Retro Reviews: John Lennon: Imagine

    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.

John Lennon and Plastic Ono Band – Imagine (1971)

***

Producers: Phil Spector, John Lennon, Yoko Ono

Musicians: John Lennon, George Harrison, Nicky Hopkins, Klaus Voormann, Alan White, Jim Keltner, Jim Gordon, Ted Turner, Rod Lynton, Joey Molland, Tom Evans, Andy Davis, Steve Brendell, John Tout, King Curtis, Bobby Keys, John Barham, Mike Pinder, Phil Spector

Songs: Imagine, Crippled Inside, Jealous Guy, It’s So Hard, I Don’t Wanna Be A Soldier, Gimmie Some Truth, Oh My Love, How Do You Sleep?, How?, Oh Yoko

Reviewed By Matthew Anthony Allair

    I am struggling to access this album as much as I was when I did the review to his prior Plastic Ono Band, and once again it is not about blaming Yoko Ono for some issues. John is his own man, an adult, and responsibility should be placed on his decisions. The follow up to the stripped-down Plastic Ono Band is filled with an all star cast of players and Phil Spector has brought his full sound to the album, unlike the first one. Yet some of the material feels empty. although John is, mostly, a brilliant lyricist, when John is on his game, it works brilliantly, but this is offset with some material that feels under-cooked with their ideas. The music should matter as much as the lyrics, something that George Harrison understood with his exceptional All Things Must Pass. There are places on this album where it struggles to be edgy, yet accessible, and with any other artist, that could get a pass, but this John Lennon after all, a figure whose past innovation with The Beatles defined the music of the 60s. One feels it should have been a little more.

    There’s little debate that the perennial singles “Imagine” and “Jealous Guy” will remain favorites on the radio for years to come. I believe “Jealous Guy” is built on a number from their India sojourn period in 68. “Crippled Inside” opens with a nice picking pattern before it shifts to a light country number. It almost feels like the arrangement undercuts the lyric, and it’s a little whimsical but that might make feel a little too precious, admittedly a catchy number, but it just makes you wonder. The blues rocker, “It’s So Hard”, opens in the same territory as “Cold Turkey”, the real problem is that it is aiming for a stripped-down sound, yet the added strings feel mildly jarring. The jam based, “I Don’t Wanna Be A Soldier” wears out it’s welcome at about the half way point. For a longer based song, where is the inventiveness of “Everybody’s Got Something To Hide” or “I Want You (She’s So Heavy)”? Where's the rhythmic inventiveness, his ability with play with time signatures in his playing, it's not there, it needed a few more surprises.

     “Gimmie Some Truth” is at least more concise, and George’s slide makes it a little more interesting. “Oh My Love” is one of the prettiest numbers on the album and reveals John is capable of matching Paul’s melodic instincts. Then there’s “How Do You Sleep?” - it has a funky groove, but thematically there’s a drudgery to it, as well as something puerile. Obviously, it’s about his former Beatles bandmate. There’s a line that is revealing, “You live with straights who tell you, you was king.”, Well, wait John, how that’s not apply to you as well? How do we know you aren’t surrounded by sycophants who tell you what you want to hear? Pardon for the following point being crass; I am certain that John’s duodenal movements are as odious as anyone else’s. The lack of self-awareness is a little surprising, 

    The ballads are some of the best things on the album, “How?” is a moving piece that should have been tightened up, the second bridge doesn’t seem needed. The closer is the country flavored “Oh Yoko!”, while it has a similar feel as “Crippled”, at least the tone is more consistent, while the Dylan nod is cute with the Harmonica, this track needed to be shorter. Phil didn’t offer enough of a filter; George Martin might have. There are moments where John sounds a little complacent here, perhaps Jann Wenner has been enabling the discussion, one wonders where is the higher bar. This album is filled with good moments, there’s no arguing that, but it’s also filled with areas where the potential wasn’t realized.

