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THE BEATLES
Ian Inglis
Equinox Publishing
ISBN-13 978 1 84553 865 1 £20.95
Reviewed by Geoff Wills
Hundreds
of books have been produced about the iconic 20th century
phenomenon known as the Beatles, including biographies,
autobiographies, musicological studies and photographic collections,
We now have a concise, compact addition to the list in the form of
The Beatles by Ian
Inglis, which comes in the Equinox series Icons of Pop Music, aimed
at undergraduates and the general reader, and offering “a critical
profile of a key figure or group in twentieth century pop music”.
Each volume “focuses on the work rather than on biography, and
emphasizes critical interpretation”. Ian Inglis, like his fellow
series authors, is an academic, and has an extensive prior
involvement in writing about the Beatles. In the present volume he
is successful in presenting a dispassionate and objective approach
to their story.
The scene
is set with the time – immediately after the Second World War – and
the place – post-war Britain
and, specifically, Liverpool. In
this setting austerity and traditional entertainment were jolted by
the impact of the arrival of the film
Blackboard Jungle (1955)
and the music of Bill Haley, Elvis Presley and Lonnie Donegan. This
was the atmosphere in which John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George
Harrison, Stuart Sutcliffe, Pete Best and Richard Starkey, future
members of the Beatles, grew up. Their progression as a group is
documented in relation to their time in Hamburg – five visits between 1960 and 1962 – and their
appearances at Liverpool’s Cavern
Club between 1961 and 1963.
Having
contextualised his subject, Inglis breaks down his story with a
logical, comprehensive coverage of all aspects of the Beatles’
career. Their stage presentation, their recording career (divided
into two distinct periods, 1962–1965 and 1966–1970), their creative
development as recording artists, their unique contribution to the
art of songwriting, and their distinctive and hugely influential
image, are all covered.
In an
interesting chapter entitled Images and Identities Inglis makes the
crucial observation that “the
sight of the Beatles was as fascinating as their
sound”. When they first
emerged, the typical group image was that of Britain’s
leading group the Shadows – “tidy appearance, mohair suits and
choreographed dance steps”. The Beatles changed all that. With their
combed-forward “mop-top” hair styles and Pierre Cardin-influenced
suits with collarless jackets they provided the blueprint for the
uniform of the army of British beat groups that erupted in the
Beatles’ wake in the 1963-1964 period. One essential item in this
uniform, not mentioned by Inglis, was the Anello and Davide
Cuban-heeled Chelsea boot, which came to be known as the Beatle
boot.
In
discussing the Beatles as songwriters, Inglis makes some interesting
observations regarding their love songs, using the classificatory
system developed by social psychologist John Alan Lee. His typology
uses six categories, Eros (romantic love), Ludus (playful love),
Mania (possessive, jealous love), Storge (love based around
friendship), Pragma (love that is rationally calculated) and Agape
(universal or altruistic love). In the period 1962-1965 romantic or
playful love songs predominated, but in the period 1966-1970
friendship-based and altruistic love songs took precedence. Inglis
feels that ceasing touring, Bob Dylan’s influence, increased use of
drugs and the questioning of materialism all brought about this
change. He feels that “the search for an adequate description of the
Beatles’ music is far from easy” but thinks that the underlying
sense of celebration that permeates much of the music is a key
element. In this respect it might have been helpful to pursue Bob
Dylan’s comment, quoted in Michael Tomasky’s book
The Beatles and America,
that “their chords were outrageous, just outrageous, and their
harmonies made it all valid”.
Again, in
the same way that they presented a completely different
image to their
predecessors the Shadows, the Beatles also presented a completely
different instrumental sound:
in place of Hank Marvin’s echo chamber came a much rawer guitar
sound, and Brian Bennett’s virtuoso, jazz-based drumming approach
was replaced by the pared-down
Liverpool “masher” style of Ringo Starr.
Inglis
concludes his book by stating that “since their demise, the Beatles
have become the touchstone against which subsequent events and
achievements [in popular music and culture] are routinely
measured”.He has provided a succinct, comprehensive, serious but
accessible account of how this happened.
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