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46 YEARS LATER, JOHN’S DARK CLASSIC AS RELEVANT AS EVER

February 24, 2017 · by solobeatles

An acoustic demo of this song was recorded during the Get Back sessions in January 1969. McCartney chimes in on the chorus, and as can be heard on YouTube, the song is almost cheerful, miles away from the nauseous despair of the final version. No doubt all the scorn heaped upon Lennon and Ono between 1969 and 1971 turned the song darker.

Yet despite the rage, there’s vengeful joy in his performance, the catharsis of a brilliant wordsmith at the height of his powers unleashing a hilariously cynical barrage of bile. There’s spiteful glee in the perfectly phrased proto-raps of bitterness he spits out against a “short hair” establishment utterly beneath contempt. It’s as sharp as Dylan’s “Subterranean Homesick Blues,” though Lennon’s songs were almost always succinct whereas Dylan’s luxuriated in precedent-smashing length.

Unlike the political songs that would follow in 1972’s Some Time in New York City, this is one of his most timeless because it is unspecific—as relevant to today as it was in 1971. Most essentially, it’s witty. He can’t decide whether to spend his money on dope or rope, and we don’t know if the rope is to hang the politicians or to just give up and hang himself. With humor as black as could be, he spoke for every guy of draft age deciding whether it was time to run through the jungle or run for Canada.

In high school, the schoolmaster regularly caned Lennon. In his twenties, his records were burned in the South. Now, he called out “Tricky Dicky” by name and brought down the wrath of the US government, immersing himself in a quagmire of deportation court battles for the next four years.

The song carries the righteous indignation of “I Found Out,” but unlike that stark and primitive track, here Harrison perfectly compliments the vitriol with the desolate beauty of his distorted and chiming slide guitar. Harrison stopped by to play on half of Imagine, and Lennon later exclaimed it was the best Harrison had played in his life.

Lennon’s Best Album: If Double Fantasy & Milk and Honey Were One

July 9, 2016 · by solobeatles

In 1980 Lennon returned to the studio for the first time in almost 6 years and recorded enough material for a complete solo album. But eventually he and Yoko Ono decided to release an album comprised of half Lennon tracks and half Ono tracks. Some biographers have speculated that Ono was getting restless in their relationship and perhaps even cheating on him, so Lennon offered her half the space as a way to revive their marriage, resulting in the LP Double Fantasy.

Thus when Lennon was murdered in December 1980, he had another half of an album left in the vaults. In 1984 the sequel Milk and Honey emerged, again consisting of half Lennon, half Ono songs. Many of the Lennon songs were superior to those that had ended up on Double Fantasy. They had only been passed over because they did not fit the earlier album’s theme of a “heart talk” between husband and wife. Thus they now poignantly served as unknowing final statements.

Had all of Lennon’s songs formed one record, it might have been his greatest solo album. In marked contrast to the angst of parental abandonment chronicled in his debut solo album John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band, his final songs were mostly happy tracks about the home he had built with his wife and son and his peaceful acceptance of middle age.

See the tunes below or play them continuously at:

http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLA798FF33C92509CE&feature=plcp

Panthers and Politics

July 8, 2016 · by solobeatles

Between 1971 and 1972, Lennon, the Rolling Stones, and Bob Dylan all released songs of solidarity with the Black Panthers. McCartney had already released his hymn to the civil rights movement on The White Album with “Blackbird.”

In November 1971, Dylan released his as a non-album single called “George Jackson.” In 1972, Lennon and Ono released “Angela,” their ode to Black Panther Angela Davis on their Some Time in New York City album, and the Rolling Stones sang their tribute to her, “Sweet Black Angel,” on Exile on Main Street.

(More text after the clips …)

George Jackson was a Black Panther leader imprisoned at San Quentin. His 17-year old brother Jonathan sometimes worked as a bodyguard for Angela Davis, a professor at UCLA who was fired by then-governor Ronald Reagan because she was a Black Panther and Communist.

On August 5, 1970, Davis bought three shotguns, registered in her name. Two days later Jonathan Jackson burst into a courtroom and took a judge, the Deputy D.A., and three jurors hostage in order to negotiate the release of his brother George. Jonathan was assisted by San Quentin prisoners who were about to stand trial or appear as witnesses.

The plan was to go to a radio station, demand the release of his brother and his two associates, and alert the public to the racist, deadly conditions of the prison. But the police opened fire on their getaway van. Jonathan Jackson, two of the prisoners, and the judge were killed. One of the prisoners and one of the jurors were injured, and the Deputy D.A. was shot in the back and confined to a wheelchair for the rest of his life.

