The McCartney legacy

Former New York Times music critic Kozinn (The Beatles: From the Cavern to the Rooftop) and Sinclair, a film documentarian, expertly chronicle the life and music of Paul McCartney beyond the Beatles. In the first half, they deal with the acrimonious split of the Fab Four over business affairs, which pitted McCartney and his manager/father-in-law Lee Eastman against the other three Beatles, who favored the aggressive but somewhat disreputable entrepreneur Allen Klein. They also recount the creative process behind McCartney's two solo efforts--1970's McCartney and 1971's Ram--and his pastoral life with his new wife, Linda. In the final sections, Kozinn and Sinclair document in painstaking detail the formation, recordings, and touring of the band Wings, which produced the 1973 commercial blockbuster and McCartney's most well-known, post-Beatles album, Band on the Run. VERDICT Meticulously researching the topic and writing in a lively, conversational style, the coauthors have delivered the definitive work about the immediate post-Beatles times of Paul McCartney. It is likely to be too detailed for general readers but represents a treasure trove of information for Beatlemaniacs.--Dr. Dave Szatmary

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. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.