To the author and publishers I LOVED THIS BOOK! It was an approach far from any other Beatles books I’ve read. To think one could write an entire book about two songs; well I didn’t think it could be pulled off. I’m so glad I was proven wrong. Generally in my reviews I don’t actually mention specifics because I think there are enough readers out there who are like me- liking to begin reading not knowing hints of cliffhangers or other spoilers. I’m definitely glad I did on this book. Throwing in those exceptional interviews was a definite surprise and a grand touch. I feel like I have no longer simply listened to these two side-As but I’ve tasted, breathed, and touched them. Great book and a must-have for any diehard Beatles fan!

This is a great book that feels very authentic and the author's expertise is obvious. Unfortunately, I think it wasn't meant for casual fans such as myself. While I love listening to the Beatles, I'm far from a scholar on the history of the band and this was not that accessible for me. The first part about the story of Strawberry Fields Forever and Penny Lane was super interesting, but the second part analyzing the meaning of the songs and the parallels to others cultural works etc lost me. Opinions from a couple of "experts" would have been nice, but it just went on and on and on and frankly, I'm not interested in reading that much into the songs. I just want to enjoy them, maybe learn a little about the context of their creation and that's that. I don't think it's a bad book at all, just one that's not meant for people like me, and maybe that's my mistake thinking it was.

Let Me Take You Down is part history, part memoir, and a cultural context of the Beatles by Jonathan Cott. Released 30th April 2024 by The University of Minnesota Press, it's 152 pages and is available in hardcover and ebook formats.

The author is one of the few living writers who are still placed to have actually *lived* during the time and who interviewed the principal players during the time period he writes about. He writes eloquently in the introduction about literally being stopped in his tracks (on the way to deliver a term paper on Chaucer to a professor) the first time he heard Penny Lane. It gives the book an authenticity which engages and informs.

The book's peppered with photos and facsimiles in black and white which add a lot. For example, the author's own copy of the 45 RPM recording of Penny Lane/Strawberry Fields which he purchased 13th Feb 1967 features in the book, which he apparently still owns. The Beatles were, and are, iconic, titans of modern music and indelibly woven into the 20th century.

It's split into two dichotomous parts. The first is a straight history/memoir of the time around the writing and recording of the two songs amidst which sea changes were happening inside the Beatles, from a touring band to becoming mostly a studio entity. (Having seen many hours of videos of the fans and the life they led, it must have been absolutely traumatic and often equally elating and terrifying).

The second part of the book is 5 conversations/interviews with Bill Frisell, Jonathan Rose, Margaret Klenck, Richard Gere, and Laurie Anderson. It's striking how well the author draws out these utterly disparate creative people and shows the similarities of experience which we share as humans. There are a number of moments in the book which are quite profound and both hopeful and wistful (especially given the current climate in the world).

Four stars. A short but quite powerful read. It would be a good choice for public library acquisition, home use, and for music and culture fans.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

I found this look at two of the most popular and important songs of the 1960s to be well-written and thoughtful.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book!

This book is divided into 2 parts: the first part is a history of the time surrounding the writing of the songs, “Strawberry Fields Forever” and “Penny Lane”.
The 2nd part is a set of interviews from famous “experts”, breaking down the songs and discussing/comparing both songs.

I grew up listening to The Beatles and I enjoyed reading about the history of both songs. Learning what led to the group deciding not to tour anymore and how/where these songs were written. It also shows how different both John Lennon and Paul McCartney were as songwriters, which was honestly fascinating.
As I started the 2nd part, I enjoyed hearing what others thought about each song, but as I got to the 3rd-5th “expert”, I found myself zoning out. Each expert approached their interview from a different perspective, but as I read, I realized that instead of just enjoying the songs as I am used to, these experts were, in my opinion, reading too much into the songs. I’m sure that’s really what Paul and John intended, as they were deep thinkers, but I prefer to just enjoy the music and not dissect it.
The writing and conversations in the book were enjoyable, but I would rather read and listen to music to relax and escape and not think too hard. That’s just my personal preference. The book is worth the read for the first part alone and I love the cover as well.

