Blackbird: 2the Life and Times of Paul McCartney

There are many books about Paul McCartney, but this is the only one I've read that devotes as much time to his Wings and solo years as his Beatle years. The Beatles story has been dissected so many times, in so many ways, there is really nothing new to tell. Everybody knows the Beatles were the best group ever, and that Paul was the driving force for many of their great works. But what did he do after the Fabs split? That's where this book is useful. It's too bad the author occasionally gets sidetracked into gossipy dirt about Paul and his associates (much of it coming from Jo Jo Laine), because he also has much positive to say about the man - particularly the loving relationship between Paul, Linda and their kids. I found Denny Laine's comments to be very helpful. He worked with Paul for 10 years, yet his contributions to Wings are usually glossed over in other books. Here, you get more of a sense of what he brought to the band - a strong lead and backup singer, multi-instrumentalist, and occasional songwriting partner for Paul. Wings truly had some great musicians in their ranks through the years - the bluesy guitarist Henry McCullough, the talented but tortured guitarist/songwriter Jimmy McCulloch, rock solid drummer Steve Holley, and virtuoso guitarist Laurence Juber among them. I had a greater appreciation for their efforts after reading this book. The author doesn't neglect Paul's solo years, either. Critics have loved attacking Paul's music for decades, but time has been kind to albums like "McCartney", "Ram", "Tug of War" and "Pipes of Peace". You don't have to think McCartney is a saint to love his music. The portrayal in this book is hardly that of a devil - just a very talented man with quirks and flaws just like the rest of us.

Finally an author who didn't see the need to act like Paul was a God or saint or something. I think there needs to be more books like this about Paul that don't hide the real him or whom he marries etc.

McCartney is a mystery but not this great book. I liked it a lot as I do all of Giuliano's works.

I really liked this book. Its not the usual worshipfull tome one might expect. Here is McCartney warts and all. Its about time we knew the real man behind the overblown legend.

Paul Mc Cartney was a Beatle , perhaps you know this already . The Beatle stories in this book are fun to read . The losers in Mc Cartney's life also get an opportunity to have a go at him . Most of these were related to the awful Wings business . Mr Guiliano takes Wings seriously . This is amusing . Furthermore he suggests that the writing partnership of Mc Cartney and Denny Laine will be better appreciated in the future . Is this a joke ? I believe this songwriting team's most acclaimed moment was Mull Of Kintyre . Am I alone in despising this simple ditty ? There are many other instances of the author crawling . He refers to several minor personalities as gifted , talented etc . This is a little irritating . The book does , however , detail rather admirably the darker side of Mc Cartney's business life . It appears he is a rather shrewd , selfish and greedy individual . Who knows ? Most of the people associated with him are either hangers on or wannabes . I enjoyed finding a mistake in the text ! Wow ! When Mc Cartney played PAPERBACK WRITER live in recent years , it was not the first time it had been performed live by a Beatle as it was included in the 1966 concerts in Tokyo , so there . A very interesting book , but not that difficult to put down as it gets bogged down in irrelevancies ....like Jojo .