Pet Sounds had a very strong effect on me at a young age, i have great memories
of first discovering it when i was about 14 or 15. It was a great summer as well when
i discovered the album, same as when i discovered the fabs & Sgt Pepper.
i played pet sounds so much & still do which drives my folks crazy!
Haven't read that book but i want to, it's not a huge read as i assume?

Quoted from Hello Goodbye

They should both be interesting to read, Michelle.  They\'ve become companion books for their respective albums.

For me, Pet Sounds remains a complicated album.  I knew that when it was first released.  I can remember saying to myself \"I\'m too young to understand all of this now.\"  There remain some things I\'ve yet to understand.  I Just Wasn\'t Made For These Times: Brian Wilson and the Making Of Pet Sounds would be a great book to read on my upcoming vacation.

That was a very insightful conclusion for one so young and it was also very honest of you. Sometimes Pet Sounds reminds of the old Emperor\'s New Clothes fable - are some people afraid to admit that they don\'t like it, in fear of being frowned upon by their peers? Personally speaking, I don\'t think this album is as good as it thinks it is, which you may think is strange when I tell you it\'s one of my favorite albums. I don\'t believe hype, I listen to music on its merits, i.e. through my own ears.

I like sticking to biographies when it comes to the beatles.... I don't like reading books that analyze every song...beatle music is to be enjoyed not to be broken down and studied....it doesn't seem important how they were written...all you need is to listen to them...and what they mean to you not some author you never met to tell you what they mean....

Quoted from Michelle Revolution

That was a very insightful conclusion for one so young and it was also very honest of you. Sometimes Pet Sounds reminds of the old Emperor's New Clothes fable - are some people afraid to admit that they don't like it, in fear of being frowned upon by their peers? Personally speaking, I don't think this album is as good as it thinks it is, which you may think is strange when I tell you it's one of my favorite albums. I don't believe hype, I listen to music on its merits, i.e. through my own ears.

Well said, Michelle.  Pet sounds was a radical departure from what we expected of the Beach Boys at the time.  But like the Beatles, they were responding to a "call of the times."  The mid-to-late 1960s was a tumultuous time worldwide and growing up during that time was a bit difficult.  One could chose to remain oblivious to what was going on or confront the problems that existed.  In retrospect, both the Beatles and the Beach Boys influenced society more than we were aware of at the time.  We absolutely could not go on listening to British Rock Invasion or domestic Surf Music indefinitely.  

For me, Rubber Soul and Pet Sounds coincided with a new level of awareness I was experiencing in coming of age.  I guess Pet Sounds was more difficult for me to understand because Brian Wilson is just so hard to figure out!

I'm not entirely sure why you're getting those backslashes when you type an apostrphe but try going to Control Panel and clicking on Keyboard and then click on the Language tab and see if it says "English (United States)" and "United States 101" under the Layout heading.  If not, select it from the drop-down menu.  I hope that helps.

Has any one read 'The Beatles' by Hunter Davies? and what you thought about it? I never read any Beatle books before and just bought this one but havn't started reading it yet.

I so want to get cynthia's Book 'John'. I was about to get his sister Julia's book but changed my mind.

I began to read Hunter Davies a long time ago but put it down..It seemed to be a safe, official biography of the band written in it's time. That just did not appeal to me. Now I am a sucker for books about the people that worked with them and their recording techniques.

I read it a long time ago when it was the only bio available.  You should definitely read it to see what the authorized biography was all about and how it compares to more recent publications.

Quoted from Hello Goodbye

I\'m not entirely sure why you\'re getting those backslashes when you type an apostrphe but try going to Control Panel and clicking on Keyboard and then click on the Language tab and see if it says \"English (United States)\" and \"United States 101\" under the Layout heading.  If not, select it from the drop-down menu.  I hope that helps.

OK, I\'ve done that - let\'s see if that\'s fixed thing...

Quoted from Michelle Revolution

OK, I\'ve done that - let\'s see if that\'s fixed thing...

Oh mess, thanks anyway Hello Goodbye.

The Rough Guide to The Beatles (2nd Edition)

Quoted from maninthequeue

The Rough Guide to The Beatles (2nd Edition)

That's an excellant little book. i enjoyed it & it's always good to refer back to!

I’m reading Larry Kane’s “Ticket to Ride” right now and—wow! I’m amazed that the Beatles toured as long as they did, and they're still on their first pass through the US. Every concert is a riot, with keen dangers, dozens of kids hurt, mayhem breaking loose. At Kane's first concert, a girl behind him is trampled and left with a broken leg. I’m halfway through the ’64 American tour and I’m exhausted already.

One bummer-- I got this off Amazon and it was supposed to be "new", but it's autographed by Kane (not bad!) and the CD is missing (bad!). So... does anyone know where I can find just the CD? It as a series of Kane's taped interviews, I think. Thank you!

I borrowed Richie Unterberger's 'The Unreleased Beatles' book from the libery yesterday, it's
a fun read, similar to Chrinicle by Mark Lewishon.

Quoted from harihead

I’m reading Larry Kane’s “Ticket to Ride”

I've got his book “Lennon Revealed”