Customer Reviews

Way Beyond Compare: The Beatles' Recorded Legacy, Volume One, 1957-1965

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There are so many Beatles books out there. Yet there are very few authors who can chronicle the band's recording history with accuracy, authority and style. Mark Lewisohn certainly can. John Winn demonstrates once again that he can as well. Winn earned the absolute trust of the international cadre of rabid Beatles enthusiasts with his first release of Way Beyond Compare. This second edition includes more than a hundred new entries that detail The Beatles' recordings, interviews, concerts, and appearances. His book captures and skillfully details the entire known visual and audio record of the band through 1965. Winn also identifies the release histories and best sources for all these sound recordings and videos. His work deserves a broader audience. Buy it for yourself or give it to the Beatles lovers you know.

Way Beyond Compare is a very thorough description and analysis of all the recordings by and of the Beatles. It includes not only their studio work, but also deals with recordings made for broadcasting and of live performances, interviews, press conferences and even home demo tapes.
If it is "out there", it's in John Winn's book.
For Beatle-collectors, this is an essential read. But, because it is not only very well researched but also nicely written, I can recommend it to the more casual fan as well.

I write essential because I mean it. To start: A foreword from Mark Lewisohn!! But John Winn deserves it and Lewisohn hits the nail on the head in the opening pages. This book is a wonderfully massive undertaking detailing the fascinating story behind each and every television, radio appearance, press conference, studio recording etc (and where you can find them!). I am biased because i'm a huge Beatles fan, but to me it is still a wonder after reading so many books on or about The Beatles that you can be knocked off your feet by a new book that is as fun, fascinating, and historically accurate as one could imagine. In my opinion there are essential Beatles books you should own if you're a hard core fan or casual fan alike:

The Beatles Anthology, by The Beatles
Shout, by Phillip Norman
Many Years From Now, by Barry Miles
The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions, by Mark Lewisohn
and...Way Beyond Compare, by John Winn

I can only hope that volume 2 is as comprehensive and thoroughly enjoyable. Well done! Five Stars

"The Way Beyond Compare" is the definitive, most accurate, thorough, helpful, and authoritative document study of The Beatles' complete output, including official releases, outtakes, live performances, broadcasts, compositional drafts and much more.
It is also the ONLY credible source on spoken-word recordings such as press conferences, interviews, skits and unscripted banter.
John Winn's two-volume set (the other being "That Magic Feeling") is indispensible for any collector of Beatle recordings.
It is highly recommended for anyone wishing to learn more about what the Beatles played, sang and said, and the release history footnotes tells where the material first appeared.
The book is also very entertaining and easily read, and it is as important as books like "The Complete Beatles Chronicle" and "The Beatles Recording Sessions" by Mark Lewisohn.
If you're into collecting Beatles this is a book you cannot do without!

I've been collecting Beatles recordings for years, and read many books about them. Apart from Mark Lewisohn and Doug Sulpy's, this and Vol 2 really stand out. You get details about the recording session outtakes that many of us have collected over the years, as well as concerts, TV shows, BBC radio shows, etc. Painstaking research is obvious here. Well done, John. These books will be part of my reference library, and I hope that you'll continue to update them as the years pass. Hopefully, someday, Apple and EMI will release some new stuff for us to hear!

This meticulously researched book, the first volume of a two volume set, is geared primarily to people who just can't get enough of the Fab Four. Way Beyond Compare details The Beatles' recorded legacy starting in 1957 and concluding with the recording of the Rubber Soul album in 1965. John C. Winn's excellent work offers exhaustive coverage of every Beatles' recording, interview, concert, or other event. Besides providing a wealth of musical analysis, Winn also includes the sources for each including bootlegs. Way Beyond Compare and it's sister volume, That Magic Feeling, make a nice companion piece to Mark Lewisohn's "The Beatles Recording Sessions." Way Beyond Compare is informative and well-written. Reading it will give a lasting impression of the crazy world in which the early Beatles dwelt: an unending parade of appearances, interviews, concerts, tours, and recording dates. Don't go here if you're looking for gossip, photos of the Fab Four, stories about fans, or an analysis of The Beatles and their influence on the culture of the Sixties - this one's for true Beatlemaniacs only.