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Album : Let It Be... Naked [Let It Be... Naked]

Rating : 3.5 Stars

Release Date : Nov 17, 2003

Recording Date : Jan 1969

 

Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine

 

Of all the Beatles albums, none has garnered as much controversy and speculation as Let It Be. Released as their final album in May 1970, the record began its life as a back-to-basics affair called Get Back, which was intended to show the Beatles as a stripped-down rock & roll band after the excesses of Sgt. Pepper and The White Album. They weren't just going to record an album — they were going to tape a documentary of the rehearsal and recording of the album, which would conclude with their first live performance since 1966. To facilitate filming, the band abandoned the home turf of Abbey Road Studios and hunkered down at Twickenham Film Studios, where Michael Lindsay-Hogg filmed endless hours of the band jamming, bickering, recording, and fighting. Throughout it all, the Beatles recorded so much material — with much of it being no more than sloppy rehearsals and unfinished takes — that neither the group nor its longtime producer, George Martin, had any desire to cobble together a releasable album, so the task was handed over to engineer Glyn Johns. As the group was recording Abbey Road, Johns crafted a Get Back sequence that captured the raw, unfocused nature of the sessions by splicing conversational asides between new songs, revived songs, covers, and brief, jokey tunes. This pretty much mirrored the feel of the Get Back sessions, and the record got fairly close to release — including an airing of an acetate on a Boston radio station — before it was scrapped at the last minute. Soon, the Get Back project mutated into Let It Be as Phil Spector, who had been working with John Lennon on solo projects, was brought in to finalize the project. By and large, he retained the original spirit behind the project, right down to the inclusion of dialogue and jokes, but he did overhaul three songs significantly, most notoriously Paul McCartney's "The Long and Winding Road," which he wrapped in syrupy strings and choirs. This is the version of Let It Be that was released as the Beatles' final album, and McCartney made his displeasure with the final product, particularly "The Long and Winding Road," known. Over the years, fans pined for an official release of Get Back while McCartney rumbled about revising Let It Be (even after a string-less "The Long and Winding Road" appeared on 1996's Anthology 3), and when the Beatles announced the release of Let It Be... Naked it seemed that the desires of both camps would finally be satiated. Unfortunately, that wasn't quite the case.

 

As the title should make clear, Let It Be... Naked is not Get Back. Where Get Back was designed to be deliberately loose, complete with ragged performances and spoken asides, Naked is a deliberately professional piece of work, with all of the rough edges smoothed down. Consequently, it's not so much an archival release, but more like the audio equivalent of George Lucas' Star Wars special editions, complete with controversies along the lines of Han Solo not shooting Greedo first. Let It Be is recognizable in its Naked form, but it's been cleaned up, mixed up, and altered, gaining the superb "Don't Let Me Down" at the expense of "Dig It" and "Maggie Mae," as the song sequence has been shuffled and the dialogue has been cut out completely (perhaps Paul wasn't too keen on John's mock "and now here's Hark the Herald Angels come" preceding "Let It Be"). Those are merely the obvious changes, too. Throughout the record, there have been edits, splices, and polishes, some of which are a little disarming, such as the lack of the coda on "Get Back" (including no "hope we passed the audition" from John) and a different guitar solo on "Let It Be" (a solo different than either the single or album version). Most of the changes are subtle — a correction there, an added lick here — but they usually can be felt, even if the overall sound of most of the tracks hasn't changed all that much. The exceptions, of course, are the three songs Spector overhauled: McCartney's "The Long and Winding Road," Lennon's "Across the Universe," and George Harrison's "I Me Mine." Paul's song does indeed sound better and less saccharine in this arrangement, and it is a marked improvement. John's tune — now in its third distinct incarnation, the most of any Beatles song — is also different and an improvement, benefiting from the simpler arrangement, but it isn't a revelation along the lines of "Road." George's song is fine in this version, but in Spector's hands, it felt like a harbinger for All Things Must Pass, and is arguably just as good on the original album as it is here. The rest pretty much sounds very close to how it did on the original album, only with much better fidelity — so much better that it raises the questions why the Beatles' entire catalog hadn't been remastered yet (ideally, it would be released as hybrid SACDs mastered with DSD, much like how the catalogs of the Rolling Stones and Bob Dylan were).

 

So, the big question: was the whole Let It Be... Naked endeavor worth it? The answer is, yes...kind of. There's little question that this was an avenue worth pursuing, since neither Get Back nor Let It Be really were finished, and both fans and the band desired to set the record straight. But Naked doesn't set the record straight; it further clouds the waters by presenting a third version of the sessions, one that is no more accurate than the original album. It could be argued, in fact, that without Lennon's wiseass remarks and larks like "Dig It" it feels less like the sessions, which were ramshackle (in fact, they were directionless, as the bonus "Fly on the Wall" disc reveals). But it is also true that Naked is a finished album, with polished intros and outros, and is overall slightly stronger on a track-by-track basis. These changes make it a sleeker, slicker album, but it's hard not to miss the off-the-cuff aura of Let It Be, which contained more character and revelations than this revised version. After all, even with the changes and edits, the biggest differences boil down to the resequencing, the lack of joviality, and the de-Spectorized three. And since Let It Be was initially an unfinished album, cobbled together by associates of the Beatles, not the bandmembers themselves or their producer, it doesn't make a great deal of difference if the order is changed, especially since this was also mixed and produced by associates of the band, not Paul himself, and the main takes are those on the original album, which themselves weren't all that different than what was on Get Back. It all boils down to interpretations of an unwieldy session that was abandoned out of frustration at the end. This is a valid, entertaining interpretation of the Let It Be sessions. But, contrary to the sticker selling the album, this is not necessarily "Let It Be...as it was meant to be. The band's cut from the original sessions." The dogged seriousness of Naked contradicts the let-it-all-hang-out intent of the sessions or the warts-and-all Let It Be film. Though it is still faithful to much of the feel of Let It Be, the presentation of Naked, including the slight bits of modern-day editing, reveals that it is revisionist history, not the final word. Which doesn't hurt it as a record — these are great songs, after all — but it is a bit disappointing that this long-awaited project wasn't executed with a little more care and respect for the historical record.

 

[The bonus disc, "Fly on the Wall," contains 20-plus minutes of excerpts from the countless hours of tapes from the Get Back sessions. No song is heard in its entirety — most are heard in shambolic snippets of 30 seconds or less — and even if the fidelity is considerably cleaner than that on the monumental (and monumentally boring) nine-disc Get Back Journals, it's still hard to make out the conversations on this disc, and even hardcore Beatles fans will likely tune out this disc after a few minutes. It would have been better if this set was released with a disc devoted to Let It Be... Naked and a disc devoted to the original Get Back, but that's a pipe dream.]

 

 

Tracks

 

 

1 Get Back Lennon, McCartney 2:34

2 Dig a Pony Lennon, McCartney 3:38

3 For You Blue Harrison 2:27

4 The Long and Winding Road Lennon, McCartney 3:34

5 Two of Us Lennon, McCartney 3:21

6 I've Got a Feeling Lennon, McCartney 3:30

7 One After 909 Lennon, McCartney 2:44

8 Don't Let Me Down Lennon, McCartney 3:18

9 I Me Mine Harrison 2:21

10 Across the Universe Lennon, McCartney 3:38

11 Let It Be Lennon, McCartney 3:55

12 Fly on the Wall Harrison, Lennon, McCartney, Starr 21:58

 

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Album : Red 1962-1966

Rating : 4.5 Stars

Release Date : Apr 2, 1973

 

Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine

 

Assembling a compilation of the Beatles is a difficult task, not only because they had an enormous number of hits, but also because singles didn't tell the full story; many of their album tracks were as important as the singles, if not more so. The double-album 1962-1966, commonly called The Red Album, does the job surprisingly well, hitting most of the group's major early hits and adding important album tracks like "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away," "Drive My Car," "Norwegian Wood," and "In My Life." Naturally, there are many great songs missing from the 26-track 1962-1966, and perhaps it would have made more sense to include the Revolver cuts on its companion volume, 1967-1970, yet The Red Album captures the essence of the Beatles' pre-Sgt. Pepper records.

