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Product Description
Review
‘The best Beatles book since Revolution in the Head. Thumbs up’ Classic Rock
‘As an exhaustive account of McCartney’s life, FAB is unparalleled.’ Q Magazine
‘The definitive take on an extraordinary career’ Record Collector
‘Intrigues all the way through’ The Times
‘Difficult to put down’ Mojo
Product Description
The living embodiment of The Beatles and a musical juggernaut without parallel, Paul McCartney is undoubtedly the patriarch of pop. In this authoritative biography, acclaimed author and journalist Howard Sounes creates the most accurate and extensive profile of McCartney ever built, leaving no stone unturned, and no shadow unexplored.
He is the torch-bearer of the Beatles – the greatest band in pop – and one of the most closely studied stars in show business. But surprises and secrets still linger in the life of Sir Paul McCartney.
In FAB, his full story is told for the first time.
Acclaimed author Howard Sounes spent more than two years investigating every aspect of Sir Paul’s life and work, including interviewing over 200 people. The result is the richest and more comprehensive biography of McCartney ever written.
Uniquely, FAB pays equal attention to the story of Paul McCartney both in the Beatles and post-Beatles, creating a unique narrative spanning the arc of the artist’s life. FAB culminates in the sensational human story of Sir Paul’s calamitous marriage to Heather Mills, which is fully revealed for the first time. Sounes proves a judicious critic of the music of an iconic star while also delivering a superb psychological portrait of the man.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
The Paul McCartney story involves a lot of silly love songs, kids, marriage, stability and guarded emotions. It has also been told many times before. This is unpromising material for a writer, but Howard Sounes is a skilful biographer who manages to make the anecdotes of minor aquaintances sparkle while retelling familiar events. His objective seems to be to paint a less attractive picture than the official biog Many Years From Now. So we get Paul the greedy lech, the drunk, the brat and the writer of banal lyrics. More damningly we get a good explanation of Paul's inability to organise and brief those who work alongside him properly, which explains the fiascos of the Magical Mystery Tour, Let It Be, the walk-outs by numerous members of Wings and Give My Regards To Broad Street. For balance, Sounes does not spare the occasional awful behaviour of John Lennon and gives praise where it is much deserved.
22 of 25 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I'm a little ambivalent about this book. I didn't like its style: I felt the author was trying too hard to sound like an 'insider' at times: I can tolerate calling Ringo Starr 'Richie,' but addressing Linda McCartney 'Lin' struck me as a bit, well, overly intimate, and referring repeatedly to The Beatles' colleague Tony Bramwell as 'Measels' Bramwell (just because, as far as I can tell, John Lennon once used the nickname) seems far too forced. I'm surprised the author didn't call Brian Epstein 'Eppy'! A biographer is surely wise to maintain a certain distance, rather than 'go native' like this.
Some of the writing also seems to strain too hard at times like a Dad trying to dance in a trendy fashion: for example, 'Lin dug rock 'n' roll...' "DUG"?? Also: sometimes the author works hard to empathise with the various figures, while at other times he sounds so dismissive one wonders if he's really that interested (e.g. Yoko Ono's writing appealed to John Lennon, according to the author, because of his 'weakness for twaddle'). As far as judgments go, the author tends just to make them rather than explain them: The Beatles' single 'Rain' is dismissed as 'weird'; George Harrison apparently only really started writing good songs on Abbey Road (what about 'While My Guitar Gently Weeps'?); etc etc. This stretches on as McCartney goes it alone: the author says some songs are great, some are so-so and some are awful, but he rarely even attempts to explain his reasoning. He just states his opinions as facts.
One more - I admit - very pedantic point: surely a biographer of any member of The Beatles should know that the band is called 'The Beatles,' not 'the Beatles'?
Having moaned, I must say I enjoyed the book's breadth, and, as other reviewers have noted, the second half of the book, dealing with the Wings and solo work, is both enlightening and entertaining. Although the casual style continued, in my eyes, to niggle at times, the detail and insights were plentiful, and, by the end, I felt I had a better understanding of the man and musician, for better and for worse.
