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nerdyrev's review
4.0
There are lots of books that claim to be the definitive read. There are also lots of books about The Beatles and their transformation and influence on the music scene. Tune In by Mark Lewisohn combines both. This book is exhaustive! This book is also only Volume 1!
Lewisohn looks at a wide variety of sources to create a pretty complete look at the first 5 years of The Beatles. This book is so well researched and well written that I got drawn into the story. While it doesn't read like a novel, which is the usual thing to state, it does read rather well and it isn't a dry history. If one is a Beatles fan and you wanted a more complete history, this is the book for you.
I have to be honest in stating that I am still surprised there will be more to come in the narrative from Lewisohn and I cannot wait.
I gave this one 4 stars.
*I want to thank Blogging for Books and Three Rivers Press for the review copy. I received it in exchange for an honest review.
Lewisohn looks at a wide variety of sources to create a pretty complete look at the first 5 years of The Beatles. This book is so well researched and well written that I got drawn into the story. While it doesn't read like a novel, which is the usual thing to state, it does read rather well and it isn't a dry history. If one is a Beatles fan and you wanted a more complete history, this is the book for you.
I have to be honest in stating that I am still surprised there will be more to come in the narrative from Lewisohn and I cannot wait.
I gave this one 4 stars.
*I want to thank Blogging for Books and Three Rivers Press for the review copy. I received it in exchange for an honest review.
offbalance80's review
5.0
While books that hover around the 1000 page mark are slightly less troublesome to read in the age of the tablet, they're still no small undertaking. It's even more impressive when something higher than the 400 page mark is non-fiction.
This massively detailed history of the Beatles' early years is not for a casual fan. However, for those who consider the Beatles to be the most important, vital band of the 20th Century, then this is the book for you. The work that Lewisohn has done here is pretty extraordinary. Whenever possible, he's relied solely on primary sources and first-person interviews, and has put together a seminal and what I believe should be regarded as the quintessential biography of the group. He calls "Tune In" Volume I, and I can't wait to see what the following volumes will bring.
This massively detailed history of the Beatles' early years is not for a casual fan. However, for those who consider the Beatles to be the most important, vital band of the 20th Century, then this is the book for you. The work that Lewisohn has done here is pretty extraordinary. Whenever possible, he's relied solely on primary sources and first-person interviews, and has put together a seminal and what I believe should be regarded as the quintessential biography of the group. He calls "Tune In" Volume I, and I can't wait to see what the following volumes will bring.
alexsiddall's review
5.0
Lewisohn's research is deep and thorough, his organisation of the material is hugely impressive, and his easy style carries the reader along. Of course I'm a Beatles fan to begin with, but I can imagine that the uncommitted reader could also take great pleasure in reading this, as it's full of social history and cultural insight. He also paints the Beatles as real people with flaws and foibles, making good and bad decisions along the way. Sensationalism and hero-worship aren't part of this book.
I'm really looking forward to parts 2 and 3 of the trilogy, which can't be published too soon for me.
I'm really looking forward to parts 2 and 3 of the trilogy, which can't be published too soon for me.
digitalgypsy66's review
5.0
What a fantastic book. I've read a lot about the Beatles, but this was the most immersive book about them to date...and it stops on New Year's Eve 1962! We haven't even gotten to Beatlemania proper yet!
nicolaparty's review against another edition
hopeful
informative
inspiring
slow-paced
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Death of parent, and Drug use
Moderate: Sexual content and Death
Minor: Racism and Violence
amberfinnegan's review
5.0
This book was fab, like Fab Four fab. It took me forever and a day to read it, but at about halfway through I put it down and didn’t get a chance to pick it up for quite some time.
I originally started this book in hopes of getting some insight into the Beatles’ songs. I grew up listening to practically only the Beatles until I went into middle school and finally discovered the radio had more than just my parents music (I seriously didn’t care earlier) and my musical taste started to expand. But it always comes back to the Beatles.
Right before I started reading this I had a Beatles revival week (happens from time to time) where I wanted to listen to a ton of Beatles songs. In the heart of that, I picked up Tune In at the library.
This book was amazingly well done. The detail is insane. I really felt like I could have been there in the first years with John, Paul, George and then Ringo too. I even felt as if I got to know some of the early fans and people who were surrounding the Beatles at the time.
I knew they had gone to Hamburg, but I had no idea what it was like for them there. I also didn’t realize how much hard work went into them making their way up in the world of music. I really just thought they were discovered one day and then the girls started screaming and they came to the USA. Now I know.
I can’t wait for the next book in the series, but I obviously will have to wait as I don’t see it coming out anytime soon.
If you’re a Beatles fan and would like to know meticulously what their starting lives were like (ending at the beginning of 1963) then this is a must read.
I originally started this book in hopes of getting some insight into the Beatles’ songs. I grew up listening to practically only the Beatles until I went into middle school and finally discovered the radio had more than just my parents music (I seriously didn’t care earlier) and my musical taste started to expand. But it always comes back to the Beatles.
Right before I started reading this I had a Beatles revival week (happens from time to time) where I wanted to listen to a ton of Beatles songs. In the heart of that, I picked up Tune In at the library.
This book was amazingly well done. The detail is insane. I really felt like I could have been there in the first years with John, Paul, George and then Ringo too. I even felt as if I got to know some of the early fans and people who were surrounding the Beatles at the time.
I knew they had gone to Hamburg, but I had no idea what it was like for them there. I also didn’t realize how much hard work went into them making their way up in the world of music. I really just thought they were discovered one day and then the girls started screaming and they came to the USA. Now I know.
I can’t wait for the next book in the series, but I obviously will have to wait as I don’t see it coming out anytime soon.
If you’re a Beatles fan and would like to know meticulously what their starting lives were like (ending at the beginning of 1963) then this is a must read.
sethwalter's review
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
5.0