this review, Christopher Sandford patronises his subject by failing to understand the essence of McCartney's character leaving him vulnerable to accusations of superficiality. He has gathered together an assortment of acquaintances and associates from the Beatles and post-Beatles era whose embellished recollections are no more reliable than those of the Beatles themselves. True, Paul McCartney can be gauche; he may well lack the middle class sensibilities of a Lennon or a Dylan if that is important to people. But Sandford, like so many before him, never really grasps that it is for these very reasons that McCartney has had such an impact on so many people. The music itself resonates because it doesn't rely on easy words to tell his story and because he refuses to package his numerous personal tragedies into some commodity to be enjoyed. McCartney is no fool, it is to his credit that he won't pander to the pious gravitas expected of him by his detractors. For this, and to remain true to himself, he pays the price by having scorn and derision heaped upon him. The pleasant affable nature protects not only the intensely private man he is but also those close to him. This is a book, like most books on Paul McCartney, for those who want their opinions of a "showman" confirmed and who are not prepared to look any further.

Of the dozens of books I have read about the Beatles, both individually and as a group, this is one of the most glaring examples of unreadable drivel I have seen. Another reviewer lauds this book for not containing any factual errors, when, in fact, it contains many, all easily verifiable through other reliable sources. Sandford's writing style is obnoxiously self-absorbed and annoying, and his reviews and opinions of the Beatles' music are totally unnecessary and expendable. There is little here that hasn't been hashed over dozens of times in other, better books. I opened this book with high hopes, but closed it with a sense of sad disappointment.

This snide little book purports to be pro-McCartney, while digging up every nasty little rumor and innuendo ever spoken by a "source."

Taking the tone of a knowing insider (we get the drift when he first mentions "Eppy," the Beatles' nickname for Brian Epstein, and used as though the author were "Eppy's" best friend, EWWW), the author unaccountably starts the book in 1980 when Paul was detained in Japan for possessing marijuana. Then it jumps around, meanders, uses lots and lots of slang words (just in case we think Sandford isn't hip) and finally ends with a triumphant attack on Paul's marriage (which was not over when the book was published).

Don't bother.

Paul McCartney is the enduring remnant of The Beatles. Surely the other three have assured legacies, but McCartney represents the continued flourishing of the Beatles' success story. Christopher Sandford's biography 'McCartney' is excellent for bringing The Beatles' (and McCartney's) legend thoroughly to the reader. After having read the groundbreaking 'Shout' by Philip Norman, an insider's account with Peter Brown's 'The Love You Make,' and John Swenson's primer 'The Beatles Yesterday and Today,' Sandford's story is still a find. The content is formidable, chock-full of quotes, accounts of bickering and reconciliation, his love life, and any backstage summations of touring and recording.

Taking some familiar paths, the author manages to break new ground mostly by being comprehensive and exhaustive with his research. The greatest merit of his book is his ability to vividly show McCartney's childhood and the historic meetings of the other three of the fab four. Sandford visually and almost audibly transports us to that primitive time and place before they were famous. His details of McCartney's musical father and his heartwarming mother are fascinating. To his credit even the familiar stories don't feel like retread. Later the format changes for most of the solo career. He gathers press conferences, anecdotes, and reviews to stock up his presentation. Overall, I believe he is fair to a point. He injects both enthusiasm and criticism for the superstar Beatle, but he always gives him his due. Even when the text gets highly critical, he cleverly lets others do most of the talking. (This is no small factor given the fact that most writers are hyper-critical of the most commercially successful Beatle.) Admirably, Sandford does a yeoman job of separating rumor from fact and dispenses evidence on every claim and counter-claim he makes.

Although mainly a lucid and fascinating read, Sandford at times becomes unnecessarily convoluted. At times he will make statements that require one to reread a passage, making it unnecessarily opaque. (For the grammarian, tracing pronouns to their antecedents is sometimes a chore. In other words it's occasionally difficult to keep track of those for whom he speaks.) However, this is the exception rather than the rule. Capturing the enthusiasm, the thrills, and the chasms, Sandford creates a comprehensive and engaging read for Beatles and/or McCartney fans.

I thought this was an extremely interesting book about Sir Paul's life. A tremendous amount of information in the book was a rehash that a loyal fan would of already known. It was nice to read it again though. If you are a true fan of Sir Paul, like I am and have been for 40 years, prepare yourself. The author doesn't always paint Sir Paul in the best of light. Then again we tend to put Paul up on a pedestal and sometimes forget that he is just human. Basically, he is a good, honest, caring, loving and devoted family man. He also cares about animals and the environment....but he really cares about his fans too!!!! He likes their approval of his work very much. He devotes his time and money to charity without bragging about it. He does get critized for some of the things he does, like patting himself on the back too many times, or losing his temper, but like I said before he is only human. This is to be expected of this rock era icon. This book did give me info into his private life, and his life on the road that I never knew before, I appreciated the book for that information. Also there are some really nice photos.I highly recommend this book. I hope this review was helpful to the Sir Paul fans out there!!! Makes an excellent Christmas gift.

