About two months ago, in a local Bookshop, I found a copy of the bio, Fab- An Intimate Life Of Paul McCartney. I had seen the paperback at my central library many times, but I hadn't checked it out. As much as I love collecting books, I'm awful at reading them.
For the record, I can read, but I get easily bored sticking to one book. Honestly, I finish a couple books a year, and have about 10-20 books that I claim to be reading but never finish. I am determined to finish "Fab" even if it kills me.
I looked around some charity shops for a couple of days, trying to find the biography for a pound. Since I had no luck, I caved in and went back to the central library and got the book, which I've been reading for weeks, one chapter at a time. Presently, I'm up to chapter 17 with 12 more to go. Now that I've read half the book, I feel compelled to write about it, because usually by the halfway point, I have the gist of the style of a book. I can tell you at this point what I think about it, regardless if I can keep reading.
Howard Sounes, apparently, got most of his research from the authorised book, "Many Years From Now" By Barry Miles. That book by Miles, I had owned for years, and lost the 1st edition hardcover, but now own a second edition(?) paperback. I don't need to tell you I didn't read either copy and not having the original hardback is a collector's nightmare. Apparently, I made it worse by not only not reading this book to know that "Fab" could be a knock off, I went and defaced the cover!?!?
As I have several other McCartney and Beatles books I claim to be reading, it seems that "Fab" could possibly be the footnotes for 1997's"Many Years" while updating Paul's life up to 2010. "Fab" started out to be very informative and interesting about the history of his family and upbringing. If he didn't become a Beatle, he may have followed his educational preparation to a career in Teaching. Although the author is great at introducing all the characters involved in Paul's life, by the time we get to the start of Wings, Paul doesn't exactly come out of the Beatles break up smelling of Roses. Yet, even if the book turns from impartial to commentary and critisim to every late Beatles-period decisions he had made, it's still interesting to hear what happens next. If "selfish" was a country, the world would be struggling to find places to live in an McCartney-run planet. However, I found some of the general opinion of Paul being a Beatles and beyond-career devoted-dictating monster, a bit convenient to use to form a consistently themed story. The interviews with producers, Apple employees, and Ex-Wings members, go along to support this idea of a band member who rises to take the reigns about 95% of the time.
Objectively, how any book makes Yoko Ono seem superior and not that bad, compared to Linda McCartney, is clearly unfair. Yoko has always gotten the scapegoat blame for breaking up the Beatles, while Linda usually is painted as a background character forever devoted to Paul. "Fab" spends no time in informing us that Mrs McCartney came from a rich yet black sheep of her family background, whom decided to pursue and trap Paul into marriage. Give me a break. The one thing Paul McCartney isn't is stupid and it's insulting to say he couldn't figure out the character of the woman he fell in lifelong love with.
The Beatles break up had gotten very ugly on all sides, with Allen Klien in hindsight being a major catalyst for Paul to rightly go on autopilot to try and get Klien out of the bands business. By all accounts, Klien turned out to be a crook and Paul was justified to fight him. The only problem was that Klien got John, Ringo, and George to believe he was what the band needed, even if it meant to not have Paul support. It has been said previously that Paul taking the others to court saved them from losing millions of pounds.
In "Fab" as much as the story is supposed to focus on some of the not-so great things about Paul, the not-so great actions of John Lennon, aren't given as much attention. I'm sorry, I respect John Lennon as much as the next person, but the "John didn't really mean the negative comments" post-Beatles claims of Paul is taken as more forgiving than forgetting. If somebody threw a f&%ken brick through my window(as covered non-chalontly in "Fab" as an action of Lennon's), I don't think I'd be as kindly as Paul is assumed to have no reaction documented in Howard Sounes' account. However, Paul is written about starting 'right row' arguments with little old lady neighbours who report him to the RSPCA for leaving "Martha My Dear" the sheepdog alone at home. Something doesn't add up.
Unfortunately, I have to renew this book again to sludge through the end. I'm up to the part where he stiffs his Wings bandmates out of money. Why oh why am I reading this again? It's now going to take another view years to get to read the new interviews book "Conversations With McCartney" by Paul Du Noyer.
Obviously, reading books just gets me riled up and when your a slow reader, is hard to shake off some of the crap you just spent an afternoon focused on.
Now, bring me my "Pipes Of Peace" CD!(I need a well earned break from this endless sludge-a-thon bio...)
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