Technology helps resurrect late bandmate's vocals for debut LP
The Beatles were back in the news in November 2023 when a raw demo recorded by John Lennon in the late 1970s finally saw the light of day, thanks to artificial intelligence and a little help from his friends.
Using audio technology director Peter Jackson pioneered during production of the acclaimed 2021 Beatles documentary Get Back, surviving members Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr were able to isolate Lennon's vocals for the song Now and Then by eliminating all background noise, including a spotty piano accompaniment. The pair next headed into the studio to add newly recorded instrumentation to their late mate's singing voice, the culmination of which was a fresh-sounding track that turned out to be the first Beatles composition in 53 years to top the Billboard charts.
Lloyd Peterson is the owner of Paintbox Recording, a full-service studio at 600 Shaftesbury Blvd. that has hosted the likes of Fred Penner, Begonia and the Dirty Catfish Brass Band. In addition to being intrigued with the Now and Then project from a professional standpoint, Peterson also began to wonder whether he and his longtime collaborator Chris Maxfield could utilize the same creative high jinks, to assist them with a set of amateur recordings they'd been holding onto for 40-plus years.
Daniel Crump / Free Press
Maxfield (left) and Peterson spool up Go Jetter's original 1979 reel-to-reel recordings.
On May 13, following months of trial and error, Peterson and Maxfield unveiled From the Word Go, the debut album from Go Jetter, the band they formed in 1979 in London, Ont., with their pal Rob 'Iggy' Morningstar, who died by suicide in 1983.
'It's really hard to describe how fulfilling it was to bring this record back to life,' Maxfield says, seated next to Peterson in Paintbox Recording's reception area, where the digital release's lead single, the uptempo rocker Tuesday Night in the Morning, is playing in the background.
Peterson chimes in, saying there were definitely moments during the last year that were 'just magical,' as they played along — Peterson on guitar, Maxfield on drums — to Iggy's vocals and keyboard/bass lines, which they'd successfully wrested from a grainy reel-to-reel tape, using essentially the same AI app as the ex-Beatles.
'There Chris and I would be, counting a song in, and then Iggy would start singing through our headphones. We'd look at each other and be like wow, this is exactly how it was, 46 years ago.'
Peterson and Maxfield became friends while attending Westlane Secondary School in Chippawa, a community in Niagara Falls, Ont. They met Morningstar during their second year of high school, after he moved to Chippawa from Prescott, Ont.
'He could play guitar, he looked like David Bowie… right away we were asking ourselves, 'who the heck is this guy?'' Maxfield says, crediting a Sam the Record Man employee for granting Morningstar the nickname Iggy, for a coif resembling that of Stooges lead singer Iggy Pop.
Supplied
Rob 'Iggy' Morningstar died by suicide in 1983.
Peterson and Maxfield had already belonged to their share of upstart bands when they approached Morningstar to see if he'd be interested in jamming with the two of them. Sure, came his response, and in Grade 12, the trio entered a talent contest at their school, billing themselves as Dallas Cooper, a colourful unit that covered the catalogue of — you guessed it — Alice Cooper.
After graduating in 1977, Peterson briefly attended the University of Guelph, before moving to Winnipeg, where his parents had relocated. In early 1979 he received a call from Maxfield, who let him know that he and Morningstar intended to form a new group, with the goal of writing and recording original material.
Peterson announced he was in. They settled into a rented house in London, having chosen that burg simply because none of them had ever set foot there before, and they were seeking an entirely new adventure — one fuelled largely by popcorn and roll-your-own cigarettes.
'We had this 'cutting edge' two-track technology, so what we did was record guitar, drums and vocals on one track, then play that back and add flute, bass and synthesizer,' Peterson says, mentioning they adopted the moniker Go Jetter after a dog, Jetter, Morningstar brought home one afternoon as a surprise.
'We were just kind of making it up as we went along; it was basically us putting down ideas — beginnings, middle eights, endings — that would evolve into full-fledged songs,' adds Maxfield, noting because their musical influences were all over the map, from the Clash to Steely Dan to Gordon Lightfoot, the outcome was everything from 'punk blasts' to more folk-tinged arrangements.
Daniel Crump / Free Press
Lloyd Peterson jams with fellow Go Jetter bandmate Chris Maxfield, in Peterson's Winnipeg Studio, Paintbox Recording.
When they weren't writing and recording, Go Jetter performed live here and there around the southern Ontario city. But after neglecting to pay the rent for a prolonged period, they received what Maxfield calls an official-looking letter from their landlord, instructing them to pack their belongings and vamoose — a set of circumstances that sealed the fate of Go Jetter.