Yoko Ono – Fly (1971)

**1/2

Producers: Yoko Ono, John Lennon

Musicians: Yoko Ono, John Lennon, Klaus Voormann, Bobby Keys, Eric Clapton, Jim Keltner, Ringo Starr, Jim Gordon, Chris Osborne, Joe Jones

Songs and pieces: Midsummer New York, Mind Train, Mind Holes, Don’t Worry Kyoko, Mrs. Lennon, Hirake, Toilet Piece, O’Wind (Body is The Scar Of The Mind), Airmale, Don’t Count The Waves, You, Fly, Telephone Piece

Yoko has released a sprawling double album of mostly ideas, evidently, her husband’s namesake probably helped realize this, it is what it is and she did had a legacy with the Fluxus group, she is just using music to visualize ‘ideas’, There was a helpful press kit and article that explained much of this, she described side one and two as “Songs To dance to, rock songs with a physical beat,” She described  side three and four “Songs to listen to, mind music and mind beat”. She described the long title track, as section one being a Monologue, section two features John’s backward guitar, John’s backwards guitar is more present with section three. The cut is basically Yoko vocalizing certain insect and animal noises, this was the accompaniment to their experimental film. There’s two proper songs with “Midsummer New York” which is a blues, and the ballad “Mrs. Lennon”, this second vocal is actually quite good, she can properly sing when she wants to. “Don’t Worry, Kyoko” is another studio recording with Starr and Clapton along for the ride. I can’t say it’s any better than the 69 B side, or the Toronto performance, just different.

 “You” is probably the most interesting track as it uses multiple random instruments created by Fluxus colleague Joe Jones. Different random percussion builds up as it progresses. “Mind Holes” has some droning acoustic guitars. “Hirake” has a funky groove, and a sort of variation of  the prior “Open Your Box”. “Mind Train” takes some of the prior rock backing ideas from the past album. “O’Wind (Body Is The Scar Of The Mind)” uses tabla, guitar, and what comes across as a Japanese prayer. The piece “Airmale” was used in another Experimental film, this and “You” seem to represent gender opposites. The moody “Don’t Count The Waves” uses delayed percussion and her vocal to leave a strange picture. She has managed to use different venues to explore sound vocal ideas, but I have to wonder if she has exhausted what she can do with her tactics. I hope the proper songs hint at a new direction. This won’t be for everyone, but if you are in the mood for it.

Retro Reviews: Genesis: A Trick Of The Tail

    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. This is part three of three. This is a three-part living tribute to Mr. Collins, in light of his growing health issues, and possible RNRHOF attention. 

Genesis – A Trick Of The Tail (1976)

****1/4

Producers: Genesis, David Hentschel

Musicians: Tony Banks, Phil Collins, Steve Hackett, Mike Rutherford

Songs and Music: Dance On A Volcano, Entangled, Squonk, Mad Men Moon, Robbery Assault and Battery, Ripples…, A Trick Of The Tail, Los Endos

Reviewed By Matthew Anthony Allair

    Genesis has launched a new album with a new mission statement, after the departure of singer Peter Gabriel there was a lot of questions and false assumptions, but the band has just proven they can move forward., in spite of the speculation about who would replace Gabriel, the bend decided to stay within and drummer, Phil Collins stepped up for the role as singer. This was a wise decision. Phil had been singing background on prior albums and he had already taken a lead vocal on a prior track. Genesis was always the sum of it’s part and Gabriel was not just the sole visionary for the band, a point I had made before.

    Phil has managed to pull off not only the softer material vocally, but heavier material as well, and this development is quite welcome. There aren’t many singers who could understand the sensibility of Genesis as well as Mr. Collins. But the real focus is on guitars on the album, Steve, Mike, and Tony play a lot of guitar on here, with Banks keyboards acting as coloring on a few numbers. But the line between the keyboards and guitars blend together on various numbers, it all gets a little blurred with that issue.

    Phil’s drumming remains exceptional, only a month earlier the band Brand X had debuted, for any doubters, Phil’s work remains quite high and he is gifted with the skins. Hackett remains one of the marvels of the band, his range is surprising. Bass player, and 2^nd guitarist Rutherford is a key member as a player and writer, and one has the impression that Banks helps to drive the direction of the band. Hentschel’s production is different from John Burns, there’s a different sheen to it. This album is captivating from beginning to end.

    The opener “Dance On A Volcano” is a mission statement with a clever set of time signatures of 7/8, then jumps to different meters, I just point this out to demonstrate how adept Phil is as a player, the main body of the song is powerful instrumentally, the song has a few surprising shifts. “Entangled” takes things down with a dreamy acoustic number, pensive, there’s added coloring for Tony’s keyboards, while the lyrics are a little dark, this is a lovely and rich number. The up-tempo ‘Squonk” is a fantasy, but with some rich 12-string playing, probably one of the more straight forward numbers on the album, but with a memorable and lifting section, you will see it when you hear it. “Mad Men Moon” has a quieter slow burn in the first half, the classic blend of Tony’s string mellotron and Steve’s ambience helps the progression of the number. The life of the tracks section nearly harkens back to “Firth Of Fifth”. Overall, side one is uniformly string, which leaves one guessing if they can manage with the rest, the happy answer is yet. 

