Tag Archives: beatles reviews

January 5, 2014 · 11:16 am

Johnny come lately, the new kid in town…

PSU Beatles

“Everybody’s talking
There’s a new kid in town
People started walking
There’s a new kid in town” – Eagles

With the approach of the 50th Anniversary of the Beatles coming to the United States, it seems that new events, festivals and conferences are popping up everywhere to celebrate the occasion.  And though the Fest for Beatles Fans is the biggest fest around, some of the others aren’t to shabby!

One of the biggest events will be at Penn State University in Altoona, PA on the weekend of February 7-9, 2014 and is called ‘It was 50 Years Ago Today: An International Beatles Celebration.’  This three day event isn’t a festival.  It’s a conference.  According to their website, “In addition to panels and presentations, the conference will include film screenings, musical performances, art and photography exhibits, and keynote addresses by leading Beatles critics and musicologists.”

The director of this event is Dr. Kenneth Womack, the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs at PSU Altoona, and the author of: Long and Winding Roads: The Evolving Artistry of the Beatles, The Cambridge Companion to the Beatles, Reading the Beatles: Cultural Studies, Literary Criticism, And the Fab Four and the soon to be released The Beatles Encyclopedia [2 volumes]: Everything Fab Four.

A few of the respected 50+ experts set to appear at this conference are:

Mark Lewisohn – regarded as  one of the world’s leading Beatles authorities, Mark is the author of the NY Times bestseller Tune In: The Beatles: All These Years, Volume 1.

Andy Babiuk – the foremost authority on the equipment used to create the Beatles’ music and the author of Beatles Gear: All the Fab Four’s Instruments from Stage to Studio.  Andy is also a staff consultant to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, OH.

Walter Everett – the author of the Beatles As Musicians book series, Mr. Everett is also a member of the School of Music faculty at the University of Michigan and the author of The Foundations of Rock.

Jude Southerland Kessler – a Beatles expert, author and host of her own radio show, Ms. Kessler is the author of the John Lennon Series.  She has spent nearly 30 years researching John Lennon and the Beatles for her 9 book series., making her a leading expert on the topic of the Fab Four.

Dr. Kit O’Toole – For over 19 years, Dr. O’Toole has written music, concert, and book reviews, interviews, popular culture essays, and technology “how to” articles.  Her work has appeared at: Blogcritics.org, Something Else Reviews, Blinded by Sound, Cinema Sentries, Seattle PI and Beatlefan magazine.

This is definitely set to be one of the most intellectual of all the Beatles events to be held in 2014!  And what’s cool about their registration is that you not only can you sign up for which days you would like to attend, you can add your meals and accommodations to your package as you like!

For more information on this conference, along with a schedule of events & presenters, and registration, check out their website: http://www.altoona.psu.edu/beatles.

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January 1, 2012 · 1:05 pm

Short Story (ebook) Review: ‘Paul McCartney’s Coat and Other Stories’ by Michael White

Paul McCartney's CoatThis holiday, I got myself a Kindle Touch…thanks to the generosity of a friend who gave me an Amazon gift card.  Wanting to put this new device to use immediately, I did a search for ‘Free books beatles’ under Kindle books.  The ebook, ‘Paul McCartney’s Coat and Other Stories’ came up first on a very short list of only 3 books.

Let me first inform my readers that only the Forward is free.  You can get a Sampler for 99 cents, but the entire book is $4.50.  So…I ended up spending $5.49, but I have now learned a valuable lesson on what not to download to my Kindle.

Now for my review of just the first short story in this ebook:

If you’re a fan of short stories and/or fan fiction, you’ll enjoy reading this tall tale about a Beatles fan having a close encounter with the Fab Four at a pub in 1967 and his short ownership of Paul McCartney’s coat that was left behind in the pub and the discovery of Julian Lennon’s drawing  of Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds!

