My mothers home was on Edge lane in Liverpool which was in a direct line with Oxford Maternity Hospital where the newly born John Lennon laid in a nursery, and the Albert Docks.

I discovered that the same bomb run on the Albert Docks in Liverpool, was the same raid which almost hit the nursery where new born John Lennon laid sleeping, and narrowly missed my mothers home causing significant damage, were one and the same.

Anyway, I listened to Geoff Emerick’s book on a 480 mile trip between Reno and Las Vegas. As a Beatle fan I can tell you I completely enjoyed this book and learned much from it that I did not know.

Bryan Johnson
Reno, Nevada

Having been born in the early 1980s, I missed all of the Beatles career and sadly missed all of John Lennon’s incredible 40 years on this planet. However, I don’t think that lessens the impact that the group has had on me. I’ve been a devoted fan since my father first introduced them to me when I was a toddler, and I can say without a doubt that they are the best band of all time.

Needless to say I’ve been studying the Beatles my entire life and have read limitless accounts of their lives both inside and outside of the music industry. I think that I’ve been most enamored by their work and progression inside the studio. They stretched the limitations of the time to the absolute highest level to create some of the most innovative music of the 1960s. I had long been searching for an account to satisfy my curiosity of just what it was like to create that music in the studio and the thought processes that went with it. For the most part, Emerick has answered all of the burning questions I’d been carrying around for so long. He was much more than a fly on the wall and his candid words brought the Beatles to life like never before and they also final brought to light just how integral he was to the recording process. Sure, he won two grammy awards for egineering the two best Beatles albums in my opinion, but I still think George Martin gets too much credit.

To comment on the bias toward Paul, I wasn’t surprised by it in the least. It was already well known that Paul worked the closest with George Martin, so the same is almost a given with Emerick. As partial as I am to Lennon and Harrison (may they rest in peace), McCartney was without a doubt the best musician in the band. Her understood the subtleties of music on a much higher plane than the others and his incessant perfections just showed how serious and dedicated he was to his craft. Emerick helps to bring that to light even more.

All in all, a triumph for Emerick and though he is not a professional writer, any Beatle fan will enjoy his experience recording the Beatles in the studio. No doubt his take on it could only be eclipsed by the Beatles themselves. Well done.

Though I’ve long been, and primarily am, a writer, in the last 2 years I’ve gotten heavily into stage acting as well as reading aloud. For instance, I’m currently in the cast of a production of Tom Stoppard’s “Arcadia” at Lakewood Theatre in Lake Oswego. Also doing a reading of Ray Bradbury stories set in Ireland for St. Patrick’s Day next week . . . .

Great review, I certainly would like reading the book. About the bias, the book is Geoff EMerick’s personnal recolection of events, so if that is the way it was for him, then he has the right of talking about it. After all, there must be tens of books that have a pro-John bias.

I’m currently reading Mr. Emerick’s book and I think it is great. I’m 54 years old and I have been “with the Beatles” from their American beginnings. They have always been the best in my opinion on every level from their songwriting to their studio inovations. I hold the truth to be self evident and the truth is that their work will always stand up. I’ve read pretty much every book written about them, including George Martin’s. Take it from an old Beatle fan (who by the way, once even played in a Beatles tribute band called The Meatles–I’m not kidding….our slogan was “you can’t beat The Beatles because you can’t meet The Beatles)your excellent–and excellently written–review shows you know what you are talking about and should send people to their local Borders store for a copy. If they don’t get it..your review OR the book..then they are losing out. By the way, I’m a writer from Oregon too. What part of the state are you from?

Loren F.