Power to the People

There's a great little tribute to John Lennon on Bob Dylan's new album, Tempest - I've been playing the album virtually non stop for a week now. Anyway it made me think that we could do with people like Lennon today.

Nothing is real.... John Lennon

In these days of instant stardom, when fame is transient there is more need than ever for someone like John Lennon. There are no real stars anymore, no real musicians and instead we get our pop stars created before our eyes, manufactured by media moguls and churned out in hourly TV segments. We place people like Louie Walsh, Simon Cowell and David Hasselhoff as arbiters of taste - what the fuck is wrong with us? There was a time when bands busted their chops for years playing small venues before getting the tiniest slice of the big time. Now they don't even have to play an instrument, nor be able to hold a tune for that matter. And let's be honest even the genuine talent that the glossy TV talent shows have discovered will never be anything more than a footnote in musical history.

Keep you doped with religion and sex and TV
And you think you're so clever and classless and free
But you're still fucking peasants as far as I can see

Kerching! Kerching! There goes another million into Simon Cowell's bank acount as yet another carefully selected middle of the road performing dickweed tops the charts. Whoops this post was supposed to be a tribute to John Lennon. After all it's December 8th and I still remember that cold December 8th in 1980 when we first heard Lennon had been shot dead - and it's turned into yet another rant against that shite we called the X Factor. Though maybe it is appropriate you know because a question people are always asking is what was the difference between Paul McCartney and John Lennon - Well Macca appeared on the X Factor while Lennon would never have done that...surely not!

 
I'm not going to change the way I look or the way I feel to conform to anything. I've always been a freak. So I've been a freak all my life and I have to live with that, you know. I'm one of those people.

Lennon was contrary sure enough and would often say one thing and end up doing another, and if he were alive today  age would have most certainly mellowed him but surely it wouldn't have lobotomised him to the point of appearing alongside Cowell and co, in order to promote another act whose only experience of hardship is having the X-Box break down. We live in a sad sad world, a corporate wilderness where creativity is less important than presentation and yes, as Lennon said, a world where, nothing is real.

My role in society, or any artist's or poet's role, is to try and express what we all feel. Not to tell people how to feel. Not as a preacher, not as a leader, but as a reflection of us all.



John  Lennon we still miss you.

IN TRIBUTE

Life is what happens, when you're busy making other plans.



Good Dog Nigel

Arf, Arf, he goes a merry sight,
Our little merry friend,
Arf, Arf upon the lampost bright,
Arfing round the bend
Nice dog! Goo boy!
Waggie tail and beg,
Clever Nigel, jump for joy
Beacuse we're putting you to sleep as of three O'clock, Nigel

John Lennon, In his own write 1964


9 Oct 1940 - 8 Dec 1980

Imagine

There is a great article by Darryl Sterdan that imagines John Lennon had not died on December 8th 1980, and imagines what the great man would have been doing up to the present date.

The article is well worth reading - find it HERE

Imagine

For many years Imagine was my favourite Lennon solo album but these days I find it far too commercial - especially the simplistic title track which is weighted down by forty years of adoration. It's a global peace anthem sure enough but it is rather twee. Still Imagine remains an excellent album even if it doesn't quite reach the heights of Plastic Ono Band.

There are several excellent tracks on this album that share a kinship with Plastic Ono Band - the angry Gimme Some Truth for one  and the furious, How do you Sleep, for another but this time around the bile is diluted by the syrup. Out of the love songs, and there are several, perhaps Jealous Guy is the best and Oh Yoko the worse. It's not that Oh Yoko is a bad song but it's kinda indulgent to force it onto the audience.

Still there will always be those who rate Imagine as the best Lennon album and there's nothing wrong with that - it's certainly the most commercial and accessible of all the solo albums.

"It's working class hero with sugar on it," was Lennon's pretty accurate assessment.

John Lennon Plastic Ono Band

This month will see John Lennon's entire back catalogue released in spanking new remastered form and so, being a lifelong Beatle nut, I think the time is right for the Archive to look at Lennon's entire solo output, well ignoring the Two Virgins and the Wedding Album, all that Unfinished Music crap,  which are too indulgent even for me.

And so first up we have The Plastic Ono Band.

It is impossible to listen to this album today and feel the incredible vibe it must have created on its first release - coming hot on the heels of the technicolour brilliance of The Beatles, this is a stripped down raw sounding album that is far more punk than any of the punks ever managed to be.

Lennon was always a truthful songwriter, perhaps too truthful and this album lays his psyche out for all to see. It is a concept album of sorts and the concept is John Lennon and it is without any doubt one of the best albums ever recorded. It is definitely  the most honest. By this stage Lennon had nothing to hide - he had already posed naked on an album cover and this time it was his inner self that he was stripping to the bone.


