The Big Four: The Police

The Big Four: The Police

Article by Matthew Anthony Allair

    The three piece British and American band The Police became one of the most important new acts to arrive at the tail end of the UK Punk explosion, they had a massive influence on the eighties alternative music scene, which featured a hybrid of Reggae, world music, and jazz sophistication, all three members had prior jazz, fusion or pop backgrounds and were able to capitalize on a shifting British music scene. Composed of bassist, singer Sting, guitarist Andy Summers, and drummer Stewart Copeland, they had the benefit of Stewart’s brother Miles having management experience and being the cofounder of IRS records in 1979, yet nepotism wouldn’t have saved them if they didn’t have the musical talent to prove what they could do. The success of The Police helped Miles Copeland to convince A&M Records Jerry Moss to finance that record label. 

    Miles wasn’t initially involved with the formation of The Police, Stewart was the drive that formed the band, a man who played and recorded with Curved Air, Stewart found Sting in a local jazz band. They initially recruited Henry Padovani on guitar, they even released their first single “Fall Out” on the independent label Illegal Records – another Miles Copeland venture – but it did nothing. Several side projects lead to Stewart and Sting meeting veteran Andy Summers, there was undeniable chemistry between the three of them and Henry was soon dropped from the band Through Sting’s writing the band evolved quickly, Copeland initially had written songs to get the project started, but most were quickly replaced with Sting’s songs. That first album, Outlandos ‘D Amour felt like the biproduct of their club days, in spite of having three durable singles, “Roxanne, So Lonely” and “Can’t Stand Losing You”, if feels a little self-conscious with the Punk efforts, while it’s an outstanding album, the band would expand shortly into material suited for larger venues, and that would define the New Wave sound. The first album was produced by the band, but Engineer Nigel Gray would become a key player shortly. 

Reggatta De Blanc

    The second album, produced by Nigel Gray, was a real evolution for the trio. Sting’s writing had already come into fruition, Copeland wrote three songs, Stweart co wrote another with Sting, and the three of them co-wrote two songs, but Sting was the primary lyric writer. The band’s Reggae influences were a means to an end, they weren’t really a Reggae band, in the same way they weren’t really a punk band. The title translated into ‘White Reggae’. But the hybrid aspect that always elevated the band was the jazz structure influence, Andy and Sting had a deep understanding of the jazz idiom, it allowed a more ambient feel for the tracks that featured Andy’s echo delay effects, or Stewart’s echo delay effects on various tracks. While the band focused on relationship songs, Sting was starting to look outside of himself. Copeland’s drumming style used world music influences he would accent on different patterns - and not just depend on 4/4 - but the one drop beat which is common with Reggae. Sting’s bass work seemed simplistic but was founded on fusion elements.

    Much of this is self-evident on the first track and massive single “Message In A Bottle”, a very relatable song where one’s feelings of loneliness is universal. Summer’s jazz voicings would expand the palate of new wave and alternative rock music. The instrumental “Reggatta De Blanc” moves quickly with three sections and a vocal improvisation. Stewart plays with delays, while Andy’s chorus effects and ambience gives a statement of purpose. Co-written by Copeland, “It’s Alright For You” features some wild slide guitar work from Andy. “Bring On The Night” might be one of Sting’s other finest early compositions, and Andy’s layered cordial work keeps the verses interesting, a poetic number about disillusionment. With “Deathwish” Stewart’s expansive drums eases into a Bo Diddley beat, that shifts into a regular 4/4 beat. A light sounding number about self-destruction. 

    The second half tells you we are no longer in the smaller venue days. Between the drums and Andy’s guitar “Walking On The Moon” feels epic and expansive. That G7sus4 chord completely opened up players to new territories, lyrically there’s a whimsy and curiosity to the song.  That added synth pad hints to what is to come. “On Any Other Day” is a typical sardonic Copeland number with a punk ethos and a self-pity the feels satirical, and the subject probably deserved his plight. Sting’s “The Bed’s Too Big Without You” has a full Reggae accent with some self reflective admission that the narrator did this to himself. Sting’s instincts to be poetic gave the songs something distinct. Copeland’s “Contact” might be one of his more adventurous pieces, and allows for some real freedom for Andy. Stweart’s “Does Everyone Stare” has some great odd piano work, and Sting delivers the satirical lyrics well. The closer has a vibrant punk feel with “No Time This Time”, a critique about the fast pace, and it does stick the landing as far as a final statement.

Zenyatta Mondatta

    The Police’s third album, again produced by Nigel Gray, was more cohesive and accessible than the prior release. If the prior album had the compromise of Copeland’s writing presence – probably due to band politics -  Sting was given more free reign to bring in the material. Manager Miles Copeland had the uncanny knack to spot the potential singles. Not only for the Police, but other IRS records acts, and Sting had sown oats with his songs charting. Copeland wrote two songs, Summer’s offered one, and Sting brought in the rest. The use of synthesizers was more present, as well as Andy’s dalliance with guitar synths, but Sting really was broadening his thinking with the lyrics, this album took the Reggae, global elements with the jazz flavors, pop sheen and took it all as far as it could go. Copeland explained that the album title meant nothing, just invented words.  The common complaint is that the album feels the most even or safe. But it also may be their most accessible.

    With the opener, and big single “Don’t Stand So Close To Me”, it evolves from a slow burn with the drone to the infectious guitar of Andy, and moody synths. Sting used to be a teacher and so the idea of a taboo teacher and student dalliance makes for gripping stuff. “Driven To Tears” and “When The World Is Coming Down, You Make The Best of What’s Still Around” could have acted as a third and forth single, or double A side, both dealt with the media and public apathy, “Dirven’s” groove has a Motown influence. “Coming Down’s” groove is no less infectious. “Canary In The Coalmine” keeps the pace up with the same energy and a ska accent. The more moody tempo of “Voices Inside My Head” and it’s chant mirrors several things from Reggatta, and Copeland is able to have a lot of freedom with the number.  Stewart’s “Bombs Away” is probably one of his most accessible numbers while retaining that sardonic wit. The synth organ drives the number, but Andy’s middle eastern guitar solo really brings it home, thus building with a layer of guitars.

    Sting’s “De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da” was the other single and a witty view about simplicity, and a critique about over intellectualizing. Andy’s instrumental “Behind My Camel” may be a little simplistic, Sting refused to play bass on it and Stewart just offers a basic beat, but the keyboards have interesting layers. Sting’s “Man In A Suitcase” is probably one of the purer Reggae numbers on here, a comment on a traveling salesman, or business employee who has no home. Sting would later rerecord “Shadows In The Rain” and this is probably the most outside number on the album, aside from piano, there sound like a violin edge’s through at times. Andy’s guitar work manages to be very outside again. Copeland’s “The Other Way Of Stopping” sounds like a keyboard number that was transposed to guitar and bass, and all for the better of it.  A good closer for the album.

    This is the last album where Copeland was given much improvisational room, Stewart never plays the same thing twice, and due to his diminished role with co-writing, there were bound to be problems and tensions with the final two albums, but Sting would bring the band to greater heights soon enough, however much that is debatable.

