McCartney Legacy: Volume 2: 1974 - 80, by Allan Kozinn; Adrian Sinclair

 

Publication Dec. 10,2024

Since I haven't read the first volume, I used that as an excuse to procrastinate and watch the Ron Howard produced movie "Eight Days a Week". It helped remind me of all that had gone down beforehand and Paul McCartney's probably state of mind. Good decision. Well, until I opened the digital book and realized it has some 768 pages. Whoa, maybe I shouldn't have taken that extra time before reading. Given my tendency to take pages of notes for myself, I ultimately came to realize that I also needed to put down the pen and just read. So, here's my overall take rather than one picking out details to highlight and discuss.

First, given the length, it's obvious you aren't going to sit down and breeze through this one in an afternoon. That said, the avid Beatles/Paul fan who simply cannot get enough detail and information will surely find this book a goldmine. For me, even as a long time fan of the man and who has read many book on the Beatles and Paul, it was more detail than I could fully take in given the demands of real life, but knowing how avid some fans are, I imagine it will find a market. There are not just details such as in the minutia of finding a new drummer for Wings, but lots and lots and lots of names, some famous, some you'll have at least heard of, and some that, well, were unknown to me. I definitely wasn't aware how woven together the four Beatles were by contracts and Apple, at least the details of it all. Knew it was complicated but not how complicated, let's just say. Although I've been in the studio to observe musician friends record, the details of the various recording session was fascinating although much of the info was well over my head. I did note that Paul wasn't making many friends at the time, even neglecting to give credit to some, some whose names you'll surely recognize. So, you'll sit in on recording sessions, spend some time as a fly on the wall while the McCartney family travels, see Linda taking some lessons, hear what those Paul encountered, such as his chats with Yoko during John's time with May, and what those he worked with (or against) at the time thought, and, well, much, much, much more.

Overall, despite being far more detailed than I could fully take in, I did enjoy the chance to be that proverbial fly on the wall. The chapter titles weren't necessarily perfectly descriptive but gave you a feel for what might be revealed or focused on. I loved the one very early on that was simply "Daddy, Are You Some Kind of Rock Star?" and later, "Holly Days in Scotland". There are photos from the time period, extensive notes, and credits given. So, not a quick, light read, but lots of info for the finding. My thanks to #DeyStreetBooks for allowing me this deep dive into this era of Paul McCartney's life. As a young girl, he was my favorite and while he often doesn't come across as very likable here at times, given the situation and status of his career at the time, no one doubts his talents.