 

 

Tracks

 

 

1 Love Me Do Lennon, McCartney 2:23

2 Please Please Me Lennon, McCartney 2:03

3 From Me to You Lennon, McCartney 1:57

4 She Loves You Lennon, McCartney 2:22

5 I Want to Hold Your Hand Lennon, McCartney 2:26

6 All My Loving Lennon, McCartney 2:08

7 Can't Buy Me Love Lennon, McCartney 2:13

8 A Hard Day's Night Lennon, McCartney 2:34

9 And I Love Her Lennon, McCartney 2:31

10 Eight Days a Week Lennon, McCartney 2:45

11 I Feel Fine Lennon, McCartney 2:19

12 Ticket to Ride Lennon, McCartney 3:10

13 Yesterday Lennon, McCartney 2:05

14 Help! Lennon, McCartney 2:19

15 You've Got to Hide Your Love Away Lennon, McCartney 2:11

16 We Can Work It Out Lennon, McCartney 2:16

17 Day Tripper Lennon, McCartney 2:49

18 Drive My Car Lennon, McCartney 2:27

19 Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown) Lennon, McCartney 2:05

20 Nowhere Man Lennon, McCartney 2:44

21 Michelle Lennon, McCartney 2:42

22 In My Life Lennon, McCartney 2:27

23 Girl Lennon, McCartney 2:31

24 Paperback Writer Lennon, McCartney 2:18

25 Eleanor Rigby Lennon, McCartney 2:08

26 Yellow Submarine Lennon, McCartney 2:39

 

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Album : Blue 1967-1970

Rating : 4.5 Stars

Release Date : Apr 2, 1973

 

Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine

 

Picking up where 1962-1966 left off, the double-album compilation 1967-1970, commonly called The Blue Album, covers the Beatles' later records, from Sgt. Pepper through Let It Be. Like The Red Album, The Blue Album contains a mixture of hits, including singles like "Lady Madonna," "Hey Jude," and "Revolution" that were never included on an LP, plus important album tracks like "Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds," "A Day in the Life," "While My Guitar Gently Weeps," and "Come Together." Like its predecessor, 1967-1970 misses several great songs, but the compilation nevertheless does capture the essence of the Beatles' later recordings.

 

 

Tracks

 

 

1 Strawberry Fields Forever Lennon, McCartney 4:07

2 Penny Lane Lennon, McCartney 3:01

3 Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band Lennon, McCartney 2:01

4 With a Little Help from My Friends Lennon, McCartney 2:43

5 Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds Lennon, McCartney 3:27

6 A Day in the Life Lennon, McCartney 5:06

7 All You Need Is Love Lennon, McCartney 3:48

8 I Am the Walrus Lennon, McCartney 4:34

9 Hello Goodbye Lennon, McCartney 3:29

10 The Fool on the Hill Lennon, McCartney 2:59

11 Magical Mystery Tour Lennon, McCartney 2:48

12 Lady Madonna Lennon, McCartney 2:18

13 Hey Jude Lennon, McCartney 7:08

14 Revolution Lennon, McCartney 3:25

15 Back in the U.S.S.R. Lennon, McCartney 2:45

16 While My Guitar Gently Weeps Harrison 4:46

17 Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da Lennon, McCartney 3:11

18 Get Back Lennon, McCartney 3:12

19 Don't Let Me Down Lennon, McCartney 3:34

20 The Ballad of John and Yoko Lennon, McCartney 2:59

21 Old Brown Shoe Harrison 3:20

22 Here Comes the Sun Harrison 3:07

23 Come Together Lennon, McCartney 4:18

24 Something Harrison 3:02

25 Octopus's Garden Starr 2:52

26 Let It Be Lennon, McCartney 3:52

27 Across the Universe Lennon, McCartney 3:47

28 The Long and Winding Road Lennon, McCartney 3:37

 

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Album : The Beatles 1

Rating : 5 Stars

Release Date : Nov 14, 2000

Recording Date : Sep 11, 1962-1969

 

Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine

 

Apparently, there was a gap in the Beatles' catalog, after all — all the big hits weren't on one tidy, single-disc compilation. It's not the kind of gap you'd necessarily notice — it's kind of like realizing you don't have a pair of navy blue dress socks — but it was a gap all the same, so the group released The Beatles 1 late in 2000, coinciding with the publication of their official autobiography, the puzzlingly titled Anthology. The idea behind this compilation is to have all the number one singles the Beatles had, either in the U.K. or U.S., on one disc, and that's pretty much what this generous 27-track collection is. It's easy, nay, necessary, to quibble with a couple of the judgment calls — look, "Please Please Me" should be here instead of "From Me to You," and it's unforgivable to bypass "Strawberry Fields Forever" (kick out "Yellow Submarine" or "Eleanor Rigby") — but there's still no question that this is all great music, and there is a bit of a rush hearing all these dazzling songs follow one after another. If there's any complaint, it's that even if it's nice to have something like this, it's not really essential. There's really no reason for anyone who owns all the records to get this too — if you've lived happily without the red or blue albums, you'll live without this. But, if you give this to any six or seven year old, they'll be a pop fan, even fanatic, for life. And that's reason enough for it to exist.

 

 

Tracks

 

 

1 Love Me Do Lennon, McCartney 2:20

2 From Me to You Lennon, McCartney 1:56

3 She Loves You Lennon, McCartney 2:21

4 I Want to Hold Your Hand Lennon, McCartney 2:24

5 Can't Buy Me Love Lennon, McCartney 2:11

6 A Hard Day's Night Lennon, McCartney 2:33

7 I Feel Fine Lennon, McCartney 2:18

8 Eight Days a Week Lennon, McCartney 2:44

9 Ticket to Ride Lennon, McCartney 3:10

10 Help! Lennon, McCartney 2:18

11 Yesterday Lennon, McCartney 2:05

12 Day Tripper Lennon, McCartney 2:48

13 We Can Work It Out Lennon, McCartney 2:15

14 Paperback Writer Lennon, McCartney 2:18

15 Yellow Submarine Lennon, McCartney 2:38

16 Eleanor Rigby Lennon, McCartney 2:06

17 Penny Lane Lennon, McCartney 2:59

18 All You Need Is Love Lennon, McCartney 3:47

19 Hello Goodbye Lennon, McCartney 3:27

20 Lady Madonna Lennon, McCartney 2:16

21 Hey Jude Lennon, McCartney 7:04

22 Get Back Lennon, McCartney 3:12

23 The Ballad of John and Yoko Lennon, McCartney 2:59

24 Something Harrison 3:01

25 Come Together Lennon, McCartney 4:18

26 Let It Be Lennon, McCartney 3:50

27 The Long and Winding Road Lennon, McCartney 3:37

 

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Album : LOVE

Rating : 3 Stars

Release Date : Nov 21, 2006

 

Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine

 