     The lively opener of the second half, “Robbery, Assault & Battery” has a playful, complicated, pop sheen, a narrative number that allows Hackett some room, and a little swing with Phil’s drumming. Some good organ work from Tony as well. Rutherford’s bass work is also liberated. “Ripples…” is the other acoustic ballad and the longest number, the chorus has a ascending quality to it. Phil’s instincts as a vocal storyteller might even be better than Gabriel in certain respects. Tony thankfully shifts gears in the second half to keep this compelling, and Hackett offers up some disjointed moods with his playing. This is some well-crafted work. 

    The title track is the most overt pop number on the album and has the greatest Beatles quality, with another vivid narrative that drives it. The closer is self-explanatory, “Los Endos” summarizes several of the main themes of the album, like a closing statement of a Broadway musical, Mike and Steve’s guitars with Tony’s keyboard makes a compelling statement before quotes from “Volcano’ and ‘Squonk’, there’s some impressive percussion work from Collins on this instrumental. Rumor has it that Gabriel visited the sessions and was supportive of what he heard. 

    This album should settle any doubts if Genesis will continue – they will indeed. 

 

Retro Reviews: Brand X: Unorthodox Behavior

   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. This is part two of three. This is a three-part living tribute to Mr. Collins, in light of his growing health issues, and possible RNRHOF attention. 

Brand X – Unorthodox Behavior (1976)

****

Producers: Brand X, Dennis Mackay

Musicians: Phil Collins, Robin Lumley, John Goodsall, Percy Jones, with Jack Lancaster

Music: Nuclear Burn, Euthanasia Waltz, Born Ugly, Smacks of Euphoric Hysteria, Unorthodox Behavior, Running On Three, Touch Wood

Reviewed By Mathew Anthony Allair

    This is an impressive jazz fusion debut, co-founded by Genesis drummer Phil Collins, as far as the rest of the group -  the Keyboard player, Robin Lumley had already worked with David Bowie, guitarist John Goodsall had already worked with Atomic Rooster before he joined this band. Percy Jones had already briefly worked with Soft Machine before he joined this project. What has resulted is a strong sum of its parts. Much of this material is similar to Mahavishnu Orchestra’s work, but they offer their own fresh stamp to the genre. All of the players are equal to the others, something that you need to work in the fusion field, the quality offsets any doubts one might have.

    Phil’s work here is exceptional, but that is no surprise for Genesis fans. Collins heads off the effort with his drumming on “Nuclear Burn’, but John Goodsall sets up the standard with playing that has a hint of Steve Hacket while also retaining something original, Jones and Lumley hold up their end as well. Things settle back a little with “Euthanasia Waltz”, the track manages to build to a slow burn where Jones is allowed a showcase. “Born Ugly” is a lively funk excursion that showcases Lumley and the piece takes several interesting turns. The second half has a free form open tone before the fiery build back that even manages to hint at early 70s Miles Davis. The more mid tempo “Smacks of Euphoric Hysteria” has a slight blues shuffle, and some outside lead guitar from Goodsall. Phil’s playing makes him almost on par with Buddy Rich, which is saying a great deal.

    The second half opens with the title track, a number with a slow, moody groove that eases into itself with little hints of funk, its keyboard lead has a staccato feeling, there’s a playful hint of Marimba that drops in here, this very much feels like interplay is essential to the number, and while Robin isn’t Tony Banks, he can channel a little of that feeling. “Running On Three” quickly morphs into a fast tempo with Lumley and Goodsall stating the melody, in what might be one of the more satisfying moments with Goodsall pulling off his best McLaughlin flavored lead. “Touch Wood” is a slow burn as an album closer, with impressionistic acoustic guitar and a supportive saxophone from Jack Lancaster, Phil role is sit back on this. A fitting, yet odd closer, this leaves you pondering questions. Overall, quite a good release to start off 1976 and leave one hopeful about the year. Recommended.