Ghost In The Machine

    Sting had paid attention by the third album to the outside world, but by the forth, he was looking outside and within in a broader sense. Of course, it’s well known that Sting had a academic background and was a teacher in his pre band days, He had already cited Vladimir Nabokov with “Don’t Stand”, he was about to cite Arthur Koestler for the title of the next album. But the album would add more tension, Stweart’s role as a player would be more limited, and even Andy Summers would be frustrated by the focus on Sting’s songs. This would also be the first album with producer Hugh Padgham, whom was already working with Genesis and the solo album for Phil Collins. Hugh would bring a more sonic polish to the proceedings. Copeland would co-write one song with Sting and bring in another, Andy would bring in one song, but the band was already feeling less democratic. Sting seemed to be using the band as a showcase for his songs, and yet, the album might be their best and greatest achievement  The album featured many more synthesizer parts, and Sting even played all of the horn parts, a trade off the expanded the album, but perhaps at a cost.

    You can hear it with the opening track “Spirits In The Material World”, with it’s jagged synth, complex bass, and playful, yet disciplined drumming. The extra synths practically replace Andy’s guitar fills. The lyrics are pretty dark, and but raises the issue of our spirituality. There was even a hint of Sting’s saxophone. The second track would be their biggest single and a radio staple: “Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic”, a song he had written years before and kept in his back pocket, and it was Miles Copeland who convinced him to use. The demo was recorded in France with keyboardist Jean Roussel, the band used it, overdubbed and tied it together. “Magic” had been covered by Shawn Colvin, Ra, David Bryce, Ali Campbell, Michael Musso, Catherine Porter, The Shadows, Kyle Eastwood, The Flying Pickets, and sampled by De la Soul, Black Eyed Peas and Christopher Manias. “Invisible Sun” was a slow burn, the other single, it was built on a dark mood, Yet a number with a lifting quality in the chorus due to Andy’s guitar. A song and comment about an occupied police state. “Hungry For You (J’aurais toujours faim de toi)” manages some French lyrics, and Sting’s horn section, and layers of Summer’s guitar and a possible synth. There’s a slightly manic quality to “Demolition Man” with several guitars and more horns. Grace Jonce would soon record the number, it probably should have been one of the singles.

    Side two opens up with no less interesting material. A guitar stab opens “Too Much Information”, a driving number with more Sting horns, a comment about media saturation, right at the start of the bludgeoning computer age. Again, the concerns from Koestler were creeping through. The co-written Copeland number, “Rehumanize Yourself” has Stewart’s idiosyncratic sensibility. A keyboard drives it, while Andy’s guitar weaves around it. “One World (Not Three)” sounds like something Bob Marley could have written. A pleasantly defiant number about unity. Andy’s “Omegaman” has a strange opening with some of his most accessible verses. Ambient keyboards set up the mood for Sting’s “Secret Journey” before Andy’s guitar anchors it, and Stewart dances around the rhythm, a track that seems to characterizes a Buddhist sojourn. Stewart’s “Darkness” has a keyboard opening and work that may remind some of Tony Banks, more of Copeland’s sardonic lyrics are masked with depression. Interesting closer to the album.

    The album is sonically impressive, and Sting does manage to expand the format of the band, some consider this a prelude to what was to come, and other’s consider it their best album. But the story doesn’t end there. Sting’s interest with acting lead to a co-starring role in Brimstone and Treacle in 1982, the soundtrack featured standards performed by Sting such as “Spread A Little Happiness”. It also featured three Police numbers. “How Stupid Mr. Bates, I Burn For You,” and “A Kind Of Loving”, yet no one knew the end was near.

Synchronicity

    Sting’s marriage to Frances Tomelty was falling apart and he was on the way to courting Trudie Styler, the end of that relationship, complicated with having two children, prompted the writing of half of the material that would appear on Synchronicity, but there were two other related sources that would shape the songs. The seminal figure, psychologist Carl Jung, and another work from Arthur Koestler’s The Roots of Coincidence, and Jung’s Synchronicity itself; would be the others, Sting was looking further within, as well as questions about God and out own self-destructive nature. Hugh Padgham came back to produce - in spite of the growing tensions within the band -  Padgham would solider on with the project. Andy Summers wrote one piece, and Stewart Copeland wrote another, but Sting was the central guide for the material. In hindsight, the second half feels like a template for Sting’s future solo career. Of course, the album would hit mega status with at least four or five hit singles. This was the time where acts were expected to release albums where nearly every track could be a single, Michael Jackson had already set the template with Thriller. But this tour de force would come at a cost.

    A keyboard sequencer sets the tone with “Synchronicity I”, Andy adds coloring, while Stewart brings the urgency, Sting’s layered vocals had reached a new height, and this would mirror his vocals with the upcoming solo work. The African rhythms of “Walking In Your Footsteps” played by several in the band and Sting’s pan flute gives the track it’s unusual flavor. Sting’s “O My God” has some of the best bass work, a little more of a free drum sound from Copeland, Trevor Horn provides the horn solo filled with Arabic and free jazz improvisation, a mediation directed at the flaws of the deity. Andy’s “Mother” has a Captain Beefheart quality with sitar coupled with a Russian drudge tempo. Stewart’s “Miss Gradenko” is probably the most accessible number with some vibrant cordial guitar work and playful lead from Andy. The side one closer had become a huge single and unescapable number, “Synchronicity II” has great interplay between Andy and Sting, and a venomous vocal from the leader.

    Side two opens with their most known iconic number, Spirits had debuted the first of their two classics, this album debuted the other classic “Every Breath You Take”, s stalker number under the guise of a love song, the structure of it could have easily had been a country song, but Andy’s chord inversions, and patterns give it that necessary creamy tension. The synths and piano give it a majestic quality while Sting and Copeland keep it direct. Artists who have covered the song include UB40, Big Daddy, Everclear, Ian McShane, Juliana Hatfield, Dolly Parton and Violent Femmes. The other single “King Of Pain” opens simply with piano and xylophone before the full band comes in, Andy and Stewart manage to give it an extra lift, basically another perennial classic. The forth single “Wrapped Around Your Finger” with it’s detuned bell had the fitting tone, a philosophical and bitter number, while having some stateful classical guitar and some nice contrasts towards the end. The ambient “Tea In The Sahara” with it’s simple rhythm and strange oboe from Sting, manages to be anchored from Andy’s guitar. It was inspired by Paul Bowles book The Sheltering Sky, on vinyl it made a cryptic ending, but the final track “Murder By Numbers” reconnected their free form spirit and jazz origins, Stewart’s drumming is excellent and Andy’s voicings lures the listener with Sting’s dark, ironic lyrics, all of which brings the album home.

    The album has become such a part of a cultural vernacular on par with The Beatles Abbey Road, or Led Zeppelin IV that it now seems to be taken for granted, but the band would never have been able to top it. Near the end of the Synchronicity tour and at Madison Square Garden, the bend decided not to continue.

    The legacy of The Police is significant Starting with Talking Heads, The Cars, and Elvis Costello, Men At Work, Wang Chung, Rush, The Pretenders, Squeeze, and modern acts like The Expendables, Goyte, Maroon 5, The Nanos, and Warhol’s Theory. They created a fusion of various styles that managed to feel direct and accessible. In spite of skepticism from their peers, the bands feel and Sting intelligent lyrics pointed to new directions and made you think and question the world around you. While the ethos may have been different from other Punk bands, their aim was consistent. Post Police Andy put out a number of interesting solo projects including collaborations with Robert Fripp. Stewart Copeland is renowned as a soundtrack composer, and co-founder for bands like Animal Logic, and Oysterhead. Sting’s solo career was able to recruit some of the best jazz and rock players into a varied catalog.