If boiled down to a simple synopsis, the Beatles' LOVE sounds radical: assisted by his father, the legendary Beatles producer George, Giles Martin has assembled a remix album where familiar Fab Four tunes aren't just refurbished, they're given the mash-up treatment, meaning different versions of different songs are pasted together to create a new track. Ever since the turn of the century, mash-ups were in vogue in the underground, as such cut-n-paste jobs as Freelance Hellraiser's "Stroke of Genius" — which paired up the Strokes' "Last Night" with Christina Aguilera's "Genie in a Bottle" — circulated on the net, but no major group issued their own mash-up mastermix until LOVE in November 2006. Put in those terms, it seems like LOVE is a grand experiment, a piece of art for art's sake, but that's hardly the case. Its genesis lies with the Beatles agreeing to collaborate with performance dance troupe Cirque du Soleil on a project that evolved into the Las Vegas stage show LOVE, an extravaganza that cost well over 100 million dollars and was designed to generate revenue far exceeding that. During pre-production, all involved realized that the original Beatles tapes needed to be remastered in order to sound impressive by modern standards when pumped through the huge new theater — the theater made just with this dance revue in mind — and since they needed to be tweaked, they might as well use the opportunity to do something different with the familiar music, too: to remix and re-imagine it, to make LOVE be something unique to both the Beatles and Cirque du Soleil. Keep in mind the Cirque du Soleil portion of the equation: George and Giles Martin may have been given free reign to recontextualize the Beatles' catalog, but given that this was for a project that cost hundreds of millions of dollars this wasn't quite the second coming of The Grey Album, where Danger Mouse surreptitiously mashed up The White Album with Jay-Z's The Black Album. This isn't an art project and it isn't underground, either: it's a big, splashy commercial endeavor, one that needs to surprise millions of Beatles fans without alienating them, since the mission is to please fans whether they're hearing this in the theater or at home. And so, the curious LOVE, a purported re-imagining of the most familiar catalog in pop music, winds up being less interesting or surprising than its description would suggest. Neither an embarrassment or a revelation, LOVE is at first mildly odd but its novelty soon recedes, revealing that these are the same songs that know you by heart, only with louder drums and occasionally with a few parts in different places. Often, what's presented here isn't far afield from the original recording: strip "Because" down to its vocals and it still sounds very much like the "Because" on Abbey Road — and that arrangement is actually one of the more drastic here. Whether they're songs as spare and stark as "Eleanor Rigby" or "Yesterday," as trippy as "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" or as basic as "Get Back," the songs remain the same, as do most of the arrangements, right down to the laughter and sound effects sprinkled throughout "I Am the Walrus." There's only one cut that has the thrilling unpredictability of a genuine mash-up and that's a cut that blends together "Drive My Car," "The Word" and "What You're Doing," punctuated with horns from "Savoy Truffle"; a chorus from one song flows into the verse from another, as keyboards and percussion from all three, plus more, come together to make something that's giddy, inventive and fresh. But that's the exception to the rule, since most of this delivers juxtapositions that seem obvious based on the concept of the project itself: it doesn't take a great leap of imagination to set the melody of "Within You Without You" to the backing track of "Tomorrow Never Knows," since both derive from the same psychedelic era and share similar themes.

 

Throughout LOVE, songs are augmented by samples from roughly the same phase in the Beatles career, so "Strawberry Fields Forever" is enhanced by "Penny Lane," "Hello Goodbye," "Piggies" and "In My Life," but not "There's a Place," "It Won't Be Long," or "I Feel Fine," selections that could have been truly startling. It also would have been startling if those snippets of "Penny Lane" and "Hello Goodbye" were threaded within "Strawberry Fields," in a fashion similar to "Drive My Car/The Word/What You're Doing," but they're added to the end of the song, a move that's typical of the Martins' work here. With a few exceptions scattered throughout the record, all the mash-ups are saved for the very end of the song, which has the effect of preserving the feel of the original song while drawing attention to the showiest parts of the Martins' new mixes, giving the illusion that they've changed things around more than they actually have. Not that the Martins simply add things to the original recordings; that may be the bulk of their work here, but they do subtly change things on occasion. Most notably, they structure "Strawberry Fields" as a progression from the original demo to the finished single version (a move that is, admittedly, borrowed from Anthology 2) and they've used an alternate demo take of "While My Guitar Gently Weeps," to which George Martin has written a sympathetic new string arrangement. It also has to be said that the craft behind LOVE is impeccable: it flows as elegantly as the second side of Abbey Road, which is an achievement of no small measure. But there lies the rub: even if LOVE elicits a certain admiration for how Giles and George have crafted their mash-ups, it elicits a greater admiration for the original productions and arrangements, which display far more imagination and audacity than the mixes here. Take a song as seemingly straightforward as "Lady Madonna," a Fats Domino tribute so good the man himself recorded it. This mix highlights weird flourishes like the carnival-esque vocal harmonies of the bridge — things that were so densely interwoven into the original single mix that they didn't stand out — but by isolating them here and inserting them at the front of the song, the Martins lessen the dramatic impact of these harmonies, just like how the gut-level force of McCartney's heavy, heavy bass here is tamed by how it's buried in the mix. The original has an arrangement that builds where this gets to the good part immediately, then stays there, a problem that plagues all of LOVE.

 

Here, the arrangements have everything pushed up toward the front, creating a Wall of Sound upon which certain individual parts or samples can stand out in how they contrast to the rest. This means that LOVE can indeed sound good — particularly in a 5.1 surround mix as elements swirl between the front and back speakers, but these are all window-dressing on songs that retain all their identifiable elements from the original recordings. And that's the frustrating thing about this entire project: far from being a bold reinvention, a Beatles album for the 21st century, the Martins didn't go far enough in their mash-ups, creating new music out of old, turning it into something mind-blowing. But when there's a multi-multi-million dollar production at stake, creating something truly mind-blowing is not really the goal: offering the familiar dressed up as something new is, and that's what LOVE delivers with big-budget style and flair, and more than a touch of Vegas gaudiness. It's an extravaganza, bright and colorful and relentless in its quest to entertain but beneath all the bluster, LOVE isn't much more than nostalgia masquerading as something new.

 

 

Tracks

 

1 Because Lennon, McCartney 2:44

2 Get Back Lennon, McCartney 2:05

3 Glass Onion Lennon, McCartney 1:20

4 Eleanor Rigby/Julia Lennon, McCartney 3:05

5 I Am the Walrus Lennon, McCartney 4:28

6 I Want to Hold Your Hand Lennon, McCartney 1:22

7 Drive My Car/The Word/What You're Doing Lennon, McCartney 1:54

8 Gnik Nus Lennon, McCartney 0:55

9 Something/Blue Jay Way Harrison 3:29

10 Being for the the Benefit of Mr. Kite!/I Want You (She's So Heavy)/Helt Lennon, McCartney 3:22

11 Help! Lennon, McCartney 2:18

12 Blackbird/Yesterday Lennon, McCartney 2:31

13 Strawberry Fields Forever Lennon, McCartney 4:31

14 Within You Without You/Tomorrow Never Knows Harrison, Lennon, McCartney 3:07

15 Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds Lennon, McCartney 4:10

16 Octopus's Garden Starkey 3:18

17 Lady Madonna Lennon, McCartney 2:56

18 Here Comes the Sun/The Inner Light Harrison 4:18

19 Come Together/Dear Prudence/Cry Baby Cry Lennon, McCartney 4:45

20 Revolution Lennon, McCartney 2:14

21 Back in the U.S.S.R. Lennon, McCartney 1:53

22 While My Guitar Gently Weeps Harrison 3:46

23 A Day in the Life Lennon, McCartney 5:08

24 Hey Jude Lennon, McCartney 3:58

25 Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise) Lennon, McCartney 1:22

26 All You Need Is Love Lennon, McCartney 3:38

JOHN LENNON

 

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Biography by Stephen Thomas Erlewine

 

Out of all the Beatles, John Lennon had the most interesting — and frustrating — solo career. Lennon was capable of inspired, brutally honest confessional songwriting and melodic songcraft; he also had a tendency to rest on his laurels, churning out straight-ahead rock & roll without much care. But the extremes, both in his music and his life, were what made him fascinating. Where Paul McCartney was content to be a rock star, Lennon dabbled in everything from revolutionary politics to the television talk-show circuit during the early '70s. After releasing a pair of acclaimed albums, John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band and Imagine, in the early '70s, Lennon sunk into an infamous "lost weekend" where his musical output was decidedly uneven and his public behavior was often embarrassing. Halfway through the decade, he sobered up and retired from performing to become a house-husband and father. In 1980, he launched a comeback with his wife Yoko Ono, releasing the duet album Double Fantasy that fall. Just as his career was on an upswing, Lennon was tragically assassinated outside of his New York apartment building in December of 1980. He left behind an enormous legacy, not only as a musician, but as a writer, actor and activist.

