 | Revolution in the Head: The Beatles' Records and the Sixties by Ian MacDonald
Buy new: £4.49 / Used from: £5.01 Essential. A persuasive essay on the Beatles' place at the heart of the 1960s, and a fascinating analysis of every one of their tracks.
|
 | The Rough Guide to the "Beatles" (Rough Guide Music Guides) by Chris Ingham
Buy used from: £22.02 Probably the best starting point for any new fan. It also covers all their solo albums in some detail, and has a summary of many of the other books out there.
|
 | The Beatles: 10 Years That Shook the World by Paul Trynka
Buy used from: £19.97 A reprint of loads of Mojo magazine articles, covering everything from the Yellow Submarine animated film to John Lennon's dad. Features some of Ian MacDonald's (see #1) last writing on the band.
|
 | The Songwriting Secrets of the "Beatles" by Dominic Pedler
Buy new: £22.22 / Used from: £20.02 Look beyond the title! A great look at them from a music theory perspective. Starts off accessible, but rapidly advances. Includes an insanely detailed analysis of THAT "A Hard Day's Night" chord...
|
 | The Beatles As Musicians: The Quarry Men through Rubber Soul by Walter Everett
Buy new: £21.84 / Used from: £21.49 The level of music theory it discusses is waaay beyond me, but if you happen to have a degree in music you'll want to check out this highly-regarded book (and its partner "Revolver through Anthology")
|
 | Summer of Love: The Making of Sgt.Pepper by George Martin
Buy used from: £7.41 I'm pretty sure it's ghostwritten :-P but it does contain some great anecdotes about the making of the '67 classic album.
|
 | The "Beatles": The Authorised Biography by Hunter Davies
Buy new: £6.96 / Used from: £2.44 The official biography has a reputation for inaccuracy, but it's still valuable because Hunter Davies was actually THERE during the composition of many Sgt Pepper/MMTour songs
|
 | A Hard Day's Write: The Stories Behind Every Beatles Song by Steve Turner
Buy used from: £13.96 Much of this info's available elsewhere - but he tracked down the girl who inspired "She's Leaving Home"! (Books in the same format covering artists like Björk and Radiohead have since been published)
|
 | The Beatles Anthology by Beatles
Buy used from: £10.00 The official line. Lavishly illustrated and crammed with quotes from the raw interviews done for the Anthology documentary. I can't resist boasting that I got my pristine hardback copy for only £5. :P
|
 | The Lennon Companion by Elizabeth Thomson
Buy used from: £0.58 An eclectic collection of interviews, articles (both positive and negative) and other miscellanea about John's Beatle and solo years.
|
Listmania!
