The Beatles are probably the most photographed band in history and are the subject of numerous biographical studies, but a surprising dearth of academic scholarship addresses the Fab Four. New Critical Perspectives on the Beatles offers a collection of original, previously unpublished essays that explore 'new' aspects of the Beatles. The interdisciplinary collection situates the band in its historical moment of the 1960s, but argues for artistic innovation and cultural ingenuity that account for the Beatles' lasting popularity today. Along with theoretical approaches that bridge the study of music with perspectives from non-music disciplines, the texts under investigation make this collection 'new' in terms of Beatles' scholarship. Contributors frequently address under-examined Beatles texts or present critical perspectives on familiar works to produce new insight about the Beatles and their multi-generational audiences.

Offers a collection of original, previously unpublished essays that explore "new" aspects of the Beatles.

Preface.How Did They Do It?- Introduction.Making It New with the Beatles.- Part I.The Beatles in/as History.- 1.'Getting Better': The Beatles and the Angry Young Men.- 2.English Gardens, Mystery Trips, and Songs Your Mother Should Know: The Beatles and British Nostalgia in 1967.- 3.Blackbird Singing: Paul McCartney's Romance of Racial Harmony and Post-Racial America.- Part II.Artistry and the Beatles.- 4.'Beatle Country': A Bluegrass 'Concept Album' from 1966.- 5.Spatial Counterpoint and the Impossible Experience of 'Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band'.- 6.Blue Jay Way: The Imagery of Pure Consciousness in Select Beatles Songs.- 7.George Harrison and the Influence of American Popular Song.- Part III.Fandom and the Beatles.- 8.The Beatles Christmas Records ... Unwrapped: A Closer Look at the Fan Club Discs.- 9.'She Said She Said': How Women Have Transformed from Fans to Authors in Beatles History.- 10.Crying, Waiting, Hoping: The Beatles, Girl Culture, and the Melodramatic Mode.- 11.Revolution 2.0: Beatle Fan Scholarship and the Digital Age.- 12.The Beatles in the Classroom: John, Paul, George, and Ringo Go to College.- 13.The John Lennon Series and 'Factional' Narrative Biography.