 

Considering the magnitude of his achievements with the Beatles, Lennon's solo career is relatively overlooked. Even during the height of Beatlemania, Lennon began exploring outside of the group. In 1964, he published a collection of his writings called In His Own Write, which was followed in 1965 by A Spaniard in the Works, and in 1966, he appeared in Dick Lester's comedy How I Won the War. He didn't pursue a musical career outside of the group until 1968, when he recorded the experimental noise collage Unfinished Music, No. 1: Two Virgins with his new lover, avant-garde artist Yoko Ono. Two Virgins caused considerable controversy, both because of its content and its cover art, which featured a nude photograph of Lennon and Ono. The couple married in Gibraltar in March 20, 1969. For their honeymoon, the pair staged the first of many political demonstrations with their "Bed-In for Peace" at the Amsterdam Hilton. Several months later, the avant-garde records Unfinished Music, No. 2: Life With the Lions and The Wedding Album were released, as was the single "Give Peace a Chance," which was recorded during the Bed-In. During September of 1969, Lennon returned to live performances with a concert at a Toronto rock & roll festival. He was supported by the Plastic Ono Band, which featured Ono, guitarist Eric Clapton, bassist Klaus Voormann and drummer Alan White. The following month, Lennon and the Plastic Ono Band released "Cold Turkey," which was about his battle with heroin addiction. When the single failed to make the Top Ten in Britain and America, Lennon sent his MBE back to the Queen, protesting Britain's involvement in Biafra, America's involvement in Vietnam and the poor chart performance of "Cold Turkey."

 

Before the release of "Cold Turkey," Lennon had told the Beatles that he planned to leave the group, but he agreed not to publicly announce his intentions until after Allen Klein's negotiations with EMI on behalf of the Beatles were resolved. Lennon and Ono continued with their campaign for peace, spreading billboards with the slogan "War Is Over! (If You Want It)" in 12 separate cities. In February of 1970, he wrote, recorded and released the single "Instant Karma" within the span of the week. The single became a major hit, reaching the Top Ten in both the U.K. and the U.S.. Two months after "Instant Karma," Paul McCartney announced that the Beatles were splitting up, provoking the anger of Lennon. Much of this anger was vented on his first full-fledged solo album, John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band, a scathingly honest confessional work inspired by his and Ono's primal scream therapy. Lennon supported the album with an extensive interview with Rolling Stone, where he debunked many of the myths surrounding the Beatles. Early in 1971, he released another protest single, "Power to the People," before moving to New York. That fall, he released Imagine, which featured the Top Ten title track. By the time Imagine became a hit album, Lennon and Ono had returned to political activism, publicly supporting American radicals like Abbie Hoffman, Jerry Rubin and John Sinclair. Their increased political involvement resulted in the double-album Sometime in New York City, which was released in the summer of 1972. Recorded with the New York hippie band Elephant's Memory, Sometime in New York City consisted entirely of political songs, many of which were criticized for their simplicity. Consequently, the album sold poorly and tarnished Lennon's reputation.

 

Sometime in New York City was the beginning of a three-year downward spiral for Lennon. Shortly before the album's release, he began his long, involved battle with U.S. Immigration, who refused to give him a green card due to a conviction for marijuana possession in 1968. In 1973, he was ordered to leave America by Immigration, and he launched a full-scale battle against the department, frequently attacking them in public. Mind Games was released in late 1973 to mixed reviews; its title track became a moderate hit. The following year, he and Ono separated, and he moved out to Los Angeles, beginning his year-and-a-half long "lost weekend." During 1974 and 1975, Lennon lived a life of debauchery in Los Angeles, partying hard with such celebrities as Elton John, Harry Nilsson, Keith Moon, David Bowie and Ringo Starr. Walls and Bridges appeared in November of 1974, and it became a hit due to the inclusion of "Whatever Gets You Through the Night," a song he wrote with Elton John. At the end of the year, John helped reunite Lennon and Ono, convincing the ex-Beatle to appear during one of his concerts; it would be Lennon's last performance.

 

Rock & Roll, a collection of rock oldies recorded during the lost weekend, was released in the spring of 1975. A few months before its official release, a bootleg of the album called Roots was released by Morris Levy, who Lennon later sued successfully. Lennon's immigration battle neared its completion on October 7, 1975, when the U.S. court of appeals overturned his deportation order; in the summer of 1976, he was finally granted his green card. After he appeared on David Bowie's Young Americans, co-writing the hit song "Fame," Lennon quietly retired from music, choosing to become a house-husband following the October birth of his son, Sean Lennon.

 

During the summer of 1980, Lennon returned to recording, signing a new contract with Geffen Records. Comprised equally of material by Lennon and Ono, Double Fantasy was released in November to positive reviews. As the album and its accompanying single, "(Just Like) Starting Over," were climbing the charts, Lennon was assassinated on December 8 by Mark David Chapman. Lennon's death inspired deep grief from the entire world; on December 14, millions of fans around the world participated in a ten-minute silent vigil for Lennon at 2 p.m. EST. Double Fantasy and "(Just Like) Starting Over" both became number one hits in the wake of his death. In the years after his death, several albums of unreleased recordings appeared, the first of which was 1984's Milk and Honey; perhaps the most substantial was the 1998 four-disc box set Anthology, issued in conjunction with a single-disc sampler titled Wonsaponatime.

 

 

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Artist : Plastic Ono Band

Album : Live Peace in Toronto, 1969

Rating : 3 Stars (6 out of 10)

Release Date : Dec 12, 1969

 

Review by Richard S. Ginell

 

Although one of the world's best-kept secrets at the time, this was John Lennon's declaration of independence from the Beatles, the document of a concert appearance at Toronto's Rock and Roll Revival festival about a month after the conclusion of the Abbey Road sessions. Thrown together literally on the wing (they rehearsed only on the flight from England), the ad-hoc band consisting of Lennon, Yoko Ono, Eric Clapton on guitar, Klaus Voorman on bass, and Alan White on drums hit the stage to the surprise and delight of the thousands who packed Varsity Stadium. "We're just going to do numbers we know, you know, because we've never played together before," confesses John, who was reportedly extremely nervous before going on. But the repertoire ought to have been a cakewalk for a quartet of seasoned rockers — blues-based oldies ("Blue Suede Shoes," "Money," "Dizzy Miss Lizzie") and basic recent Lennon numbers ("Yer Blues," "Cold Turkey," "Give Peace a Chance") — and they lay it down in a dignified, noisy, glorified garage band manner. Lennon is in fine vocal form, confident and funny despite his frequent apologies, while Yoko confines her caterwauling to "Cold Turkey." That was side one of the original LP. Side two, alas, was devoted entirely to Ono's wailing, pitchless, brainless, banshee vocalizing on "Don't Worry Kyoko" and "John John (Let's Hope for Peace)" — the former backed with plodding rock rhythms and the latter with feedback. No wonder you see many used copies of the LP with worn A-sides and clean, unplayed B-sides — and Yoko's "art" is just as irritating today as it was in 1969. But in those days, if you wanted John you had to take the whole package.

