Posted in John Lennon on October 9th, 2012 by Willie
Well, if John Lennon had survived, he’d be 72 years old today. I do think its kind of strange to wish a dead man happy birthday, but this is John Lennon, a guy that still lives in my fantasies and dreams. Along with Martin Luther King Jr., JFK, RFK, and Bob Marley, John Lennon is one of the mythic superstars of reality that I had wished lived to see the future. His work in life was unfinished, and the thought of wondering what music and outrageous activities he had saved in cranium can drive any Beatle lunatic fan mad. Recently I discovered that John was offered the role of Professor Falken in the cult classic “War Games,” and seriously considered it until his untimely murder stopped all that. At first I thought that would have been terrible, but the more I thought about it, the more I thought how brilliant John would have been in that role. John WAS an actor after all, with a lot of experience making movies and being in front of the camera. Most of his roles were Beatle related, and not exactly serious, though he shows flashes of brilliance in every movie he was in. John could have had a distinguished career as a wonderful character actor, a dimension that would have brought to life a whole new artistic light for him and the world. Anyway, its always fun to speculate on what might have been every time John Lennon’s birth, or death date, comes around, whether they be dreams about Beatle Reunions, or battling rogue AI in an effort to save the world from global thermonuclear war. But in the final analysis, to quote another dead hero, John was a musician, so here is some; the song and video for “Woman” from “Double Fantasy.” “Woman” is a beautiful soft rock ode to Yoko, and all women too. It’s a lovely philosophical and mature song on the subject of love, and its also a great feminist anthem, an awesome talent John possessed. Enjoy, and Happy Birthday Mr. Lennon.
Sorry for the disturbing lack of updates, but I was busy packing up my Brooklyn apartment and heading north for Maine. I’ve got three weeks in beautiful Portland before I head across the world to South Korea and Australia. I’m happy to be out of the city and hear crickets out my window, as four and a half years in New York really drains the nature out of you. I couldn’t be more excited for my trip across the Pacific, and I’m reminded of four other guys who had to get away from it all, the fab four. The rare song you are about to hear was NOT recorded by the Beatles, but rather its a solo John number from 1980 that he made reflecting on the journey he took just 12 years prior. John was beginning to feel sentimental about his life, emotions reflected strongly in his last record Double Fantasy. “India, India” didn’t survive the cutting room floor of that record, but luckily it survives the cutting room floor of history. It’s a pretty psychedelic folk ballad with a wistful haunting melody. Enjoy.
Here is an exchange between John Lennon and Jann S. Wenner of Rolling Stone Magazine on Bob Dylan’s 1970 release New Morning, ”
WENNER:
What do you think of Dylan’s album? LENNON:
I thought it wasn’t much. Because I expect more–maybe I expect too much from people – but I expect more. I haven’t been a Dylan follower since he stopped rocking. I liked “Rolling Stone” and a few things he did then; I like a few things he did in the early days. The rest of it is just like Lennon-McCartney or something. It’s no different, its a myth.WENNER:
You don’t think then it’s a legitimate New Morning? LENNON:
No, It might be a new morning for him because he stopped singing on the top of his voice. It’s all right, but it’s not him, it doesn’t mean a fucking thing. I’d sooner have “I Hear You Knocking” by Dave Edmonds, it’s the top of England now.
Pretty damning stuff from John Beatle, but I understand. John was in a revolutionary mood at the time, firmly believing that rock records should be altering people’s consciousnesses and toppling governments. It’s ironic because ten years later he’d release a similar record to Bob’s New Morning in the form of Double Fantasy. Like John’s last release, New Morning was a record about escaping into the pleasures of domesticated life, taking it easy, and appreciating the little things. New Morning was mostly written on Bob’s piano, the instrument he would retreat to when he wanted to ruminate on less socially and psychologically intense themes that would come out on his acoustic guitar. I love this record. When you play it, it just hums along with a sweeping peaceful energy. John’s right about one thing, in this record, Bob left his high pitched country singing style behind in favor of his traditional folk rocking croon. There is almost a Jim Morrison lounge like imitation going on here as Bob enthusiastically moans his way through a bunch of gospel tinged bluesy numbers. The clearest example of this is “The Man in Me,” a boozy and rollicking celebration of romantic devotion. This song was famously featured in the Coen Brothers fabulously funny classic film, “The Big Lebowski.” The Coen’s apparently picked it because at the time the song was relatively obscure, and its the sort of song that only middle aged hippies like the Dude, (and my dad for that matter) would have on their mix tapes.
On the more playful side you get a cut like “Went to See the Gypsy,” a song where Bob seems to be mocking the hype surrounding some famous Las Vegas fortune teller. It’s not about meeting Elvis Presley, as some have suggested. The straightforward storytelling on this track is very reminiscent of the minimalistic style Bob mastered on John Wesley Harding. It’s a slow building song that just gets under you skin with repeat playings. It’s a feeling the record gives you spades.
“Day of the Locusts,” my favorite song on the album, is a lot like “Went to See the Gypsy” in its clear cut storytelling style, but way more epic. It’s a song inspired by Bob’s experience in receiving an honorary diploma from Princeton University and how the “singing” cicada’s spooked him. Folk rocker David Crosby, who was with Bob at the time tells the story best, “Sara (Dylan’s wife) was trying to get Bob to go to Princeton University, where he was being presented with an honorary doctorate. Bob did not want to go. I said, ‘C’mon, Bob it’s an honor!’ Sara and I both worked on him for a long time. Finally, he agreed. I had a car outside, a big limousine. That was the first thing he didn’t like. We smoked another joint on the way and I noticed Dylan getting really quite paranoid about it. When we arrived at Princeton, they took us to a little room and Bob was asked to wear a cap and gown. He refused outright. They said, ‘We won’t give you the degree if you don’t wear this.’ Dylan said, ‘Fine. I didn’t ask for it in the first place.’…Finally we convinced him to wear the cap and gown.” Priceless.
