Tell Me Why: A Beatles Commentary

This book is brilliant, if not quite what I expected when I picked it up. I expected, I suppose, something much closer to "A Hard Day's Write": Stories behind the songs, tales of recording and inspiration. What I got was far better; a song-by-song, album-by-album, single-by-single, MUSICAL analysis of the Beatle's catalogue. I emphasize the word musical because this book is heaped with music theory. The effects of unresolved sixths, diminished ninths, dominant and subdominant chords and progressions... if you're not familiar with any term I just mentioned you might be getting in over your head. But, to his credit, Riley sticks to the specifics of each song that his meaning becomes clear as soon as you listen to what he's writing about, regardless of how much music theory you know. Riley's analysis of "Revolver" is spectacular, and I appreciate his nerve to finally come out and say that "Sgt. Pepper's" ISN'T the Beatles' best album (it's about time that myth was debunked). His attention to song progression is something I find extremely worthwhile, and his interpretation of the meaning behind the way each song is sung (which goes far beyond "to make it sound good" and into the realm of psychiatric analysis at times) and the way each album is ordered is much appreciated. "Tell Me Why" is a look at exactly what the Beatles did to music, the area of culture where they caused the most change. With the heaps of other tomes that focus on their effect on the world of celebrity and on their personal life, it's a refreshing and exhillerating read,

I can't speak to the accuracy of every detail in this book, but I found the commentary and analysis to be very informative and entertaining. Riley, unlike many authors who cover subjects of pop culture, isn't afraid to approach the music with a loving but critical eye. I really don't need to read another author fawning unconditionally over The Beatles. Riley doesn't present his interpretations as fact, and seems to respect his readers enough to give them the credit to know that these are his opinions. Some of his writing on the music is a bit technical, but that's hardly the focus of the book, and would certainly be useful to a musician or someone fluent in music theory. Likewise, his writing is sometimes a bit lofty and convoluted- this often reads as if it were an academic work. But it's far from unreadable, and offers an all-encompassing, song by song, sometimes lyric by lyric, analysis of The Beatles (plus a few of their solo works). The music obviously speaks for itself, but this is a fine supplement to help enhance our understanding of it. If nothing else, this is just the well-written opinions of another fan.

Riley has given us a great gift - a way to listen to these familiar recordings with fresh ears. He sticks to the music itself (a real blessing) and opens up new points of insight and discussion about the Beatles as musicians (not pop icons or celebrities). As an example he convincingly makes the case that the often over-looked Ringo Starr is in fact one of the most musical drummers of the rock era. The technical side of the discussions are minimized although welcome to those with a little musical knowledge. You will not find a more thoughtful, intelligent and entertaining work about the Beatles' music.

Riley's survey of the Beatles albums and singles is one of the most enlightening books on the subject. As a survey of The Beatles' music, the book cannot be faulted for failing to dig into the musician's personal lives. Some critics of the book complain of the technical language, but unlike the journalist who praised the "aeolian cadences" in "Not A Second Time," Riley is aware that The Beatles were untutored, basically intuitive musicians. His language is that of a musically educated person, not that of a pompous intellectual critic (of music or books), and Riley clearly worked hard to keep the analysis from flying over the heads of his anticipated readership, though perhaps he shouldn't have bothered. A reader may disagree with Riley's judgments about some songs and albums, but the author never fails to justify his opinions, and usually he offers some new insight into these now-venerable recordings. Best of all, Riley doesn't buy into the popular myths about the more famous songs and albums, and he does approach each new topic as freshly as possible. This book and Mark Lewisohn's "Beatles Recording Sessions" are two of the finest volumes on Beatles music ever written.