    But for a brief period, there was an undeniable chemistry with the band, even with all of the arguments, they pulled the best out of each other.

Retro Reviews: Pink Floyd: The Final Cut

       I decided to launch a new series to imagine myself as a critic at the end of the 70s and start of the 80s, 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. 

Pink Floyd – The Final Cut (1983)

**

Producers: Roger Waters, James Guthrie, Michael Kamen

Musicians: Roger Waters, David Gilmour, Nick Mason, Andy Newmark, Michael Kamen, Ray Cooper, Andy Bown, Raphael Ravenscroff, Doreen Chanter, Irine Chanter

Songs: The Post War Dream, Your Possible Pasts, One Of The Few, The Hero’s Return, The Gunner’s Dream, Paranoid Eyes, Get Your Filthy Hands Off My Desert, The Fletcher Memorial Home. Southhampton Dock, The Final Cut, Not Now John, Two Suns In The Sunset

Reviewed By Matthew Anthony Allair

    This is probably one of the most frustrating albums to have had to access. This is an album seems to be 'in name only' as far as the band’s namesake. If it’s viewed as Roger Water’s solo effort then one can view it as a success as far as evoking the emotional goals, but if it’s accessed as a Pink Floyd release, then it feels like a forgery. The absence of Richard Wright is palpable on the album. Nick Mason only plays drums on seven of the twelve tracks, and this means that David Gilmour acts as the emotional glue as a player, when he is given free rein to showcase himself, but that becomes infrequent as it evolves. This feels like Roger is using the flatform to exorcise demons that could be more appropriate with therapy sessions. David, the best singer in the outfit, is only allowed to co-lead one vocal with “Not Now John”, the one song released as a single that manages to sabotage itself with profanity, the use of language I don’t mind, but it does seem like a bizarre choice.  Michael Kamen’s keyboard and arrangements have practically supplanted Gilmour’s role for the band.

    While Roger has moments of being effective as a vocalist, he is simply not a great singer, and it sabotages some of the songs would have been served better from Gilmour, or for them to have brought in outside singers, gone are the days of bringing in Roy Harper as a guest, or Clare Torry, the use of such singers could have helped bring differing perspectives on the themes explored. The album also feels too self-conscious about referencing their prior album The Wall, or the tone of Animals. While James Guthrie is brought back in, the absence of Bob Ezrin is notable. In terms of the production, it is indeed immaculate, and much of the sonic experimentation with the sound effects is there, but it just feels too superficial, if not based on gimmicks. While players like Raphel Ravenscroff do a commendable job, it just feels too imitative of Dick Parry’s past glories and my sympathies go out to the musicians asked to do this. Andy Bown’s Organ work is commendable as far as a mimic of Wright – but it’s an approximation. 

    While The Wall was an uneven album, it had a balance between introspective material, ballads, and up-tempo numbers, this album is top heavy with somber introspective numbers, and the ballads, but not much else, and it makes for a tedious listen. While I have little doubt that younger music fans will be forgiving about the album, the surface depth starts to sound rather hollow from Waters in what was initially probably well intended. The loose theme of the album, described as a ‘requiem for the post war Dream’ is a screed against modern war, the idea of broken promises for those who served in World War II, that society would be living in a utopia that never came to be, much of this feels like a variant over Roger’s past and the death of his father in Anzio when he was an infant. Ideas that were hinted at with The Wall but explored a little too in depth here. Once again, the addition of outside vocalists playing differing characters may have made this a little more compelling. 

    A harmonium drives the orchestral opener “The Post War Dream”, this is one of the few cases where Roger’s vocal fits as far setting up the tone, but it needed more moving forward. “Your Possible Pasts” is one of the few cases where David’s guitar seems present, but the occasional drum and organ accents don’t make a rock song, and some of the arrangements lean too heavy on the 1979 album, still David’s lead transcends at moments, but another vocalist should have handled the material. The brief “One of the Few” acts as preamble to the next number. Some of David’s pulsating guitar work reappears for “The Hero’s Return”, Roger’s unhinged vocal style wears pretty thin soon enough, and starts to feel like a one trick pony. The opening of the ballad “The Gunner’s Dream” acts as a trauma flashback before the core of the material creeps through. But the bombast feels empty in the instrumental section. The ballad “Paranoid Eyes” has a strange self-pity to it that may have been unintentional, due to Roger’s inability to translate the material, again, they needed another vocalist.

    There is a kind of dark humor that opens the second half with “Get Your Filthy Hands Of My Desert”. The next number seems to be told from the perspective of an older veteran, “The Fletcher Memorial Home”, but it needed a different vocal read for it, what is otherwise, a moving piece. The middle section seems to reference modern political policy, as Smedley Butler once said, ‘War Is a Racket’, and very little has changed. This is another case where Gilmour is allowed to cut through in the last half. With “Southhampton Dock” once again seems offer another perspective that needed another singer, perhaps Gilmour. The ballad “The Final Cut” has the last of the truly effective Gilmour guitar leads. Many of these songs seem driven by characters full of anger that have translated into defeated self-pity. The prior mentioned “Not Now John” is the most up-tempo number, Gilmour’s guitar leads bring some life to the number. The spare use of synths seems like an odd choice, other than  on “John”, that choice simply leaves the album feeling a little thinner somehow. The closer “Two Suns in the Sunset” seems to be warning about nuclear winter if we don’t abandon our warring inclinations. Wars are all built about land grabs and extraction of resources without the proper arrangements of trade deals seen in peace time. 

    I must disagree with my Rolling Stones peers on this one. If you want a political or sociological screed; then by all means, pick your poison. But music should partly entertain, and there’s a drudgery to some of the proceedings here.  I hold no ill will towards Gilmour or Mason, but I have serious questions about Mr. Waters now. If the album was Waters’ attempt to validate his argument about his importance within the band, his questionable choices has undermined that very objective, while Waters remains an incisive lyricist, the sum of the other parts have become all too apparent in their importance. In the end Waters manages to undermine some potentially good material, and you are not certain why – Perhaps over confidence in Roger’s omnipotent intellect. That’s for others to conclude*. 

    It isn’t as though I disagree with the sentiments of the album’s ideas, but I just feel the execution leaves a lot of be desired. Rumors are out there’s no intended tour for the album, and if this is final statement from Pink Floyd, a band with such an important legacy, then this is rather unfortunate. Roger seems to have run out of a bag of tricks to illustrate his ideas. This album isn’t really a move forward for the band, maybe Gilmour will have some fresh ideas in the future, but I have my doubts about Mr. Waters. This is an unfortunate listen. 

* In hindsight, we all know what happened after this album. To quote Saphire from Almost Famous, "I mean everyone knows". Roger would likely have a proverbial coronary for anyone to question his intellectual heft. But we have explored that here before.   

Retro Reviews: U2: October

       I decided to launch a new series to imagine myself as a critic at the end of the 70s and start of the 80s, 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. 

U2 – October (1981)

***

Producer: Steve Lillywhite

Musicians: Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton, Larry Mullen Jr, Vinnie Kilduff

Songs and music: Gloria, I Fall Down, I Threw a Brick Through a Window, Rejoyce, Fire, Tomorrow, October, With a Shout (Jerusalem), Stranger In a Strange Land, Scarlet, Is That All?

