THE MCCARTNEY LEGACY

A fulsome biography set during a crucial period of the iconic musician’s life.

Drawing on hundreds of interviews, theirs and others, Kozinn and Sinclair create a thorough narrative seeking to show a “deeper sense of how (and why) McCartney…created the music of the period we cover.” Covering five years in more than 700 pages, the book is extremely detail-laden, probably more than some readers will want. The authors begin at the end, with the dissolution of the Beatles in 1969, something McCartney didn’t want but John Lennon did. McCartney said he “really was done in for the first time in my life.” He was also worried about the fate of Apple Records, which put him up against the others and contributed mightily to the band’s breakup. As things fell apart, McCartney was living on his Scottish farm, writing and recording songs with his own equipment. Kozinn and Sinclair include numerous informational callouts—“Recording Sessions”—throughout the book alongside deep dives into the composition of the songs, giving insights into McCartney’s creative process. The authors also explore how Linda Eastman helped McCartney in many ways and how he composed a song about her, “Maybe I’m Amazed,” for a solo, reboot album he was working on, McCartney, which the authors see as a counterpoint to Lennon and Yoko Ono’s Wedding Album. The authors devote a lot of space to record-business machinations and legal matters. They describe how McCartney hand-picked musicians to record with as he released a single and worked on a new album, Ram, which received tepid reviews. They chronicle the formation of Wings with Linda and Wild Life, another album, which George Harrison viciously panned as “crummy.” Volume 1 ends with the highly successful Band on the Run album. To be continued.

A gold mine for avid fans.