Beatles '66

The Revolutionary Year

By: Steve Turner

Narrated by: Simon Vance

Length: 12 hrs and 14 mins

Publisher's summary

A riveting look at the transformative year in the lives and careers of the legendary group whose groundbreaking legacy would forever change music and popular culture

They started off as hysteria-inducing pop stars playing to audiences of screaming teenage fans and ended up as musical sages considered responsible for ushering in a new era.

The year that changed everything for the Beatles was 1966 - the year of their last concert and of Revolver, their first album created to be listened to rather than performed. This was the year the Beatles risked their popularity by retiring from live performances, recording songs that explored alternative states of consciousness, experimenting with avant-garde ideas, and speaking their minds on issues of politics, war, and religion. It was the year their records were burned in America after John's explosive claim that the group was "more popular than Jesus", the year they were hounded out of the Philippines for "snubbing" its First Lady, the year John met Yoko Ono, and the year Paul conceived the idea for Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.

Music journalist and Beatles expert Steve Turner investigates in detail the enormous changes that took place in the Beatles' lives and work during 1966. He looks at the historical events that had an impact on the group, the music they made that in turn profoundly affected the culture around them, and the vision that allowed four young men from Liverpool to transform popular music and serve as pioneers for artists from Coldplay to David Bowie, Jay-Z to U2.

By talking to those close to the group and by drawing on his past interviews with key figures such as George Martin, Timothy Leary, and Ravi Shankar - and the Beatles themselves - Turner gives us the compelling, definitive account of the 12 months that contained everything the Beatles had been and anticipated everything they would still become.

©2016 Steve Turner (P)2018 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

66 was quite a year!

In depth review of Beatles- very interesting. A number of new things presented and concepts. Very interesting. A few parts were overly wordy but in all a great book and well read.

1966 was more important than I'd thought

One year in the Beatles' history seems like a strange slice, but it turns out that quite a lot of their true significance beyond the Beatlemania happened, or began to happen, in 1966. There are mundane and profound details about their lives, thoughts, and influences here that are inspiring. This is a good book for people interested in the Beatles generally, 20th century cultural changes, and becoming broader thinkers.

Fantastic Book

I've read a lot of books on the Beatles, but this has to be one of the very best. It's really engrossing and I learned a lot of things that I did not know. Also, the narrator is excellent. Highly recommended!

Sad, But True

Major Beatles fan, here. I love everything about them and have read plenty of material about the group. That said, while I liked this book and found it well-researched and thorough, I also found it sad as it covers the months that show the group growing tired of live concerts (and even of each other)...knowing as we do that this is the beginning of the end.

I was hoping for more specific detail about the creation of music on Rubber Soul and Revolver. This was the time period when their in-studio creativity was developing and became so critical to the music of their later years. George Martin is mentioned in a few of the songs but I wish his influence had been explored in more depth.

The narrator, Simon Vance, is his usual expert self, narrating this story with professionalism and clarity.

Mostly, I was sad listening to this book as it signaled the oncoming end of the greatest band of all time. And this is not on the author but on me!

Beautifully written and narrated

A wonderful book about the pivotal year in the Beatles career and lives. There are so many great events described in detail; the recording of Revolver, the intensity and frustration of the last tour, and the beginning of Sgt. Pepper. Simon Vance does an excellent job narrating the Beatles individual voices.

One of the best books about the Beatles

Extraordinary detail and insight. No gossipy tabloid stuff. Just music, art, history and John Paul George and Ringo.

Fascinating, for those of us who lived through it-

A detailed examination of the pivotal year 1966 in the life of the Beatles. If you're a Beatles fan or enjoy music history from the 1960s, this will be a pleasure.

New information on a pivotal year in Beatles music

Steve Turner has accomplished a feat. He has written a book about the most documented music group in history and still come up with fresh information and interpretations.

Turner does this by narrowing his focus to 1966. The Beatles were coming off Rubber Soul, where John was trying out a new style of Dylan lyric writing (Norwegian Wood) and the Beatles were getting more experimental in the studio.

This was the year the Beatles put together what some consider their best album, Revolver.

The book examines the Beatles' decision to stop touring and focus on recording. So there's a lot about John's Jesus remarks and the subsequent Beatles record burnings in the American South. The bloom was off the lovable Mop Tops and the s@#$ was hitting the fan.

There's a recounting of the group's tour dates in Japan--where they were criticized for appearing at the Budokan--and the comic misunderstanding in the Philippines that led to a potentially dangerous feud between the group and Imelda Marcos.

Beatles '66 obviously looks at the recording of Revolver and how the songs represent an evolution in their songwriting and studio process.

Simon Vance does an excellent job as narrator, getting down the different speech patterns of John, Paul, George and Ringo. He doesn't try to imitate but you always know which Beatle is speaking.


Other Audible titles you might enjoy:

Maximum Volume: The Life of Beatles Producer George Martin: The Early Years, 1926-1966 by Kenneth Womack. My one gripe with this book is the American narrator. Who made that decision?


Altamont: The Rolling Stones, the Hells Angels, and the Inside Story of Rock's Darkest Day by Joel Selvin. Like Beatles '66, this music history has a narrow focus, the infamous Altamont concert headlined by the Rolling Stones. The book tells the story from the point of view of audience members, music critics who were there, performers, the Hell's Angels and the young man who was killed and his girlfriend.

Music Evolution

Any Beatles fan will find this work insightful. A great take on the transitional motion of the evolving band that was the Beatles. Full of incredible new information deep and in detail. Soak it all in !

It Was A Very Good Year

Very detailed look at the influences and development of many of their songs and their lives, all within one pivotal year. They had a heavy influence on me as I followed them from the first time I heard “I Want to Hold Your Hand” on Detroit’s WXYZ in December 1963. Still recovering from Kennedy’s assassination just a month earlier, the Beatles was the breath of fresh air and optimism we needed. They were the reason I learned to play the guitar and the reason I have a ‘67 Rickenbacker similar to George’s. Unfortunately I was not able to go to either of their concerts here in Detroit but I followed them to present day. “The Beatles 1966” is a must read/listen for all hard core fans for a more in depth look at the story behind song development, lyric choices, and personal development of the greatest band that changed music forever.