Reviewed By Matthew Anthony Allair

    U2 is a post punk band that leans into the new wave sensibility, they have been highly praised for their debut Boy, and they press on with their second album, I am not certain if a fully agree with my peers adulation in certain respects, but they are shaping into a damn good band just on the result of this album. Producer Steve Lillywhite has added a certain ambient sheen to the recordings as he continues on with them. The Edge is an adequate enough guitar and piano player with an ability to work within his skills. The rhythm section of Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen Jr remain a steady team that works around their skills to make it work. Bono tends to be a little overwrought as a singer, but with his sincerity he makes it work mostly. Having raised all of these points, the punk ethos was never about virtuosity but the ability to connect with an audience, a trait that U2 has been able to achieve. But it’s not lost on me that their sound runs counter to the standards of other punks – we’ll get back to that in a moment.

    The album moves at a fairly brisk pace, while having some musical moments of real introspection. The opening number “Gloria” acts as this album’s “I Will Follow” single. The track fades in before the real fire steps, but the track is also their open declaration of faith. It has many of the characteristics one heard from the Boy, the open piano passages give it ethereal quality, before the closing anthem section gives it vibrancy. The Edge’s echo piano textures that open “I Fall Down”, as well as acoustic guitar changes the tone until big full band chorus sets in. This also helps to illustrate the critique from the punk scene. The band’s sound is designed for larger venues, theatres or arenas, not for the club scenes that Punk bands rely upon. Steve’s production adds to the drama of that larger scale. 

    “I Threw a Brick Through a Window”, within the band, has a full-throated sound, The Edge’s slide guitar moments seem tactical. Larry’s tribal drum fills keep this interesting. The lyrics seem a little rudimentary, but the guitar phrases keep it dark. “Rejoyce” drives the album forward, it just reinforces their declaration of faith, and probably one of the most insightful lyrics for the start of a decade full of uncertainty. “I Can’t Change the world, but I can change the world in me.” The next track, “Fire” manages to round out the first half.

    The side two opener, “Tomorrow” begins with Uileann Pipes and a Bobhran, with a bass and acoustic track sets up the tone until the full band settles in the second half. The fact that the band is openly Christian is interesting and unusual, but the other truth is the band is so Quintessentially Irish, it seems intrinsic they would use this as a feature on their music. The nearly instrumental piano piece “October” has a dark and somber tone with a brief lyric in the last moments, making this one of the most introspective and interesting pieces that have offered. Larry’s brisk drums and toms set up the mood for “With A Shout (Jerusalem)” offers hints of echo-based horns in a fairly common number. With “Stranger In A Strange Land” Edge’s short delay fills, and piano colorings allow the rhythm section to come through. Things are scaled back with “Scarlet” as a more freeform vamp off of the spirit of the prior track “Rejoyce”. The more vibrant “Is That All?” is an interesting album closer, with the interplay between Edge, Clayton, and Mullen is full swing. 

    The album cover seems to harken back to the designs of the early sixties and I find that curious and revealing that they would draw parallels to the past. The major drawback with the album is that the lyrics seem a little underdeveloped. This is a typical sophomore release from a good band finding its footing and not quite there yet. The quitter, introspective moments are what stood out for me and will probably keep me coming back. They sound like young players struggling to find their place in the world, the midst of our shifting sands.

I wouldn't say U2 are the great hope of the eighties, but they are an interesting band.  

Retro Reviews: Fleetwood Mac: Then Play On

     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. 

Fleetwood Mac – Then Play On… (1969)

*** 1/2

Producer: Fleetwood Mac

Musicians: Peter Green, Danny Kirwan, John McVie, Mick Fleetwood - Guests: Jeremy Spencer, Christine Perfect, Sandra Elsdon

Songs and Music: Coming Your Way, Closing My Eyes, Fighting For Madge, When You Say, Show-Biz Blues, Underway, One Sunny Day, Although The Sun Is Shining, Rattlesnake Shake, Without You, Searching For Medge, My Dream, Like Crying, Before The Beginning

Singles: Oh Well part 1 & 2, The Green Manalishi (With The Two Prong Crown)

Reviewed by Matthew Anthony Allair

    Fleetwood Mac’s new album is coming off the heels of Mr. Wonderful and the excellent compilation Pious Bird Of Good Omen, and this is a good evolution from the blues structure of the first, then again with a leader like Peter Green, he has redefined what the blues could mean. Danny Kirwin is the other writer on the album, along with Green, with Fleetwood and McVie adding their own contributions as well. This is all original material and another departure of their status as interpreters of others work. Green seems to save his best songs for the singles and so let’s address the two excellent non album numbers first. “Oh Well, Part 1” is a vibrant blues riffing number with a vocal trade off that builds up momentum before settling into the last half and quieter section. Then, it is continued with “Oh Well, Part 2” a more pensive second half with recorders and cellos. The psychedelic and heavy “The Green Manalishi (With The Two Prong Crown)” is a dark and incendiary number full of dynamics. 

    The proper album opener, “Coming Your Way” begins with the heavy trade off between Green and Kirwin on guitar. Mick’s tom drums feel tribal. It shifts to a dramatic tempo as Green and Kirwin are allowed to cut loose. “Closing My Eyes” brings things down with a slower feel and tasteful lead, ironically this was written by Green, while the first number was written by Kirwin, the feel of the number will remind people of “Albatross”, the harmonized guitars almost have a steel pedal feel. Mick’s “Fighting For Madge” has a loose but rhythmic groove, that as an instrumental allows Green and Kirwin a lot of freedom, but builds up a lot of excitement. Kirwin’s ballad “When You Say” has some nice jazz or classical changes and shifts the mood again, with some nice slide work from Green, in spite of the fact it could have been more concise, but that is a minor complaint. Green brings back their roots with “Show Biz Blues”. They ease into the instrumental “Underway”, it’s looseness allows for more freedom, especially with Mick. “One Sunny Day” closes the first album with another heavy blues and another needed shift. 

    Side two’s “Although the Sun Is Shining” opens with a more pensive mood along with a more pop bridge section, and tasteful acoustic solo guitar work. Green’s “Rattlesnake Shake” is a heavy mid-tempo blues excursion that evokes a desert feel. Kirwin’s “Without You” is another blues ballad that manages to feel hypnotic. McVie’s “Searching For Madge” is another instrumental jam that manages some strange false stops and starts, it probably runs a little long but has some great moments. Kirwin’s “My Dream” is the most clear effort at a pop instrumental, pleasant with a trace of tension. The album get’s looser with the Green and Kirwin duet of “Like Crying”, as well as a playful interplay with the number, while John and Mick sits this one out. “Before The Beginning” has Green playing a more minor dynamic feel while Mick offers up orchestral drums to bring the point home. 

    The second half may not have the momentum of the first half, but this is a quite good album, with some real highlights. Peter Green is living up to the promise seen with John Mayall’s band, and he has pointed at a different direction than Clapton’s or Page’s vision, this makes for an interesting listen, even if not perfect, and while some material might just be only for the merely curious, it makes for an fascinating journey. 

Retro Reviews: Chuck Mangione: Land Of Make Believe

    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. This is a lesser-known album.

