Book Review: Lennon And McCartney - Together Alone: A Critical Discography Of Their Solo Work by John Blaney
Published April 23, 2007
Ever since The Beatles' breakup in 1970, fans have been split into two camps: John People and Paul People. John People point to Lennon's autobiographical songs and political idealism while Paul People revel in McCartney's songwriting craft and innate melodic gifts.
Another entry in the "What took so long for someone to do this?" category, John Blaney's Lennon and McCartney - Together Alone: A Critical Discography Of Their Solo Work will undoubtedly please both factions. Lovingly and exhaustively researched, Together Alone looks exclusively at the solo careers of the two ex-Beatles. Beginning with McCartney's soundtrack for the 1966 film The Family Way and Lennon's controversial Unfinished Music No. 1: Two Virgins album in 1968, the 304-page book compiles information on everything Lennon and McCartney have recorded up to the present, including one-offs, compilations and Lennon's posthumous releases.
Blaney leaves no stone unturned as he seeks out the stories behind the songs. Gathering information from books, websites and interviews, he presents the commercial and artistic highs and lows of both artists, giving the reader a critique of virtually every track, and describing what was going on in their respective lives at the time, Lennon's immigration issues and "Lost Weekend," McCartney's difficulty in handling the Beatles' legacy, and his eventual acceptance of it as a top concert attraction over the past 37 years.
And for the ultimate collector, data regarding every method of release (packaging differences between U.S., U.K. and Japanese versions, limited-edition picture discs, 12-inch singles) is given, as is a complete discography and a listing of other artists on whose records they appear.
By providing all this information in one source, Blaney combines the best aspects of two essential Beatles books, Mark Lewisohn's The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions and Ian MacDonald's Revolution In The Head. With Lennon And McCartney - Together Alone: A Critical Discography Of Their Solo Work, John Blaney may have added one more book to that exclusive list.
- Book Review: Lennon And McCartney - Together Alone: A Critical Discography Of Their Solo Work by John Blaney
- Published: April 23, 2007
- Type: Review
- Section: Books
- Filed Under: Music: Rock, Music: Pop, Culture: Arts, Books: Reference, Books: Nonfiction, Books: Entertainment, Books: Biography
- Writer: Dave Lifton
- Dave Lifton's BC Writer page
- Dave Lifton's personal site
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Comments on this articleComments
You're right. You can't compare the two, and what I love about this book is that it doesn't. In his critiques I didn't detect a bias towards one or the other.
Your point about McCartney's activism is well-taken. I think the difference is that Lennon's was directed almost entirely towards ending the war, which plenty of people can get behind. Animal rights don't necessarily have the same cache.
That said, I should have pointed out in my review that the book does bring light to the many, many times McCartney has appeared on record for charity. Stuff like the Concerts For The Peoples Of Kampuchea that have been forgotten over the years.
And Pete Best People are just wrong. The release of the songs on the Decca audition confirm that he was crap.
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Tell me about it - there's even Ringo people vs. Pete (Best) people.
And then there's the converts - I myself would've been counted in the John faction for many years, but starting at about Run Devil Run I've slowly been drawn by Paul's writing skills and natural ability as mentioned in the article.
In the end, it's probably not fair to compare the two: after all, John hasn't written anything for a long time. On the other hand, he didn't make mostly forgettable (some might suggest a better adjective might be vapid or even terrible) music for a large chunk of his solo career. And Paul eventually paralleled John's peace activism with his save the seals trip to Canada amongst other activist stands.
(Aside: but why is John remembered through rose colored glasses for acitivities like the love-in press conference, while Paul & his wife - what happened there? the seal tried to bite them or something?)
Whatever. Try to enjoy the best of each of them, both together & apart is the way I think I'd call it. Having said that, the book looks like it will be interesting to Beatlenuts and people interested in the songwriting process in general.