All the Songs

Jean-Michel Guesdon is a musician, composer, and sound engineer. Together with Philippe Margotin, he has written All the Songs books about the Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, and Pink Floyd.

In addition to writing multiple titles in the All the Songs series, Philippe Margotin has written several other books on music, including biographies of U2 and Radiohead. 

Scott Freiman combines his career as a composer, producer, and educator with an in-depth knowledge of the Beatles, and the result is "Deconstructing the Beatles", which is a series of multimedia presentations about the composition and production techniques of the Fab Four. Freiman presents his lectures to sold-out audiences throughout North America and at colleges and universities. He lives in Irvington, New York.

French musician Guesdon and music writer Margotin take an exhaustive look at the Beatles' repertoire in the meticulously researched title. Arranged chronologically by album, the book includes for each song basic information (songwriter, track length, number of takes, etc.), a brief discussion of how it was written and recorded, and an overall assessment. While the authors include thorough technical details about sound engineering and production, numerous anecdotes and quotations from the group keep the book entertaining and accessible even to more casual music fans. The design further enhances the title's appeal: yellow boxes with trivia for Beatles fanatics are interspersed throughout, and an arrary of photographs features images of the group over the course of their career. Biographical information is incorporated where relevant; however, the emphais here is on the group as they functioned within the studio, and readers will come away with a rich and rewarding appreciation of the Fab Four's innovative and evolving work. VERDICT Although some of the content may be familiar to die-hard Beatles aficionados, most pop music fans will enjoy this engaging and comprehensive guide. Highly recommended.--Mahnaz Dar "Library Journal "