Chuck Mangione – Land of Make Believe* (1973)

****

Producers: Richard Siedel, Chuck Mangione

Musicians: Chuck Mangione, Joseph C. Crupi, Marta Hidy, Gap Mangione, Al Johnson, Joe LaBarbera, Steve Gadd,  Ron Davis, Don Porter, Tom Elliot, John Courtney, David Young, Jack McFadden, Esther Satterfield, Catherine Lehr, Edgar Hayes, Zdenek Konicek, Ned Corman, Paula Elliot, Gordon Johnson, Garry Niewood, Ray Ricker, Joe Romano, Charles Daellenbach, Eugene Watts, Bill Reichenbacj Jr, Janice Robinson, Art Linser, Robert Hansen, Gregory Hustis, Graeme Page, Brad Warnaar, Jon Faddis, Jeff Tyzik, Fred Mills, Ronald Romm, Barbara Hustis, Jaroslav Karlosky, Ann Armir, David Hung, Rudolph Kalup, Christine Haarvig, Beth Gorevic, Natalie Mysko, Margarett Neufeld, Kathryn Wunder, Michel Zaitzeff, Ron Berger, Scott Bump, Jeff Bowlby, Steve Russell, Kathleen Collins, Barbara Hendricks, Terry Lodge, Jan Walp, Russ Cembrinski, Michael Cleveland, Jim Smith, Jeff Wilber, Jim Wilber

Music and Songs: Legend of the One Eyed Sailor, Lullaby For Nancy Carol, El Gato Triste, The Gloria from the Mass Of. St. Bernard, As Long as We’re Together, Land Of Make Believe

Reviewed By Matthew Anthony Allair

    This is probably one of the more unique live jazz fusion concerts I have come across in a while. An event that feature’s Chuck Mangione’s core band with the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra, and large vocal choir and Esther Satterfield. Mangione has been something of an anomaly as he wasn’t a part of Miles Davis roster of fusion and jazz players who formed their own projects. There’s at least four vocal pieces and instrumental passages, thus giving the album an accessibility that may draw casual jazz fans who don’t always come on board. It’s to say the least that the playing is exemplary throughout, and vocally there’s some real talent displayed here. Aside the prowess, there’s a positive feeling and sweetness to much of the material. But the closing title track and album closer remains a stunner. The live event is mostly focused on highlighting Chuck’s compositions, thus there are large section of orchestral passages without instrumental soloing. 

    The album opens with a tone setter, “Legend of the One-Eyed Sailor”, a military march guides the opening number before the main theme, and Mangione’s Spanish themed soloing, there’s a freedom to the percussion interplay between Joe LaBarbera and Steve Gadd on this, and it manages some exhilarating moments within. Orchestration supports the sweetness of “Lullaby for Nancy Carol” and Esther Satterfield’s lovely vocal. Another Spanish fanfare opens “El Gato Triste” and is followed by a somber statement, this passage might evoke the feel of material from Davis and Gil Evans Sketches of Spain. A Latin bossa nova eases into the main body with more good playing from Mangione. 

    The second half opens with an overt spiritual, “The Gloria from the Mass Of. St. Bernard”, the entire ensemble is in fine form, once again the LaBarbera and Gadd rhythm section really brings the piece to life. There’s a more laid-back ease to “As Long As We’re Together” while Esther delivers another fine vocal, she’s about the most important figure in these live proceedings. The closer is a slow burn but also a stunner. “Land of Make Believe” has an evocative lyric about what is possible, and the necessary power of imagination. The gradual shuffle drives the number in the midst of the fuller sections. It feels like Mangione has been waiting for this moment to showcase what he can do with the first solo, it’s playful, melodic with some ensemble interplay that heightens it. There’s a lot of push and pull with the piece between the vocal sections, and instrumental passages.  The saxophone work from either Romano or Ricker is pretty stunning, and just as melodic as Mangione’s work. In many respects the number is the culmination of everything that the prior material explored. 

    This is one of the most enjoyable releases I have heard at the start of the year.

* This is one of those albums I have a sense memory with as it was one of my mother's favorites from in the mid-seventies. 

Retro Reviews: Joni Mitchell: Blue

     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.

Joni Mitchell – Blue (1971)

*****

Producer: Joni Mitchell

Musicians: Joni Mitchell, James Taylor, Russ Kunkel, Stephen Stills, Sneaky Pete Klienow

Songs: All I Want, My Old Man, Little Green, Carey, Blue, California, This Flight Tonight, River, A Case Of You, The Last Time I Saw Richard

Reviewed by Matthew Anthony Allair

    The theme of regret and reflection seems to be the persistent thread on Joni Mitchell’s outstanding album Blue. Four tracks use the dulcimer played by Joni to great effect, “All I Want, Carey, California” and “A Case Of You.” Her piano work remains outstanding, and her angelic voice remains the glue that ties this all together. There may be a little ornamentation as far as horns to flute, but the added percussion, a touch of bass, and extra guitars serve the material well. James Taylor and Stephen Stills make another appearance. There’s an honesty, candor and a sweetness that isn’t built on resentment, but resignation at various points. This is the kind of material one could need when they seek something meditative yet relaxing. Her production, while modest, archives intimacy and a relatability to the songs. The songs seems to run the gambit of friendships and lost loves.

    The aural vibrantly is there with the opener “All I Want”, a track that Mr. Taylor provides second guitar, but the Dulcimer drives the tone of the track. The longing of the lyrics about traveling onward in the midst of an ambivalent relationship latches onto the listener. The piano on “My Old Man” has a rich tapestry and the kind of harmonic complexity you come to expect, about a couple who aren’t bound by the convention of marriage, as well acknowledging the emptiness when separate. The acoustic work of “Little Green” almost hints at “Morning Morgantown”, but it develops into a more bitter sweet tone with a haunting or haunted quality. The bass And light percussion of “Carey”, along with the dulcimer, offers a whimsy over a complicated relationship. The title track, “Blue” closes the first half with some impressionistic piano. This song seems to be about the consequences of too much, too much indulgence, too much need in lieu of a healthy relationship.

    The second half opens with the acoustic whimsy of “California”, and some nice pedal steel guitar that responds to the lyric. There’s already growing mythos over the California folk and country scene that is unfolding and this seems to touch on this. There’s a dark tone musically to “This Flight Tonight”, but there’s an ambiguity and ambivalence to the lyrics, there’s a nice nod transistor radio rockabilly over a few lyrics. “River” is simply magical as a piano driven song, set around the holidays, it’s a kind of thematic hymn to childhood memories of winter adventures. Which is often the case, her best songs are often near the end of an album, “A Case Of You” is such a song, a piece about the deep connection that isn’t going to quite work out. The closing Piano piece, “The Last Time I Saw Richard” is a meditation - a reflection on a past relationship that has given the female partner a reality check, or perhaps they simply knew each other too well, but this paints a very vivid picture. 

    The consistency with Mitchell’s artistry, her work as a singer and musician, has remained impressive with four albums under her belt. Rumor has it, that she is going to sign with another label, and one could view these first four albums as the close of the first chapter, her growth is astonishing and I await the next phase. She is on par with contemporary Dylan, perhaps even surpassing him for the time being. That is a heady statement to make, but it bears fruit to argue it after this release.   

