anyone attempting a serious study of the band. In Michael Brocken and Melissa Davis's guide to Beatles literature, The Beatles Bibliography, they describe it as "one of the cornerstones of Beatles scholarship", and authors Stuart Shea and Robert Rodriguez characterise it as "[p]ossibly the most important Beatles book ever published", writing it was a "landmark" by providing the general public with so much previously unknown information. Later writers have relied heavily on the book's research, such as Ian MacDonald and Mark Hertsgaard, who each described it as being indispensable for the research of their own books, Revolution in the Head (1994) and A Day in the Life (1995), respectively. Hertsgaard further writes it is "superb, but superb in the way an encyclopedia is superb", contending that it provides much more than the typical reader would expect, leaving a book that "focuses more on the trees than on the forest". Critic Tim Riley writes the book is "indispensable for close listening", and concludes its research is "invaluable but not imperfect". He criticises Lewisohn for writing more like a fan than a critic, with his descriptions reliant on adjectives like "brilliant" rather than evaluating a recording's "color, texture and mood". Colin Fleming of Rolling Stone magazine similarly finds Lewisohn's descriptions of songs lacking, while still retaining an ability to make the listener feel engrossed in the particular recording session. Writing for Pitchfork in 2018, Stephen Thomas Erlewine also finds the book absorbing in its narrative of particular sessions. Author Chris Ingham writes that the book is useful for researchers while also being an easy read due to "Lewisohn's neutrally enthusiastic tone". The book was one of the first to document a band or artist through their recording sessions. Similar books covering Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan and Jimi Hendrix were written following its release. In the introduction to his 1995 book on Dylan's recording sessions, Clinton Heylin acknowledges that Lewisohn's book remains "perhaps the best-known 'sessionography. David Hunter of the University of Texas at Austin describes the book as a "bio-discography" – a portmanteau of biography and discography – illustrating the Beatles' progression and story through study of their recorded music. He writes that it serves as "the standard by which all bio-discographies will be measured". Lewisohn's 1992 book, The Complete Beatles Chronicle, combines the work of The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions with The Beatles Live! to provide an exhaustive day-by-day account of