A Review of Rob Sheffield's "Dreaming the Beatles"

Note: I had this in mind as the anniversary of John Lennon's death approached, but I never thought it would coincide with the poem I left here. A nice touch, doncha think? ;)

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Is Rob Sheffield's book the best Beatles book of all time?

I thank Mashable for the quote:

"This is the best book about the Beatles ever written."

But I have to wonder about that...

I have read at least a dozen books either about the band and their solo lives and careers. I have a book that covers their recording sessions, and another one that contains photographs of the scraps of paper where their lyrics were captured and shared. I have seen the films, heard plenty of interviews, and attempted to even play their work.

Yes, I'm still a fan...

But is this the best book on the band?

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It begins with a prelude about Ringo’s wife, Maureen (believe me, it works) and ends with a postlude about John asking that lady’s husband to give him “the courage to come screaming in” on a track (it was “Don’t Let Me Down” – an interesting lesson in courage and what the band did for each other).

It also has the usual suspected subjects, meaning sections that all fans will want to read and compare notes over: “Beatles or Stones?”, “The Cover of Abbey Road”, individual chapters on almost every key album and known and unknown song, the behaviour of fans (“The Scream”), “The Importance of Being Ringo”…

Wait, what?

Yeah, yeah, yeah…they have a whole Ringo chapter, a George one (“The Mystery Inside of George”), and my favourite Paul chapter title of any book I’ve ever read on the band (“Paul Is a Concept by Which We Measure Our Pain”). There is no specific chapter for John alone, but he is the spirit behind the scenes of every chapter here. We learn more about him through Sheffield’s non-linear tracing of the passage of time than we do through certain other biographies of the band. For that alone, this is a treat. As well, the book has laugh out loud moments, such as “[George]…won custody of Dylan in the Beatle divorce”, and a term that I am determined to use one day in general conversation: “Steely Danspalined”. It is an enjoyable and unusual ride, but I am still wondering about my question: is it the best Beatles book ever written?

Well, let me end with this fact I learned for the first time after reading the book…

Fred Kaps was a talented Dutch magician who performed card tricks in white tie and tails and was considered the greatest illusionist of his age. He got his big break on American television when Ed Sullivan decided to put him on his program one Sunday night to perform his miraculous card tricks.

Yeah, yeah, yeah…you know where I’m going with this.

Fred Kaps was the performer who had to follow the Beatles’ debut on the show. The band played “She Loves You”, and then, after Fred was seen being eaten alive with jitters and flop sweat, came back to perform “I Saw Her Standing There” and “I Want to Hold Your Hand”). What makes it even worse is…he taped his performance before the show, and is still heard muttering, “I should have rehearsed this”…as if he knew that history would not be kind to him.

So, 93 million people watched that performance… And no one remembers his name…except Mr. Sheffield, me, you (gentle reader), and anyone who picks up this well-researched and wonderful book. It is one of many stories that I learned for the first time, and one that will entice you to learn more about the influence of the great sonic magicians of the last century.

Yeah, yeah, yeah…

I think I finally have an answer.

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You can find more poems, stories, and articles by Kendall Defoe on my Vocal profile. I complain, argue, provoke and create...just like everybody else.

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