Perspectives: McCartney: What lead to 'Too Many People', Pt 2

 Perspectives: McCartney: What lead to “Too Many People” Part 2

Article by Matthew Anthony Allair

Freefall

    Paul described the situation as him nearly having a nervous breakdown, he would lie awake shaking, one night after he had been asleep, he awoke, he couldn’t lift his head from the pillow, and he feared he would suffocate. He hardly had the energy, but he pulled himself up and sat up, he had so much that he wanted to express - but couldn’t. Paul got up the nerve to the rest of the band and asked to be let go from the Apple label, but the rest of the band replied ‘No, we’re not going to let you go.’ Klein reasoned that Paul had recorded things like “Those Were The Days” for Mary Hopkin, a mirror of what had happened with James Taylor when Klein didn’t want to let Taylor go from the label, but James Taylor had been released. Paul once even had a private conversation with George Harrison with the similar request, and George replied with ‘You’ll stay on the fucking label. Hare Krishna’. Paul described his situation mentally:

“I was having dreams that Klein was a dentist. I remember telling everyone and they laughed but I said, ‘No, this was a scary fucking dream1’ I said, ‘I can’t be with this guy any longer. He was in my dreams now, and he’s a baddie.’ He was giving me injections in my dreams to put me out and I was thinking, Fucking hell! I’ve become powerless. There’s nothing I can do to stop this rot. So I decided to just get out, but they wouldn’t let me out, they held me to the contract.”

    What Paul is describing sounds like the traps that narcissists create when it comes to obligations. Paul took his new wife and adopted daughter and went to the farm in Scotland in December 1969, took a Studer four track that he had installed in Cavendish Avenue the prior September and started making music. With the exception of staff from Apple, the engineering staff from Abbey Road and Morgan studios in Willesden – no one knew. They had to start to use the Studer without VU meters that hadn’t been shipped yet, but the home studio and secret studios gave Paul some productive control again, he was even given a planned release date from Apple from Neil Aspinall of April 17th. 

    To Paul’s credit, he did come back for the Let It Be sessions on January 3^rd, 1970 to record “I Me Mine” with George and Ringo, John wasn’t involved. Back a year earlier as seen in the Get Back documentary, George ran through the song with Paul and Ringo while they showed keen interest, John just waltzed with Yoko in the background – he didn’t care. This is why George’s hostility towards Paul seems a little puzzling in hindsight, John wasn’t always supportive of George. On March 25^th, George had informed Paul the 17^th release date wouldn’t affect other releases, but little did Paul know – Phil Spector’s work on Let It Be changed everything.

    Paul was working on the package design when he called up Apple and was told the release date had to be changed, that the release date for Let It Be was going to be changed to coincide with the film release date, ironically, they had already shut out Paul for input on the mixing and completion of Let It Be, it was the final straw. It is known that Ringo came by Paul’s home to deliver the message about the release date changes for April, Paul threw him out with fury. Ringo was shocked and disturbed, but the group backed down on the release date, Paul got his release date, but he won a temporary battle.  People tend to want to see Paul as spoiled, but when you take in the full context of the situation, one begins to see Paul’s point. When the Let It Be documentary was being completed by Michael Lindsay-Hogg, the companion album had to be prepared. George Martin and Glyn John’s mixes had been discarded for Let It Be, and producer Phil Spector was brought in. But it was the April 1^st sessions that would cause the most consternation, Phil had altered Paul’s track “The Long and Winding Road”, first recorded by the band in January 1969. But the orchestra, harp, and female choir seemed out of place with the original intent. 

    The exclusion of Paul from those scoring sessions seems unheard of; Paul could have shown up. Typically, a Producer will present an outside musician session scoring and walk it through the artist prior to the date. Furthermore, John’s place holder bass work could have been re-recorded by Paul, and John could have added some additional guitar or other instruments. There is a feeling that Phil Spector used the scoring sessions as a showcase to impress Lennon and Harrison, rather than serving the song. In fairness, Paul had informed few of the key figures about his solo project, but then again, Paul was mentally drowning.

    Allegedly, Spector did send a formal letter open to any suggestions to all parties for the sessions, but it is difficult to surmise if Paul was excluded, but it seemed to be true. Neither Paul or George Martin were aware that Spector was working on the tapes, until after the fact, and with Paul only minutes away from EMI studios, many argue it was indefensible wasn’t asked to step in – Paul had in early January. Paul commented in the Evening Standard;

“The album was finished a year ago, but a few months ago American record producer Phil Spector was called in by John Lennon to tidy up some of the tracks. But a few weeks ago I was sent a re-mixed version of my song “The Long and Winding Road”…No one had asked me what I thought. I couldn’t believe it. I would never have female voices on a Beatles records. The record came with a note from Allen Klein saying he thought the changes were necessary. I don’t blame Phil Spector for doing it, but it just goes to show that it’s no good me sitting here thinking I’m in control because obviously I’m not. Anyway, I’ve sent Klein a letter asking for some of the things to be altered, but I haven’t received an answer yet.”

Paul’s letter was rather blunt, as seen here.

    Paul never did get an answer; but it led to another reason to make the most difficult decision of his life.

Release

    It first appeared that John Lennon would have the upper hand, Rolling Stone magazine was still based in San Francisco, when John and Yoko had planned to visit the bay area after some matters in Los Angeles. The documentary Let It Be had been released in May of 1970, and in the interim there was a screening in a San Francisco theatre where Jann, Jane, John and Yoko attended a showing of Let It Be, and it has been reported tears were shed during the ending rooftop gig. Who knows why John was crying, but perhaps it was recognition over what had been lost with his band’s end. Jann invited them to the Rolling Stone offices, then helped moved John and Yoko’s accommodation from a Hilton to a Huntington hotel in Nob Hill. Jann courted John for an interview, and it worked. A tentative agreement was reached. Jann later admitted: “We were a full forum for John and Yoko, anything they said, we printed.”

    John wanted to control his media narrative and he saw Rolling Stone as a way to do it, Later that year Jann’s interview was conducted in New York, at the Midtown, Manhattan offices of Allan Klein, although Klein wasn’t present during the infamous interview, it could appear like it was a way for Klein to have some indirect control. Klein did insist on making his own recording of the interview recording for insurance purposes. Lennon poured out everything he wanted to in that interview, and that interview did buoy attention to Rolling Stone and helped their circulation. Something that tends to get missed is that while John didn’t conduct that interview on Heroin, he was going through withdrawals, that may have explained his anger and erratic behavior.

Photo source: Raeanne Rubenstein, Crawdaddy

    There’s the issue of Jann’s ethics in that situation, it seemed as thought Jann was exploiting the moment without thinking about the impact. Also bear in mind that John and Yoko spent four months with Authur Janov, John was convinced he was able to be more open and candid with his feelings, even if it seemed to scorched earth. John had a history of seeking ‘father figures’ who held the answers, some argue he did it with Brian Epstein and later Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, only to discount them later on.

    Regardless, Lennon only agreed to the magazine interview, and in spite of John’s thoughts on the matter, Jann would push his publishing partner Alan Rinzler to work on getting a book deal out of the interview even after publication, Wenner would still press the idea to Lennon In April 1971 while in Britian, to which John told him ‘no’. John developed a regret about his involvement and it circulating further after what was promised.