Some of the writing also seems to strain too hard at times like a Dad trying to dance in a trendy fashion: for example, 'Lin dug rock 'n' roll...' "DUG"?? Also: sometimes the author works hard to empathise with the various figures, while at other times he sounds so dismissive one wonders if he's really that interested (e.g. Yoko Ono's writing appealed to John Lennon, according to the author, because of his 'weakness for twaddle'). As far as judgments go, the author tends just to make them rather than explain them: The Beatles' single 'Rain' is dismissed as 'weird'; George Harrison apparently only really started writing good songs on Abbey Road (what about 'While My Guitar Gently Weeps'?); etc etc. This stretches on as McCartney goes it alone: the author says some songs are great, some are so-so and some are awful, but he rarely even attempts to explain his reasoning. He just states his opinions as facts.
One more - I admit - very pedantic point: surely a biographer of any member of The Beatles should know that the band is called 'The Beatles,' not 'the Beatles'?
Having moaned, I must say I enjoyed the book's breadth, and, as other reviewers have noted, the second half of the book, dealing with the Wings and solo work, is both enlightening and entertaining. Although the casual style continued, in my eyes, to niggle at times, the detail and insights were plentiful, and, by the end, I felt I had a better understanding of the man and musician, for better and for worse.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is a much-needed book that obviously used up a lot of shoe leather because Sounes managed to get more than 200 people to talk about McCartney, including some of his "relies" (relatives), former producers, bandmates and other collaborators. The post-Beatles section is particularly good and sheds light on the overlooked Wings period.
It's quite dispiriting in some ways because, through first-hand testimony, Sounes confirms the impression of a hugely talented, enquiring and driven young man who drifted into complacency and uninspired domesticity with occasional frustrating flashes of what could have been. Glyn Johns's walkout from the Red Rose Speedway sessions and Hugh Padgham's nightmare during the recording of Press to Play are must-read stories. Padgham recalled that McCartney had little to talk about each day apart from what he'd watched on telly over a spliff the night before.
I do have some quibbles. There are quite a few typos and some facts that seem wrong. (It reads as if Michael Jackson was recording Off the Wall in the early 1980s.) It's obviously not a book for musos but I'd have liked more on McCartney's impact as a bass player and his changing styles and instruments, especially the switch from Hofner to Rickenbacker in 1965. Rain by The Beatles is dismissed as "weird" with no mention of the bassline that blew the minds of bassists everywhere. Similarly, McCartney's fantastic ability as a singer, and the noticeable change in his voice from about 1980 onwards, isn't really touched on.
Mull of Kintyre and Denny Laine's contribution to the song get lots of attention but there's no mention that McCartney bought Laine out of his rights when his former partner was struggling to pay his taxes. I also remember that when Say Say Say didn't get on to Top of the Pops Macca went ballistic at the BBC and got a prime spot to plug it on the Wogan show so that it went back up the charts. This would have been a better example of McCartney wielding power than some incidents mentioned. Rockshow, the film of the Wings Over America tour, which McCartney has refused to release on DVD, doesn't get a mention at all.
It's also written in a Daily Mail style that makes turning the pages easy but is quite unsatisfying. The serialisation in the Mail, which picked on Linda's groupie past and her campaign to nab Paul, was grubby. On the other hand, I don't agree with the critics who say Sounes's interviewees are substandard. Eric Stewart and the obviously irked Hugh Padgham in particular give an insight into how McCartney's solo records often ended up self indulgent messes. The tone is somewhat critical but McCartney is a powerful man who has managed his image and what he is prepared to tell us carefully so new information was probably going to be on the negative side. But Anthony Smith of Magdalen College, Oxford, describes McCartney as a dignified and thoughtful person and there are plenty of examples of Paul's generosity and acts of kindness so there is balance.
All in all, this is a necessary addition to the Beatles book canon and deserves to be read because Sounes has hussled to get stories that do shed light on McCartney.
It's quite dispiriting in some ways because, through first-hand testimony, Sounes confirms the impression of a hugely talented, enquiring and driven young man who drifted into complacency and uninspired domesticity with occasional frustrating flashes of what could have been. Glyn Johns's walkout from the Red Rose Speedway sessions and Hugh Padgham's nightmare during the recording of Press to Play are must-read stories. Padgham recalled that McCartney had little to talk about each day apart from what he'd watched on telly over a spliff the night before.