The author, Michael White, gives a footnote at the end of the his story saying that on the original drawing by Julian, the words “Lucy with diamond eyes” were crossed out and the words, “Lucy in the sky with diamonds” were written underneath.  After doing a search on the interent, I couldn’t come up with any confirmation of this…even though it plays a huge part in telling of this story and I found it quite amusing how the author may have taken this fact and turned it into his own story!  (Note: I’d appreciate it if anyone can confirm the story about the original picture.)

The story does contain quite a lot of typos, but I’ve been told this can happen when books are converted to Kindle editions.  The reader may become impatient with several missing quote marks, run-on sentences and other small publishing errors.

Also, I guess one way to get attention for your new book is to put one of the Beatles names in the title or ‘Beatles’ itself.  It got my attention and no, I didn’t read any of the other Mr. White’s other short stories, but I now have them handy in case I find myself waiting at a dentist office or such.

This book is available in it’s full Kindle editon at Amazon.com, but is only available in it’s free edition of the Forward from Barnes and Noble.

Because this story is fan fiction (and I’m not a fan of that genre) and because I felt that the author gets sidetracked on other topics to the point of feeling like he was just adding ‘filler’ to his story:

I rate this story in this book: 2 out of 4 Beetles

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September 23, 2011 · 6:44 pm

Book Review: Paul is Undead by Alan Goldsher

Paul is UndeadA couple of weeks ago, my husband I happened to be in the mall on the last day that our local Borders book store was in business.  All books were 90% off that day and my husband happened to stumble upon this one.  So, I coughed up $1.50 to have something a little off the wall, yet completely on topic to review for my readers.

Let me start by saying that I am not a fan of either fan fiction or zombie genre books or movies.  But the back cover of Paul is Undead: The British Zombie Invasion made me laugh:

Learn the tale behind a spiritual journey that resulted in the dismemberment of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi.  Marvel at the seemingly indestructible quartet’s survival of a fierce attach by Eighth Level Ninja Lord Yoko Ono.  And find out how the boys escaped eternal death at the hands of England’s greatest zombie hunter, Mick Jagger.

I was pleasantly surprised at how often I laughed out loud while reading this book.  The writer seemed to have a real knack at making the boys come to life (or undead) as zombies (though, only 3 of the 4 Beatles are zombies…the 4th is a Ninja).  AND, it would seem that Mr. Goldsher is as big a Beatles freak as the rest of us upon discovery that his story includes all the Quarrymen, Allan Williams, George Martin, Elvis, Geoff Emerick and many other well-known people in the Beatles entourage.  But one can’t help but notice several important people missing, such as Sid Bernstein and Linda McCartney.

Also lacking in this book, written in the style of interviews, is the dynamic of a true Liverpudlian accent.  In fact, the author seems to start out pretty well in the beginning of the book, but the accents seem to go by the wayside at the halfway point.  (Note to Mr. Goldsher – please check out the writings of Jude Southerland Kessler on how to write Beatles dialogue) Not only does the dialogue take a downward spiral…but the entire story begins to spiral out of control as each chapter (written in years) seems to get shorter and shorter as the stories get more bizarre, off topic and filled with more profanity.  I got the impression about midway through the book that Mr. Goldsher got desperate to increase his page count and just added senseless, humorless filler.

As I said, this book started out great and almost changed my mind about fan fiction…but alas, it ended up putting me to sleep on many occasions.  I’m not sure what type of audience the author was hoping to attract or this book would appeal to since some of the details and profanity are too much for the teens that really dig the Eclipse series…and I think true Beatles freaks and baby boomers will find it an insult to their intelligence.

And in the end…you just can’t wait for this book to be done!

I rate this book: 1 out of 4 Beetles

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September 19, 2011 · 6:51 am

Movie Review: Paul McCartney Really Is Dead

Paul McCartney Really Is DeadMy neighbor knows what a huge Beatles fan I am, so he asked me a couple weeks ago if I had seen this movie.  I told him I had heard about it but hadn’t had a chance to watch it.  He said, “It’s not bad…”  Well, I’ll be the judge of that!

Paul McCartney Really Is Dead is listed on the IMDb (International Movie Database) as Documentary/Fantasy/Music.  This should be the first clue that something just isn’t right about this film.  A documentary and fantasy?  I believe we call that a ‘Mockumentary’…which brings to mind images of Spinal Tap or Desperately Seeking Paul McCartney.