On August 21, George Jackson was slipped a gun in prison. He took a number of guards hostages and told them to open the cells. Six guards were killed and found in his cell. Jackson escaped to the yard but was shot dead by corrections officers. On September 9, his death inspired 1,000 prisoners in the Attica Correctional Facility to riot and take 33 hostages. Eventually the authorities agreed to 28 of their demands.

Angela Davis was arrested and the “Free Angela Davis” campaign asked Lennon to contribute to her cause, so Lennon refashioned a song with which he’d been tinkering. It had started out orginally as “JJ,” about a lady who “couldn’t get laid at all,” then morphed into a peace song named “People.” With Yoko Ono he molded it to suit Black Panther Angela’s story, calling her a political prisoner in an era before Amnesty International would popularize the term.

They praise her as a teacher and try to comfort her with the idea that the love and hope of freedom fighters is a wind that never stops moving around the world, albeit slowly. Even though Davis is behind bars, her brothers and sisters are breathing together with her and soon she will be returned to them. (The themes of wind and breathing show this to be predominantly Ono-written lyrics.) When Lennon and Ono sing that the world watches her, they quote the famous phrase civil rights marchers would chant when Southern racists would attack them with clubs, hoses, or guard dogs. When TV cameramen captured the images of the racists’ assaults, their brutality was exposed to millions of viewers and turned the tide of public opinion against the Southern segregationists.

Phil Spector’s strings and Elephant’s Memory paint a suitably strong mid-tempo backdrop. The highlight is a sumptuous organ that sounds akin to Steely Dan’s “Dirty Work,” also from 1972. Ono’s voice duets nicely with Lennon. Her vibrato is a touch ostentatious but it is one of her nicest vocal performances on a Lennon album.

The Stones’ Angela Davis tribute, “Sweet Black Angel” from Exile on Main Street has the edge, however — assuming one isn’t offended by Jagger’s imitation of a stereotypical black sharecropper circa 1933. You have to read the lyrics on the internet to understand what he’s saying, which makes the song more accessible by making it basically meaningless to the 99% of the listeners who, 40 forty years later, have no idea who Angela Davis is. The fact that they released it as the b-side to “Tumbling Dice” also shows they were confident they’d captured a unique, earthy country-blues groove.

There is another poignant aspect to “Angela” for Lennon fans when he and Ono mourn with Davis that “They” shot down her man — never suspecting what the future would hold.

John and Paul Reunion 1974

July 4, 2016 · by solobeatles

In 1974 Lennon produced Harry Nilsson’s album Pussy Cats in Los Angeles. With Nilsson’s gift for gorgeous melodies and his peerless voice, there was speculation that he could be a new McCartney for Lennon; probably Nilsson hoped so himself.

But McCartney had been a fan of Nilsson’s for years, as well, so he and Linda dropped by the Pussy Cats sessions at Burbank Studios the same night Stevie Wonder was there. Wonder was currently in the midst of a streak of chart-topping classics following his 1972 tour with the Rolling Stones.

One could have heard a pin drop when McCartney walked in, as the Beatles’ break up had been famously acrimonious. Finally, Lennon said, “Valiant Paul McCartney, I presume?”

McCartney replied, “Sir Jasper Lennon, I presume?” referring to the roles they performed in a 1963 Christmas stage show. They shook hands and soon started jamming.

Lennon sang lead and played guitar, McCartney drummed and sang harmony, Wonder sang and played electric piano, Linda played the organ, Lennon’s girlfriend May Pang the tambourine, Nilsson sang, Jesse Ed Davis played guitar, producer Ed Freeman played bass and Bobby Keys played sax. They jammed some blues, then covered “Lucille,” “Sleep Walk,” “Stand By Me,” “Cupid,” “Chain Gang” and “Take This Hammer.”

It should have been a classic moment, but it was past midnight and everyone was coked out. On the famous bootleg, A Toot and a Snore, Lennon says to Wonder, “You wanna snort, Steve? A toot? It’s goin’ round.” A couple tunes later Lennon is looking for some more coke while repeatedly complaining about the technical difficulties he’s having with his mike and headphones.

On one hand it’s sad that the last known recording of McCartney and Lennon should be so lackluster. But on the other hand, it’s nice to hear that they were friendly again. The “Lucille” cover is almost passable, on par with some of the more coherent “Get Back” outtakes.

John and Ringo Promote Each Other’s Albums in 1974

June 24, 2016 · by solobeatles

Lennon’s Most Underrated Love Song? Mind Games’ “Out the Blue”

August 9, 2015 · by solobeatles

In June 1973 Yoko Ono told Lennon she wanted a separation right before the sessions for the Mind Games album began began. Lennon didn’t want to believe they were through, and many Mind Games songs were tributes and apologies to Ono: “Aisumasen (I’m Sorry),” “You Are Here,” and the best of them, “Out the Blue.”