Thank you to the publisher, University of Minnesota Press and NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for my unbiased opinion. As the daughter of a Beatles fanatic, I've grown up loving The Beatles as well. I even took a college course on the history of the band. Strawberry Fields Forever is one of my favorite songs, so when I saw this book which was described as breaking down the writing process of both this and Penny Lane, I couldn't have been more excited.

The book itself is rather short, and is broken into two halves. The first half is the story of the songs, starting with John Lennon and Strawberry Fields Forever and then moving to Paul McCartney and Penny Lane. This half of the book was great, as it really broke down where they were in their lives and in context of the bands life. It explained a lot of things that most Beatle fanatics will be familiar with, but to hyper focus on two songs was a great idea and really enjoyable.

The second half of the book was interviews with five people that the author wanted to discuss their opinions on the songs and their meanings. This part of the book was a bit long winded, and I began to lose interest at Richard Gere (yes, that Richard Gere). The author makes sure that you know how well read and knowledgable he is with his many allusions to other books, poems, songs, etc, which after a while became a bit tiresome, as I would have been more interested in just knowing what these other writers/actors/musicians had to say about strictly the songs themselves.

Overall, the first half is a 4 star for me, and the second half is a 2 star so I'm averaging that to a 3 star. If you're a Beatle fanatic, and consider yourself more of a scholar of the band, this book is a great addition to your collection.

University of Minnesota Press provided an early galley for review.

I have been a Beatles fan since childhood. One of the first albums I ever remember actively listening to was 1964's Meet The Beatles. And, of course, the two songs that are the subject of this book are certainly favorites.

Cott's approach is an interesting one, starting from the position that the songs are two sides of the same coin. He structures his book in a similar fashion which carries the analogy further. His detailed historical research lays out where the band was at the time and how they arrived at the point the songs were composed and recorded. As I get older, I find myself fascinated by the recording process and details of songs.

The second part of the book consists of five insightful conversations as the author discusses the two songs and more with Laurie Anderson, Bill Frisell, Richard Gere, Margaret Klenck and Jonathan F.P. Rose. Cott's choices come from all walks of life, some I knew and some I did not. I liked that Cott formatted it all as a narrative conversation rather than a standard script-interview approach. It was like having a fly-on-the-wall position while these interesting conversations were taking place.

Overall, I would say that Let Me Take You Down would be of interest to both casual Beatles fans as well as diehard ones (though the latter will likely be well-versed in the information found in the first part). It definitely gives the reader something to think about.

Love the groovy cover! Cott takes us on a deep dive of the inspiration, creation, recording, and legacy of ‘Strawberry Fields Forever’ and ‘Penny Lane’. The songs, released together in 1967, could not be more different in terms of tone and style, but, through Cott’s wonderful storytelling and interviews with other artists & musicians, we come to understand that they serve as mirror images of each other and the men who wrote them (John Lennon & Paul McCartney). The first half of the book (Cott’s narration) moved much more swiftly than the second half (interviews and formatted in long quotations between Cott and his interviewees).

I wonder if I'm the only reader who spent mush of this read with a mash-up of Beatles' tunes running through my head? Nah, no way. That initially unconscious reaction speaks to the power of their music. It was fascinating to go back in time and see them evolve from just another bunch of kids with rock'n'roll dreams into one of, if not the ultimate musical entities ever. It was also intriguing to be reminded how each of the individuals thought of the group as a separate entity, almost a different identity from themselves. It was an image they were never able to shake, no matter how hard they tried. As the author reminds us, being caught up in the middle of the hysteria of their frequently mob-like fans had to be absolutely terrifying at times, too. Their last nightmarish tour sounds like the tour from, uh, heck, to be polite.

While the book focuses on the band's music, these two songs in particular, it is important to remember the big picture, so to speak, of life as they were living it and constantly reevaluating themselves and where they were going next musically. In a sense, this is two books combined, maybe three if you count the non-author revelations of reactions and ways of looking at the music from others at the end. Thus, it's part bio, part Cott's individual take on the music, and finally other ways of reacting to these two songs and taking them into oneself.

There's a wealth of information shared as suggested ways to think about these two songs in particular. Given the personal nature of how the same song can impact various individuals in different ways, often even changing over time, I'll leave it to readers to decide their main take-away. Jonathan Cott has done an admirable job of taking us from his first, youthful contact with Penny Lane and Strawberry Fields and shares that and others' takes on the same songs. My thanks to him as well as #NetGalley and #UniversityOfMinnesotaPress for letting me tag along. The in-my-head mash-up of the songs was an unexpected bonus.

