Tag Archives: beatles

January 1, 2012 · 1:05 pm

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

This 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

Book Review: ‘John Lennon: All I Want is the Truth’ by Elizabeth Partridge

Here’s another late review since this book was published in 2005, but I just heard about ‘John Lennon: All I want is the Truth’ from a new friend who is friends with the author…so I bought a copy to check it out! This book was described to me as ‘a book about John Lennon for teenagers’.

The first thing that will surprise you about ‘John Lennon: All I want is the Truth’ is it’s large size: 10.5′ x 10″. This book looks more like a coffee table book than a book for children. Also the reader will be suprised at the wonderful photographs throughout the book…adding to it’s ‘not so much for children’ style. Don’t get me wrong…this book is absolutely beautiful to look at and page through and would be a standout book for anyone’s Beatles book collection. But (and you knew it was coming)…most Beatles Freaks don’t buy books for their looks. Beatles Freaks want facts…real facts and they want the truth.

The author does a pretty good job of telling John’s story. Some of the facts that seem to be wrong are the usual ones, such as Aunt Mimi ducking and hiding from an air raid while on her way to see John in the hospital on the day he was born. Other than those, which are few and far between, the book is a very easy read with great detail mixed with the gorgeous pictures on every page.

Now, herein lies the problem…sometimes the details are a little much for the younger generation that this book is aimed at. Ms. Partridge brings up such topics as Paul losing his virginity, ‘knee tremblers’, prellies, etc. I don’t know that I would have wanted my tweener or young teenager reading these details even if it is about the Fab Four. My opinion (and it is just that…mine) is that this book would be great for anyone over the age of 15.

This book is available on Amazon and there are some great deals for it on Half.com.

So there you have it…big, beautiful, well-written, though sometimes erroneously, book about the life of John Lennon that would look great in your collection and everyone will enjoy the great pictures!

This brings me to a very difficult decision on what to rate this book, but since this book did win a BCCB BLUE RIBBON NONFICTION BOOK AWARD and a 2006 Michael L. Printz Award, I’m going to bump my rating up to:

I rate this book: 3 out of 4 Beetles

2 Comments

Filed under Beatles books, John Lennon, reviews

Tagged as beatles, biography, children's book, Elizabeth Partridge, John Lennon

October 21, 2011 · 1:40 pm

Book Review: The Baffled Beatlemaniac Caper by Sally Carpenter

What a delight this book was to read! I had seen this book mentioned on BeatlesNews.com and decided to find the author and ask for a review copy. Ms. Carpenter said she’d contact her publisher about getting a copy to me, but after several weeks my mailbox was still empty, so I just bought my own. I prefer buying my own copies to review anyway so I don’t feel obligated to the authors/bands/producers.

Though not really a Beatle book, this fictitious murder mystery takes place in 1993 at a Beatles convention in southern Indiana. When a member of the local Beatles tribute band is murdered, Sandy Fairfax becomes suspect #1 in the eyes of the local police. Sandy is a childhood TV star turned popstar in the 70’s. Pulling from his four years on TV as Buddy Brave, Boy Sleuth, Sandy sets out to clear his name and find the real killer.

This is author Sally Carpenter’s first book in her ‘Sandy Fairfax Teen Idol Mystery Series’ and I think she’s done a great job depicting the nuances of a Beatles fan convention. Throughout the book, we Beatles fans will find many similarities to the well-known Fest for Beatles Fans that take place every year in NY and Chicago. In fact, Ms. Carpenter even mentions Mr. Lapidos’ conventions in her book. Another nice touch is the chapters are named for Beatles songs and Beatles lyrics are hidden within the text of the book.

I find this book to be a great little easy and leisurely read. I only wish Ms. Carpenter were going to write more stories with the Beatles as a theme.

By the time I was halfway through this book, my review copy showed up in the mail! So, I’d like to share this copy with my readers. Anyone posting a comment in the comments section of this post will be entered to win a copy of ‘The Baffled Beatlemaniac Caper’! Contest entries will only be accepted until 11:59 pm on Saturday, October 29, 2011. I will use the random number generator at Random.org to pick the winner and post it on Sunday, October 30th. Good Luck!

You can read another review of this book and an interview with the author here.

This book is available on Amazon.com.

I rate this book: 3 out of 4 Beetles

17 Comments

Filed under Beatles books, Fan Fiction, Uncategorized

Tagged as Beatlemaniac, beatles, beatles convention, beatles fest, fiction, Sally Carpenter, Sandy

October 16, 2011 · 8:40 am

Upcoming Beatles Documentary

I’m not going to sugarcoat this…this post is going to be a plea for help! This project has just 26 days left to be financed or the entire deal will fall through…and as Beatles Freaks, I just can’t IMAGINE any of us letting that happen.

This is about Freda Kelly, The Beatles’ secretary from the early Cavern Club days when they were playing to audiences of 30 people at lunchtime, all the way through their years of international popularity and stardom, and until they eventually broke up in 1970. Freda was only one of a handful of employees for The Beatles who lasted for the entire “Beatles Era.”

Freda has kept quiet all these years and is only now starting to come forward and tell her stories about all those years ago with the Fab Four. She wants her grandchildren to know what their grandmother did in her youth…and what a great story she must have to tell. I know I want to hear about it.

In order to make her documentary, the filmmakers must raise $50,000 by November 12, 2011 at 2:59 am. Currently, the total donated is $13,390 from 117 donors.