 

 

Tracks

1 Introduction of the Band 1:44

2 Blue Suede Shoes Perkins 2:09

3 Money (That's What I Want) Bradford, Gordy 3:20

4 Dizzy Miss Lizzy Williams 3:25

5 Yer Blues Lennon, McCartney 3:50

6 Cold Turkey Lennon 3:43

7 Give Peace a Chance Lennon, McCartney 3:30

8 Don't Worry, Kyoko (Mummy's Only Looking for Her Hand in the Snow) Ono 4:44

9 John, John (Let's Hope for Peace) Ono

 

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Artist : John Lennon

Album : John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band

Rating : 5 Stars

Release Date : Dec 11, 1970

 

Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine

 

The cliché about singer/songwriters is that they sing confessionals direct from their heart, but John Lennon exploded the myth behind that cliché, as well as many others, on his first official solo record, John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band. Inspired by his primal scream therapy with Dr. Walter Janov, Lennon created a harrowing set of unflinchingly personal songs, laying out all of his fears and angers for everyone to hear. It was a revolutionary record — never before had a record been so explicitly introspective, and very few records made absolutely no concession to the audience's expectations, daring the listeners to meet all the artist's demands. Which isn't to say that the record is unlistenable. Lennon's songs range from tough rock & rollers to piano-based ballads and spare folk songs, and his melodies remain strong and memorable, which actually intensifies the pain and rage of the songs. Not much about Plastic Ono Band is hidden. Lennon presents everything on the surface, and the song titles — "Mother," "I Found Out," "Working Class Hero," "Isolation," "God," "My Mummy's Dead" — illustrate what each song is about, and charts his loss of faith in his parents, country, friends, fans, and idols. It's an unflinching document of bare-bones despair and pain, but for all its nihilism, it is ultimately life-affirming; it is unique not only in Lennon's catalog, but in all of popular music. Few albums are ever as harrowing, difficult, and rewarding as John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band.

 

 

Tracks

 

1 Mother Lennon 5:37

2 Hold On Lennon 1:52

3 I Found Out Lennon 3:37

4 Working Class Hero Lennon 3:50

5 Isolation Lennon 2:51

6 Remember Lennon 4:36

7 Love Lennon 3:24

8 Well Well Well Lennon 5:59

9 Look at Me Lennon 2:55

10 God Lennon 4:10

11 My Mummy's Dead Lennon :59

12 Power to the People Lennon 3:22

13 Do the Oz Lennon, Ono

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Artist : John Lennon

Album : Imagine

Rating : 5 Stars

Release Date : Sep 9, 1971

 

Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine

 

After the harrowing Plastic Ono Band, John Lennon returned to calmer, more conventional territory with Imagine. While the album had a softer surface, it was only marginally less confessional than its predecessor. Underneath the sweet strings of "Jealous Guy" lies a broken and scared man, the jaunty "Crippled Inside" is a mocking assault at an acquaintance, and "Imagine" is a paean for peace in a world with no gods, possessions, or classes, where everyone is equal. And Lennon doesn't shy away from the hard rockers — "How Do You Sleep" is a scathing attack on Paul McCartney, "I Don't Want to Be a Soldier" is a hypnotic antiwar song, and "Give Me Some Truth" is bitter hard rock. If Imagine doesn't have the thematic sweep of Plastic Ono Band, it is nevertheless a remarkable collection of songs that Lennon would never be able to better again.

 

 

Tracks

 

 

1 Imagine Lennon 3:04

2 Crippled Inside Lennon 3:49

3 Jealous Guy Lennon 4:14

4 It's So Hard Lennon 2:27

5 I Don't Wanna Be a Soldier Lennon 6:08

6 Gimme Some Truth Lennon 3:16

7 Oh My Love Lennon, Ono 2:45

8 How Do You Sleep? Lennon 5:36

9 How? Lennon 3:45

10 Oh Yoko! Lennon 4:19

 

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Artist : John Lennon & Yoko Ono

Album : Some Time in New York City/Live Jam

Rating : 1.5 Stars

Release Date : Jun 12, 1972

 

Review by Bruce Eder & William Ruhlmann

 

The first album co-billed to John Lennon and Yoko Ono to actually contain recognizable pop music, Sometime in New York City found the Lennons in an explicitly political phase. This was understandable — at the time, Lennon was neck-deep in his struggle to remain in the United States, a conflict rooted in his antiwar and antiestablishment politics and the enmity of the Nixon administration. At the same time, having written, recorded, and released the music on the Plastic Ono Band and Imagine albums — and musically exorcising many of the emotional demons associated with aspects of his past, and working out a musical and publishing "divorce" from Paul McCartney — he was now reveling in the freedom of being an ex-Beatle and exploring music and other subjects that he'd never felt fully free to delve into during the first decade of his career. This album was actually a long time in coming, as there had been hints of Lennon moving in this direction for years — he'd long looked upon Bob Dylan with unabashed envy, emulating his sound at moments ("You've Got to Hide Your Love Away") and striving for some of the same mix of edginess and depth, once the group got beyond its original two-guitars-bass-drums and love songs sound; "Revolution" (and "Revolution No. 1") and the anthems "Give Peace a Chance" and "Power to the People" saw him trying to embrace outside subjects in his work, and Sometime in New York carried his writing a step further in this direction, introducing John Lennon, protest singer — true, he was ten years late, in terms of the musical genre (even Joan Baez and Judy Collins were doing pop-style records by then), but it was a logical development given the time in Lennon's life and the strife-filled era with which it coincided. Seeking his own voice in all of its permutations, and living amid the bracing pace of New York City (which made London, much less Liverpool, look like a cultural and political backwater), Lennon entered a phase similar to Dylan's 1963-1964 period, represented by songs such as "The Ballad of Hollis Brown," "The Death of Emmett Till," and "Talking John Birch Society Blues." Except that where Dylan had toned down that side of his work, never officially releasing his versions of two of those songs (the two most confrontational, in fact), Lennon didn't hold back, delivering his topical songs with both barrels smoking, expounding on such topical subjects as radical feminism, the Attica prison riot, the treatment of activists John Sinclair and Angela Davis, and the rising strife in Northern Ireland (which was on its way to becoming for the British the same kind of military and political quagmire that Vietnam was for America). Lennon had some advantages in getting heard, as an ex-Beatle, not an up-and-coming talent as Dylan had been a decade earlier, and if the subject matter of his new songs puzzled or alienated some fans, he also still had a huge amount of rock & roll street cred, which was only enhanced at the time by his having made Nixon's enemies list; at the time, there were a lot of people to whom that mattered more than his past as a Beatle — at the April 24 antiwar rally in New York in 1971, where he appeared with Yoko Ono and the Elephant's Memory Band, he showed himself to be among the few musicians who could get a quarter of a million or more people singing and chanting spontaneously, in unison. And Sometime in New York City was a logical progression from that event. Especially in the case of Lennon's songs, there is an appealing rock style to the material here, even if the lyrics limit the record's appeal. And even Yoko's songs have something to recommend them, "Sisters, O Sisters" representing a peculiar form of reggae-pop, "Born in a Prison" possessing a strange pop ambience, and "We're All Water" offering a preview of late-'70s punk/new wave rawness (Lena Lovich may well have worn out that track). At the time of its release in June of 1972, all except the most devoted fans were put off by the album's topicality and in-your-face didacticism, and the bonus live disc was challenging in other ways. Heard today, the studio disc rocks in enough of the right places, as well as drawing on influences ranging from blues to reggae, to surprise listeners and even delight them — the relatively tuneless "Sunday, Bloody Sunday" manages to favorably recall elements of "Come Together," and both it and "New York City" have some of the best electric guitar ever heard on a Lennon album, while "John Sinclair" shows off Lennon's blues playing (on a steel National guitar, no less) brilliantly. Even those who were of the left at the time may wince at "Angela" some decades on, but "We're All Water" has lost none of its intellectual or musical resonances, even if Nixon and Mao are long dead. The Elephant's Memory Band may not be the best set of musicians that Lennon could have been working with, but that was less important than the fact that he seemed to respond to their club band R&B and jazz background with a roots-oriented approach to songwriting that's ultimately refreshing. Co-producer Phil Spector gives most of the music a larger-than-life ambience, with a reverb-drenched, rhythm-heavy approach recalling his Wall of Sound productions, which gives a lot of even the most didactic songs a big-band pop/rock smoothness, when the songs weren't lean and stripped down like "John Sinclair" (which sounds in terms of texture like a Furry Lewis side from 1930). Sometime in New York City was released with a "free" bonus disc containing a live medley of Lennon's "Cold Turkey" and Ono's "Don't Worry Kyoko," from an antiwar rally at the Lyceum in London with George Harrison, and an appearance by the Lennons at a Mothers of Invention concert from the Fillmore East. The Lyceum tracks were well recorded and, apart from both going on too long, exude a certain power; these may not be the songs you'd have had performed at the one recorded post-Beatles concert appearance by Lennon and Harrison, but "Cold Turkey" is good, if a little disorganized near the end, and "Don't Worry Kyoko" has some pretty fair rock & roll jamming going on behind Ono's vocal acrobatics; the Fillmore stuff sounds less good technically, and captures a spontaneous moment that's mostly wasted, though not without a moment of personal musical reflection from Lennon in "Well (Baby Please Don't Go)." Alas, the presence of the second disc now makes this the most expensive of all Lennon's CD releases, virtually ensuring that it remain the least known of his mainline albums, especially for any fans who weren't around in 1972.