Note: Thank you to NetGalley, University of Minnesota Press, and Jonathan Cott for the advanced reader copy of the book. This review will also be posted on NetGalley. What follows is my unbiased review of the book.

John Lennon and Paul McCartney pretty much changed music as we know it. Their writing style and ability to compose a song was different from what had come before, even if the influences were much the same as other musicians of their era. Nowhere is that clearer than the double-A side single which contained the songs Penny Lane and Strawberry Fields Forever.

Jonathan Cott was the last journalist to interview John Lennon, three days before he was shot and killed. He has been a music journalist and contributing editor at Rolling Stone magazine and has authored numerous books. In Let Me Take You Down, he approaches those two songs as reflections of each other. Strawberry Fields Forever was written by John Lennon while Penny Lane was written by Paul McCartney. Both songs seem to lend themselves to the memories the two men have of growing up in Liverpool.

Cott details the events of the tour prior to the release of these songs, which led The Beatles to collectively decide to stop touring. The events were pretty harrowing, especially in the Philippines. After returning to England, John Lennon left to film his part in How I Won the War in Spain. It was there that he began writing Strawberry Fields Forever. Cott details how the isolation Lennon felt at the time likely contributed to the tone of the lyrics. Often something Lennon wrote would inspire McCartney, and that is where Penny Lane fit in. The record company chose to release it as a double-sided single, which was likely a big marketing mistake.

The first part of Let Me Take You Down covers all that led up to the recording of these songs as well as the technical aspects of recording it. In the second part of the book, Cott interviews five people about these songs: guitarist Bill Frisell, urban planner and musician Jonathan F. P. Rose, Jungian analyst Margaret Klenck, actor Richard Gere, and media artist and musician Laurie Anderson.

While I could appreciate the first part of the book, there wasn’t much there that was anything new. Much of the information is also available in The Beatles Anthology, and Cott cites it numerous times as a source. When I looked at the second half of the book, I initially thought it was going to be filler to just make the book longer. However, I was surprised by the insights into the music and what it meant to these very diverse people. Most of the time seems to be spent on Lennon’s Strawberry Fields Forever. Depending on who you listen to, there are many different ways to interpret the song. It seems to be the darkness of growing up in Liverpool while Penny Lane seems to be the lighter side. Or, as some say, Strawberry Fields Forever, with the idea of “take you down” is the representation of the underside of the city where “nothing is real” while Penny Lane represents the above-ground city with its “blue suburban skies.” This ended up being a lot more interesting than I thought it was going to be.

When I thought about how to rate Let Me Take You Down, I thought about a close friend of mine who is a huge Beatles fan. Would I tell her to buy this book? Would I tell her it’s something she needed to read? My answer is that I would not discourage her from buying it if she had an interest in it, but I don’t see it as something a Beatles fan has to have. I think it’s all right for what it is, but there’s also a lot of extraneous information in the book, as well as the troubling fact that, despite assuring readers at first that she’s not going to attempt to psychoanalyze John Lennon, Klenck seems to do just that.

I think this is a book that will appeal mostly to die-hard Beatles fans who feel the need to read everything about them. It’s not a bad book, but it’s just that much of the information is out there in other forms. I don’t remember ever reading the interview Cott did with John Lennon, so I will likely look that up after reading this. While the interviews were interesting and good, they seemed to have a lot more extraneous material than just interpretations and what the songs meant to them.

Let Me Take You Down is a deep dive into the competitive creation of two iconic Beatles songs: John Lennon wrote "Strawberry Fields" and Paul McCartney countered with "Penny Lane". The book focus is February 13, 1967 when the author, Jonathan Cott, was walking on Benvenue Avenue in Berkeley, California and he heard "Penny Lane" from someone's open window. Recommended for die-hard Beatle fans.

Jonathan Cott, Let Me Take You Down Penny Lane and Strawberry Fields Forever, University of Minnesota Press, April 2024.

Thank you, NetGalley, for providing me with this uncorrected proof for review.

