The Beatles Through Headphones

This book delves into the aural splendor of the Beatles' discography, breaking down each song and taking a close look at how the group's music sounds through headphones rather than external speakers. Mistakes, studio chatter, secret meanings and other audio esoterica are all identified and discussed. Thousands of books have been written about the Beatles' music, but this is the first to look at their discography through the prism of headphones, which yield a unique, artistic listening experience. The author argues that the Beatles should be heard through headphones to appreciate the real depth of their musical creativity and to fully understand the timeless songs that remain influential to this day.

This book delves into the aural splendor of the Beatles' discography, breaking down each song and taking a close look at how the group's music sounds through headphones rather than external speakers. Mistakes, studio chatter, secret meanings and other audio esoterica are all identified and discussed. Thousands of books have been written about the Beatles' music, but this is the first to look at their discography through the prism of headphones, which yield a unique, artistic listening experience. The author argues that the Beatles should be heard through headphones to appreciate the real depth of their musical creativity and to fully understand the timeless songs that remain influential to this day.

Most Beatles fans have probably spent most of their time listening to the iconic group's music over a stereo system with external speakers. While the music sounds wonderful this way, this method of listening does not deliver the full sonic picture of what the Beatles created. To have a complete appreciation of their artistry and innovation, one must listen carefully to the Beatles recordings over high-quality headphones. Based on hundreds of listening hours, this volume chronicles--album by album and in great detail--the nuances and quirks to be found in a close listening, including mistakes, studio corrections, mumbled phrases and other aural delights and peccadilloes. With brief but incisive reviews of every song the Beatles committed to tape, this pioneering work offers a new and enlightening perspective on the greatest popular music ever written, performed or recorded.

Halfway between the summer of love and the Tet offensive, the Beatles went to India to study with the Maharishi—and Lewis Lapham, esteemed Harper's editor and award-winning writer, was there. WITH THE BEATLES is a remarkable book of cultural commentary on that seminal '60s moment. The ashram in Rishikesh, India was the ultimate '60s scene: the Beatles, Donovan, Mia Farrow, a stray Beach Boy and other '60s icons gathered along the shores of the Ganges—amidst paisley and incense and flowers and guitars—to meditate at the feet of the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. The February 1968 gathering received such frenzied, world-wide attention that it is still considered a significant, early encounter between Western pop culture and the mystical East. And Lewis Lapham was the only journalist allowed inside. And what went on inside the compound has long been the subject of wild speculation and rampant rumor. The Beatles said they wrote some of their greatest songs there . . . and yet they also came away bitterly disillusioned. In WITH THE BEATLES, Lewis Lapham finally tells the whole story.

Over 30 landmark interviews, accounts, and memoirs of The Beatles and their entourage, recording how they inadvertently became counter-culture's figureheads and changed society.

The cottage industry of Beatles publications is more prolific now than it ever was. As the band recedes into the mystic fog of 20th century history we get more and more documentation about their music, their love lives, their personalities, and their finances. I wanted to try to make sense of it by reviewing the best and the worst of the Beatles tomes as they stand side by side in bookstores everywhere. I spent 40 years reading about them knowing that one day I would share my accumulated knowledge with the fans in Pepperland. Having read the book, I'd love to turn you on.

Hunter Davies, the only ever authorised biographer of the group, has produced the essential Beatles guide. Divided into four sections – People, Songs, Places and Broadcast and Cinema – it covers all elements of the band’s history and vividly brings to live every influence that shaped them. Illustrated with material from Hunter's remarkable private collection of artefacts and memorabilia, this is the definitive Beatles treasure.

"Published to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the Beatles first visit to the United States, documenting the beginning of the "British invasion".--From publisherʹ description.