 

 

Tracks

 

1 Woman Is the n***** of the World Lennon, Ono 5:16

2 Sisters, O Sisters Ono 3:48

3 Attica State Lennon, Ono 2:55

4 Born in a Prison Ono 4:05

5 New York City Lennon 4:31

6 Sunday Bloody Sunday Lennon, Ono 5:02

7 The Luck of the Irish Lennon, Ono 2:59

8 John Sinclair Lennon 3:30

9 Angela Lennon, Ono 4:07

10 We're All Water Ono 7:11

11 Cold Turkey [live] Lennon 8:36

12 Don't Worry Kyoko [live] Ono 16:00

13 Well (Baby Please Don't Go) [live] Ward 4:40

14 Jamrag [live] Lennon, Ono 5:36

15 Scumbag [live] Lennon, Ono, Zappa 4:27

16 Au [live] Lennon, Ono

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Artist : John Lennon

Album : Mind Games

Rating : 4 Stars

Release Date : Nov 2, 1973

 

Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine

 

After the hostile reaction to the politically charged Sometime in New York City, John Lennon moved away from explicit protest songs and returned to introspective songwriting with Mind Games. Lennon didn't leave politics behind — he just tempered his opinions with humor on songs like "Bring on the Lucie (Freda Peeple)," which happened to undercut the intention of the song. It also indicated the confusion that lies at the heart of the album. Lennon doesn't know which way to go, so he tries everything. There are lovely ballads like "Out of the Blue" and "One Day (At a Time)," forced, ham-fisted rockers like "Meat City" and "Tight As," sweeping Spectoresque pop on "Mind Games," and many mid-tempo, indistinguishable pop/rockers. While the best numbers are among Lennon's finest, there's only a handful of them, and the remainder of the record is simply pleasant. But compared to Sometime in New York City, as well as the subsequent Walls and Bridges, Mind Games sounded like a return to form.

 

 

Tracks

 

1 Mind Games Lennon 4:13

2 Tight A$ Lennon 3:35

3 Aisumasen (I'm Sorry) Lennon 4:41

4 One Day (At a Time) Lennon 3:27

5 Bring on the Lucie (Freda Peeple) Lennon 4:11

6 Nutopian International Anthem Lennon :03

7 Intuition Lennon 3:05

8 Out the Blue Lennon 3:22

9 Only People Lennon 3:21

10 I Know (I Know) Lennon 3:56

11 You Are Here Lennon 4:06

12 Meat City Lennon 2:48

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Artist : John Lennon

Album : Walls and Bridges

Rating : 3.5 Stars

Release Date : Sep 26, 1974

 

Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine

 

Walls and Bridges was recorded during John Lennon's infamous "lost weekend," as he exiled himself in California during a separation from Yoko Ono. Lennon's personal life was scattered, so it isn't surprising that Walls and Bridges is a mess itself, containing equal amounts of brilliance and nonsense. Falling between the two extremes was the bouncy Elton John duet "Whatever Gets You Thru the Night," which was Lennon's first solo number one hit. Its bright, sunny surface was replicated throughout the record, particularly on middling rockers like "What You Got" but also on enjoyable pop songs like "Old Dirt Road." However, the best moments on Walls and Bridges come when Lennon is more open with his emotions, like on "Going Down on Love," "Steel and Glass," and the beautiful, soaring "#9 Dream." Even with such fine moments, the album is decidedly uneven, containing too much mediocre material like "Beef Jerky" and "Ya Ya," which are weighed down by weak melodies and heavy over-production. It wasn't a particularly graceful way to enter retirement.

 

Tracks

 

1 Going Down on Love Lennon 3:55

2 Whatever Gets You Thru the Night Lennon 3:27

3 Old Dirt Road Lennon, Nilsson 4:11

4 What You Got Lennon 3:10

5 Bless You Lennon 4:37

6 Scared Lennon 4:37

7 #9 Dream Lennon 4:47

8 Surprise, Surprise (Sweet Bird of Paradox) Lennon 2:55

9 Steel and Glass Lennon 4:37

10 Beef Jerky Lennon 3:26

11 Nobody Loves You (When You're Down and Out) Lennon 5:09

12 Ya Ya Dorsey, Levy, Lewis, Robinson 1:05

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Artist :John Lennon

Album : Rock 'n' Roll

Rating : 4 Stars

Release Date : Feb 17, 1975

 

Review by Dave Thompson

Although the chaotic sessions that spawned this album have passed into rock & roll legend and the recording's very genesis (as an out-of-court settlement between John Lennon and an aggrieved publisher) has often caused it to be slighted by many of the singer's biographers, Rock 'n' Roll, in fact, stands as a peak in his post-Imagine catalog: an album that catches him with nothing to prove and no need to try. Lennon could, after all, sing old rock & roll numbers with his mouth closed; he spent his entire career relaxing with off-the-cuff blasts through the music with which he grew up, and Rock 'n' Roll emerges the sound of him doing precisely that. Four songs survive from the fractious sessions with producer Phil Spector in late 1973 that ignited the album, and listeners to any of the posthumous compilations that also draw from those archives will know that the best tracks were left on the shelf — "Be My Baby" and "Angel Baby" among them. But a gorgeous run through Lloyd Price's "Just Because" wraps up the album in fine style, while a trip through "You Can't Catch Me" contrarily captures a playful side that Lennon rarely revealed on vinyl. The remainder of the album was cut a year later with Lennon alone at the helm, and the mood remains buoyant. It might not, on first glance, seem essential to hear him running through nuggets like "Be Bop A Lula," "Peggy Sue," and "Bring It on Home to Me," but, again, Lennon has seldom sounded so gleeful as he does on these numbers, while the absence of the Spector trademark Wall-of-Sound production is scarcely noticeable — as the object of one of Lennon's own productions, David Peel once pointed out, "John had the Wall of Sound down perfectly himself." Released in an age when both David Bowie and Bryan Ferry had already tracked back to musical times-gone-by (Pin-Ups and These Foolish Things, respectively), Rock 'n' Roll received short shrift from contemporary critics. As time passed, however, it has grown in stature, whereas those other albums have merely held their own. Today, Rock 'n' Roll sounds fresher than the rock & roll that inspired it in the first place. Imagine that.

