Book Review: John and Paul

The Beatles shook the world to its core in the 1960’s and, to this day, new generations continue to fall in love with their songs and their story. At the heart of this phenomenon lies the dynamic between John Lennon and Paul McCartney. Few other musical partnerships have been rooted in such a deep, intense and complicated personal relationship.

John and Paul’s relationship was defined by its complexity: compulsive, tender and tempestuous; full of longing, riven by jealousy. Like the band, their relationship was always in motion, never in equilibrium for long. John & Paul traces its twists and turns and reveals how these shifts manifested themselves in the music. The two of them shared a private language, rooted in the stories, comedy and songs they both loved as teenagers, and later, in the lyrics of Beatles songs.

Paul McCartney - Give My Regards to Broad Street

Today (October 22nd) marks the thirtieth anniversary of Give My Regards to Broad Street, the soundtrack album to the film of the same name starring Paul McCartney. While the film did not fare well, the album was big across the globe. It went to number 25 in Germany and New Zealand, number 24 in the Netherlands, number 23 in Canada, number 21 on the US Billboard Album chart (with eighteen weeks total on the chart), number 15 in Italy, number 10 in Australia, number 9 in Sweden, number 6 in Japan, number 4 in Norway and Spain, and number 1 in the UK.

The Everly Brothers - EB 84

This month marks the thirtieth anniversary of EB 84, the first studio album from Don and Phil Everly after an eleven year hiatus. This 1984 release went to number 90 in Canada, number 38 on the US Billboard Album chart (with seventeen weeks total on the chart), number 36 in the UK and number 24 on the US Billboard Country chart.

Paul McCartney - Pipes of Peace

Following 1982’s Tug of War (click here for that review), Paul McCartney released his fifth solo studio album Pipes of Peace on October 31st of 1983. Today, we will look at it to mark its thirtieth anniversary.

The multi-platinum album charted well across the globe. It reached number 38 in New Zealand, number 20 in Germany, number 15 on the US Billboard Album chart, number 13 in France, number 11 in the Netherlands, number 9 in Australia, number 5 in Japan, number 4 in Sweden and the UK, and number 1 in Norway.

Michael Jackson - Thriller (30th anniversary)

Today (November 30th) marks the thirtieth anniversary of Thriller, the sixth solo album by legendary American R&B star Michael Jackson.

This record was a number 1 seller is so many countries (Australia, Austria, Canada, France, Italy, Japan, Switzerland, the UK and the US). It has gone multi-Platinum the world over as well.

For my track by track full review, please click here.

Paul McCartney - Tug of War

Today (April 26th) marks the 30th anniversary of the release of Paul McCartney’s fourth solo studio album, the first solo album since the end of the band Wings in April of the previous year.

Tug of War was a chart topping album in a number of countries. It went to number 1 in the UK, Norway, the Netherlands, Sweden, and Japan and in the US. It was nominated for the Grammy Award for Album of the Year and earned McCartney an American Music Award nomination for Favorite Pop/Rock Male Artist.

DVD: The Love We Make

Just released on DVD is The Love We Make, a documentary film directed by Albert Maysles and Bradley Kaplan. This ninety-four minute narrative follows Paul McCartney's activities and encounters during the days post-September 11, 2011 in New York City.

From the introduction, we learn that McCartney was on a jet waiting on the tarmac to take off when the 9/11 attacks occurred. The flight was postponed and he got to feel first hand what the great city was going through during those chaotic and emotional times.

The Beatles - Let It Be

Welcome to another edition of Seventies Saturday.

As the 1970’s were just beginning, the Beatles were on the verge of breaking-up. Shortly after the release of their twelfth and final studio album Let It Be, the Fab Four was no more. The record went through a lot of iterations of content between when it was recorded in January of 1969 and its release in May of the following year. With the help of producer Phil Spector, the final content was nailed down.

The album reached number 1 on the charts in the UK, the US, Australia, Canada, Germany and Norway. It has gone multi-platinum many times over.

The Beatles - Meet the Beatles

I was at my parents' house last weekend, thumbing through my older brother's vinyl collection, and ran across our old copy of Meet the Beatles. This was the 1964 US release (the second US album) by the Fab Four and took a lot from their UK release With the Beatles, right down to a slighly different version of front covers. Meet... ranked number 59 on Rolling Stone's "500 Greatest Albums of All Time" list while With... came in at 420. With... does appear on the "1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die" list though.