    Jann published the book under the title “Lennon Remembers”, much to John’s frustration. John sent Jann a scathing letter:

“As your company was failing (again), and as a special favor (Two Virgins was the first), I gave you an interview, which was to run one time only, with all rights belonging to me. You saw fit to publish a book of my work, without my consent --, In fact, against my wishes, having told you many times on the phone, and in writing, that I did not want a book, an album or anything made from it.”

    Jann misread the situation; he was doused in the illusion he was closer friends to John than he actually was; they would not speak again. Yet the damage was done as far as public perceptions, that interview would help to codify certain impressions of Paul. Years later, after the rest of the band had removed themselves from Klein, Jann received a package in 1974, a Polaroid photo of John with Paul, Linda, May Pang, and Keith Moon, with Lennon holding Paul’s daughter Mary, that was dated “Palm Sunday, 1974 – How do you sleep?” The tables had turned, Jann was being attacked. Even Paul would keep his distance with Jann and Rolling Stone: “We didn’t really wanna hang out with him, we’d make fun of him,” It would be a while before Paul would trust Jann and the magazine. To be fair, Paul did his own interview for Life magazine in 1971 to present his side of the story. 

    But at the moment, Paul was mired in getting out of the clutches of Klein, at the start of 1971. Paul wanted to sue Klein, but John Eastmen pointed out that Klein was not party to any of the agreements, and had not been involved when they were drafted as far back as 1967, It always came back to the same issue: the only way out was to dissolve the Beatles partnership itself, Paul had to break up the Beatles, as much as this would soon turn into a public relations disaster, to save future millions, it was the best route. “Talk about traumas!” Paul would later say.

    Paul’s lawyers started to build the case, while the McCartney album hit the stores. Roughly two years after Klein got involved, the case date came up February 1971 while Paul was working on Ram. 

“They called me and Linda back from L.A: John Eastman said, ‘You’ve got to be there every day in court’, But I realized it was make or break. And it was, it really was. The Beatles fortune was on the line. Not just mine, but theirs as well. Which is now how I can look back on it and think, Thank God I did that; If I had not had the nerve to sue them, none of us would have anything now.”

    The other three never showed up, but sent affidavits, In John’s affidavits, he denied he tried to pressure Paul to sign with Klein, when he did. Paul’s confidence grew as he could face Klein. Paul’s lawyer, David Hirst, did a masterful job, countless documents were pour through, but one document was damning, when Klein got the royalty advance from EMI of the Beatles, Klein had been entitled to 20 percent of the 7.5 percent increase, but Klein overcharged by 500,000 pounds, and that was the basis, in a letter signed off by the other three in January 1970 that royalties owed to Apple Records be paid to ABKCO, that all earnings on records sold between September 1969 and April 1972, and then after January 1976, be directed to ABKCO, was signed by all three Beatles but never implemented by Capitol, Paul’s lawyer’s didn’t know about this until discovery.

Photo source: Henry Diltz, likely Life magazine

    The agreements were done without Paul’s consent, and the judge Stamp, was scathing about Klein in his ruling, arguing Apple was not some Frankenstein set up to control the individual partners. The judge didn’t trust Klein to administer their affairs, so Paul won. A side point, once again, the delays in getting the Beatles 1962-1970 compilations out probably had to do with this. They couldn’t get Klein for what he had done as it wasn’t a crime, but years later in 1979 Klein did go to prison for two months for not declaring income from Apple Promotional records between 1970 until 1972. Most of this related to George’s Concert for Bangla Desh release. It would take another six years to be completely disentangled from Allen Klein until 1977, but Paul was free. But it came at a price, the tensions between the four of them would remain high for a spell. It’s all too common for musician clients to be taken advantage of by managers.

But the pieces were in play for Paul to have to defend himself; to which he did. 

All those songs

    In spite of the poor reviews for McCarttney, Paul and Linda decided to press forward months later in late 1970. It would be irrational to expect Paul to cease to exist now that he was an Ex-Beatle. The couple left Scotland for New York and secretly audition musicians for what would become Ram (1971), they put out adverts under the guise of session players for advertising jingles, eventually, David Spinozza was brought in on guitar and Denny Seiwell was brought in on drums. Hugh McCracken would also be brought in. Sessions for Ram began in October 1970 and would run until March 1971. There were two songs that seemed related to the Beatles and John Lennon, “Three Legs”, and especially “Too Many People”. For the record, Ram is a fantastic album and "Too Many People" is a great opener, vibrant and interesting. Nothing happens in a vacuum - people don’t just lash out unless something has built up in them to take action. Paul made a full explanation about “Too Many People” in 2021, so here are the points he raised, and then additional points.

“The song was written a year or so after The Beatles breakup, at a time when John was firing missiles with his songs, and one or two of them were quite cruel. I don’t know what he hoped to gain, other than punching me in the face. The whole thing really annoyed me.”

    In Fairness, it’s unclear what songs from Plastic Ono Band would account as an actual attack, the first song that mentions Paul in one line is “I Found Out”, a pretty scathing rebuke of many things. The only other song would have been the rebuke in “God”, rejecting The Beatles, and the use of the word ‘Yesterday’, which could have been more general, or a dig that Paul’s song being their most remembered track. The real missiles lobbed were in the notorious “Lennon Remembers”, the Rolling Stone interview conducted by Jann Weiner at the end of 1970. Paul’s first album were mostly instrumentals, experiments, or devotionals to Linda, so technically John fired the first shot. 

“I decided to turn my missiles on him too, but I’m not really into that kind of a writer, so it was quite veiled. It was the 1970s equivalent of what we might call a ‘diss track’,,,,but back then it was fairly new ‘genre’.  The idea of too many people ‘preaching practices’ was definitely aimed at John telling everyone what they ought to do – telling me, for instance, that I ought to go into business with Allen Klein, I just got fed up with being told what to do, so I wrote this song. ‘You took your lucky break and broke it in two.’ Was me saying basically, ‘You made this break, so good luck with it’. But it was pretty mild. I didn’t really come out with any savagery, and it’s a fairly upbeat song. It doesn’t really sound that vitriolic. If you didn’t know that story, I don’t know that you’d be able to guess at the anger behind the writing.” 

    Most people read the song as a comment about John’s involvement with Yoko, but another read, in part, is that Paul is directly questioning John’s judgement and blind faith over Allen Klein, that is what lead to John’s over-the-top reaction with “How Do You Sleep?” from Imagine, I have seen from personal experience, people don’t just get wildly defensive unless they feel that they may have wronged the other person, in this case, John’s treatment of Paul in early 1970. Paul further elaborated:

“It was all a bit weird and nasty, and I was basically saying, ‘Let’s be sensible. We had a lot going on for us in The Beatles, and what actually split us up is the business stuff, and that’s pretty pathetic really, so let’s try to be peaceful. Let’s maybe give peace a chance.’”

    Outwardly, John was promoting peace, but internally, due to the influence of a bad apple, John was being antagonistic towards the Paul and it must have looked very hypocritical. Unfortunately, Narcissists are very good at cultivating enablers, and having people not see it.

“The thing is, so much of what they held to be true was crap. War is over? Well no, it isn’t. But I get what you’re saying: war is over if you want it to be. So, if enough people want war to be over, it’ll be over. I’m not sure that’s entirely true, but it’s a great sentiment: it’s a nice thing to think and to say. I’d been able to accept Yoko in the studio, sitting on a blanket in front of my amp. “I’d worked hard to come to terms with that. But then when we broke up and everyone was now flailing around, John turned nasty, I don’t really understand why. Maybe because we grew up in Liverpool, where it was always good to get in the first punch of a fight.”

