Great memories, great insights ( )

"Not capable of being confined by British popular music, or psychedelia, or Baroque music, or Indian music, or anything else, but magpies, claiming whatever shiny thing seized them, and refining and repurposing the material."

This book, released on the 50th anniversary of the release of the Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Heart Club album, consists of 29 contributors describing the connection of their personal history to Beatles songs. These "mini-memoirs" are presented chronologically by date of the song's release, from "She Loves You" to "The Two of Us." Some of these pieces are very personal, and we learn a lot about the various authors' lives. Others focus on the song, some on the lyrics some on the musicality. Some focus on the moment in time. Some feel very academic.

I think your reaction to this will depend on how well you know/like the Beatles. I loved it. I came of age with the Beatles, but I was surprised how many of the contributors were children or even unborn during the Beatles era, but nevertheless became fans. And here's a factoid for you: More books have been written about the Beatles than there are Beatles songs (409).

For my own purposes, I am including a list of contributors, the songs they chose, and a brief description of what each discusses. You can skip this if you consider it spoilerish. It's in alphabetical order by last name of the contributor:

Thomas Beller--"Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds"--this was a song of his childhood in the mid-70's--analysis of words and music.
Peter Blauner--"And Your Bird Can Sing"--much discussion of John's murder, his books, and his way with words.
Amy Bloom--"Norwegian Wood"--Mostly discusses the songs on Rubber Soul Album, which she heard in 1964 when she was 11.
Roseanne Cash--"No Reply"--discusses how a song can tell a sad story. This song is strongly associated in her mind with her parent's breakup.
Roz Chast--"She Loves You"--discusses her personal experiences as the only child of older parents (if you've read any of her graphic memoirs you know what this means), and how the Beatles helped her through.
Shawn Colvin--"I'll Be Back"--heard in 1965 as a 9 year old. Mostly discusses chord structure.
Nicholas Davidoff--"A Day in the Life"--first heard as a little kid while he was at a babysitters. Described as a "collage" of images in 2 folios.
David Duchovny--"Dear Prudence"--musings about the name Prudence.
Gerald Early--"I'm A Loser"--as an African-American, he was not the target audience, but he succumbed. Discussion of black v. white music.
Bill Flanagan--"The Two of Us"--first song on their last album
Adam Gopnick--Comparison of "Strawberry Fields" (John) and "Penny Lane" (Paul), both evocations of a time and better place in the past, one implicit, one explicit, and very different.
David Hadju--"You Know My Name (Look Up the Number)" This is said to be Paul's favorite song, but it's very unBeatle-like and strange.
John Hockenberry--"Let It Be"--his daughter loves to sing it.
Pico Ayer--"Yesterday"--the simplest song, melodically, so he can sing it at karaoke.
Chuck Klosterman--"Helter-Skelter"--born after the Beatles broke up, he's never met anyone whose favorite Beatles song is Helter-Skelter, but he finds it their most interesting song.
Alan Light--"I Saw Her Standing There"--born after the Beatles, and heard this song after his father remarried and his step-mom had a Beatles collection. Nowadays, a father himself, his teenage son is a Beatlemaniac.
Rebecca Mead--"Eleanor Rigby"-she saw this as a work of fiction, a sad story, and has somehow always connected it to a childhood friend whose parents separated and the father moved into a trailer in the driveway.
Rick Moody--"The End (Golden Slumbers/Carry That Weight)"--much discussion of chord progressions. This was his mother's record, and it is conflated in his mind with his parent's divorce.
Joseph O'Neill--"Good Day Sunshine"--Mostly a literary analysis of the lyrics. His 3 1/2 year old sister found the Revolver album under a bed in their South Africa home.
John Pareles--"Tomorrow Never Knows"--first heard as a 12 year old in 1966--struck by use of non-Western music and sitar music.
Maria Popova--"Yellow Submarine"--her parents are from Bulgaria (father was born in 1960), where courting couples have a "whistle-call" song to summon each other. "Yellow Submarine" was her parents' whistle call.
Francine Prose--"Here Comes the Sun"--as a teenager, she grew up with the Beatles; George was her favorite. Me too!
Elisa Schappel--"Octopus's Garden"--this was her little girl's fantasy song.
Mona Simpson--"She's Leaving Home"--heard in 1967 as a 10 year old. Based on a true news story. The harpist impressed her.
Jane Smiley--"I Want to Hold Your Hand"--Another one whose favorite was George. Also my age.
Toure--"The Ballad of John and Yoko"--discusses the controversy surrounding John's comment that the Beatles seem to be more popular than Jesus.
Alan Wilkinson--"She Said/She Said (I Know What It's Like to Be Dead)"--told of mysteries and LSD.
Ben Zimmer--"I Am the Walrus"--discusses the source of "Goo Goo Goo Joob," and words and nonsense verse. ( )

Everyone has a favorite Beatles song. I'd be hard pressed to pick just one. Is there a more perfect song than Yesterday? Sure, the lyrics on their own are trite. But pair them with the melody and arrangement and it becomes something transcendent. Or maybe I'd choose Blackbird, a song I've loved since my high school ensemble sang an arrangement my senior year. The story of Eleanor Rigby has always touched me. And nothing beats When I'm Sixty-Four for sheer fun.

Editor Andrew Blauner has collected essays from well-known writers reflecting on their favorite Beatles song. As is typical with any collection, some contributions are stronger than others. Some are centered around memories associated with a particular song. Others focus on an analysis of the music. What is most striking about the collection is the diversity of the authors, with representation from multiple cultures, ethnicities, and generations. The Beatles wrote and recorded so many different styles of music that their discography holds something for everybody.

Although this isn't an illustrated, coffee table-sized book, it's the kind of book you'd want to display for guests to browse. It would be a great conversation starter. Is your favorite Beatles song represented in the book? If it is, did the author do it justice? If it's not, why not? Recommended for music lovers of all ages.

This review is based on an electronic advance reading copy provided by the publisher through NetGalley. ( )

It would be hard for me to not like this book. Beatles? Oh, yeah. I was pleased to get an advance read courtesy of First to Read.

The concept is simple: Ask writers to write about their favorite Beatles songs, tell stories of what the songs mean to them, the how and why of it all.

The responses are fascinating to me...some personal, some expository. More than a couple of things were new... composition, group politics, life events...and I've read a bit on the Beatles. Not surprisingly, a few tidbits were in conflict with knowledge from other sources, but that made this all the more interesting.

I don't have a "favorite" Beatles song, nor even a favorite album or creative period. I do have a few dislikes, but even John, Paul, George and Ringo disliked some of their works. This book prompted me to reflect on how I would answer that question. And to go through the catalog again.

And again and again, because...the Beatles!
( )

3.5 stars

I generally really enjoy compilations of this sort where songs or art work are written about by a variety of authors, and In Their Lives was no exception. In Their Lives includes a series of essays written about Beatles songs chosen by each author in chronological order from She Loves You to Two of Us. In addition, Paul McCartney has written a brief note at the beginning. I knew some of the songs and had never heard of others. I had fun listening to each song before I started the essay about that particular song and felt that enhanced my reading of each composition. Some of the essays are fabulous; Jane Smiley’s tale about “I Want to Hold Your Hand’ was highly entertaining. Others focus more on the intricacies of the chords or certain sections of the song or even some random topic unrelated it seemed to the song about which the individual was supposed to be writing. Those selections I did not like as much. Beatles fans and most music lovers will find much to like in this compilation and may find themselves skimming through an essay or two. Thanks to Blue Rider Press and NetGalley for the chance to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review. ( )