The story line of the film is that in 2005, a package from London containing two mini cassettes and recorder showed up at Highway 61 Entertainment’s office.  The package had no return address.   The voice on the tape claims to be none other than George Harrsion, making a confession that Paul McCartney really did die in a car accident in 1966.  (Note: the subtitle of this film is ‘The Last Testament of George Harrison? (yes, with a question mark!))  The voice on the tape then narrates the rest of the film as he explains the circumstances around Paul’s death and the ensuing cover-up.

Believable?  Maybe to the young and the gullible who, unlike us Beatles freaks, haven’t grown up hearing the tall tales of ‘Paul is Dead’.  The movie actually does a pretty good job of putting together all the clues about Paul’s untimely demise that could supposedly be found in the Beatles album covers and lyrics.  And I actually found that part of the movie informative since I had never heard ‘all’ the clues.  But the ability to find this movie entertaining came crashing down when the stories of how ‘Faux Paul’ ended up married to Linda Eastman and Heather Mills were discussed.  At this point, I let out an audible laugh and felt the film became a comedy.

Because of this films ability to show new Beatles fans all the album and lyric ‘clues’ that obsessed fans found to support the tall tale of Paul’s supposed death, I gave this movie a bit of a higher rating.

I rate this movie: 2 out of 4 Beetles

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August 19, 2011 · 3:30 pm

Music Review: ‘Tomorrow Never Knows’ by Shannon her B.A.M.F.s

Shannon MacDonald
Shannon MacDonald

There aren’t too many people in this world that would have the nerve to cover a song by John Lennon.  I’ve watched as contestants on various singing competition shows try it…and it can easily end any attempt at fame.

And so that brings me to the latest attempt – Shannon MacDonald’s Tomorrow Never Knows.  Most people know Shannon as ‘The World’s Greatest Beatles Artist’, a title given to her by the Lord Mayor of Liverpool.  So one has to wonder, why would her first attempt to make her mark in the music industry be covering a Beatles’ song?

The first thing I noticed when I set out to hear this song for the first time is that it’s 7 mins 38 sec in length.  The original version of the song was just 2 mins 57 sec.   But that initial feeling of ‘I’m going to fall asleep before I hear the end…” quickly went away as I found that the song has the magical ability of wrapping around you like a comfortable blanket and taking you to your happy place.  There is an absolutely peace about this cover that gives you that inner reconciliation like meditating on a high mountain top in the warmth of the sun and a gentle breeze gliding across your cheek.

Absolutely, everyone should take a chance and give this song a listen…and come back here to let me know the feeling that it inspired in you.  I think it will truly be a grand experience for anyone.

Shannon‘s cover of ‘Tomorrow Never Knows’ is currently doing a rapid climb up the charts on ReverbNation and is being noticed by many Beatles’ experts and DJ’s across the U.S..

For those inquiring minds – BAMFs = Bad A** Mother F***ers.

The song is available for download on iTunes and Amazon.

The Lennon Examiner – Shelley Germeaux recently interviewed Shannon about her music and this song.  The article is here.

The history behind the writing of the original Beatles version, can be found here.

I rate this song: 4 out of 4 Beetles

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August 12, 2011 · 10:14 am

Book Review: A Date With A Beatle by Judith Kristen

A Date with a Beatle

A Date With A Beatle by Judith Kristen

This was my second attempt at reading A Date With A Beatle.  I had bought the book at the Fest for Beatles Fans in NJ in 2010.  The first time through, I managed to get to page 61 of this 171 page book about a young girl’s attempt to meet George Harrison.  I’ll give my first impression report and in the end…I’ll give my overall impression after actually finishing this book.

I picked up this book after meetin Judith Kristen and her husband at The Fest.  Knowing that the first editions of Jude Southerland Kessler‘s self-published novel on John Lennon now sell for up to $1000, I figured I’d pick up a 1st edition copy of ‘A Date With A Beatle‘ as an investment.  After reading the first 19 very short chapters of this book, I just cringed.  Something just didn’t sit right with me about how a woman could remember such detail after 45 years.  It was then I saw in the front of the book, “This book is partially fictionalized”.  Then it made sense to me that I wasn’t quite sure how much was made up and I felt duped!  I put the book down for over a year.