'It's really hard to describe how fulfilling it was to bring this record back to life'– Chris Maxfield
In the wake of the band's demise, Peterson and Maxfield moved first to Toronto, then later to Winnipeg where they helped form the Cheer, an upbeat foursome that enjoyed a modicum of success during the 1980s. Meanwhile, Morningstar headed to Ohio, where he joined the post-punk outfit the F Models.
Peterson remembers getting set to board a van in December 1983 to leave for a Cheer show in Thompson when he received a call from Morningstar's brother Randy, to let him and Maxfield know their chum had been found dead, two days before his 25th birthday.
'If somebody gets taken from you at such a young age, they're always going to be the person you knew when you were 20; you're never going to see them grow old,' Peterson states, running a hand through his hair. 'Like lots of people, Iggy was complicated and had a lot of stuff to overcome in his life, but in his heart he was an entertainer, and he was very talented when it came to music.'
Daniel Crump / Free Press
Recording pro Lloyd Peterson was inspired to revisit Go Jetter's '70s recordings after AI tech helped resurrect John Lennon's vocals from a rough demo.
Peterson and Maxfield remained in touch after the end of the Cheer in 1989. Peterson eventually moved over to the production side of things — he established Paintbox Recording in the mid-2000s — while Maxfield forged a successful career as a travel executive and currently, as the owner of his own communications firm.
In January 2024, Peterson and Maxfield were out for breakfast when the topic of the aforementioned Beatles documentary came up. Specifically, they discussed back and forth how the producers had been able to clean up the Fab Four's old recordings by extracting individual vocal, guitar and drum tracks from existing tapes — an action Peterson equated with removing the flour or baking powder from an already-prepared biscuit.
'There Chris and I would be, counting a song in, and then Iggy would start singing through our headphones. We'd look at each other and be like wow, this is exactly how it was, 46 years ago'– Lloyd Peterson
'I did a bit of homework and found the applicable AI app,' Maxfield says. 'I happened to have a Go Jetter song on my phone and after running it through the app, I had this eureka moment… I couldn't believe we'd be able to pull Iggy's vocals out and rebuild the song, if that's what we chose to do.'
One song turned into two, two became four, until the pair had successfully recreated 11 Go Jetter tunes from a quarter-inch tape marked 'Go Jetter, Summer of '79.' (Thinking ahead, Peterson also commissioned a local production crew to film the goings-on for what turned out to be a nearly nine-minute-long documentary augmented with grainy snapshots of the three of them, taken with a 'crappy, $15' Instamatic camera.)
Prior to the album being released on streaming services, Peterson and Maxfield were in touch with Morningstar's siblings, who joyfully gave the undertaking their blessing. They also heard from Morningstar's adult nephew, who contacted them from his home in Alberta.
Supplied
The band in 1977, before they were Go Jetter
'He was too young to have known his uncle — he'd only heard stories about him through his mom — and he was really excited to learn more about Iggy, from Lloyd's and my perspective,' Maxfield says.
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For obvious reasons, Peterson and Maxfield don't have any plans to play live shows as Go Jetter, though attendees at a June 14 show at Blue Note Park, featuring a resurrected Cheer alongside Monuments Galore and Chocolate Bunnies From Hell, may be fortunate enough to hear one song off the LP From the Word Go.
'There were so many times we wished Iggy could have been a part of this and we're thinking of playing Minor Sins from the new album, a fresh one written years after he died, all about him and our time together,' Peterson says.
'It will be our tribute to him from the surviving Go Jetter members, carried on by the Cheer,' Maxfield adds.
Supplied
From left, Chris Maxfield, Lloyd Peterson and Rob 'Iggy' Morningstar perform together 40-plus years ago.
For more information, go to gojetter.ca
david.sanderson@freepress.mb.ca
David Sanderson
Dave Sanderson was born in Regina but please, don't hold that against him.
