Scott’s response to the Observer’s list, which has some very odd bedfellows, as Brits usually do. For RCD, TMW gets sandwiched between DISCO FEVER and GLENN GOULD, which pretty much sums up my high school persona:
19. Tell Me Why (Tim Riley): For all the zillion Beatle books that have been published, I think only three have mattered to me: Paperback Writer, the Ian MacDonald title chosen by the Observer, and this, a U.S. counterpart to the MacDonald book–a song-by-song rundown that is slightly more musicological (though not dauntingly so) and far less politicized. A remarkaby clearheaded listen to their records, basically.