In one of his finest arranging jobs, he keeps the song continually interesting through the gradual introduction of each element: first just guitar, then piano/steel guitar/bass/and drums, then Beatles-esque backing harmonies. His impassioned vocal becomes a touch rawer, then leads into a fiery piano solo. With each piece making its own entrance, the listener can appreciate the new color it adds to the whole more clearly than if they had all been playing together right from the beginning.

Lennon fiercely pins his survival on Ono, singing that he was born just to get to her. A reformed chauvinist, he thanks both the Lord and Lady that he survived long enough to marry her. He sings that she came to him like a UFO out of the blue and cast out the blue that had been depressing him with the romance that rocked their world. A UFO is an apt metaphor, for it’s hard to think of any other woman who could have been more surprising to find on Lennon’s arm than Ono back in 1968. One has to give him points for originality. Lennon himself was an alien to much of the conventional world, so naturally he adored someone who had a similar power to confound the small-minded.

Lennon uses all his power to express how much Ono means to him to sway her to stay. The song comes close to being a standard that could serve as the traditional first dance in a wedding, though Lennon’s intensity and offbeat lyrics are too much for that context.

Ono still said it was over and thus Lennon headed out to Los Angeles for the epic bender that was his Lost Weekend. In the cover he designed for Mind Games, a very small Lennon walks away from a mountain that is Ono’s profile, as if she’s lying in a sarcophagus. But in 1975 Ono would take him back.

Lennon Produces Jagger’s “Too Many Cooks” During “The Lost Weekend”

May 24, 2015 · by solobeatles

In 1973 or 1974 (accounts vary) while Lennon was in L.A. during his infamous “Lost Weekend,” he produced a song for Mick Jagger — a cover of bluesman Willie Dixon’s “Too Many Cooks (Spoil the Soup).” Accounts also vary as to whether Lennon plays guitar on the track or appears at all, but it is in the vein of some of the funky tunes on his 1974 album WALLS AND BRIDGES, such as “Beef Jerky” and “What You Got.”

It also features some of Lennon’s favorite session musicians: Jim Keltner on drums, Jesse Ed Davis on guitar, Bobby Keys on sax, not to mention Harry Nilsson on backing vocals. (Lennon was producing Nilsson’s PUSSY CATS albums around the same time.) Other musicians include Jack Bruce of Cream on bass and Al “Like a Rolling Stone” Kooper on keyboard.

It was not released until 2007, on the compilation THE VERY BEST OF MICK JAGGER.

Lennon’s Only Non-Album B-Side: “Move Over Ms. L”

April 18, 2015 · by solobeatles

I didn’t cover this song in my book but here’s an article on it from the fantastic website www.beatlesbible.com:

The b-side to John Lennon’s Stand By Me single was first recorded during the sessions for the Walls And Bridges album.

Move Over Ms L was originally intended to appear on Walls And Bridges, but was left off at the last minute. It had been positioned between Surprise Surprise (Sweet Bird Of Paradox and What You Got on the album’s second side, but Lennon decided to remove it just before the pressing was due to begin, fewer than three weeks before its release.

Move Over Ms L was later re-recorded, and subsequently became the only non-album b-side of Lennon’s career, and was issued with the Stand By Me single, taken from the Rock ‘N’ Roll album, in early 1975.

The song vaguely poked fun at Lennon’s estranged wife Yoko Ono, although the playful lyrics were clearly not intended to hurt the woman who once referred to herself in song as Mrs Lennon.

Now to err is something human and forgiving so divine
I’ll forgive your trespasses if you forgive me mine
Life’s a deal, you knew it when you signed the dotted line
They nail you to the paper, put a rope around your neck
And so we sing along, the boy stood on the burning deck

Lennon recorded a home demo of Move Over Ms L prior to recording Walls And Bridges. He performed the song on an electric guitar, playing a boogie riff and singing the chorus in falsetto while his girlfriend May Pang made a phone call in the background.

A second demo was taped around a month later, in June 1974. A more serious attempt than the first, this was performed on an acoustic guitar. Lennon whispered the lyrics in an apparent attempt to not wake up Pang, and featured a quick improvised impression of Ono.

Lennon finally brought the song to the studio during the Walls And Bridges sessions. It was recorded in just three takes on 15 July 1974; one of the attempts was released on the 1998 box set John Lennon Anthology. This was more country and western in its feel, with a slide guitar solo by Jesse Ed Davis, but evidently failed to capture the sound Lennon was after.