    This is just a personal hunch, as I don’t know what was in John’s head or heart, but I suspect John was wildly insecure about the launch of his solo career, in spite of him already putting out a few good singles, he had to take down the McCartney persona. John held the cards at that moment with Klein, and getting the good graces of Rolling Stone magazine to advocate for him for the sake of access. As Paul had noted John was an ‘Maneuvering swine.’ A point even acknowledged by John in his Rolling Stone interview that would be published as Lennon Remembers. 

When it came to picking Klein over Paul wishes, John stated:

“That’s what leaders do…Maneuvering is what it is, let’s not be coy about it. It is a deliberate and thought-out maneuver of how to get a situation the way we want it. That’s how life’s about, isn’t it, is it not?”

    Even Jann Wenner would parrot the idea that Paul was consistently hostile towards Yoko, while forgetting that Paul did write the liner notes for Two Virgins. You can see in the Get Back documentary in early 69 that Paul was sympathetic towards John’s love of Yoko. Paul further explained with the bigger picture:

“I had to fight them for my bit of The Beatles and, in fact, for their bit of The Beatles, which many years later they realized and almost thanked me for. Nowadays, people get it, but at the time I think the others felt they were the ones who were victims, who were bring hurt by my actions…. A lot of hurt went down during that period in the early 1970s – them feeling hurt, me feeling hurt – but John being John, he was the one who would write a hurtful song. That was his bag.”

    The problem with “How Do You Sleep?” is that while it is a good song, it feels very puerile, and full of a lot of defensive self-projection. Paul has noted that Klein and Yoko were suggesting lyrics, the song was done as a laugh, or like a naughty schoolboy taking down the school master. John’s line “Jump when you momma tell you anything” seems quite odd, Paul lost his mother at 14, like John lost his mother as a teen. Was the line referring to Linda? It was John who was already known, or would become known, for calling Yoko ‘Mother’. His line “You live with straights who tell you - you was king’ is also another odd line, John was just as guilty of being surrounded by sycophants as what he was accusing Paul of. “The one mistake you made was in your head’, that’s pretty obvious a rebuttal to Paul’s ‘You made your first mistake’, but it seems pretty childish and addresses nothing, it doesn’t offer an answer, because on some level John knew he was in the wrong. The most damning line wasn’t ‘Yesterday’ or ‘Another day’, but ‘A pretty face may last a year or two’, because it suggested Paul was just superficial and a light weight, which was very much not true. John hoped Paul staying power wouldn’t last very long - but that was wish fulfillment.

    It has become a common perception that John was the only one who had depth, or was the most experimental, it stuck for decades, but a look into Paul’s post Beatles work reveals a great deal of depth, it just that Paul went about things differently than John. The dialog didn’t stop there, on the Wing’s first album Wild Life, Paul did write “Dear Friend”, a song that tried to lessen the tension. With lines like: “Dear Friend, what’s the time? Is this really the borderline? Does It really mean that much to you? Are you afraid? Or is it true?” or the line “Are you a fool? Or is it true?”

    Paul had seen the incongruity of John, a wealthy man lecturing the working class, and man who was both genius - and at times - a fool. John didn’t pursue another reply, perhaps he was too busy with his activism or the move to New York in 1972. A year that would see John’s weakest album “Some Time In New York City” released. That year also saw the rise of another New York band, Steely Dan, and their debut Can’t Buy a Thrill. There would be a kind of poetic karma or justice over the song John and Paul feuds, when Steely Dan recorded “Only A Fool Would Say That”, a rebuttal to “Imagine” that recognized the inherent flaws with their idealism. 

    That band was signed to ABC Records, they were not associated to Apple Records, they had no obligations to the Beatles, as much as they were massive fans, and they didn’t need to be sycophants, Fagan and Becker could be more cleared eyed when they wrote: “I heard It was You, Talkin’ ‘bout a world were all is free, it just couldn’t be, and only a fool would say that.” The point is, most working-class people will just shrug their shoulders at John’s idealism, he held some nice ideas worth merit, but it’s difficult to talk about peace or equal sharing when one is hardly peaceful themselves. John did change his views about Klein and would even write “Steel and Glass” about him in 1974.

 Epilogue

    Paul would weather the storm, defeat Allen Klein - and with Wings - move to a highly successful career, and even critical acceptance for the second half of the 70s. John’s solo albums would start getting panned by Rolling Stone starting with Mind Games. George’s solo albums would remain the most interesting and although he suffered the occasional slings. George kept his footing with his late 70s albums and would see a massive revival in the late 80s. After separating with Yoko in late 1973, John would resolve his issues with Yoko, and after an effort by the American Government to deport him for past legal issues. John would prevail and stay in New York. Yoko would become pregnant with Sean Lennon, and John retired from the music scene to raise Sean starting in 1975. John was poised for a comeback in late 1980 with the Double Fantasy album, when a nobody silenced John with several bullets. Paul, George, and Ringo would be affected and haunted by the death for decades. George invited Paul, Linda and Ringo to contribute to “All Those Years Ago” in 1981 Paul would write and release “Here Today” in 1982 – the love never really went away.

    As of this writing, The Beatles combined collective net worth is at over 1 billion, Paul’s personal worth is 1.2 billion. The John Lennon estate is estimated at 800 million from sales, streaming, and licensing. The George Harrison estate is estimated at 400 million, and Ringo Starr’s net worth is estimated at 350 million. The faithful Neil Aspinall managed the business of Apple as a corporate entity and set up numerous great deals to benefit the band. The Beatles remain a cultural juggernaut today.  Allen Klein’s net worth at the time of his death was around 500 million. Of course this was built on Klein’s companies owning rights to recordings, that he exploited from the hands of others.

    Jann Wenner’s net worth is estimated around 800 million, Jann was able to control the narrative over how people view classic music artists through Rolling Stone, and as a co-founder with Ahmet Ertegun of the Rock N Roll Hall of Fame from 1987, and as a chairman of the Hall of Fame Foundation until he stepped down in 2020, a man who controlled the narrative for the music buying public with RNRHOF, but it’s a very mixed legacy as Rolling Stone Magazine has been plagued with scandals. 

    John once quipped in the late 1970s that “Time wounds all heels”, and that seems to have borne fruit for certain figures who tried to divide all of them back then, Paul and John reconciled their differences by the mid-seventies. George passed in November of 2001. Paul and Ringo are still very active today at the ripe old age of their mid-eighties. The children of The Beatles and grandchildren will be the beneficiaries of their band’s hard work. The love that was made, the output, was always equal in the end. 

Sources

Books: “Paul McCartney: Many Years From Now” by Barry Miles, published by Owl Books / Henry Holt and Comp, © 1997

“The Lyrics” by Paul McCartney, Published by Liveright Corporation, © 2023 by MPL Communications, Inc

“I Me Mine” by George Harrison and Derek Taylor, Published by Genesis Publications © 1980, reprint © 2002

Online: Vanity Fair: “Jann Wenner, John Lennon and thegreatest Rolling Stone cover ever” by Joe Hagan, September © 2017

Life magazine: "The Ex-Beatle tells his Story" by Richard Merrymen (c) 1971