This is a very well produced film, featuring interviews with Klaus Voorman, Anthony De Curtis, Maureen Cleaves and Barry Miles, among others, and chock full of clips (with sound!) from The Beatles’ Ed Sullivan performances, the first US tour, the Royal Variety performance and the MTV-style videos that were produced for shows like Ready, Steady, Go!, Shindig, etc.
We get the rehashed stories of the verbal agreement that Lennon and McCartney made to share credit for any song that the other had written and Lennon’s beginnings in the crude Skiffle movement, as opposed to McCartney’s more formal upbringing, by his musician father. As always, Lennon is portrayed as the raucous rocker while McCartney is the vaudeville crooner, pretty standard stuff.
But, this disc also gives an in-depth look at the songwriting styles of the two lead Beatles. While many discussions on this begin with the 1965 album Rubber Soul, this one correctly begins with the 1964 album A Hard Day’s Night, the only Beatles album that consists of only Lennon/McCartney songs. Alan Moore and Chris Ingham pick apart the chords and melodies for songs like “A Hard Day’s Night,” “Can’t Buy Me Love” and “Yesterday,” breaking the songs down and discussing their roots.
Bonus materials include extended interviews with Voorman, Cleaves and Miles, as well as biographies. An enjoyable film for the consummate Beatle fan, an informative, entertaining watch for the casual viewer and the performance clips certainly help for those who will want repeat viewings.
Composing The Beatles Songbook: Lennon And McCartney 1957 – 1965 is out now on MVD.