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Winnipeg Free Press
3 days ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Technology helps resurrect late bandmate's vocals for debut LP
The Beatles were back in the news in November 2023 when a raw demo recorded by John Lennon in the late 1970s finally saw the light of day, thanks to artificial intelligence and a little help from his friends. Using audio technology director Peter Jackson pioneered during production of the acclaimed 2021 Beatles documentary Get Back, surviving members Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr were able to isolate Lennon's vocals for the song Now and Then by eliminating all background noise, including a spotty piano accompaniment. The pair next headed into the studio to add newly recorded instrumentation to their late mate's singing voice, the culmination of which was a fresh-sounding track that turned out to be the first Beatles composition in 53 years to top the Billboard charts. Lloyd Peterson is the owner of Paintbox Recording, a full-service studio at 600 Shaftesbury Blvd. that has hosted the likes of Fred Penner, Begonia and the Dirty Catfish Brass Band. In addition to being intrigued with the Now and Then project from a professional standpoint, Peterson also began to wonder whether he and his longtime collaborator Chris Maxfield could utilize the same creative high jinks, to assist them with a set of amateur recordings they'd been holding onto for 40-plus years. Daniel Crump / Free Press Maxfield (left) and Peterson spool up Go Jetter's original 1979 reel-to-reel recordings. On May 13, following months of trial and error, Peterson and Maxfield unveiled From the Word Go, the debut album from Go Jetter, the band they formed in 1979 in London, Ont., with their pal Rob 'Iggy' Morningstar, who died by suicide in 1983. 'It's really hard to describe how fulfilling it was to bring this record back to life,' Maxfield says, seated next to Peterson in Paintbox Recording's reception area, where the digital release's lead single, the uptempo rocker Tuesday Night in the Morning, is playing in the background. Peterson chimes in, saying there were definitely moments during the last year that were 'just magical,' as they played along — Peterson on guitar, Maxfield on drums — to Iggy's vocals and keyboard/bass lines, which they'd successfully wrested from a grainy reel-to-reel tape, using essentially the same AI app as the ex-Beatles. 'There Chris and I would be, counting a song in, and then Iggy would start singing through our headphones. We'd look at each other and be like wow, this is exactly how it was, 46 years ago.' Peterson and Maxfield became friends while attending Westlane Secondary School in Chippawa, a community in Niagara Falls, Ont. They met Morningstar during their second year of high school, after he moved to Chippawa from Prescott, Ont. 'He could play guitar, he looked like David Bowie… right away we were asking ourselves, 'who the heck is this guy?'' Maxfield says, crediting a Sam the Record Man employee for granting Morningstar the nickname Iggy, for a coif resembling that of Stooges lead singer Iggy Pop. Supplied Rob 'Iggy' Morningstar died by suicide in 1983. Peterson and Maxfield had already belonged to their share of upstart bands when they approached Morningstar to see if he'd be interested in jamming with the two of them. Sure, came his response, and in Grade 12, the trio entered a talent contest at their school, billing themselves as Dallas Cooper, a colourful unit that covered the catalogue of — you guessed it — Alice Cooper. After graduating in 1977, Peterson briefly attended the University of Guelph, before moving to Winnipeg, where his parents had relocated. In early 1979 he received a call from Maxfield, who let him know that he and Morningstar intended to form a new group, with the goal of writing and recording original material. Peterson announced he was in. They settled into a rented house in London, having chosen that burg simply because none of them had ever set foot there before, and they were seeking an entirely new adventure — one fuelled largely by popcorn and roll-your-own cigarettes. 'We had this 'cutting edge' two-track technology, so what we did was record guitar, drums and vocals on one track, then play that back and add flute, bass and synthesizer,' Peterson says, mentioning they adopted the moniker Go Jetter after a dog, Jetter, Morningstar brought home one afternoon as a surprise. 'We were just kind of making it up as we went along; it was basically us putting down ideas — beginnings, middle eights, endings — that would evolve into full-fledged songs,' adds Maxfield, noting because their musical influences were all over the map, from the Clash to Steely Dan to Gordon Lightfoot, the outcome was everything from 'punk blasts' to more folk-tinged arrangements. Daniel Crump / Free Press Lloyd Peterson jams with fellow Go Jetter bandmate Chris Maxfield, in Peterson's Winnipeg Studio, Paintbox Recording. When they weren't writing and recording, Go Jetter performed live here and there around the southern Ontario city. But after neglecting to pay the rent for a prolonged period, they received what Maxfield calls an official-looking letter from their landlord, instructing them to pack their belongings and vamoose — a set of circumstances that sealed the fate of Go Jetter. 