Conversations with McCartney

Du Noyer, founding editor of Mojo magazine, has interviewed Sir Paul McCartney many times since 1989, and in this sometimes cloying collection, readers get to hear the seemingly ageless former Beatle discuss a variety of topics: songwriting, religion and spirituality, his enduring relationship with Linda Eastman, his reflections on the breakup of the Beatles and life after the group. The interviews alternate between insightful and bland regardless of subject. On the making of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, for example, McCartney recalls that they were “fed up being ‘The Beatles’ ” and asked, “Why don’t we pretend that we’re another band? Make up a name for it, make up alter egos, so we can make a whole album from the point of view of this other band?” On touring: “It’s never the last tour as far as I’m concerned... I’ve always said I’ll be wheeled on when I’m ninety.” McCartney also points to the moment when the Beatles’ music significantly changed, with the 1966 release of Revolver: “It started to be art... it changed from showbiz to art.” Du Noyer’s book offers a glimpse of one wide-eyed fan’s conversations with his hero, and it will mostly appeal to McCartney fans who wish they were in Du Noyer’s shoes. (Oct.)