📚 The Long, Winding Road Solo: A Definitive Map of the Post-Beatle Decade 🎸 cover art

📚 The Long, Winding Road Solo: A Definitive Map of the Post-Beatle Decade 🎸

📚 The Long, Winding Road Solo: A Definitive Map of the Post-Beatle Decade 🎸

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 When The Beatles officially dissolved in 1970, the world didn’t just lose the greatest band in history—it gained four solo artists who would spend the next decade (and beyond) trying to define themselves outside the overwhelming shadow of their collective achievement. “The Beatles after The Beatles: The Solo Careers of John, Paul, George and Ringo (1967-1980)”, by Italian journalist Luca Perasi, is an ambitious two-volume exploration of this fraught, fascinating period, examining how four men who changed music together navigated the challenge of moving forward. Written as both narrative history (Volume One) and comprehensive discography (Volume Two), this work attempts to document everything from major album releases to obscure side projects like Thrillington and Scouse the Mouse, covering the period from their first solo ventures in 1967 through John Lennon’s death in December 1980.What the Books CoverVolume One: The Narrative traces the dissolution of The Beatls beginning in 1966 through the messy, contentious end of 1969, then follows all four Beatles through the 1970s as they established separate careers with varying degrees of commercial and critical success. The book doesn’t shy away from the uncomfortable reality that their solo careers were inextricably linked to their past: the public fights over Apple Corps management, the legal battles that dragged on for years, the constant comparisons between their new work and Beatles classics, the business interests and personal conflicts that kept them from fully moving on. Enriched with vintage photos and images, the narrative approach allows readers to see how their personal lives—marriages, divorces, drug problems, spiritual quests, political activism—intersected with their professional output in ways that wouldn’t have been possible (or at least wouldn’t have been as visible) during the Beatles years.Volume Two: The Discography takes a different approach, telling their stories through the music itself. Every album, every single, obscure side projects, collaborative work—all documented with recording dates, session musicians, chart performance, critical reception, and the musical influences that shaped each project. This is the reference book portion, the completist’s guide that doesn’t just cover the big albums everyone knows (Imagine, Band on the Run, All Things Must Pass) but also the weird detours like Paul’s instrumental album under the pseudonym Percy “Thrills” Thrillington or George’s production work for other artists. The discography approach provides context that pure chronological narrative can’t: how each Beatle’s musical evolution reflected or rejected their Beatles heritage, how critical and commercial success often diverged wildly, how each found different ways to be productive in an industry that kept asking “but when will you get back together?”The scope is comprehensive, beginning with solo projects that happened while The Beatles still technically existed (Paul’s The Family Way soundtrack in 1967, John’s experimental work with Yoko, George’s Wonderwall Music) and ending with the tragic punctuation mark of Lennon’s murder in December 1980. This timeline choice is significant: it acknowledges that the “solo careers” didn’t start cleanly on April 10, 1970 when Paul announced the breakup, but rather emerged gradually as the four Beatles began pulling in different directions years before the official end.This essay continues below. Click on the title of this product to view on Amazon. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.The Beatles after The Beatles. The Solo Careers of John, Paul, George and Ringo (1967-1980)The Central Narrative: Four Different Strategies for Escaping The Beatles’ ShadowWhat emerges from both volumes is a story about how impossible it is to escape a mythology you helped create. John Lennon’s strategy was radical honesty and political activism—stripping away the carefully cultivated Beatles image to reveal raw emotion and controversial politics. His solo work swung between confessional brilliance (Plastic Ono Band), political didacticism (Some Time in New York City), and the softer, more mature work of his later years (Double Fantasy). Paul McCartney’s approach was relentless productivity and populism—if he couldn’t be The Beatles, he’d be Wings and prove he could have another successful band. His solo discography is massive, sometimes brilliant, sometimes disposable, always melodically infectious and frequently dismissed by critics who couldn’t forgive him for not being John’s equal partner anymore.George Harrison’s path was spiritual and selective—he’d been waiting years to release the backlog of songs The Beatles didn’t have room for, and All Things Must Pass announced that the “quiet Beatle” had been quietly becoming a formidable songwriter. But George’s solo career would be frustratingly inconsistent, ...
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