'It's really hard to describe how fulfilling it was to bring this record back to life'– Chris Maxfield In the wake of the band's demise, Peterson and Maxfield moved first to Toronto, then later to Winnipeg where they helped form the Cheer, an upbeat foursome that enjoyed a modicum of success during the 1980s. Meanwhile, Morningstar headed to Ohio, where he joined the post-punk outfit the F Models. Peterson remembers getting set to board a van in December 1983 to leave for a Cheer show in Thompson when he received a call from Morningstar's brother Randy, to let him and Maxfield know their chum had been found dead, two days before his 25th birthday. 'If somebody gets taken from you at such a young age, they're always going to be the person you knew when you were 20; you're never going to see them grow old,' Peterson states, running a hand through his hair. 'Like lots of people, Iggy was complicated and had a lot of stuff to overcome in his life, but in his heart he was an entertainer, and he was very talented when it came to music.' Daniel Crump / Free Press Recording pro Lloyd Peterson was inspired to revisit Go Jetter's '70s recordings after AI tech helped resurrect John Lennon's vocals from a rough demo. Peterson and Maxfield remained in touch after the end of the Cheer in 1989. Peterson eventually moved over to the production side of things — he established Paintbox Recording in the mid-2000s — while Maxfield forged a successful career as a travel executive and currently, as the owner of his own communications firm. In January 2024, Peterson and Maxfield were out for breakfast when the topic of the aforementioned Beatles documentary came up. Specifically, they discussed back and forth how the producers had been able to clean up the Fab Four's old recordings by extracting individual vocal, guitar and drum tracks from existing tapes — an action Peterson equated with removing the flour or baking powder from an already-prepared biscuit. 'There Chris and I would be, counting a song in, and then Iggy would start singing through our headphones. We'd look at each other and be like wow, this is exactly how it was, 46 years ago'– Lloyd Peterson 'I did a bit of homework and found the applicable AI app,' Maxfield says. 'I happened to have a Go Jetter song on my phone and after running it through the app, I had this eureka moment… I couldn't believe we'd be able to pull Iggy's vocals out and rebuild the song, if that's what we chose to do.' One song turned into two, two became four, until the pair had successfully recreated 11 Go Jetter tunes from a quarter-inch tape marked 'Go Jetter, Summer of '79.' (Thinking ahead, Peterson also commissioned a local production crew to film the goings-on for what turned out to be a nearly nine-minute-long documentary augmented with grainy snapshots of the three of them, taken with a 'crappy, $15' Instamatic camera.) Prior to the album being released on streaming services, Peterson and Maxfield were in touch with Morningstar's siblings, who joyfully gave the undertaking their blessing. They also heard from Morningstar's adult nephew, who contacted them from his home in Alberta. Supplied The band in 1977, before they were Go Jetter 'He was too young to have known his uncle — he'd only heard stories about him through his mom — and he was really excited to learn more about Iggy, from Lloyd's and my perspective,' Maxfield says. Every Second Friday The latest on food and drink in Winnipeg and beyond from arts writers Ben Sigurdson and Eva Wasney. For obvious reasons, Peterson and Maxfield don't have any plans to play live shows as Go Jetter, though attendees at a June 14 show at Blue Note Park, featuring a resurrected Cheer alongside Monuments Galore and Chocolate Bunnies From Hell, may be fortunate enough to hear one song off the LP From the Word Go. 'There were so many times we wished Iggy could have been a part of this and we're thinking of playing Minor Sins from the new album, a fresh one written years after he died, all about him and our time together,' Peterson says. 'It will be our tribute to him from the surviving Go Jetter members, carried on by the Cheer,' Maxfield adds. Supplied From left, Chris Maxfield, Lloyd Peterson and Rob 'Iggy' Morningstar perform together 40-plus years ago. For more information, go to David Sanderson Dave Sanderson was born in Regina but please, don't hold that against him. Read full biography Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
Toronto Sun
5 days ago
- Toronto Sun
Let's talk about the Beatles: The records, the friendships and why they endure
Published May 28, 2025 • Last updated 0 minutes ago • 6 minute read The Beatles address the media in the press room of Kennedy International Airport on their arrival, Feb. 7, 1964 in New York. Photo by Uncredited / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS John Lennon once defined himself as a 'record man' – he preferred listening to records over attending live performances. Though I saw the Beatles live in Ed Sullivan's studio, I have to agree with John: Records provide a repeatable pleasure that's often exclusively personal, a romance between the singer's voice and the listener's ear. Records are material, tangible and portable; they enter history in a way live performances can't. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account For fans of recorded music – and the Beatles – 'Ribbons of Rust: The Beatles' Recording History in Context' delivers a fascinating look at how the group's record-making dream became a reality. This detail-heavy history by Robert Rodriguez and Jerry Hammack showcases the postwar Liverpool environment that fostered the Beatles' first No. 1 record, 'Please Please Me': the 45s the Beatles listened to; the technology available to them, such as house studios and portable tape recorders (the book's title is a reference to the recording tape the band used). The book also examines how British publications such as Mersey Beat magazine and New Musical Express, along with Radio Luxembourg, which played American rock-and-roll, helped create an audience for youth-focused music. Finally, it explores the role of certain important people, most notably Brian Epstein and George Martin, but also small-time impresarios such as Allan Williams, the man who brought the band to Hamburg, in 1960. And we shouldn't forget the unnamed man who sold John his 1958 Rickenbacker guitar while there. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Rodriguez, author of multiple books about the Beatles and host of the podcast 'Something About the Beatles,' writes expertly about the group and indulges in information that I suspect only Beatles superfans know, such as the name of the man who requested 'My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean,' a record the Beatles cut while in Germany, from Brian Epstein, then the owner of a record store. Hammack, an authority on recording techniques, is the author of the five-volume series 'The Beatles Recording Reference Manuals.' The structure of 'Ribbons' has the feel of a deeply informed scrapbook. It is full of historical facts and photographs; it also includes QR codes that allow readers to connect to additional online content, such as performances by the Coasters, Chuck Berry and the pre-Beatles skiffle band the Quarrymen. Included, too, are playlists of old Beatles gigs and in-depth technical information about studio recordings and their instrumentation. I haven't any idea what a 'modified … connection on a Leak Point One preamplifier to accept McCartney's bass … then combined to a Tannoy Dual Concentric 15-inch speaker' means, but I'm glad it facilitated the recording of 'Please Please Me.' More tech information will appear in the second volume of 'Ribbons,' covering the band's recording years after 1963. Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. This extratextual information invites readers to step inside history and imagine what it was like to live and create as the Beatles did. After seeing the staid album covers featured in the book and listening to some of the songs on Top 10 lists, younger Beatles fans might have to recalibrate their perceptions of the early years of rock-and-roll. Older fans, such as myself, will remember how various popular music actually was, and that radio playlists often included both wild man Little Richard and the soporific Perry Como. The immersive facts and visuals of 'Ribbons' demonstrate how profoundly the Beatles changed specific aspects of culture that might be easily overlooked. For example, album covers were relatively tame until 1965, when the Beatles chose their own distorted photograph for 'Rubber Soul.' The iconic 'Sgt. Pepper' cover appeared two years later. The exceptions to this album cover decorum were the fabulously dynamic and often abstract covers from the Blue Note jazz label beginning in the mid-1950s. The Beatles didn't listen to modern jazz, but their musical and visual stands against the status quo were widely felt across the culture. Today, eruptions of visual excitement are common, ditto for advances in recording technology, but Rodriguez and Hammack remind us that even with primitive equipment, the Beatles created magic. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'Ribbons of Rust' draws a map of the cultural environment in which the Beatles discovered their ambitions and displayed their talents. As readers, we can pick and choose where to stop and linger on this map – to look, listen or simply contemplate how four young men changed how we think about a record, that thin piece of vinyl that spins around and around, bringing us joy. Ribbons of Rust Photo by Bemis Publishing Group / Bemis Publishing Group Reading Ian Leslie's 'John and Paul: A Love Story in Songs' after 'Ribbons of Rust' is a bit of a jolt. Hoisted out of the material history of the Beatles' first hit records, we're plunged into a psychological portrait of two men who, according to Leslie, fell in love, platonically, with each other. The evidence for this, he argues, is in the songs they wrote and co-wrote. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. This is a bold argument but one that incites curiosity. Leslie, a British journalist whose previous books focus on human psychology and creativity, is interested in other nonsexual but compelling aspects of romantic coupling: jealousy, fear of abandonment, competition, belittlement, private modes of communication, disappointment and grief. Examples of these emotions are found in the songs Leslie analyzes, and his explications, bolstered by historical and biographical information, make his book readable but also troubling. John and Paul: A Love Story in Songs Photo by Celadon / Celadon The foundation of John and Paul's friendship is well-known. As teenagers, both lost their mothers. Both loved rock-and-roll, played guitars and secretly wrote songs. Both were good singers, and both hated authority. Most important, both recognized the other's talent, which turned out to be a blessing and a curse. