"Where the Music Had to Go: How Bob Dylan and the Beatles Changed Each Other—and the World": https://www.amazon.com/dp/1668075563?lv=shuf&channelId=500&plpRedirect=mhFallback There's very little new information in this book, but that does not mean it's not worth reading. Unlike that new Stones book you see reviewed positively everywhere. The publisher asked me if I wanted a copy, I was intrigued from the very first page, but as I'm reading I'm wondering...HOW DOES HE KNOW THAT! Mick and Keith as late teenagers, on a train... Then it occurs to me he got the information from previous writing, since the Glimmer Twins refused to talk to him. WHO IS THIS GUY? So I research and read he wrote a book about Led Zeppelin. How come I've never heard of it? Everybody knows "Hammer of the Gods," people foam at the mouth for new Zeppelin material. But this author released his book to crickets and I'm supposed to read his compilation of previous Stones anecdotes? Not me. Not for 700 pages, not while these guys are still alive and testifying. Have you seen any of the Mick Jagger clips on TikTok? He's promoting the new album and to pique our interest he's testifying about all kinds of stuff we want to know more about. Like Nicky Hopkins. He finally reveals that Nicky composed and played the intro to "She's a Rainbow," talks about working with the piano player, his creative process, Mick says that prior to meeting Nicky he didn't even know there was such a thing as an electric piano. Now at this late date, there's reams of writing on the Beatles, Dylan and the Stones. And there might be some people who've read all of it, but I haven't. I'm not that much of a completist. Which means there is info in this Dylan/Beatles book that I did not know. As for original material? There's a short interview with Paul McCartney at the end, but this is a cut and paste job too. Almost an academic treatise. However, unlike the Stones book, there's an underlying thesis, the ways in which Dylan and the Beatles interacted with each other and influenced each other. And I'll say the author makes his point, there were more points of connection than I thought. And he made me think...he posits that "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away" was Dylan-influenced. He says that it was Dylan who got the boys to veer away from love songs and write about life. And you'll learn a bit about the Beatles. Most interesting was John's peccadillos, especially with actress/singer Alma Cogan, who I'd never even heard of! He hated her, but when he became successful and met her... He was married and living with Cynthia, but he was stepping out. And there's an affair at a party, sex behind closed doors that initiates the Lost Weekend... That may be common knowledge, but I did not know it. This casts that period in a new light, for me anyway. Yoko was pissed about this dalliance! Then again, Lennon had a long history of making pronouncements and going against them vociferously just a few years later. Pledging fealty to Yoko, and then stepping out. Paying fealty to Jesus and then retracting it. And with it all laid out here, you can see how many potholes John hit in his solo career, makes you think he needed the other three. Also, the author gained credibility by saying the true solo debut, "John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band," might have gotten good reviews, but it was a commercial stiff. Unlike "All Things Must Pass," it was released after Thanksgiving, and never quite recovered from that late launch. People were overwhelmed with George's work and Stephen Stills's solo debut and the breakthrough of Elton John, a naked album sans single had a rough time in the marketplace. As for George... In retrospect, he had the closest connection with Dylan. Stayed at his house in Bearsville, they were buddies, the groundwork for the Traveling Wilburys is laid out quite well here. But really, you want to read this book to discover the derivation of so many of Dylan's legendary songs. They may have been new to you, but they had history, "Subterranean Homesick Blues" was based on the Chuck Berry song, "Too Much Monkey Business." Dylan just didn't come up with this stuff out of thin air. And all these guys had egos. Which were easily bruised, they were competing, it was not kumbaya. And they were definitely paying attention to each other. And then there's Dylan's "Fourth Time Around," a direct lift of "Norwegian Wood" as payback for John ripping him off, or so Bob thought. And they're all young renegades, pushing for success, but when they get it they become thinkers and they're questioning their paths, contemplating where they're going and what effect it will have. So you will certainly be informed of the connections and influences, but still some of the details, which are cobbled together from other writings, detailed in the notes at the back of the book, are fascinating. Dylan making his way to the Beatles' hotel, dealing with the throngs. And the 1966 tour...the Beatles didn't go clean. Once again, the myth is that the Beatles did boffo at the b.o. until they retired from the stage, this was not true. There were ups and downs, but they soldiered on in the studio. And Paul McCartney sends Dylan a note about an episode of his XM "Theme Time Radio" show... These guys were paying attention to each other. And even Paul is anxious about leaning on Bob, knowing him, but how well exactly? There are all these little scenes, that have obviously been portrayed previously, but I didn't know the details. About Bob recovering from the motorcycle accident at a doctor friend's house... And the more time goes by, the more mortal these guys appear. Dylan wonders if his hold on the hit parade is over. Jeff Lynne modernizes George's sound for the eighties. So, once again, this book is really not breaking new ground except in the delineation of the author's concept. Showing how the two acts crossed paths and influenced each other. But I did not know that Bob Dylan joined a public tour group to go to John Lennon's house. There are all these little tidbits that if you're a Dylanologist, a reader of the Lewisohn books, you might know, but if you haven't made that deep a dive, you'll learn things. It's easy to die young and become and stay a legend. But how do you continue to live, in the public eye all the time, knowing that the odds of equaling your commercial peak are probably behind you? That is addressed too. So if you have an interest in this topic, the comparing and contrasting of these two acts, you'll like this book. Then again, there's more reportage of chance meetings than pure analysis, then again, maybe i's' better that way, you can draw your own inferences and conclusions. It's not a hard read and you can put it down and pick it back up, but what makes it fun is that you know all these songs, they play in your head as you read... And therefore the experience is fulfilling. -- Visit the archive: http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/ -- Listen to the podcast: -iHeart: https://ihr.fm/2Gi5PFj -Apple: https://apple.co/2ndmpvp -- http://www.twitter.com/lefsetz -- If you would like to subscribe to the LefsetzLetter, http://www.lefsetz.com/lists/?p=subscribe&id=1 If you do not want to receive any more LefsetzLetters, http://lefsetz.com/lists/?p=unsubscribe&uid=0eecea7b60b461717065cbde887c8e25 To change your email address http://lefsetz.com/lists/?p=preferences&uid=0eecea7b60b461717065cbde887c8e25
