Author: John Cherry
Publisher: The Peppertree Press
ISBN: 978-1-936343-42-3
 
Click Here To Purchase Paul McCartney's Solo Music Career 1970-2010, Life, Love, and a Sense of Child-like Wonder,An In-Depth Examination of the Best (and worst) Songs from the World's Most Successful Singer/Songwriter
 
To state the obvious: no group of musicians have been more discussed in print than The Beatles, both collectively and individually. Full-length books have included reminiscences from participants in the lives of the group, biographies emphasizing their music or personal lives or both, critical analyses of their legacy, you name it. Some books have become indispensible references for fans, scholars, and general readers alike; others seem mere opportunities for a myriad of authors to cash in on one of the most popular topics in musical history.
 
John Cherry’s short, hit-and-run overview of Paul McCartney’s solo recordings falls in the camp of enthusiastic fans who wish to share their responses to the canon of their inspiration. It’s not a book based on interviews or research, offers nothing new in any critical sense, and provides minimal insight into the recording and creative process of Paul McCartney. The closest, apparently, Cherry has come to McCartney or anyone associated with him is listening to a soundcheck from behind a curtain. He’s apparently read a number of interviews with Sir Paul and some associates, but none are credited and these sections border on plagiarism. The subject is John Cherry’s years of listening to Paul McCartney, a very personal critique of what Cherry has loved, liked, played at his weddings, didn’t like, or would have done differently if he’d been asked. It’s not clear what his expertise is, so readers will not gain anything from a musician’s, insider’s, or historian’s stance. So his primary readership would most likely be those who also have strong opinions on Paul McCartney’s solo output for their own compare/contrast with Cherry’s responses.   
 
In fact, the book is a demonstration of the new relationship between authors and their internet audiences—not to mention the changes in print-on-demand publishing. Cherry’s introduction discusses errors and changes he needed to make in a previous Beatle book; his conclusion is an invitation to readers to submit their own choices for favorite songs etc. which he can add to a future edition.      So this is a book by a fan for fans—sort of a blog in print. There’s nothing wrong with short books like these—I finished this one in less than two hours--but they’re nothing to seek out for more than light reading.
 
 
 
Click Here To Purchase Paul McCartney's Solo Music Career 1970-2010, Life, Love, and a Sense of Child-like Wonder,An In-Depth Examination of the Best (and worst) Songs from the World's Most Successful Singer/Songwriter