This will be a recurring feature and it will be a brief feature. This one is done by me (Dona) and I may do another or even all. But how it will work is that I'll speak with one community member a book that they have recently read. For this feature, I'm speaking with Stan about the book MAN ON THE RUN: PAUL MCCARTNEY IN THE 1970S by Tom Doyle. After the Beatles broke up, Paul went solo and then quickly formed a new band Wings.
Dona: Stan, thank you for talking about a book with me. Back in August, you wrote about Tom Doyle's book on Paul McCartney arriving in the mail. You've now read the book. What did you think?
Stan: I wanted to like it more than I ended up. It's a good book but it's not a big book and it's not a big issue book either. It's a few pages. 222 of text. I didn't like how -- especially when he's covering John Lennon's 'lost weekend,' Doyle writes about Yoko. I'm not referring to the events but the verbs used on Yoko often were verbs that questioned her -- as though she's claiming a concert took place. The word choice bothered me repeatedly. It also took place at least once with regards to Linda McCartney. I don't know why we question women making declarative statements about public events -- not opinion remarks, mind you.
Dona: Interesting. You've read a number of books about Paul -- as you noted in your blog post -- was there anything in the book that Doyle carried off especially well?
Stan: I thought he did a very strong job with Paul's arrest in Japan for pot possession. He made that section come alive and he did a great job gathering quotes from right-after the release and long after to convey what Paul thought of it. I was expecting more on Wings, Paul's band that the book focuses on. I didn't get a lot of that and the songwriting and recording by Paul and Wings? I wasn't impressed. He writes, at one point, about Paul showing up at the studio where John's recording and Stevie Wonder and others are present. He writes more about that session -- that produced nothing -- than he does about, for example, recording the song "Band On The Run."
Dona: Would you recommend the book?
Stan: Yes. It wasn't everything I wanted it to be but it was a book I enjoyed reading.
Dona: And of the other Paul McCartney books you've read, is there one you'd recommend more?
Stan: Actually, two. I'd recommend Howard Sounes' FAB: AN INTIMATE LIFE OF PAUL MCCARTNEY and Barry Miles' PAUL MCCARTNEY: MANY YEARS FROM NOW.
Dona: Favorite Paul song with the Beatles?
Stan: "Let It Be."
Dona: With Wings?
Stan:"With A Little Luck."
Dona: Solo?
Stan: Two. "Maybe I'm Amazed" and his duet with Stevie Wonder "Ebony and Ivory."
Dona: Thank you so much, Stan.
