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List Price: $16.50 | | Publisher: MQ Publications Ltd
Salesrank: 505989
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| Our Price: $32.71 |
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| Media: Paperback |
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Editorial Review:
Most books about the Beatles reveal the big picture first and ask questions afterward. This book reverses that approach. Revolution takes a fresh and often funny look at the magnificent and sometimes idiotic career path of the Beatles through the prism of one vital album-a record considered by many (including John Lennon) to be the one on which they reached their peak as songwriters. It focuses not just on the intimate recording details and creative process, but on the politics, music, and culture of the era, as well as the band's individual development amid increasing dissolution. In crisp and witty prose, the inside stories behind the making and release of the album are revealed: how the White Album got its look and name; why it included the most experimental track the Beatles ever recorded; how it inspired the bloody massacres of Charles Manson and his "family"; why Ringo Starr walked out on the sessions and who replaced him; the actual identities of "Dear Prudence," "Sexy Sadie," "Martha My Dear," "Julia," and "Bungalow Bill"; on which song Yoko sang lead; which song is about Eric Clapton's teeth; what songs were left off the album; and much more.
Revolution: the Making of the Beatles' White Album (The vinyl frontier) Reviews:
It's not new territory...but enjoyable 
2009-09-21 - I just finished this effort to dive into one of the most written about albums of all time. It was an enjoyable read and organized in an engaging fashion. If given the option of half stars it would rate a 3.5 in mind. While there are some factual inaccuracies (seemingly the plight of writing on the Beatles...damn near no one can write a book without at least a few) many things that are brought up by people as inaccuracies are in reality differences in opinion.
The author at times comes across as harsh towards certain songs (some of which we may, as Beatles fans, view as personal favorites) and towards members of the band and their contributions and I'll admit there were are few times I cringed at some his assertions in this vein.
The strength of this book IS the author's injection of his personal opinion, though at times it may clash with our own view points. That is what you are reading about, information surrounding his favorite record, told through his lens.
Also of note is that there really isn't a whole lot of new information here if you are already a die hard fan of this phase in Beatles history. There may be somethings you didn't know, but being a big fan who has read all sorts of books on them very few things jumped out at me.
That all having been said it is a quite enjoyable read and a decent quick reference for White album related stuff (should you not have something that covers more of the bases). I borrowed a copy from a friend and it made for a fun fast read and I have now ordered a cheap used copy to own for myself.
awful 
2008-07-06 - This is one of the worst books I have read due to the author. He cannot help but throwing his own opinions in all the time. I did not buy this book to find out what he thinks, I wanted to find out more about the White Album. It was mostly opinionated drivel that sounds like a long review rather than a factual account and I will not be buying anything from this bloke again.
The author says this is his favorite album, but bashes half the songs
2007-12-18 - The author claims that the white album is his favorite album, but when breaking the album down song by song he goes on to bash all the songs at very cursory levels. Overall this book is a really long really bad review of the white album. I couldn't finish it and had to come here to check the other reviews to make sure I wasn't the only person who hated the book.
Waste of time
2007-04-16 - One would have a hard time believing that this was author David Quantick's most beloved album, as he spends a good deal of the book making snide and sinister comments regarding the band members songwriting styles and personalities. "Revolution" reads like most any Pitchfork Media review; pompous and arrogant. And really, that's all the book is... one painfully long album review. The factual meat of the book is spotty at best and comes from the most commonly recycled Beatles tales.
This book will only amuse the most casual of Beatles fans, and even then may border on unreadable with Quantick's snobbish tone. "I Will" a throwaway? Come off it.
While George Harrison's Ghost Gently Weeps... 
2007-01-28 - So you say you want to read about Revolution? Well you know, this book ain't gonna change the world.
A title from Acapella's "Vinyl Frontier" series, Revolution is more along the lines of an extended album review than it is a "behind-the-scenes" blow-by-blow (a turn of phrase which wasn't much off, judging by how the Fab Four began to go off each other by the late 1960s). Mr. Quantick always seems to be two or three steps removed from the source material when he regales stories of the Beatles' disputes and conversations in and beyond the studio, giving the book as a whole a decidedly unfamiliar feel.
The majority of the book is devoted to a highly subjective editorial-charged rundown of the 30-some songs on the two-LP set known popularly as "The White Album," but in reality titled The Beatles. There are some deliciously snarky remarks offered with no apologies about tunes for which the author apparently didn't care (of George Harrison's masterpiece "While My Guitar Gently Weeps," the author describes a "big bloaty thing" which "inadvertantly invented '70s rock, which is arguably a bad thing but ensured the sale of small cigarette lighters for the next decade." Get it?), however they feel somewhat forced as if the author - with his tone of studied hipness - wanted to be Bigger Than The Beatles with his narrative presence in the title.
If a person wants to know absolutely everything there is to know about the famed British rock group, then this would be a nice starting place, as the material is neither fresh nor innovative. It is a brief read, best enjoyed with a copy of the album in question playing in the background. As a stand-alone piece, the book barely works at all.
Though for all its faults, the book looks almost as cool as the actual album cover of The Beatles when placed on an otherwise bare coffee table.