 

 

Tracks

 

1 Be-Bop-A-Lula Davis, Vincent 2:37

2 Stand by Me King, Leiber, Stoller 3:29

3 Medley: Rip it up/Ready Teddy Blackwell, Marascalco 1:34

4 You Can't Catch Me Berry 4:52

5 Ain't That a Shame Bartholomew, Domino 2:31

6 Do You Want to Dance? Freeman 2:53

7 Sweet Little Sixteen Berry 3:01

8 Slippin' and Slidin' Bocage, Collins, Little Richard 2:17

9 Peggy Sue Allison, Holly, Petty 2:04

10 Medley: Bring It on Home to Me/Send Me Some Lovin' Cooke, Marascalco, Price 3:42

11 Bony Maronie Williams 3:46

12 Ya Ya Dorsey, Levy, Lewis, Robinson 2:18

13 Just Because Price 4:25

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Artist : John Lennon & Yoko Ono

Album : Double Fantasy

Rating : 4 Stars

Release Date : Nov 17, 1980

 

Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine

 

The most distinctive thing about Double Fantasy, the last album John Lennon released during his lifetime, is the very thing that keeps it from being a graceful return to form from the singer/songwriter, returning to active duty after five years of self-imposed exile. As legend has it, Lennon spent those years in domestic bliss, being a husband, raising a baby, and, of course, baking bread. Double Fantasy was designed as a window into that bliss and, to that extent, he decided to make it a joint album with Yoko Ono, to illustrate how complete their union was. For her part, Ono decided to take a stab at pop and while these are relatively tuneful for her, they nevertheless disrupt the feel and flow of Lennon's material, which has a consistent tone and theme. He's surprisingly sentimental, not just when he's expressing love for his wife ("Dear Yoko," "Woman") and child ("Beautiful Boy [Darling Boy]"), but when he's coming to terms with his quiet years ("Watching the Wheels," "Cleanup Time") and his return to creative life. These are really nice tunes, and what's special about them is their niceness — it's a sweet acceptance of middle age, which, of course, makes his assassination all the sadder. For that alone, Double Fantasy is noteworthy, yet it's hard not to think that it's a bit of a missed opportunity — primarily because its themes would be stronger without the Ono songs, but also because the production is just a little bit too slick and constrained, sounding very much of its time. Ultimately, these complaints fall by the wayside because Lennon's best songs here cement the last part of his legend, capturing him at peace and in love. According to some reports, that perception was a bit of a fantasy, but sometimes the fantasy means more than the reality, and that's certainly the case here.

 

Tracks

 

1 (Just Like) Starting Over Lennon 3:56

2 Kiss, Kiss, Kiss Ono 2:41

3 Cleanup Time Lennon 2:58

4 Give Me Something Ono 1:35

5 I'm Losing You Lennon 3:57

6 I'm Moving On Ono 2:20

7 Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy) Lennon 4:04

8 Watching the Wheels Lennon 3:59

9 Yes, I'm Your Angel Ono 3:09

10 Woman Lennon 3:31

11 Beautiful Boys Ono 2:55

12 Dear Yoko Lennon 2:34

13 Every Man Has a Woman Who Loves Him Ono 4:02

14 Hard Times Are Over Ono 3:22

15 Help Me to Help Myself Lennon 2:37

16 Walking on Thin Ice Ono 6:00

17 Central Park Stroll (Dialogue) Ono :17

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Artist : John Lennon & Yoko Ono

Album : Milk and Honey

Rating : 3 Stars

Release Date : Jan 27, 1984

 

Review by Richard S. Ginell

 

The sessions for 1980's Double Fantasy were supposed to yield two albums, the second to be released at a future time, but Lennon's assassination tragically halted the project in its tracks. A bit over three years later, Yoko Ono issued tapes of many of the songs planned for that album under the title Milk and Honey, laid out in the same John-Yoko-John-Yoko dialogue fashion as its predecessor. Not unexpectedly, it's a rougher, less polished product, lacking the finishing touches and additional takes that Lennon most likely would have called for. Nevertheless, Lennon's songs at this point in their development were often quite strong, tougher than those on Double Fantasy in general, and the ad libs and studio chatter that might not have made the final cut give us more of a glimpse of Lennon's delightfully quirky personality. "Nobody Told Me," the advance single off the album, is a rollicking, quizzical piece of work, maybe the best thing to come out of John's 1980 sessions, despite the unfinished-sounding transition to the chorus. "Borrowed Time," another single, is a thoughtful, sparely worded meditation on growing older attached to a Caribbean beat. Yoko's contributions, while not as strong as John's, are surprisingly listenable — the reggae-based "Don't Be Scared," in particular — and more current in texture, and her lyrics do tend to answer John's songs. As the album comes toward the close, the tone turns sentimental, culminating with one of John's loveliest tunes, "Grow Old With Me," as presented on a home-recorded cassette in lieu of a studio recording. The ironies of this song and some of the other Lennon material are obviously poignant in the light of the cruel events of December 8, 1980; that and the fact that these songs haven't been as exposed as much as those on Double Fantasy lead some to prefer this sequel.

 

Tracks

 

1 I'm Stepping Out Lennon

2 Sleepless Night Ono

3 I Don't Wanna Face It Lennon

4 Don't Be Scared Ono

5 Nobody Told Me Lennon

6 O'Sanity

7 Borrowed Time Lennon

8 Your Hands Ono

9 (Forgive Me) My Little Flower Princess Lennon

10 Let Me Count the Ways Ono

11 Grow Old With Me Lennon

12 You're the One Ono

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Artist : John Lennon

Album : Live in New York City

Rating : 2.5 Stars

Release Date : Feb 10, 1986

Recording Date : Aug 30, 1972

 

Review by Richard S. Ginell

John Lennon's concert appearances during his solo years were rare and scattered about, so any live document is worth hearing. Yet this one, the fabled One to One concert at Madison Square Garden, doesn't live up to its legend, however noble the cause (a benefit for the Willowbrook School for Children). Much of the problem, one suspects, is that Lennon concerts tended to be quick, casual one-offs; this material might have really rocked if John had broken the tunes in on the road first. Also, the Plastic Ono Elephants Memory Band is a fairly crude bunch of bashers, with Stan Bronstein's flailing sax and surprisingly poor drumming, despite the support of Jim Keltner. So Lennon is pretty much left to his own devices. In the first few numbers he sounds distracted, not in full command, even disconnected from the band. A core primal scream piece "Well Well Well" is given a perfunctory run-through; "Instant Karma" sounds stiff, with embarrassing drum breaks ("We'll get it right next time," John says); and he makes only one reference to his Beatle past with a heavy-handed "Come Together." Things do improve later on when "Mother" and "Cold Turkey" work up a good lather, and "Hound Dog" is not bad, although the concluding "Give Peace a Chance" is limited to the brief excerpt included on Shaved Fish. Phil Spector was the original producer of the recording, and it's one of his murkier jobs, not nearly as focused as his work on The Concert for Bangla Desh in the very same arena the year before. More from the concert, including some of Yoko's numbers, can be found on the companion video cassette released at the same time.

 

 

Tracks

 

 

1 New York City Lennon 3:39

2 It's So Hard Lennon 3:18

3 Woman Is the n***** of the World Lennon, Ono 5:30

4 Well, Well, Well Lennon 3:50

5 Instant Karma! Lennon 3:40

6 Mother Lennon 4:59

7 Come Together Lennon, McCartney 4:20

8 Imagine Lennon 3:17

9 Cold Turkey Lennon 5:29

10 Hound Dog Leiber, Stoller 3:10

11 Give Peace a Chance Lennon, McCartney 1:00

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Artist : John Lennon

Album : Menlove Ave.

