Monday, September 21, 2020

Book Talk: MAN ON THE RUN

 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. 

manontherun


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.



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