"Lennon has much fear in his makeup and a great chip on his shoulder about the unfairness of the world." Michael Watts, Melody Maker December 1970.

Mother - the first track finds Lennon in lost little boy mode, screaming out his anguish at his mother who didn't give him enough of her time and a father that all but abandoned him. The song soars because of the feeling in Lennon's voice and it becomes so intense it hurts.

Hold On - Lennon in ballad mode telling Yoko that everything will work out in the end. It's a beautiful song but it has an edge to it.

I Found Out - This is a totally stark rocker with a bass beat that propels the music forward in an almost violent fashion and Lennon here denounces the fame business - I learned something about my ma and my pa, they didn't want me so they made me a star, Lennon belts out in one of the versus and in another he yells that's he's seen religion from Jesus to Paul.

Working Class Hero - A lot of people have dismissed this song as being a millionaire rock star claiming to still be a working class hero, but I don't buy that. If anything this is Lennon at his most angry - spitting on the education system that is designed to turn a person into just another cog in the wheel. It's political, it's furious and it's bloody excellent.

Isolation - another gorgeous track in which Lennon bares his soul, revealing the fact that he feels an outcast from both the worlds of show-business and the world he grew up in. People say we've got it made, don't they know we're so afraid.

Remember - is another rocker with Lennon's vocal being buried deep in the mix. The song is as cynical as it's possible to be and ends dramatically which is perfect for the piece.

Love - a gentle love song that offers a break from the relentlessness of the previous tracks. It's a lovely piano led piece that proves that Lennon was often capable of as much  sweetness as McCartney himself.

Well, Well, Well, - this is the most ferocious song on the entire album with Lennon positively screaming his throat raw as attacks all that he sees as fake. Turn up the volume for this one and prepare to be left shell shocked by this brilliant assault on the senses.

Look at Me - Lennon puts his identity crisis to music - wondering what he is supposed to be and asking for guidance. He is clearly no longer Beatle John and is at a loss as he asks to be accepted for himself.

God - everything that Lennon once held precious comes under attack - Elvis, Dylan and even Jesus are denounced in this stark and effective song. Towards the end of the track Lennon declares that he no longer believes in Beatles and the lyric still has a resonance today.

My Mummy's Dead - a childlike dirge sung to the tune of Three Blind Mice. At first listen it may seem a bit odd but there's a brilliance there. Lennon becomes a young child again, mourning the loss of his mother and ending this downbeat album on a truly downbeat note.

To my mind Plastic Ono Band is the best of all the Beatles solo albums - it's an autobiography in music and Lennon bares his soul to a degree that has never been done before or since. The resulting album is a true masterpiece that will shock anyone who only knows Lennon from his more commercial work but after a few listens it does not fail to delight.

An album for thinking not dancing.

Lennon's killer again denied parole!

Mark David Chapman, the man who senselessly murdered John Lennon in December 1980 has once again been denied parole - for the sixth time. Reports say that Chapman is disappointed after appealing in the court for his release. Good enough for the murderous git, is what I say.

Chapman then

Chapman Now

The review board calls the release of the killer as ‘inappropriate’ and ‘incompatible with the welfare of the community’. Chapman, now 55, shot dead Lennon in the year 1980. Since  2000, Chapman is legally eligible for parole after he completed the first half of his  20 years life sentence term.

Chapman shot the singer four times, outside Lenon’s home in Manhattan in the presence of his wife, Yoko Ono. He was sentenced to jail in August 1981 for committing second-degree murder.

Chapman’s parole denial is indeed a good news for Ono, because she feels that Chapman’s release is a big threat to her life as well as the lives of her family.

BEATLE FANS GO GA GA

Ga Ga has once again been accused of blasphemy - but this time it's not for sporting a latex nun outfit.

John Lennon's son recently posted a photo on Twitter of the "Paparazzi" singer playing his late father's white piano -- and Beatles fans are not willing to let it be.

The image showed a leotard- and fishnet-clad Gaga tapping the late Beatles' ivories with the caption: "With gaga at mom’s house, she’s belting on the white piano…"

Lennon fans accused Gaga of not being worthy to play such an esteemed instrument; their anger caused Sean Lennon to eventually remove the Twitpic, but not before defending his friend.

"Pianos meant are to be played," he tweeted in response. "What should we do, lock it away in a dusty room? So judgmental...Come on, lighten up... life's too short, there're enough real problems in the world.