Jonothan Cott combines a story of the Beatles’ commitment to touring aimed at giving their audiences access to them and their work with an insightful study of two of their most complex songs, Penny Lane and Strawberry Fields Forever. The Beatles’ touring in ended 1996 with the horrific experiences changing their lives. One outcome was Penny Lane and Strawberry Fields Forever, both of which were side A of a disc that is thought of as their best. The practicalities of one part of the Beatles’ lives as pop stars of the sixties and seventies makes a graphic background to the thoughtful way in which John Lennon and Paul McCartney approached their writing.

Cott provides a wealth of information about the group; their impact on popular culture; the development of their music through improvisation, mistakes used adroitly, their sheer ability to make sounds that people wanted to hear; and Paul McCartney and John Lennon’s writing of their lyrics. Most importantly, the Penny Lane and Strawberry Fields Forever are analysed, and in doing so Cott refers to other works and also provides clues to a wide range of material developed by Lennon and McCartney.

The book is completed with five interviews. These have been so meticulously chosen they almost override the importance of the first section of the book. This does not undermine Cott’s significance, he is an integral part of the interview, with a detailed introduction; an informed and engaging choice of questions; and adding material and concepts to the discussions. The interviews cover various aspects of the way in which both songs can be analysed. Each brings a specific perspective to the discussion, at the same time as ranging widely enough to involve non expert readers in the discussion. Bill Frisell, guitarist; Jonothan F. P. Rose, urban planner, social justice advocate, author; Margaret Klenck, Jungian analyst; Laurie Anderson, media artist; and Richard Gere, actor and Buddhist bring a wider range of expertise to the interviews than these short descriptions suggest. However, Cott’s weaving of well understood concepts and those of the experts, as well lines from the songs ensures that the interviews can be enjoyed and understood.

The interviews are followed by acknowledgements that add further meaning to the text, a bibliography and list of Jonathan Cott’s previous work. His nine-hour interview with John Lennon, only days before his death, was published in Rolling Stone and later, his book, Listening Interviews, 1970 – 1989 (Minnesota, 2020). If it is as adept and absorbing as the interviews in Let Me Take You Down Penny Lane and Strawberry Fields Forever it seems there is even more of Cott’s work that must be read.

Jonathan Cott's Let Me Take You Down: Penny Lane and Strawberry Fields Forever is two books in one as it examines in great detail the two Beatles songs released as a Double-A Side. The first part is pure biography as Cott weaves together the story of Lennon and McCartney, the last Beatles tour, and an in-depth look at how they came to write and record the twin songs. It has been my long tradition that when I am approved for an ARC, I will download and look at the first few pages to get an idea of what I've got. I started reading and didn't stop as I was completely sucked in by Cott's storytelling. I read nearly a third of the book in that one sitting. The second half of the book takes the very intriguing idea of the author sitting down with five various and wide-ranging individuals from different fields and backgrounds to discuss Penny Lane and Strawberry Fields Forever. I will say that the biography portion captured more of my interest, but the discussion was very fascinating, and the differing perspectives made me see aspects of these songs that I had never seen before. I really enjoyed this (albeit brief) look into these two amazing Beatles songs.

Special Thanks to the University of Minnesota Press and Netgalley for the digital ARC. This was given to me for an honest review.

Jonathan Cott's "Let Me Take You Down: Penny Lane and Strawberry Fields Forever" offers a captivating dual exploration into the iconic Beatles songs released as a Double-A Side. In the first part, Cott masterfully intertwines the biographical narrative of Lennon and McCartney, the culmination of the last Beatles tour, and a profound examination of the creative process behind the twin tracks. As a longstanding tradition, I typically peruse the initial pages of an ARC, but Cott's compelling storytelling immediately drew me in, and I found myself engrossed, devouring almost a third of the book in one sitting.

The second half of the book presents a unique twist, with the author engaging in insightful discussions with five diverse individuals from various fields and backgrounds, all centered around Penny Lane and Strawberry Fields Forever. While my personal preference leaned towards the biographical section, the discussions proved to be equally fascinating. The diverse perspectives offered by the participants shed new light on aspects of these timeless Beatles songs, enriching my understanding in ways I had not previously envisioned. This brief yet insightful exploration of the musical legacy of Penny Lane and Strawberry Fields Forever left me thoroughly entertained and enlightened.