Last week, I decided to pick this book up again and finally review it, knowing full well that this could turn out really bad for any future dealings with Ms. Kristen or her husband since we’ve been known to be seen in the came circles.

Once again…I struggled.  After only 1o chapters, I felt like this was work, but I championed on…determined to finish and review it.  I tried to anaylize why I was struggling with the way the story was being presented and then it hit me that Judith Kristen is also a children’s book author and I believe that in her own way…she dumbed down this book a bit much.  Or maybe it’s the attempt to write it in her voice as it was when she was 16.  Or maybe it was the over-the-top conversations between her and her friends and police officers.   Finally, I can say I finished it.

I can honestly say that by the her last attempt to meet George Harrison in the story in this book, she had me hooked.  The ending is whitty and will make you smile.  I am glad I read it…and the latest edition has a beautiful new cover from Beatles artist Eric Cash.  I’ve also read that Ms. Kristen has been invited to Beatles Week in Liverpool later this month and then will start a book tour of German where her book has now been published in German.  Best of luck to her!

You can buy her book on Amazon.

I can believe I’m about to say this….but…

I rate this book: 3 out of 4 Beetles

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April 4, 2011 · 10:26 am

CD Review – Beatlesque Three by Alan Bernhoft

Beatlesque Three Beatlesque Three is the third CD by musician/actor Alan Bernhoft.  Alan also works part time as a John Lennon impersonator.

Before breaking into my review of this most recent release, I’ll touch upon my opinions of Alan’s first two attempts at recreating the sound of The Beatles.

 

Beatlesque OneBeatlesque One (which for some reason is missing from my CD collection) was/is an amazing collection of songs that if you’re not paying close enough attention, will make you look up and wonder if you’re listening to some previously unreleased songs from the early days of the Fab Four.  Alan recreates the sound so well, that six of his songs were featured in the mock-umentary “Desperately Seeking Paul McCartney”.  The movie’s director/producer, Marc Cushman remarked about his choice of songwriters, “We couldn’t afford The Beatles’ music, so we got the next best thing- Alan Bernhoft”

Beatlesque TooBeatlesque Two was a bit of a disappointment.  The album starts out great, but soon becomes tedious and monotone.  The lyrics are predictable and one song seems to blend right into the next with no diversity within the album.  It almost seems as if Mr. Bernhoft rushed to make this one.

This brings us back to Beatleseque Three. Alan Bernhoft seems to have gotten his groove back with this album.  It’s a fun album with a great opening song “Sunny Sky”.  Other standout songs are “Bored” and “Chun Li”.  This entire collection of songs once again highlights Alan’s ability to write a full/complete album of great tunes that brings its listener back to a bygone era of fun, peace and love.  And the production is superb!  My fingers are crossed that he will be able to keep up the good work from this and his first album to write Beatlesque Four.

I rate this CD: 3 out of 4 Beetles

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August 18, 2010 · 1:04 pm

Book Review – The Last Days of John Lennon

The Last Days of John Lennon – A Personal Memoir : by Frederic Seaman

Okay, so I’m a bit behind on my reading (this book was published in 1991), but I’m not like a lot of Beatles freaks…I don’t feel the need to know every detail of the Fab Four’s lives to know that they were the greatest band the world has ever known.  I have to admit that I never heard of the conspiracy theories on John Lennon’s death until about 6 months ago.  This is one of the books that was on the recommended reading list of a friend that turned me on to this alternative premise as to how/why Lennon was murdered.

The author of this book, Frederic Seaman had the dream job of many Beatles’ fans around the world – he was John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s personal assistant.  And being the smart boy that he was, Frederic kept personal journals on the daily ins and outs and going-ons in the Lennono world.

