Now that the Blessed Ones have changed in appearance from Edwardian angels to members of the House of David, and have left the ""Yeah, yeah's"" for higher reaches of exposition, a book of retrospective and current criticism is inevitable. Here is a responsible and entertaining selection. With the observation that ""the Beatles are now Art."" Nat Hentoff leads off on a diverting mind bender which includes the musing: ""Who can put down magic that works for the magician?"" Among the contributors: Ralph Gleason the jazz critic; Ned Rorem the composer; Peter Stafford, expert on psychedelia; writer Larry Neal (the Beatles are ignored the black community): other observers on the music/social scene; There is Richard Goldstein's defense of Richard Goldstein's Times depth charge on Sgt. Pepper; Timothy Leary plays with Apple and the Garden of Eden; William Buckley, in a very brief emanation, eye-rolls in disdain. Beware of confusing this with the McGraw-Hill biography by Davies (p. 791). On the whole the selections are imaginative, pioneering. Good show.