ARCHIVE'S MAGAZINE WATCH - UNCUT

The current issue of Uncut magazine starts a four part series looking at the solo Beatles - this month's issue concentrates on John Lennon and specifically the making of the awesome Plastic Ono Band (otherwise known as the primal scream album) album. Called a forensic look at the life of the foursome immediately following the Beatles split, the article by David Cavanagh is of Uncut's usual high standard.

There is also a major article looking at jazz legend, Miles Davies and his move towards electric instruments with the Bitches Brew album.

The magazine is on sale now.

Lennon Naked

Christopher Eccleston did an astounding job depicting John Lennon in the hard hitting drama, John Lennon: Naked. Made as part of the BBC's Father's Day themed week of programs the drama looked at Lennon's role as a father as well as his relationship with his own wayward father.

Eccleston was excellent - for a moment during the early black and white scenes with Beatle Lennon I thought they were using old news footage until I realised this was actually Eccleston. He wears the role like a second skin. Now I'm a Beatle nut myself and I know my John Lennon and what I have just seen must be the most perfect interpretation ever.

The rest of the Beatles were okay with Ringo seeming particularly well realised - the involvement of the three Beatles though, is minor as the narrative drive of the drama is very much with Lennon. This is not a Beatles story but rather the story of the anti-Beatle.

Eccleston's performance is bound to gather mixed opinions - there are hordes of Beatle fans out there who will, no doubt, think it was all over the top, but to my mind the actor nailed Lennon perfectly and the supporting cast, especially Naoka Mori as Yoko are equally excellent.

Well known incidents in the Beatle story - Lennon smashing McCartney's windows, George's snide remarks to Yoko, the launch and fall of Apple are played out in the background with the main focus being Lennon's anger at his own father for abandoning him and his guilt for failing as a father himself.

It did seem curious though that the drama ended with Lennon and Yoko leaving the UK for America in 1971 and not with Lennon's later house husband days when the singer seemed to have found some contentment. This would have seemed logical given the theme of the drama but as it is the ending seems to suggest that once again Lennon is running from the past, a troubled man carrying the burden of genius.





Excellent - I'm going to watch that again. iPlayer here I come.

LENNON: A WEEK IN THE LIFE

The BBC are constantly churning out imaginative cutting edge drama as part of it's Afternoon Play slot. Broadcast this week and currently available on the iPlayer is A Week in the Life that takes a look at the aftermath of John Lennon's murder.

Set in Lennon's hometown of Liverpool.

By Dick Clement and Ian la Frenais, adapted by Lizzie Nunnery

December 1980. When just forty people turn up to John Lennon's memorial service in Liverpool, his old friend and promoter Sam Leach is forced to act.

YOKO ONO TAKES UP HER PEN

Late Beatle legend John Lennon's widow Yoko Ono is set to end her silence on her time with the British band singer as she's preparing to write an autobiography.

The couple wed in 1969 and lived together before Lennon was murdered in New York City in 1980. While his first wife, Cynthia, penned two tomes on her life with the legendary musician, Ono opted to keep her tales secret.

Contactmusic.com reports, the 76-year-old Ono has now revealed she is preparing to tell all but the book won't be ready to hit shelves until 2015.

"I would love to do it. I just have to find the time," she said.

Ono adds that an autobiography will be her "next book, which will be written in the next five years".

GOOGLE HAVE PROVEN John Lennon was right

when he said The Beatles are bigger than Jesus

More than forty years after John Lennon invoked the ire of Christians by claiming his band were bigger than Jesus, he has been proved right by an analysis of search terms on the Google search engine. In the last four weeks more computer users have typed in the search word "Beatles" on the Google website than "Jesus". The popularity of The Beatles has increased substantially during September thanks to the re-release of all of their albums digitally-remastered. Though it must be remembered Jesus had no album out this month.

JOHN LENNON - WORKING CLASS HERO

We've looked at Paul McCartney's solo work in two previous articles so now I thought is the time to look at the solo work of Lennon, always the most complex and interesting of The Beatles. He's certainly retained the image of the coolest Beatle and is often used, unfairly as a means to criticise McCartney when the Macca gets too sickly sweet. But then Lennon, a man made up of paradoxes, could be equally sickly sweet on times and was more guilty of indulging himself on record than his former band mate ever was.

Lennon's first three solo albums, released when The Beatles were still officially together, are simply that - weird electronic experiments that would have perhaps been better kept as private projects between himself and Yoko. Lennon considered it all avant garde but George Harrison famously called it, "Haven't a clue."

