Better Than Lennon
The Music and Talent of Paul McCartney John Cherry Peppertree Press 2009 ISBN: 978-1-936051-40-3 Entertainment
“I have fed you an immense amount of information, opinions and statistics so far…”
So writes the author at the beginning of his closing chapters. And that’s no exaggeration. Over ninety-nine pages of facts and figures in the author’s attempt to prove that Paul McCartney is more superior at songwriting than was John Lennon.
Quite frankly, I don’t think the average reader would really be too interested in who was better; nevertheless, those who have followed the Beatles’ career will certainly find the information fascinating.
Cherry’s done a remarkable job at pulling together statistics on who wrote which song; how many McCartney songs and how many Lennon songs were on each album; how many hit singles each one wrote; and even which ones made top of the charts in both the United Kingdom and the United States.
The author also briefly draws from previously published sources to offer others’ opinions of McCartney’s songwriting and musical talent.
Not only does Cherry offer statistics on the recordings, but each chapter also looks at various times of their lives, and how albums came about because of what was happening in their personal lives at the same time.
Overall, this book is an interesting and insightful look into the creativity of two of the world’s most influential songwriters.
Book Review by Michael Woodhead Copyright ©2009
