BAD BOOK ALERT! "Come Together: The Business Wisdom of the Beatles" By Richard Courtney and George Cassidy 
(Note: I originally was not going to review this book, it was so bad. But after reading several GOOD reviews, I just had to set the record straight!)
When I got a review copy of "Come Together: The Business Wisdom of the Beatles", I couldn't contain my laughter. The Beatles had as many business mistakes as they did triumphs. I guess the authors forgot about that little thing called Apple. The Apple Boutique. The Apple Studio that Magic Alex designed? What about the merchandising fiasco in America which robbed the Beatles of potential millions? All because of bad business wisdom. I could go on, but let me concentrate on the errors in the book.
As I read the book, I found NUMEROUS errors. First error I spotted: "This unlikely, magical pairing of George Martin and the Beatles seems lucky in retrospect, if not downright accidental. But it certainly was not. Brian Epstein's unflagging efforts made it inevitable that the Beatles and George Martin would have their mutual audition...And when you're looking to turn your talent and potential into something the market can digest - literally or figuratively - you do well to keep in mind this Beatles mantra: there are no lucky breaks." (pg 36) Wrong! Meeting George Martin was totally accidental! They had already been turned down by EMI, and Epstein was having acetates of the failed Decca audition tapes made at HMV. The tech asked him if he'd contacted George Martin – and Brian followed up on this entirely accidental lead. Meeting George Martin was a total "lucky break". Here's another error: "At their first performance in the United States, in Washington, D.C., they played on a rotating stage surrounded on all sides by screaming fans. After several numbers, they realized that the rotating stage was not rotating - and the fans behind them had only seen their backs. The Beatles interrupted their set, and they turned the rotating stage themselves, using only Beatle elbow grease and almost wrenching their backs in the process. That's service." (pg 42) Wrong! The stage was NOT an automated rotating stage! And they did not "interrupt their set" - if you watch the footage, they do not do this in the middle of song! The Beatles went into the concert knowing full well that they would have to rotate the stage every few songs so everyone in the audience could get a good look at the band. And another error Regarding MAGICAL MYSTERY TOUR: "It is interesting to consider whether Epstein would have approved of such a project." (p182)Well, in the book, "Many Years From Now", it is shown that Brian DID know of the project and talked about it in some detail with Paul: "In fact Paul discussed the project in some detail in April 1967 with Brian Epstein before Sgt. Pepper was even released...Brian went over all aspects of the project, pausing every few minutes to make a note on a pad of paper." (p351) 
And the biggest Beatles joke of the year goes to the advice: "Channel your inner Allen Klein"! (p219)I just about fell over in laughing fits as I read this! You've got to be kidding, right? Channel the man who probably was one of the biggest causes of the Beatles, break-up? The book is basically is an advice/pep talk book for new bands wanting to "make it big". It reads like a bad Deepak Chopra "feel good" book that pats you on the back as tells you, "You must believe in yourselves..." ANY successful band could have been used, such is the generic advice contained in the book. But, they picked The Beatles - I guess they were thinking, "Hmmm, who were the biggest band in rock and roll? I know, we'll use The Beatles!" For so-called Beatles experts, the authors simply seem to "bend" history to sell a half-assed, “how to make your band succeed" book! I do think this book needs to be turned into an audio book, where the advice is narrated in a calm, soothing voice, with the gentle sounds of falling water and harps are played! Allen Klein would have been my first choice to narrate the book, but he has since passed. Maybe they can use the same guy that did the fake "George" voice on the DVD, "Paul McCartney Really Is Dead - The Last Testament of George Harrison".
 |