England, the 1960s, and the Triumph of the Beatles

De: Michael Shelden, The Great Courses

Narrado por: Michael Shelden

How did four young men from a faded old seaport in Northern England lead such an epic musical and cultural revolution? Why could the story of the Beatles only have happened in such a charged decade? What remains to be said about this British band that hasn’t been said before?

Questions like these lie at the beating heart of these 12 lessons that offer a fresh look at how this celebrated band became one of the most compelling voices against the status quo. Taking you deeper than any simple music survey, Professor Shelden zeroes in on the cultural backstory of how the Beatles emerged as a worldwide phenomenon. Using the advantages of hindsight, recent scholarship, and interviews with key figures, he reconstructs an incredible period in sonic and social history for both dedicated Beatlemaniacs and new listeners alike.

Giving equal weight to the Beatles’ early years as they do to the apex of their career and eventual dissolution, these lectures invite you on a whirlwind adventure that reveals the evolution of a band like no other - from school kids to musicians to pop phenomenon to film stars to artists inevitably drawn in separate directions. They also offer eye-opening cultural insights into some of the band’s greatest hits, including “Yesterday”, “Back in the USSR”, and “Do You Want to Know a Secret?”

An eclectic blend of cultural history, biography, and music history, this series is your chance to discover how the Beatles became one of the most compelling voices against the status quo.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2020 The Teaching Company, LLC (P)2020 The Great Courses

Good to see the Beatles in lecture format

It was a pleasant experience indeed. It was a unique context. The Beatles changed the world we live in ways we are now understanding.

Surprisingly good

I have read several books on the Beatles, but I never saw a reference to George Harrison visiting America in 1963. While there were not many other ‘new’ facts here for me, Shelden does provide several new ways of seeing how and why the Beatles developed. While I have seen numerous references to Stuart Sutcliffe, Shelden does the best job (for me at least) of showing how Sutcliffe gave confidence to Lennon to pursue his muse. There are also interesting comparisons of Liverpool and Hamburg that show their similarities, and why that could help in the development of the Beatles.
Shelden also highlights the importance of ‘Rubber Soul’ in their catalogue. I quite liked Sheldon’s reevaluation of the Beatles.

A welcome addition to the Beatles literature...

The lecture format works well here and the material is well documented and compelling. I've read most of the major Beatles books, most recently the extended version of Mark Lewisohn's Tune In. This is not a deep dive but more broad and sweeping. A splendid time listening to these lectures.

Delightful and smart

You'd think all was said on the Beatles, but this really is different. Very happy listening - everything about the Beatles finally made sense. This professor is a consummate professional. He's not talking down to you one time.

You get perspective: why Beatles shot up like a rocket; several things they did that were each so distinct; how so much fortune and fame affected the group. No big theories, just background facts put into perspective in a way that's surprisingly delightful. A series of new things were actually said that no other author previously expressed! And all so reasonable.

You can listen to this professor easily. If they come out with more audiobooks by him, I'm in.

Very Good!

After listening to a 43-hour book on The Beatles, this was a perfect book to get a perspective from a different angle.