Front Cover | Back Cover |
Inside Front Cover | Inside Back Cover |
Booklet Page 1 | Booklet Page 2 |
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No | Tracklisting | Notes | Time |
1 | How I Won The War | Single released "from the film" | 03:07 |
2 | Day Tripper | Live on "Top Gear" with Hendrix | 03:08 |
3 | Real Life | Take 1 - with an excerpt from a John interview where he says, "Suddenly I had a diarrhoea of creativity" |
04:20 |
4 | Rock'n'Roll People | Demo | 05:57 |
5 | Dear John | John's final recording - contains a long interview excerpt at start | 05:00 |
6 | I'm The Greatest | John's version of song given to Ringo | 03:37 |
7 | Amazing Walk | From ABC "20/20" News show | 02:33 |
8 | Every Man Has A Woman Who Loves Him | John's version of a song "shared" by Yoko | 03:35 |
9 | God Save Us | Elastic Oz Band single | 03:14 |
10 | Do The Oz | Elastic Oz Band single (b-side) | 03:13 |
11 | Move Over Ms. L. | Early Version | 02:58 |
12 | Only You | John's version of song given to Ringo | 04:43 |
13 | Goodnight Vienna | John's version of song given to Ringo | 02:55 |
14 | Imagine | Early version | 03:06 |
15 | As Time Goes By | Excerpt from the Earth News Interview on Jan. 1st '76 | 01:05 |
16 | I Saw Her Standing There | John live with the Elton John Band | 03:18 |
17 | Whatever Gets You Through The Night | John live with the Elton John Band | 01:26 |
18 | Walking On Thin Ice | Yoko on lead vocal, this is the 12" mix | 08:25 |
19 | Be My Baby | From the "Rock'n'Roll" sessions | 04:34 |
20 | Goodnight Vienna | John's version of song given to Ringo | 02:46 |
"We can't go on holding hands forever", John declared in July '66. "We have been Beatles as best we will ever be".
His was the most obvious move away from The Beatles in the late '66, taking on a solo acting role in a movie by Richard
Lester from Sep. 5th to Nov. 7th. The suspicion that John was being exploited must have been confirmed in his own mind when
the film company, United Artists, issued a soundtrack-single from this non-musical film, credited to Musketeer Gripweed
(John's film role) and the Third Troop, called HOW I WON THE WAR, and containing just some of John's on-screen
dialogue.
Oct. '67 a session with Jimi Hendrix on Radio One's "Top Gear" seemed to be an eye-opener to be live without
The Beatles. They played the R & B inspired DAY TRIPPER, and Hendrix made the song's origins perfectly clear with
his build-up into the guitar break as a nod to his mentors.
Next is the first version of REAL LIFE released in autumn '77, Lennon reworked this tune constantly until the end of
his life. In mid-78, when he planned to write a Broadway musical, based on his own relationship, called 'The Ballad of John
& Yoko', he made a slightly augmented arrangement of it, and one take of that home-recording is on this CD.
ROCK 'N' ROLL PEOPLE was auditioned like a Bo Diddley work tape, released on Aug. 5th '74; the boogie tune had
playful lyrics to match a run of nonsense images that could have been borrowed from the pages of his books.
It would somehow be fitting if DEAR JOHN was actually John's final composition in Nov. '80 - surely unfinished.
This last piece of self-analysis represented a victory of sorts; at least John didn't attribute all his success at
remaining afloat to Yoko.
John gave the song I'M THE GREATEST to Ringo in spring of '73, having in mind that if he'd sung the tune everyone
would have complained at his arrogance.
Nov. '80 John & Yoko were filmed in Central Park for ABC's 20/20 news show - recordings that were used for the "Amazing
Grace" inspired AMAZIN WALK instrumental.
In reviving EVERY MAN HAS A WOMAN WHO LOVES HIM also from the proposed musical 'The Ballad of John & Yoko', Yoko put
her own love into question. In his way, John's version, done early Sep. '80, was equally honest.
On June 3rd '71 John sang lead vocal on GOD SAVE US, holding onto his notes with a Yoko-like quaver, and encouraging
the Elastic Oz Band, formed only for this session, to play it rough and raunchy; John also handled vocals on
DO THE OZ, a gritty mess of funk powered by grungy guitar, wailing sax and the equally tempestuous vocal sounds of
Yoko, who screamed her support as Lennon yelled out the title line over and over again.
Summer '74 John returned to New York City from his 'lost weekend' with May Pang and recorded a couple of songs, which he
later released on his Walls and Bridges album. During the sessions MOVE OVER MS. L became structured. This version
was released in Aug. '74; a similar brand of rock traditionalism and scatter-shot imagery about his woman who had once
referred to herself in a song as Mrs. Lennon.
Immediately after completing 'Walls and Bridges' late Aug. '74, John and May Pang jetted to California, where they recorded
two tracks for Ringo Starr's 'Goodnight Vienna' album. As with 'I'm the Greatest' the year before, John controlled Ringo's
sessions, cutting a rough lead vocal for Ringo to copy. John's version of GOODNIGHT VIENNA was wilder than Ringo's,
while on ONLY YOU it was John who suggested covering the Platters hit, and who not only laid down the rhythmic
acoustic guitar accompaniment but also demo'ed the lead vocal.
On the first day of the sessions in July '71 at Tittenhurst Park Studios, John had taken the band aside and they played a
brief session of IMAGINE; at a distance it's hard to separate the song from the myth, which would make us believe
this is John's finest song.
AS TIME GOES BY and STARTING OVER (post script) were excerpts from the Earth News Interview on Jan. 1st, '76.
I SAW HER STANDING THERE and WHATEVER GETS YOU THROUGH THE NIGHT made number one, so John had to join Elton
John on stage to perform it; earlier in the day on Nov. 28th '74, the Elton John Band had rehearsed their party piece for
the evening's show in Madison Square Garden - the last live appearance of John.
In John's eyes, 'Walking on thin Ice' opened up "a new era of Lennon / Ono music." John's production gave it an eerie,
glacial feel; he hammered his electric guitar to echo Yoko's wails of pain with sharp bolts of noise, and gave the track a
percussive base that was always shifting under your feet, powered by a riff that suggested that the ice was about to crack.
And so it did, as John fell in the entrance to the Dakota, scattering the final 12" mix of WALKING ON THIN ICE on the
ground as he sagged under the weight of the bullets.
The Ronnettes hit, BE MY BABY shows the cathartic purpose of the Phil Spector session in Oct '73. John sighing
orgasmically as the music built to a crescendo, and then letting himself go in a series of sensuous cries over the fade.
GOODNIGHT VIENNA was a song, that John gave to Ringo Starr for his album "Goodnight Vienna", John on backing-vocals
and guitar and as session leader.
©2000 Graham Calkin's Beatles Pages. All Rights Reserved.