I think I agree with George and the three albums - Two Virgins, life with the lions and the wedding album are merely representative of Lennon's crazed state at the time of recording. Of course Two Virgins is infamous for featuring Lennon with his Beatle-bollocks out on the cover but the music, noises rather, inside the sleeve are basically nonsensical. I loved Lennon when in experimental mode but this stuff is a bit too nutty professor for my liking.

Live peace in Toronto came in 1969 is a live album from the Toronto Rock and Roll festival. Lennon was not at his best during the performance, forgetting the words to Give Peace a Chance and the album sounds too raw. Although it does contain one or two inspired moments.


Plastic Ono Band (1970) was Lennon's first solo masterpiece and to many, myself included, his best solo album. It didn't go down well at the time of release - Lennon had been attending primal scream therapy and he uses this technique to sing out his anguish. But the result is a powerful album that is both intelligent and rocky. This was punk before punk and to many Lennon will always be the ultimate punk. But chiefly it is an artist revealing his inner self, warts and all, in music. This album could never have been made by another artist - Lennon was quite unique and this album is an absolute classic. Lennon cries the lyrics of My Mommy's Dead in a child-like cadence to the tune of three blind mice, he screams in anger on Well, Well, Well and I Found Out and he somehow makes Working Class Hero sound biting, truthful and angry despite being a millionaire rock star.

Imagine followed in 1971 and was commercially and critically a massive success. Many prefer it to Plastic Ono Band and I'm undecided on that but it's another masterpiece. The music is sweeter but the sentiments are just the same - Give me some Truth screams out at lying politicians and businessmen, I don't want to be a soldier is a anti-war song as powerful as Lennon or anybody else for that matter has ever recorded. Imagine - the famous title track - offers us the possibility of a world without hunger, greed, religion and war. The sentiments are as radical as ever but because it's all wrapped up in a beautiful melody people were able to swallow the message.


Some Time in New York City with Yoko Ono followed in 1972 and once again Lennon was letting politics and his campaigning get in the way of his innate musical talent. Lennon means well but the album just doesn't work.

Mind Games (1973) was an improvement. The release of the album coincided with Lennon's 18 month split from Yoko and the music itself was a return to form. The album is not as strong as Imagine or Plastic Ono Band but it's still a mighty fine LP. Mind Games was the big single hit but there are several strong tracks on the album. It's a great album even if it does fall short of being essential.

Walls and Bridges in 1974 was another classic, a masterpiece - Bless You is probably the most gorgeous love song Lennon ever wrote. Whatever gets you through the night and 9 Dream are both classic songs and even the lesser songs like Nobody loves you when you're down and out and Scared are excellent. This then is another must have album for any Lennon/Beatles fan.

Rock and Roll (1975) is a superb album of rock and roll standard covers from Lennon who delivers them in the style of Beatle John. Every song is brilliantly realised and Spector's production adds life and sparkle to the recordings. Excellent.

It was a five year gap before Lennon released another LP - 1980's Double Fantasy is half a masterpiece - each of Lennon's songs are brilliant but the problem is that half of the album is made up of Yoko's noise which post punk doesn't actually sound that bad but the problem is that Yoko and Lennon's styles were so different that they don't sit well together on the same discs. If the Yoko tracks had been dropped and the Lennon's songs from Milk and Honey which were actually recorded at these sessions were used to replace them then this would be a true masterpiece. As it is it's pretty much essential for the Lennon tracks.

On Dec 8th 1980 John Lennon was shot dead outside his New York home by crazed fan Mark Chapman who, only hours before, Lennon had signed a copy of Double Fantasy for. That particular copy went for $525,000 at auction making it the most valuable album ever.

Milk and Honey came in 1983 was intended to be the follow up to Double Fantasy but it was shelved following Lennon's death. Again it was made up of half Lennon and half Yoko and it's a touching album with the Lennon Songs, Nobody Told me and I don't want to Face it standing out.

Live in New York City came in 1986 - it captures a 1972 performance at Madison Square Gardens which was actually Lennon's last live performance. This time Lennon was mostly on form and it's a great record of the man on stage without The Beatles.

Menlove Avenue also came in 1986 and is a collection of tracks left over from the Walls and Bridges and Double Fantasy sessions. It's one for completists only.

There are several greatest hits collections available - perhaps the best is the double album, Working Class Hero which supplements the singles with some essential album tracks.

In death Lennon has become a kind of saint and perhaps such adulation would disturb him. But you never can tell with John Lennon - he was a man of paradoxes and no one has ever been so truthful on record. It was not only on album covers that Lennon stripped naked for he left himself naked in his music too. Whatever John Lennon was it is clear he had a beautiful soul.

We still miss him.