Rating : 3 Stars

Release Date : Nov 3, 1986

 

Review by Richard S. Ginell

Following quickly on the heels of Live in New York City, a second posthumous Lennon release emerged from Yoko Ono's archives, with one side devoted to outtakes from the wild Rock & Roll sessions and the other to alternate takes from Walls and Bridges. The Rock & Roll side draws mostly from the first Phil Spector-produced sessions in Hollywood, which collapsed amidst storied incidents of '70s excess. There are two hitherto unreleased Lennon songs on board: "Here We Go Again" (co-written with Spector), a fairly uneventful song massively overproduced, and "Rock & Roll People," which has a more Spartan production by Lennon and a nice kick to it. "Angel Baby," originally put out on the unauthorized Roots album, makes a raucous first official appearance here. "Since My Baby Left Me" sounds like a glorified party tape, giving listeners a taste of the madness of those sessions, and a lumbering rendition of Spector's chestnut "To Know Her Is to Love Her" closes the side. The Walls and Bridges alternates ("Steel and Glass," "Scared," "Old Dirt Road," "Nobody Loves You," and "Bless You") lack the orchestrations of the master takes, and they are better off for it; indeed, "Steel and Glass" and "Scared" take on an especially starker power. By today's standards, this would be a pretty meager harvest of unheard Lennon, recommendable only to completists and the really dedicated fan. But in those pre-Lost Lennon Tapes/Lennon Anthology days, it was a tantalizing look into the vault.

 

 

Tracks

 

1 Here We Go Again Lennon, Spector 4:50

2 Rock & Roll People Lennon 4:21

3 Angel Baby Hamlin 3:42

4 Since My Baby Left Me Crudup 3:48

5 To Know Her Is to Love Her Spector 4:37

6 Steel and Glass [live] Lennon 4:10

7 Scared [live] Lennon 4:18

8 Old Dirt Road [live] Lennon, Nilsson 3:54

9 Nobody Loves You (When You're Down and Out) [live] Lennon 4:30

10 Bless You [live] Lennon 4:05

 

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Album : The John Lennon Collection

Rating : 4.5 Stars

Release Date : Nov 10, 1982

 

Review by Bruce Eder

 

This 15-song collection (expanded to 19 in 1989 for the CD), released just short of two years after Lennon's death, provided a very generous overview of his solo career on a single LP, drawing on most of the major singles and also on songs that were widely covered, and from all periods of his career, from his late-Beatles-era solo political explorations up to the release of Double Fantasy. The producers, obviously working in collaboration with his widow and seeking to put the very best face on his career, and showcase his strongest and most memorable songs, pass right over Sometime in New York and much of the partly successful works that followed, which is sort of a shame — "Woman Is the n***** of the World" may not quite rate alongside the stuff that is here, but it was a song that he did care about and played live more than once (significant in a career that included barely any scheduled concerts), and "John Sinclair" showed him playing blues with a ferocious passion. One also misses "Cold Turkey," which is as powerful a song as he wrote in his early solo career, but at the time of its release this was the broadest overview of Lennon's career to be found, and even included (on its CD version) the otherwise unanthologized B-side "Move Over Ms. L."

 

 

Tracks

 

 

1 Give Peace a Chance Lennon, McCartney 4:54

2 Instant Karma! Lennon 3:22

3 Power to the People Lennon 3:18

4 Whatever Gets You Thru the Night Lennon 3:20

5 #9 Dream Lennon 4:48

6 Mind Games Lennon 4:14

7 Love Lennon 3:24

8 Happy Xmas (War Is Over) Lennon, Ono 3:35

9 Imagine Lennon 3:05

10 Jealous Guy Lennon 4:17

11 Stand by Me King, Leiber, Stoller 3:27

12 (Just Like) Starting Over Lennon 3:57

13 Woman Lennon 3:28

14 I'm Losing You Lennon 4:00

15 Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy) Lennon 4:03

16 Watching the Wheels Lennon 3:33

17 Dear Yoko Lennon 2:35

18 Move Over Ms. L. Lennon 2:58

19 Cold Turkey Lennon 5:01

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Artist : John Lennon / The Beatles

Album : Imagine: John Lennon [Original Soundtrack]

Rating : 4 Stars

Release Date : Oct 10, 1988

 

Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine

 

In 1988, the John Lennon estate released the documentary Imagine: John Lennon. A loving, airbrushed look at his life, the film offset the negative press generated by Albert Goldman's vicious unofficial bio The Lives of John Lennon, providing an unabashedly biased and entertaining chronicle of one of rock's greatest icons. Fanatics cherished the rare footage scattered throughout the documentary, and they also were thrilled by the first official release of "Real Love," a demo Lennon recorded at his Dakota apartment during the late '70s. (It would later be overdubbed and released as a Beatles' track on Anthology 2.) Despite the inclusion of this and a rehearsal take of "Imagine," the soundtrack is geared toward casual fans. There's a brief roundup of nine major Beatles songs (including "Help!," "In My Life," "Strawberry Fields Forever," "A Day in the Life," and "The Ballad of John & Yoko"), then a summary of his solo works. Imagine may be a double album, but as it turns out, 21 tracks barely scratches the surface of a catalog as deep as Lennon's, especially if it attempts to cover both band and solo recordings. That means, of course, that many great songs — particularly early singles like "Cold Turkey" and "Instant Karma" — are missing. The featured songs emphasize Lennon's sensitive ballad side — it's all the idealistic dreamer, with Lennon the rocker or the social activist pushed to the side. Such an approach is bound to frustrate some fans, but the end result is an entirely listenable compilation and one that says a great deal about how Lennon was perceived at the conclusion of the '80s.

 

Tracks (Solo unless stated)

 

1 Real Love 2:48

2 Twist and Shout Beatles 2:33

3 Help! Beatles 2:17

4 In My Life Beatles 2:25

5 Strawberry Fields Forever Beatles 4:06

6 A Day in the Life Beatles 5:05

7 Revolution Beatles 3:22

8 The Ballad of John and Yoko Beatles 2:58

9 Julia Beatles 2:54

10 Don't Let Me Down Beatles 3:33

11 Give Peace a Chance 4:52

12 How? 3:39

13 Imagine [Rehearsal] 1:24

14 God 4:08

15 Mother 4:43

16 Stand by Me 3:26

17 Jealous Guy 4:12

18 Woman 3:30

19 Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy) 4:02

20 (Just Like) Starting Over 3:56

21 Imagine 3:00

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Album : Lennon Legend: The Very Best of John Lennon

Rating : 4.5 Stars

Release Date : 1997

 

Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine

 

Lennon Legend was released in the fall of 1997 in England to replace the deleted John Lennon Collection, and the 20-track collection is remarkably similar to its predecessor, replicating a full 16 tracks and deleting the relatively nonessential "I'm Losing You," "Dear Yoko," and "Move Over Ms. L" in favor of "Borrowed Time," "Mother," "Nobody Told Me," and "Working Class Hero." Even if the disc isn't sequenced in strict chronological order, the end result is the strongest single-disc Lennon collection yet. It might not offer everything of worth that Lennon recorded — the Plastic Ono Band and Imagine albums remain essentials, and there are great-to-good songs scattered among his later solo records — but it does function as an excellent sampler and introduction to his solo career.

 

 

Tracks

 

1 Imagine Lennon 3:04

2 Instant Karma! Lennon 3:21

3 Mother [single Edit] Lennon 3:55

4 Jealous Guy Lennon 4:16

5 Power to the People Lennon 3:19

6 Cold Turkey Lennon 5:01

7 Love Lennon 3:23

8 Mind Games Lennon 4:13

9 Whatever Gets You Thru the Night Lennon 3:21

10 #9 Dream Lennon 4:48

11 Stand by Me King, Leiber, Stoller 3:28

12 (Just Like) Starting Over Lennon 3:56

13 Woman Lennon 3:28

14 Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy) Lennon 4:01

15 Watching the Wheels Lennon 3:32

16 Nobody Told Me Lennon 3:35

17 Borrowed Time Lennon 4:31

18 Working Class Hero Lennon 3:51

19 Happy Xmas (War Is Over) Lennon, Ono 3:35

20 Give Peace a Chance Lennon, McCartney 4:51