Paul McCartney - 'The Lyrics: 1956 to the Present'

Sir James Paul McCartney is one the defining musicians of history - definitely of the last one hundred years - his songwriting and musical partnership with John Lennon (1940-1980) is the most successful in history to date, and members of The Beatles, the two penned almost 200 songs.

The Beatles officially split in 1970. John Lennon died in 1980, and guitarist George Harrison in 2001 - but Paul McCartney has never stopped. He is the only musician to have topped the charts as a solo, duo, trio, quartet and quintet, and his music is widely loved.

But he has said that he would never write an autobiography - he claims this is because he didn't keep notes of what he did on what days, and if he did keep the odd note then he never managed to keep to it regularly. Instead, he says, the one thing which he has always managed to do is to write songs... and so The Lyrics: 1956 to the Present is a two volume collection of 154 of McCartney's songs, the stories behind them and photos which have been seen before and some which have not. The book is a bit pricey - costing around £60 in most stores and on Amazon UK, however it is the perfect addition to any Beatles fan's shelf because it is as close to the an autobiography of McCartney as there is ever likely to be.

With the recent release of Peter Jackson (The Lord of the Rings trilogy)'s Get Back on Disney+, there is the possible notion that McCartney is cashing in on The Beatles revival, however I am just thrilled to be able to read the stories behind some of my favourite songs, and to see more photographs which I haven't yet. And, in comparison to the George Harrison estate's 50th anniversary uber boxset for All Things Must Pass (1970), which originally retailed for around £800, this is a relatively cheap offer.

The two volumes are beautifully packaged in a dust jacket which consists of several handwritten lyrics by McCartney over the top of pictures of him, and beneath either dust jacket are more lyrics. I am obsessed with the incredible amount of thought which has gone into these designs. The whole package is beautiful.

The paper is of good quality, and the collaboration of McCartney and Paul Muldoon - who is an Irish poet and amateur musician - is a clever and successful one. I love this book, and use it as a sort of Bible if I ever happen to need some information on songs which McCartney has written for this blog.

Overall, this book was definitely overpriced for what it is, and would probably only ever be for mega fans at this point because of the price, but if you are as big of a fan of McCartney, Wings and The Beatles as I am, then this book is for you, and you will not regret forking out the money for it.