JOHN & PAUL A Love Story in Songs

Chris Addison provides a BBC-quality narration of this insightful songwriter bro-mance. Addison's relaxed performance is colorful and sincere, ideal for exploring the collaborative relationship of John Lennon and Paul McCartney. The audiobook methodically presents these two confederates' musical and personal trajectories, starting with Paul's audition for John's band, the Quarrymen (and his disastrous guitar solo at their first gig). The audiobook is structured cleverly, linking each phase of the Lennon-McCartney relationship with a kindred composition. For example, the chapter about 1963, the year of filming A HARD DAY'S NIGHT, is constructed around "If I Fell," described as "one of John's most Paul-like songs." With this track, the songwriters learned how to combine voices to harmonize emotions. "John sounds uncertain, hurt, and vulnerable," writes the author, and Paul is "hopeful, yearning, romantic." Together, "they sound everything at once." R.W.S. © AudioFile 2025, Portland, Maine [Published: MAY 2025]