Review of Vincent P. Benitez, The Words and Music of Paul McCartney: The Solo Years (Praeger, 2010); Ian Inglis, The Words and Music of George Harrison (Praeger, 2010); and Ben Urish and Ken Bielen, The Words and Music of John Lennon (Praeger, 2007)

Abstract

[1] As a group, the Beatles initiated seismic musical and cultural shifts that solidified their position as the most influential and successful popular musicians of the twentieth century. The challenges of forging a solo career in the shadow of this foursome's tremendous legacy must have weighed heavily on the three songwriting Beatles: John Lennon, Paul McCartney, and George Harrison. What they did musically following the Beatles' demise is the subject of the three books discussed in this review.[2] The books are part of the Praeger Singer-Songwriter Collection, which contains monographs about at least twenty musicians ranging from Paul Simon to Ice Cube. Each book is organized chronologically by album or song, and serves as a listener's guide. What makes the collection particularly attractive-yet also at times challenging to review-is that the authors come from diverse academic backgrounds including American studies, history, sociology, popular culture studies, literature, and rhetoric, as well as music. Out of the three authors discussed here, two work in American cultural studies (Urish and Bielen), one in popular music (Inglis) and one in music theory (Benitez). In addition to descriptions of individual albums and songs, each book contains a brief biographical sketch, a bibliography of pertinent writings and a discography/videography covering the musician's entire solo career.(1)[3] The most significant difference between the three volumes pertains to the intended audience. While the diverse scholarly background of each author is certainly an attractive aspect of the collection, it limits the usefulness of certain books for music theorists. Both the and Harrison books focus on the lyrics, stories, and very general musical characteristics of each song, and as a result, an average fan could read them without difficulty. The McCartney book, by contrast, contains a significant amount of technical musical language that would present a challenge to a reader without a musical background. To his credit, Benitez admits upfront that his book presupposes a basic knowledge of melody, harmony, rhythm, texture, timbre, and form (16) and includes a Glossary of Technical Terms to assist the reader in understanding the analytical commentary.(2) Given the nature of this journal, I will look briefly at the and Harrison books, and devote the bulk of my review to Benitez's book on McCartney.[4] Notwithstanding the methodological differences, all three books work best as reference sources that can be consulted when listening to a particular album or song. The books are tedious to read all the way through as each author trudges through every song and album chronologically, though such an organization does reveal the artistic growth and development of each artist (and forces the reader to dig out long-forgotten albums!).[5] The books about John and George Harrison privilege textual analysis over musical analysis. Urish and Bielen's book is particularly strong in its comprehensive coverage of Lennon's music; nearly every recording or song wrote or played on is covered and analyzed, including many with his wife Yoko Ono. Their discussion of Imagine, arguably Lennon's most famous solo song, can serve as an example of their analytical approach. After exploring the meaning, inspiration, and political background of the song and its lyrics-Ono's conceptual art-Urish and Bielen spend a mere two sentences on the music: Lennon marries instrumental music that could have accompanied the sentimental, melodramatic compositions of the prerock era with the idea of a world without religion or civil states. . . . The tension is created by juxtaposing an understated melody with a frank and radical message (27). Such a general approach to musical analysis pervades the entire text, which makes sense given the authors' perspective and motives.[6] Similarly, Inglis discusses mainly the context and lyrics of George Harrison's songs. …