I do have some quibbles. There are quite a few typos and some facts that seem wrong. (It reads as if Michael Jackson was recording Off the Wall in the early 1980s.) It's obviously not a book for musos but I'd have liked more on McCartney's impact as a bass player and his changing styles and instruments, especially the switch from Hofner to Rickenbacker in 1965. Rain by The Beatles is dismissed as "weird" with no mention of the bassline that blew the minds of bassists everywhere. Similarly, McCartney's fantastic ability as a singer, and the noticeable change in his voice from about 1980 onwards, isn't really touched on.
Mull of Kintyre and Denny Laine's contribution to the song get lots of attention but there's no mention that McCartney bought Laine out of his rights when his former partner was struggling to pay his taxes. I also remember that when Say Say Say didn't get on to Top of the Pops Macca went ballistic at the BBC and got a prime spot to plug it on the Wogan show so that it went back up the charts. This would have been a better example of McCartney wielding power than some incidents mentioned. Rockshow, the film of the Wings Over America tour, which McCartney has refused to release on DVD, doesn't get a mention at all.
It's also written in a Daily Mail style that makes turning the pages easy but is quite unsatisfying. The serialisation in the Mail, which picked on Linda's groupie past and her campaign to nab Paul, was grubby. On the other hand, I don't agree with the critics who say Sounes's interviewees are substandard. Eric Stewart and the obviously irked Hugh Padgham in particular give an insight into how McCartney's solo records often ended up self indulgent messes. The tone is somewhat critical but McCartney is a powerful man who has managed his image and what he is prepared to tell us carefully so new information was probably going to be on the negative side. But Anthony Smith of Magdalen College, Oxford, describes McCartney as a dignified and thoughtful person and there are plenty of examples of Paul's generosity and acts of kindness so there is balance.
All in all, this is a necessary addition to the Beatles book canon and deserves to be read because Sounes has hussled to get stories that do shed light on McCartney.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Fab ish
I am a huge fan of The Beatles and their solo years and i feel that i know alot about the band and their history but it has been a while since i sat down with a biography on them... Read more
Published 26 days ago by Gary Mckenzie
Why write a book about someone you obviously don't like?
This book, whilst engaging in parts is a bit of a puzzle. Ok it's unauthourized so none of Paul's best friends are interviewed and most of it seems to come from 'bit part' players... Read more
Published 2 months ago by RF Moore
Paul McCartney book review.
POSITIVES: The book does give equal space to Macca's Wings / solo years, unlike most which tend to dwell on the Beatles years only. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Harry Boxx
In depth
This is a very readable book. It offers many insights as to what lay beneath those events which, like, icebergs, I was only aware of that which came to prominence at the time.
Published 9 months ago by Itscoldupnorth
A must for any Paul/Beatle fan :)
A very good and detailed biography. Fun to read, a few pics included too. Really worth the money. Would recommend it to anyone :)
Published 10 months ago by Petra Franjic
Best Macca book I have read
I am a massive Beatles/Macca fan.This is simply the best book I have read on the subject because it is by FAR the most informative. Read more
Published 12 months ago by S. J. Blackwood
Print is easier to read (darker) than U.S. printing
This is a very detailed and informative book on Paul McCartney. I ordered the UK version because I found the U.S. printing to be too light.
Published 12 months ago by Jenny Wren
Fab-ish
The first thing that strikes you about this book is the fact that The Beatles are done with a third of the way through. Phew! Read more
Published 12 months ago by Nick
Comprehensive isn't the word
As a huge Bealtes & McCartney fan, I've read pretty much every book going. I've probably read 6 or 7 bio's of Paul including the official one Many years from now but i have to say... Read more
Published 12 months ago by Ciaran Flynn
FAB 4, FAB read
I was dubious about reading this at first, particularly as it is not the authorised biography Fab: An Intimate Life of Paul McCartney, but soon realised that this gave its author... Read more
Published 13 months ago by will
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