The last song I want to highlight is “If Not For You,” a song featured on my youtube countdown. This track continues the steady mature romanticism that defines the record. George Harrison famously covered the song with a lavish arrangement for his All Things Must Pass solo record, but I kinda prefer the low key presentation Dylan came up with. Here is George and Bob taking a stab at it in the more mellow vein.
In conclusion, it’s probably a very good idea to listen to this whole record if you haven’t gotten into it ever, despite what John Lennon says. Part of me suspects John was just projecting a hyper competitive spirit at the time. As a newly emerging solo artist, Lennon was trying to grab some credibility real estate in the field of solo stars, and if that meant knocking Dylan a bit to make room, that was probably all the rationalization he needed. In that same interview, he also did manage to knock the Stones, McCartney, Harrison, and all other rock artists in general outside of Jerry Lee Lewis and Fats Domino, leaving very little room for anyone but himself to revel in glory. Leaving John’s caustic criticisms aside, this is just the perfect Bob Dylan album to have on your playlist this summer. It’s a hiking record, a beach record, a meadow strolling record, a real peaceful outdoorsy sonic adventure if I ever heard one. You’d do yourself a big favor to download it, or buy it used somewhere. Until tomorrow, cheers everybody.
Part 85 my soul people, back with more Marvin Gaye like I promised. This time, its a special performance of “Sexual Healing,” sung live at the 1983 Grammys. This was Marvin’s last worldwide smash hit, eventually peaking at #3 on the Billboard 100 after dominating the R&B charts. There is a lot of tragedy and joy to be found in the creation of this record. It’s a reflection of Marvin attempting to embrace a healthier more peaceful life through sobriety, exercise, and uh..sex. Sadly, just as he was in the midst of his triumphant comeback, he was gunned down by his father in one of the more bizarre rock and roll assassinations. It reminds me a lot of John Lennon’s demise after he completed Double Fantasy. It’s really painful to think of the three icons; Marvin Gaye, John Lennon, and Bob Marley, all dying in the early 80s. They left a tremendous void. Anyway, this song was almost entirely produced by Marvin himself outside of the rhythm guitars. It’s a true masterpiece that touched on elements of doo-wop, snythpop, reggae, funk and gospel. This performance, a lot like the song, is a triumph. Marvin reminds the music elite that he is an absolute God, taking them to school by defining what pop music is and can be. RIP Marvin.
Part 29 of my youtube countdown continues yesterday’s theme of solo Beatle acoustic performances. In this one, we have John Lennon playing Dear Yoko at his Cold Spring Harbor, Long Island home. The common response to seeing the video is two fold. For starters, a lot of people have trouble believing its really John behind the hat and long beard. Well, it’s him. Second, people are blown away by the intimacy of this video performance, wondering if John somehow predicted the emergence of youtube. Well, obviously he didn’t, but this rare video is a beautiful youtube gift. Its the type of clip that justifies youtube’s existence. The main thing that strikes me personally about this clip is the wonderful condition John’s voice is in. One thing I’ve come to realize is that John continued to improve as a singer well after the Beatle years. His singing on Double Fantasy is the best of his career in my opinion. Another thing that hits me is the songwriting style of “Dear Yoko.” It’s like a throwback to the love songs he wrote with Paul when he was 17, in its simplicity, but ironically, filled with way more innocence and vulnerability than he could ever muster at that age.
In part 20 of my youtube favorites countdown, we delve a bit into the sadder side of Beatle history with a clip of Paul McCartney reflecting on the life of his then recently deceased pal John Lennon. Now, when most people think of Paul’s reaction to John’s death, they either think of this clip where he says rather horribly, that “Its a drag,” and nothing more.
But that’s totally unfair, as Paul was probably so stunned, that he was just rambling answers to the press in hopes to just get the fuck away from them. For a fairer look at Paul’s feelings on the subject, we have this priceless clip.
In it, we see Paul first talk about the old days at the Cavern Club, going on about “Searchin’,” an old Coasters song. I love his imitation of teenage John’s singing, its borderline mocking, but you could tell he really loved him. Then the clip skips to Paul playing John’s “Beautiful Boy,” from John’s last record Double Fantasy. Paul immediately wells up and starts singing along. It’s a touching moment. I’ve read quotes about how around this era, Paul was desperate to write with John again, and it shows here. It’s a magic bond thing Paul tried to recreate with the likes of Stevie Wonder, Elvis Costello, and Michael Jackson, but never came close to finding. However, I have read a lot about how the ice between the two was beginning to crack around this time, and that a reunion was inevitable. It’s not well known, but a reunion was in the works for over a decade, as they all agreed to create the “Anthology” project long before it had a name. They were very cognizant of managing their legacy and Beatle empire in the coming years, and John was to play a big role in it. Why? Because what was becoming evident was, since they broke up, the Beatles popularity and myth continued to explode, and they were consistently among, if not the top sellers in the 70s, 80s, and 90s, in all commercial music. In fact, people don’t really understand that the reason Paul, George, and Ringo united to do the “Free as a Bird” and “Real Love” singles was because they knew, had John lived, a reunion of some form or another was likely in the late 80s or early 90s. Well, anyway, you can read more about that stuff on wikipedia’s history of the Beatles Anthology by clicking these words, but for now, enjoy this great clip, and genuine moment.
