Wednesday, June 11, 2008

The Unreleased Beatles: Music & Film

by Richie Unterberger

The music and film footage you haven't seen or heard, from the most popular band ever.

"Even hardcore Beatles fans will be amazed by this book, which fills in vital gaps in their story, solves long-standing mysteries, and makes you wish you'd heard all the music that the author has heard. This alternative history of the Fab Four is essential reading for anyone who loves their work."
--Peter Doggett, author of The Art and Music of John Lennon

The Unreleased Beatles details the incredible breadth of music the Beatles recorded but did not release, as well as film footage of the group that hasn't been made commercially available. Beatles expert Richie Unterberger examines a huge array of material, including unreleased studio outtakes, BBC radio recordings from 1962-1965, live concert performances, home demo recordings, fan club Christmas recordings, and other informal demos done outside of EMI studios. The staggering wealth of unreleased gems encompasses the Beatles' entire career, from a recording of the Quarrymen on July 6, 1957 (also known as "the day John met Paul"), right up to outtakes from the final sessions of Let It Be in 1970.

The book includes chronological entires for all of the Beatles' unreleased recordings of note, as well as all of the unreleased video footage from 1961-1970 and outtakes from 1990s interviews filmed for Anthology. There's also a general overview of Beatles bootlegs, Beatles songs recorded by other artists in the 1960s, never-recorded material, and more than 100 photos.

Richie Unterberger is the author of Unknown Legends of Rock 'n' Roll; Turn! Turn! Turn: The '60s Folk-Rock Revolution; and Eight Miles High (Backbeat Books). He has written numerous CD reissue liner notes, and he co-edited the All Music Guide to Rock.

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