I can honestly say that this book held my interest.  It’s definitely a different read than some of the other Lennon bios that I’ve read like: Larry Kane’s Lennon Revealed, Cynthia Lennon’s John and May Pang’s Loving John.  It also brought up a lot of questions in my mind as to who was the real John Lennon in those two years leading up to his murder.  Frederic Seaman’s book paints a very scary portrait of a man that Beatles fans never knew existed and an even scarier image of exactly who Yoko Ono was/is.

Would I recommend this book?  That depends on how you feel about Lennon’s image.  If you’re a diehard fan that wants to know every detail and read every word every written about the Beatles, then yeah…read the book. I will tell you though that this book came to me with a warning from a friend that those who follow believe the theory that there was a conspiracy to kill John Lennon have been the victims of some pretty bizarre events.

For me though, knowing this all information doesn’t help in bringing John Lennon back no matter what the circumstances were behind his death.  Nor will the next book on my reading list – Who Killed John Lennon? by Fenton Bresler.

Until the next time…R.I.P. John

Rated: 2 out of 4 Beetles


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February 10, 2010 · 1:04 pm

Kidz Bop Sings The Beatles

Kidz Bop Sings The Beatles

I’m almost embarrassed to make this my first review, but this CD has been sitting on my to-do pile since I ordered it last month and with it snowing outside, I decided to pop it into my computer and give it a listen while I surf and work.

My first thought is – the instrumental part is very true to the Beatles music. My second thought is – Why?! Why would they put these voices over the music? This album is a mix of what sounds like children’s and women’s voices singing: Can’t buy me love, Here comes the sun, All you need is love, etc. I’ve heard cover bands do better versions of these songs. And when you look at the play list, you realize that there are no songs with questionable lyrics that might be too much young ears and vocabularies.

So all in all…I give this album 1 out of 4 beetles. Go out and buy your children the real thing. Please don’t poison their impression of the Beatles with this worthless collection of covers.

And now…I can get it off my desk!
Rated: 1 out of 4 Beetles Score: 1 out of 4 Beetles

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January 31, 2010 · 8:09 am

An Intro to Beatles-Freak’s reviews

Good Morning, Good Morning…

I know what you’re all asking yourselves.  “Why?  Why are you reviewing pseudo and faux Beatles?”.

That’s a very good question…and believe you me, I’m still asking myself the same question, “Why am I doing this?!”

The best explanation I can give is this:  The Beatles, whether solo or a group, whether presently or in the past, have been reviewed to death!  Those poor boys couldn’t take a shite without someone telling us all what it looked and smelled like.  I really don’t think anyone, including myself, wants another Beatles review blogger.  If you love the Beatles or are a collector, then you already listen to and buy everything they’ve made, recorded or created.  You don’t need me to tell you whether it’s good or not.

Now some Beatles fans are purists.  These are the folks that don’t want to hear remakes or tribute bands performing covers of the songs they love.  In fact, my father-in-law has this same attitude about U.S. national anthem.  It is to be performed exactly as it was written with no room for artistic license.  And god help the popstar that performs the anthem at a major sporting event should they try to get creative.  And I can respect the opinion of the Beatles purists, but it’s not going to stop people from performing their songs.  Why?  Well, from what I’ve heard from many musicians is that the Lennon/McCartney catalog is “fun”.  Just like we listeners are drawn to the Fab Four’s sound, musicians are drawn to playing their songs.

I’m also not a real fan of the people who have worked with, slept with and done business with the Beatles that have all decided that they need to cash in by writing books.  My dislike for this behavior is almost personal – it’s all TMI (too much information) for me.  It’s the music that turns me on, not every little detail of their lives.  And whether it’s the Beatles or sports, I get a bad taste in my mouth when I encounter so-called “experts” and they want to show off their absolute-no-one-knows-more-than-me knowledge of a topic.

This brings me back to the big question – “Why are you doing this?!”  Because if there must be authors and musicians who are going to try to cash in on The Beatles, then I want to try to help others separate the ‘real’ from the ‘hacks’.

“And in the end
The love you take
Is equal to the love you make.”

I hope you enjoy my reviews.

/J

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