It's not that book is bereft of any literary merit, as some have asserted. It's that it just functions better as a chronology of events, rather than a narrative, which, by this point, everyone knows anyway. What's interesting here is just how the author charts the four Beatles' projects, and ties them together, giving their combined history a sense of confusion and tension. This book also delves more deeply into the biting acrimony between Paul and John in ways the polished Anthology and other biographies simply haven't. An essential read? No, but it'll take its place in the canon.

Sandford takes a clear path between the often too visited extremes on McCartney. He writes a clear and engaging book that comes across as honest and insightful. I don't know what predisposition the other reviewers had, this is the best book on Paul to date. Most books on the Beatles clearly bear the authors personal feelings.
The book is not a linear history or a simple American gloss of Paul's life. The "smarts" of this book come in how the material and style both support a better understanding of Paul. This is unfortunate for some reviewers. The book is clearly much greater than the sum of it's chapters. A great read!

The editorial from Publishers Weekly that appears on this site was obviously written by someone who either did not read this book, skimmed it,or half listened to it on tape while driving. Nowhere in his book does Sandford insinuate that McCartney isn't 'profound of character', in fact he goes into detail about the musician's good,and yes, profound character, using many examples. He also is not afraid to show Paul as a flawed human being,capable of pettiness,and fits of temper,if the situation warrants it. I will admit, it took me a year to buy this book. I kept passing it up because I've been burned by Beatle bios in the past, especially a horrible, book by someone named Chet Flippo. Also, I read Sandford's book on Kurt Cobain and I found it biased and unfair. By chance I happened to read an interview in Daytripper Magazine with Mr. Sandford where he reveals that before he started the McCartney project he wasn't a huge fan. He thought McCartney was too cutesy(I'm paraphrasing). However, once he began his research he started to understand the complex dichotomy that is Paul McCartney. In reading this book,it is easy to see that Chris 'gets' Paul McCartney. He understands that everything this man is, is the result of his upbringing. The product of a very close knit,clannish,Liverpool Irish family; a childhood on a council estate where money was very tight,and Mom had to work as well as take care of the family. This shaped his attitude toward women at an early age,and it also explains Paul's legendary feelings about money. Another result of his childhood, is Paul's formidal work ethic, and his insatiable need to improve himself culturally. In the past, in some lesser bios,people have attributed these traits to male chauvinism,stingyness,pushiness, and shallow social climbing. But Sandford knows better. He's definitely done his homework. Sandford also recognizes as most people finally do, that Paul along with Lennon was the driving creative and musical force behind the Beatles,not George I'm afraid,or only John, as some revisionists would have you think. Without BOTH Lennon and McCartney, there would have been no Beatles. The only complaints I have about this book are:1)the writting style: he starts off with a beautiful,vivid,telling of a shining night in the budding musical career of Paul's father,leading the reader right into WWII. Great way to start the book, but he doesn't stay with this style. By the second chapter his writing gets sloppy, and choppy. It also would have been nice if he would explain what such Liverpool expressions like "baccy", and "wotcher" mean. How about a chart or something? He also has a habit of only giving you a little bit of info as soon as he gets to a juicy, personal part. ie: who exactly IS Judy Flanders? She seems to be the (underage?) girl who was caught in Paul's motel room in Milwaukee during the 1964 tour. It seems that Sandford must have interviewed her, although you have to try and guess this, because he then implies that she and Paul seem to have continued their relationship...in England. Did she follow the tour and then move to England to carry on the affair? You get this impression although it is not explained. I'm not into guessing games. If you're going to mention something at all, then go into more detail, or don't even bother. He does the same thing later on when describing a fling with a certain Winona Williams at the Beverly Wilshire in 1968. After their tryst, Williams catches Paul in the lobby with none other than Linda Eastman. Words are exchanged and Paul smooths things over by saying he's "about to become a father"(?)Doesn't make sense.This remark is not explained and it's very confusing. Who's father is he about to become? Linda's unborn child? Since they had only recently consumatted their relationship, how is that possible? Again,this is not explained either. Was this the editor's fault? Very annoying. Also Sandford reveals little about Paul's personal relationships,especially with John. He reverts to the style of those lazy Beatle authors,describing John in ways that make him seem like a nasty,vindictive,jerk who only has jealousy for McCartney. Every biographer worth his salt has gone into detail about the complex,symbiotic relationship between these two. A pairing based on mutual respect,admiration, and love. Chris should have known better. And they did write together after 1964. Why do people keep insisting otherwise when Paul has described their writing sessions many times, song by song, well into 1967? These are the reasons I gave this book only 4 stars. But aside from The Anthology,there are really almost no true Beatle bios that would warrant 5 stars. There is always something wrong with them. I'm not talking about the marvelous books about their music. I'm talking about the bios on their lives. These always seem to come up short. Anyway this book is still worth getting because it is one of the better ones.