I decided to launch a new series to imagine myself as a
critic at the end of the 60s and start of the 70s, and to rectify certain
reviews from Rolling Stone magazine and Creem. This not meant to be contrarian,
but to offer a more balanced perspective. All the albums reviewed are indeed
classic albums.
***
Producers: Lennon / Ono
Musicians: John Lennon, Yoko Ono, Eric Clapton, Klaus
Voormann, Alan White
Songs: Blue Suede Shoes, Money (That’s What I Want), Dizzy
Miss Lizzie, Yer Blues, Cold Turkey, Give Peace A Chance, Don’t Worry Kyoko
(Mummy’s Only Looking For Her Hand In The Snow, John John (Let’s Pray for
Peace)
Reviewed By Matthew Anthony Allair
Man, I don’t know what to make of this live album, the
recording is beautifully done, and while it’s a little ragged, it manages to
work – for the most part. Apparently, John was asked to appear at the ‘Rock N
Roll Revival Festival’ at almost the last minute in Canada, and drafted not
only Yoko, but Clapton, Voormann, and Mr. White. That festival also featured
Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, The Alice Cooper Band, and Chicago Transit Authority,
with John ending up with top billing. They had only two brief rehearsals before
going on stage, all things considered, they managed pretty well.
John has always had a deep love for early rock and roll, and
it makes sense he would open with the iconic “Blue Suede Shoes”, The guitar
interplay between Lennon and Clapton is good, btu we’ll get back to that in a
moment. The next number “Money” had been recorded by the Beatles and had
featured in the UK ‘With The Beatles’ in 63 and the US ‘Beatles 2nd
Album’, my big complaint is I wish Alan had leaned into some Ringo fills on it.
The next number “Dizzy Miss Lizzie’ featured some good back and forth on guitar,
but at times the mix suffers from the guitars being uneven. They do a somewhat different version of “Yer
Blues”, rumor has it Clapton played on two ‘White Album’ tracks as a guest.
John drops in a new song, “Cold Turkey” which isn’t bad, and they close his set
with “Give Peace A Chance” where John improvises some words in the verses. To his
credit, John does admit at the opening they, the band, had never played together.
Yoko’s work opens the second half and John does reveal
‘she’s going to lay something all over you’, or something to that effect.
“Don’t Worry Kyoko” manages to have a pretty heavy groove, and the
experimentation does meander towards the end. They morph into “John, John
(Let’s Pray for Peace)”, the track builds into a layer of guitar feedback that
hums into an industrial roar, which may have been the point of her segment.
Yoko can sing, which is why it was baffling that her song “Remember Love”
wasn’t included into set to ease the audience in. The two tracks had been
featured on a single and their ‘Wedding Album’. I have never bagged on their
three experimental albums as they are Avant Garde documents of their
relationship, and just seem like oddities. Those last guitar feedback moments
sound like aural representations of the horrors of Vietnam, and that might be
the point. War is futile and pointless, and there must be better ways to deal
with politics, land disputes and trade disputes. I hope we wise up to this
someday.
The packaging is nicely done, and the calendar is a nice
touch. I do suspect that the last half might influence others in the future –
it feels like something new. But overall, while there’s some terrific
performances, the rest is just interesting. I can’t say this is a consequential
album.