So, let me break this down for you: If the next 7,324 fans gave just $5 to this cause, they could make this film! And you can’t tell me that they aren’t 7,324 Beatles Freaks out there that are dying to hear the inside stories from Freda! You can give more if you’d like…you can give less…that’s up to you. But I believe that we are capable of raising this money in the next 26 days. And there are bonuses…such as, if you give $25, you will get a copy of the DVD when it’s made (there are more gifts for different donation levels, but I thought this was the most enticing for those with limited income).

All together now….come together, right now…

Donate here: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1215635909/good-ol-freda

Please share this post on Twitter, Facebook and other social media to help this cause.

Book Review: Paul is Undead by Alan Goldsher

Paul is Undead A 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

3 Comments

Filed under Beatles books, Beatles-freak, Fan Fiction, George Harrison, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, reviews, Ringo Starr

Tagged as beatles, beatles books., beatles reviews, books, George Harrison, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, reviews, Ringo Starr, yoko ono

September 19, 2011 · 6:51 am

Movie Review: Paul McCartney Really Is Dead

My 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

4 Comments

Filed under Beatles-freak, Documentary, mocumentary, movies, Paul McCartney, reviews

Tagged as beatles, beatles reviews, George Harrison, John Lennon, movie review, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr

September 6, 2011 · 2:37 pm

Movie Review: The Love We Make (Documentary)

I have the honor of getting an advance copy of Paul McCartney’s 9/11 documentary’The Love We Make’. This movie will debut on Showtime on September 10th.

This film isn’t what I thought it was going to be. Done in black & white, the camera follows Paul in New York City in his travels from October 11, 2001 to October 23, 2001 and his day-to-day dealings to organize and prepare for The Concert for New York, a benefit concert that was held on October 20, 2001. If you were expecting a 90 minute film on Paul’s reaction to 9/11, then you will be truly disappointed. If you’re a McCartney fan that wants to see what it’s like to be Sir Paul, then this film is for you.

During TV and radio interviews leading up to the concert, Paul touches on issues dealing with how he’s dealt with grief in his life, how he deals with the conflict of being a pacifist after the devastation of 9/11 and how he came to the realization that he needed to do something while sitting in a plane on the tarmac watching the twin towers burn.

Mixed in with the interviews are Paul and his band rehearsing for The Concert for New York with many guest cameos as Paul discusses debuting his new song, “Freedom” for the first time at the show. Celebrities to watch for in this documentary: Ozzy Osbourne, Howard Stern, Barbara Walters, Pete Townsend, Bill Clinton, Harrison Ford, Leonardo DiCaprio and Jim Carey…along with many more.

There are moments when Paul reminisces about the days with the Beatles and is even asked at one point, “Wouldn’t this be a perfect opportunity for the remaining Beatles to get back together”. (Watch the movie for the answer!) And it was interesting to see Paul once again trying to outrun his fans in NYC.

Though not a true post 9/11 documentary, I believe this is a must see for more than just McCartney fans. There are moments that will just give you goosebumps.

Check the Showtime website for their multiple scheduled airtimes over the next week…you won’t want to miss this! This movie will also be available On-Demand starting September 11th.

On December 6, 2011, this documentary became available on DVD and Blu-Ray.

So how would I rate a documentary by an actual Beatle? You’d be crazy if you think I’d give it anything less than…

I rate this movie: 4 out of 4 Beetles

10 Comments

Filed under movies, Paul McCartney, reviews, Uncategorized

Tagged as 9/11, Beatle concerts, beatles, concerts, movie, movie review, NYC, Paul McCartney, showtime, The Love We Make

August 19, 2011 · 3:30 pm

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

: 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

Book Review: A Date With A Beatle by Judith Kristen

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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Filed under Beatles books, Beatles-freak, George Harrison, music, reviews

Tagged as Beatle concerts, beatles, beatles books., Beatles Fan, beatles reviews, books, Ed Sullivan, George Harrison, Judith Kristen

June 1, 2011 · 9:47 am

EP Review: ‘Priming the Pride’ by Such As Us

Early last month, I got an interesting email in my inbox from Maureen Shames, Sid Bernstein’s former publicist (Sid Bernstein is the promoter that brought the Beatles to America). She emailed me a promotion package on a new band, Such As Us, that she’s representing along with Sid. This neo-folk-rock band made my spidey-senses tingle so I offered to review their new EP if she’d send me a copy.

“Priming the Pride” is a four song EP that took me back to the folk songs of the 60’s…seriously! This band conjured up images of Woodstock and folk festivals old and new. This is the music that makes you want to spread out a blanket on the lawn and mellow out. And to stay true to the form of the 60’s folk era, these songs come along with a messages.

The only thing I believe is lacking, is that these songs could probably use a little more producing…but would it really be a folk album if all the edges were smoothed over?

I gotta say…I honestly look forward to hearing this band’s upcoming CD release – to be release Summer 2011. Their music relaxes me…in the way that Peter, Paul and Mary’s Puff the Magic Dragon did when I was a child.

For anyone in the NYC area, you’ll have the opportunity to see this band live tonight (June 1, 2011) at Patsy’s Restaurant (see image to the left).

For more information on Such As US or to listen to their EP, go to www.facebook.com/SuchAsUs.

I rate this EP: 3 out of 4 Beetles