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Leslie is keen to demonstrate how certain songs deviate from standard songwriting practices in ways that yield psychological significance. Yes, the narrative of 'She Loves You' revolves around a 'friendship between boys,' but does that mean the singer is in love with the 'you' he is addressing? It's hard to say. Leslie is more astute regarding the use of 'you' in 'Help.' Given Paul's ability to calm John through difficult times, when John sings, 'Help me if you can,' it's plausible to think the 'you' he's calling out to is Paul instead of a female lover. But when Leslie asserts that Paul's behavior is the cause of John's anguished phrase 'I'm crying' in his song 'I Am the Walrus,' he strays too far. Too often Leslie makes interpretations to suit his own inclinations. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. No one would contest the psychological duel apparent in some of John's and Paul's post-Beatles songs. John's 'How Do You Sleep,' what Leslie calls a 'musical nail bomb,' is answered by Paul's 'Dear Friend,' an offering of truce. Leslie's later chapters grow in complexity and insight, just as John and Paul's songs did. 'Eleanor Rigby,' 'Strawberry Fields Forever,' 'Hey Jude,' 'Two of Us,' 'Get Back,' 'Jealous Guy' and 'Here Today' reflect how Paul and John's maturing friendship evolved both personally and creatively after 1965. The legal and personal difficulties during the Beatles' slow demise are also clearly represented. Leslie offers examples of unlikable qualities in both musicians. (I was astounded to learn, for instance, that in 1976, Paul, while touring with Wings, chose not to attend his father's funeral.) This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Though the band dissolved, friendship between John and Paul, however truncated, remained. 'Ribbons of Rust' and 'John and Paul' remind us how rare a deeply personal and loving friendship between talented songwriters-singers is. The only other pair that comes to my mind is Donald Fagen and Walter Becker, a.k.a. Steely Dan. Now that I think about it, a book about Fagen and Becker as told through their songs was published recently, but perhaps sometimes it's best to just let it be. Sometimes a song is just a song. Sometimes a really good one can change the world. – – – Sibbie O'Sullivan, a former teacher in the Honors College at the University of Maryland, is the author of 'My Private Lennon: Explorations From a Fan Who Never Screamed.' – – – Ribbons of Rust The Beatles' Recording History In Context: Volume 1 – July 1954 Through January 1963 By Robert Rodriguez and Jerry Hammack. Bemis Publishing Group. 254 pp. $39.95, paperback – – – John & Paul A Love Story in Songs By Ian Leslie. Celadon. 448 pp. $32 Love concerts, but can't make it to the venue? Stream live shows and events from your couch with VEEPS, a music-first streaming service now operating in Canada. Click here for an introductory offer of 30% off. Explore upcoming concerts and the extensive archive of past performances! Toronto & GTA Canada Tennis Canada Toronto & GTA
Winnipeg Free Press
6 days ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Book Review: Quirky private eye tracks a couple more killers in Stephen King's ‘Never Flinch'
Stephen King's favorite private investigator returns in 'Never Flinch,' the sixth novel by King featuring Holly Gibney, who readers first met in the Bill Hodges trilogy ('Mr. Mercedes,' 'Finders Keepers,' 'End of Watch') and who then helped solved the murders at the heart of 'The Outsider' and 'Holly.' In 'Never Flinch,' Holly cracks two more cases, one as the lead security escort for a polarizing author touring the nation to talk about women's reproductive freedom, and the other back home in Ohio, as a serial killer preys on jurors following a miscarriage of justice. The biggest connection between the two cases is classic King — the killers have dead Daddy issues. We meet them both relatively early in the plot and spend time inside their heads, though the true identity of one of them is a mystery until closer to the end. One of the murderers supplies the novel's title, recalling how his abusive and overbearing father berated him to 'push through to the bitter end. No flinching, no turning away.' Even with two killers talking to themselves, Holly is still the star of the book. She continues to 'attract weirdos the way a magnet attracts iron filings,' is how Holly's friend Barbara puts it. More often than not, Holly's obsessive compulsive disorder helps her 'think around corners,' as one of the story's detectives says. King also brings back Barbara's brother, Jerome, and introduces some dynamic new characters, including Sista Bessie ('She's not the Beatles, but she's a big deal'), a soul singer whose comeback concert serves as the nexus for the convergence of the novel's two storylines. When they do, readers will enjoy the very Kingly ending. It's not quite the pigs' blood from 'Carrie,' but it's satisfying. The pages turn very quickly in the final third of the book as all the characters arrive back in Dayton, Ohio ('the second mistake on the lake'), where we first met Holly, and where psychopath Brady Hartsfield began his killing spree in 'Mr. Mercedes.' Will the Mingo Auditorium be the site of another massacre or will Holly and her amateur detectives save the day again? ___ AP book reviews:
