Thursday, November 5, 2015

ES-Say #46 The Other Half-Book Review-Fab By Howard Sounes
Ziggy Stardust's classic facial expression can best mirror what this book might do to a reader- Freeze them permanently that way!

Today, A month after reviewing the first half of Howard Sounes "Fab- An Intimate Life Of Paul McCartney" HERE on the blog, I reached "The End". Aside from high fiving "The Foot" (our blog's photo bomber who dislikes Sir Paul), because I actually completed an entire book(explanation in the 1st half), I felt liberated. Yes, liberated, because I no longer have to subject myself to another book by Sounes. That's right, I didn't like Fab and I'm not sure if I can pick up ANY book for a while now.

Digesting what I read, Sounes will declare that this was a fair account. He is a journalist and has written books from Bob Dylan to Amy Winehouse. First off, I like journalists and respect the work they do. However, one of the 2010's book's aim to be "comprehensive" biography with many interviews and footnoted sources, does this with an undercurrent of the author's opinion.

The first half was bearable, the second half was tiresome, mostly because the author would present his timeline of Paul's life in the last three decades peppered with his own conclusions. For example, Sounes uses heavy adjectives that are either unnecessary or blunt. "Almost stone deaf" is used to describe George Martin in the 00's. McCartney, during the same period, "his skin hanging down like the jowls of an old dog". Also, some of the incidents might have an interviewee speaking negatively, but the author will usually agree with the summary rather than question the opinion. It is clearly a lot of "too little too late" when it comes to the support material of the decent person McCartney is. I was stuck reading a moaning complain account of Paul's problematic start funding with LIPA and his diminishing involvement with his classical music releases. The fact that Paul has been revealed to assisted family and friends loyally with financial help and continues to be a  philanthropist is lost because of the overall tone of the book. I can't really believe the positive angles in the book with the hammering of the negativity or judgemental tone of the majority of the book.

One thing that really threw me over the edge as a writer and reader, was the one-paragraph personal declaration within the middle of a chapter to explain how Sounes, himself, was turned on to McCartney live performance during the "Paul McCartney World Tour" in 1989. Sounes could have put this information in a prologue, epilogue, or  on the jacket cover. But, no. He had to chop up the book with his own adoration. The nightmare didn't end there...

Relationships. As Paul was still dating Nancy Shevell when the book was published, his now wife was basically painted as the girlfriend, who may have a shady mob connection. That's just great, but that "wtf" moment aside, two relationships explored need to be noted. I'm not talking about Linda McCartney or John Lennon because nothing really that deep is uncovered that isn't widely known. Surprisingly, the McCartney children are all described in the book as one dimensional(Stella is like dad, Mary works for dad, James has near-death experiences, and Beatrice wants her ice cream). The exception is adopted daughter Heather, whom we get to hear about candidly and as a tragic figure. It maybe because she is the oldest child who spent time with The Beatles during the dragged out break up. However, I think we might be able to guess she's not in the public eye without having to be spoon fed all details that has possibly(not fact) led to a hermit adulthood.

The other Heather. Heather Mills, the second wife, gets all the gold digger attention she deserves with extensive details leading to, and what all journalists had access to: a public account of the divorce settlement. It's all in this book, but after that debacle, how should the expose styled account led to the end of the novel? That's right, a quickie "Paul is so loved by all, so good live, "and in the end, the love you take" familiar nod.

Classic Rock magazine was quoted on the front cover as saying Fab is "The Best Beatles Book Since Revolution In The Head". I disagree, the best book since "Revolution In The Head" by Ian Macdonald is "You Never Give Me Your Money" by Peter Doggett. Sure, I only read like 30 pages of that book, but I liked the fact that every Beatle is shown equally warts and all. If I got one summarized impression of Paul McCartney in Sounes book, it would be "Dustbin Lid".

McCartney is not the horror in Sounes book and he's not the authorised "Many Years From Now" Barry Miles' autobiographical account. He's somewhere in the middle.

I'm sure I'd have a chance to read a more rounded view of a part of Paul's past, hopefully from Doggett, whose book I can also get from the library. Fortunately, Fab, is past due back at the library and I want to pay the 15 cents and wave it good riddance.     

I'm free!    


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