Revolution in the Head: The " Beatles " Records and the Sixties [Import] [Paperback]

Ian MacDonald (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 8, 1998

Full updated edition includes material from 'The Beatles Live at the BBC' and the 'Anthology' series, this book goes to the heart of 'The Beatles' - their records. Ian MacDonald reads their 241 tracks chronologically from their first efforts in 1957 to their final reunion recording of 'Real Love' in 1995. 493 pages/softback. Pimlico. 2003.

Product Details

• Paperback: 493 pages
• Publisher: Pimlico; New Ed edition (October 8, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0712666974
• ISBN-13: 978-0712666978
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.3 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,677,429 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Magical Tour, December 23, 2003

By 

n3_biker (London United Kingdom) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Revolution in the Head: The " Beatles " Records and the Sixties (Paperback)

This wonderful book hasn't left my side since publication in 1998. By far the best Beatles book ever, and likely to remain so, it can be dipped into endlessly for insights into their songs, which form a step-by-step chronological narrative of the group's evolution through the 60s. Macdonald writes as one who clearly loves their music, but he is not reluctant to criticise quite savagely [see Maxwell's Silver Hammer] when he feels it's due, and the balance thus achieved gives a weight to the book which unfettered praise could not have done. Plenty in here to agree and disagree with! And he writes beautifully. Try A Day In The Life or The Long And Winding Road, especially while listening to the songs, and I defy you to remain unmoved! His introduction and conclusion make superb reading. For all those who feel that nothing more can said about the Fabs, read this!
Sadly, Macdonald took his own life in August this year, profundly depressed about the state of the world, while working on a revision of the book following George Harrison's death. Unfortunately we are unlikely to see that, but this book, which places the Beatles' life-enhancing music where it belongs, remains a glowing tribute to him.

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars RIP Ian, September 17, 2003

By 

P. Kendell (Wokingham, England) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Revolution in the Head: The " Beatles " Records and the Sixties (Paperback)

I would like to have able to come here to write a glowing review of this wonderful book. I would; and perhaps I will, at some future date.

Instead I'm here to mourn. Ian Macdonald took his own life on 20th August 2003, at the end of a long battle against depression.

REVOLUTION IN THE HEAD looks at every song the Beatles recorded (with a few exceptions). It looks at the music and the lyrics of the songs and analyses them in a way which will satisfy the musical specialist without scaring off the neophyte. Furthermore, it places each song in the context of the times, and of the individual Beatles as their career progressed. If this sounds dry; it ain't. The book is witty and affectionate; and is infused with a nostalgic regret for times which have passed, and may not ever be regained.

If you love the music of the Beatles, read this book. If you remember the freedom of spirit that characterised the 1960s, read this book. If you weren't alive then, but would like to get some idea of what it was like to live through those times, read this book. Whatever; read it.

1 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best Beatles Book...bar none!, August 8, 2004

By 

Dale (Japan) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Revolution in the Head: The " Beatles " Records and the Sixties (Paperback)

A stunning examination of The Beatles, their music, the sixties, and by implication the state of modern popular music, "Revolution in the Head" is easily the best Beatles book ever published.

Written with an astonishing erudition acquired over his years as a music journailast for New Musical Express and other magazines, as well an obvious love for the music of the Fab Four, Ian MacDonald's book places the Beatles in the appropriate social and cultural context with exactitude,critical acumen and readability.

If you want to know why The Beatles are the most important pop group ever, or wish to reacquaint yourself with their genius, you must read this superb book. Along with Philip Norman's "Shout" and "Mark Lewisohn's" Beatles Sessions, "Revolution in the Head" is an undoubted masterpiece of Beatles scholarship.