‘Ticket to Ride’ reserves cheap seats on gravy train

Monday, November 25, 1996

BOOK:

Despite having several good photos, tour diary high on tinsel,
lacks revealing insightsBy Stephanie Sheh

Daily Bruin Contributor

Living in the city of Los Angeles, residents are often loosely
connected to some celebrity. Maybe a roommate’s boyfriend used to
date Sandra Bullock’s sister. Perhaps a friend of a friend owns a
restaurant where Mel Gibson is a regular. These connections are
fun, but can hardly be thought of as biographical glimpses into
celebrities’ lives.

Such "almost famous" tales are similar to the experience of
perusing through "Ticket to Ride: The Extraordinary Diary of The
Beatles’ Last Tour." It is the most recent, splashy attempt to jump
on the wave of the newest Beatles popularity that started with the
release of the Anthologies.

"Ticket to Ride" was compiled by Barry Tashian, lead singer of
the Remains, who opened for the Beatles during their 1966 tour. The
"extraordinary diary" is from a journal that Tashian kept during
the tour, which actually only makes up one-fourth of the text of
the book.

Outside of being the "extraordinary diary," the book also boasts
of containing previously unpublished photos. Although technically
true, many of the previously unseen photographs are of the Remains
and not the expected candid shots of the Beatles. However, this is
not to say that there are not any good shots of the Fab Four.
Plenty of satisfying photographs of the Beatles playing in
different concerts, including one of a fan who managed to rush on
stage and touch Ringo Starr, adorn the pages of "Ticket to
Ride."

The book is organized by concert dates, with each chapter or
section corresponding to a different date. Every section starts off
with a photograph of the city played that day and a list of
newsworthy events which occurred during that time. Although mildly
interesting, the average Beatles fan is not concerned about the
fact that Pampers Disposable Diapers were introduced when the
Beatles played in Chicago or that 1966 was the year that Webster’s
Third New International Dictionary was published.

Other artistic features of each section are nice touches to the
book. Along with the photographs, copies of ticket stubs,
advertisements and stadium sketches fill the spaces between the
texts of the book.

The actual text of the book falls under four basic categories.
Each concert day section contains all of the four categories. There
are newspaper articles, journal entries, an "On Tour" portion and a
"Fans Reflect" section.

Tashian’s journal entries are short and rather uneventful. He
takes up most of the pages with thoughts on the Remains,
transportation and his personal experiences of exposure to
Beatle-crazed fans. There are no scandalous secrets. The entries
are also lacking in detail. Descriptions of actual Beatle contacts
are limited to "we stayed in the living room, socializing with
John." Much of this may be explained by the fact that Tashian never
got really close to the Beatles. However, he seems to have formed a
friendship with George Harrison, and Tashian shares some of the
intimate moments.

The other textual categories provide different perspectives on
the Beatles’ tour. Newspaper articles, usually concert reviews,
depict the media’s general sentiment toward the Fab Four’s
engagements. Readers can find factual details about the tour in the
"On Tour" section, a clear, easy-to-read section by Judith Simms.
Simms was the editor of TeenSet magazine, who traveled with the
press corps accompanying the Beatles. Lastly, there is the "Fans
Reflect" section, which is filled with quotes from fans who share
their memories of the legendary concerts. This category is often
most interesting reading, because the fans’ enthusiasm really comes
through in their quotes.

While packed with interesting visuals and entertaining little
anecdotes, "Ticket to Ride" does not provide any extraordinary
insight or great understanding into the world’s most famous rock
‘n’ roll band. Readers leave without feeling that they know the
Beatles any better than before they opened the book.

BOOK: "Ticket to Ride" by Barry Tashian is published by Dowling
Press, Inc. and costs $19.95.

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *