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"Beatles Worldwide II: An Anthology of Original Singles & EP-Releases" follows the same format as "Beatles Worldwide I" (which concentrated on album releases) by giving you an exhaustive look at the multitude of Beatles 45 rpm's and EP's that were released around the world. Of course the '60s were a unique time in rock 'n roll - not only for the music itself, but the fact that record companies around the world had a carte blanche to release records by bands using whatever packaging and song order they liked! As we saw in "Beatles Worldwide I", Beatles albums around the world were released with some pretty interesting variations of not only pictures and graphics used and some bizarre couplings of songs (The Venezuela "Helter Skelter"/Honey Pie" single). This modus operandi also applied to the 45-rpm format. And a lot of times simply economics played a role in releases, as some countries would split up an entire album on EP's - that way, you could buy the whole album in "installments".
For Beatles fans, the single item that makes this book a "must have" (besides its value as an excellent reference source) is the generous amount of color photos included (many of which you wont find anywhere else). "Beatles Worldwide II: An Anthology of Original Singles & EP-Releases" is a fitting sequel to "Beatles Worldwide: An Anthology of Original LP-Releases" that is worth the price alone for the color photos!
Note: This is a condensed version of the review - for the extensive review of "Beatles Worldwide II: An Anthology of Original Singles & EP-Releases" Click here
Basically, this book is about as close as you will get to a Who Anthology, since it is officially sanctioned by the group, with forewards by Roger Daltrey & Chris Stamp. However, unlike the Beatles Anthology, it isn't comprised of personal reminisces from the band. It follows the now popular rock 'n roll book structure of compiling the live shows, TV appearances, studio recordings and personal appearances of The Who up to 1978 (When The Who really ceased to exist as a band following Keith Moon's death!). It also contains the history of the band throughout their career. When it comes to the history of the band in the book, accuracy is usually abided by, such as the telling of the actual events of Keith Moon's notorious 21st birthday party in Flint Michigan (which sprouted the legend of Moonie driving a car into the swimming pool...he actually didn't!). The only case I found where an urban legend was perpetuation was in the well-repeated "official" (and embellished) version of how Keith Moon joined The Who. [Tony Fletcher's book on Keith Moon shed the truth on this "legend" among many others!] The one area that this book is lacking is studio information on recordings by The Who - but this is by no fault of the authors - since The Who recorded at several different locations throughout their career, there was no meticulous record keeping like those you see of The Beatles at EMI. However - where the book excels is in the inclusion of rare photos, memorabilia, concert posters, and other promotional items. For instance, there is the scripted dialogue between The Who and Tommy Smothers for their 1967 TV appearance (which opens THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT) and it is hilarious to see how things drifted from the original script! Also, it is great to see the timeline regarding the filming of additional scenes that were added (and a list of those that ended up on the cutting room floor) for THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT. While the cover states, "As definitive as definitive gets", it is far from definitive - especially compared to such chronicle books of some of The Who's contemporaries (The Beatles, The Kinks, The Beach Boys, etc). However, with that said, ANYWAY ANYHOW ANYWHERE is the best overall Who-related book out there and a vital addition to any Who fan's library!
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"Beatles Worldwide II: An Anthology of Original Singles & EP-Releases"
"Anyway Anyhow Anywhere: The Complete Chronicle of The Who 1958-1978" (Revised Edition)