Walking On Thin Ice

John Lennon
 
CD cover CD back
Front Cover Back Cover
CD cover CD back
Inside Front Cover Inside Back Cover
CD label CD label
Booklet Page 1 Booklet Page 2
Label  Dolphin
Catalogue No. CDP 790102
Country of origin U.S.A.
Release date 1997
Total time 73:14
Comments:

The C.D.

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

CD Liner Notes

"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.


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