The song was then given to Keith Moon, one of Lennon’s drinking buddies during the Lost Weekend. Moon recorded the song for his album Two Sides Of The Moon, and was released in April 1975. It was also the b-side of his single Solid Gold.

Lennon re-recorded Move Over Ms L in October 1974, and it became the only original composition of the Rock ‘N’ Roll sessions. This time Lennon was satisfied with the recording, and it was duly issued with the Stand By Me single.

Written by: Lennon
Recorded: 15 July 1974; 21-25 October 1974
Producer: John Lennon

Released: 18 April 1975 (UK), 10 March 1975 (US)

John Lennon: vocals, electric guitar
Jesse Ed Davis: electric guitar
Eddie Mottau: acoustic guitar
Klaus Voormann: bass guitar
Ken Ascher: piano
Bobby Keys, Steve Madaio, Howard Johnson, Ron Aprea, Frank Vicari: horns
Jim Keltner: drums
Arthur Jenkins: percussion

Available on:
John Lennon Signature Box
John Lennon Anthology

Lennon Picks “Bony Moronie” to Kick Off 1973’s Rock ‘N’ Roll Sessions

October 8, 2014 · by solobeatles

A 1957 hit for Larry Williams, Lennon sang “Bony Moronie” in the only show his mother saw him play before her death, hence the song’s special place in his heart. It was the first song Lennon laid down for his Rock ‘n’ Roll covers album, and you can hear his wildcat excitement to get the show on the road after waiting three hours for producer Phil Spector to set up approximately eleven guitarists, seven pianists, seven sax players, four keyboardists, four drummers, four percussionists, four bassists, four trumpeters, three woodwind players, one clarinetist, and one horn player. An engineer accidentally stretched the tape, but, coupled with the seventies guitar effects, it gives the song an even more uniquely languorus groove.

Lennon and Cheap Trick Get Primal on “I’m Losing You”

September 2, 2013 · by solobeatles

While on vacation in Bermuda during the summer of 1980, Lennon tried to call Yoko Ono but couldn’t get through to her and channeled his frustration into this bluesy rocker. In the song, he worries that she’s shutting him out because she can’t forget all the bad things he did in the past. Lennon concedes he hurt her but counters that it was long ago and, exasperated, implores her to let go of the negative memories.

When Lennon began recording his next album, Double Fantasy, he chose Jack Douglas for his co-producer. Douglas engineered Lennon’s Imagine album as well as Who’s Next, worked with Patti Smith, Blue Oyster Cult, and the New York Dolls, and produced three mid-seventies Aerosmith albums, including the seminal Toys in the Attic with “Sweet Emotion,” “Walk This Way,” and the overlooked “No More No More.” As Douglas had produced some of the heaviest rock of the ’70s, he was slightly restless with Lennon’s current middle-of-the-road approach and suggested Lennon try cutting “I’m Losing You” with another up-and-coming band he had produced, Cheap Trick.

When the power pop group made its debut in 1977, Cheap Trick was quickly tagged as the bridge between Beatles melodicism and punk energy with hits like “Surrender” and “I Want You to Want Me.” Guitarist Rick Neilson garnered further attention by always wearing a flipped-up ball cap and hamming it up onstage like one of the Bowery Boys. No less than Beatles producer George Martin was producing their latest album, so Lennon said bring them in. Neilson’s wife had just given birth, but she gave him permission to go to the studio with drummer Bun E. Carlos.

The track became Lennon’s most primitive and edgy since 1970’s Plastic Ono Album. Afterward, Lennon told Carlos he wished Neilson had been around when he did “Cold Turkey,” as Lennon felt Eric Clapton “choked” when he played guitar on that 1969 track.

But Lennon didn’t bring them back for any other songs, and their version didn’t end up on the album. The regular session guys listened to the Cheap Trick version in their headphones and laid down a less gritty version. Some Beatles scholars speculate it was because the cut would have sounded out of place amidst the rest of the glossy album. Others say Ono didn’t like Neilson and Carlos, Lennon thought it sounded too much like “Cold Turkey,” and/or Cheap Trick’s manager asked for too much money. Another theory is that Lennon was angry when someone leaked news about the sessions to Rolling Stone — he was trying to keep everything secret because he was nervous he might not “have it” after five years of semi-retirement.

The track finally saw the light of day eighteen years later when it was released on the John Lennon Anthology. Ironically, today the Cheap Trick version sounds more contemporary than the soft rock version Lennon went with.

Cheap Trick later covered “Cold Turkey,” “Day Tripper,” and “Magical Mystery Tour” and were the house band for the Sgt. Pepper fortieth anniversary concert at the Hollywood Bowl.

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