{"id":41263,"date":"2008-12-12T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2008-12-12T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/reviews\/rocknroll\/"},"modified":"2008-12-12T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2008-12-12T00:00:00","slug":"rocknroll","status":"publish","type":"review","link":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/reviews\/rocknroll\/","title":{"rendered":"Rock’n’Roll"},"content":{"rendered":"

The release of this album would mark a turning point in John Lennon\u2019s career and personal life.\u00a0 Fresh from his \u201clost weekend\u201d and returning home to a newly pregnant wife, it was to be another five years before he released a new studio album.\u00a0 The wonderful Double Fantasy<\/i>, released just three weeks before his untimely death in 1980 was a reflection of those years spent as he and Yoko lived the quiet family life, raising baby Sean.\u00a0 <\/o:p><\/p>\n

This album, however, is nothing but a reflection of what Lennon\u2019s life had become shortly after heading to L.A. with Miss Pang (at Yoko\u2019s insistence) for a trial separation in May of \u201873.\u00a0 What began with good intentions and high hopes ultimately ended in a drunken haze of confusion, delusion, and let\u2019s not forget producer Phil Spector\u2019s coma following a car accident.\u00a0 As Lennon would find out, working with Spector was no picnic, and dealing with the producer\u2019s legendary panic attacks and paranoid episodes of grand scales meant for a very long and painful ride.\u00a0 <\/o:p><\/p>\n

It was during one of these episodes that Spector took off with all the master tapes of the sessions and was not heard from for months. But during this hiatus, Lennon was able to write, record and complete Walls And Bridges. <\/i>It wasn\u2019t until Lennon received a package from the West Coast (from lucky Phil) that turned out to be the masters that Lennon could actually finish what he had started over a year before.<\/o:p><\/p>\n

The album itself is made up entirely of rock songs from the late \u201850s and early \u201860s that no doubt had an influence on the young Lennon and his early bands.\u00a0 Among the many session players appearing here are such well-known folks as Jim Keltner (drums), Bobby Keys (horns), and Steve Cropper (guitars).\u00a0 Jose Feliciano also dropped by and put down bits and pieces. So with a great singer, stellar players and Phil Spector to oversee the insanity, you could be forgiven for expecting a masterpiece here, but sadly, nothing could be further from the truth.<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Whether it was the fact that the star and his producer were consuming copious amounts of alcohol or that it was essentially a contractual obligation (I\u2019ll get to that in a minute), I don\u2019t know, but for the most part this is as uninspired and banal as Lennon had ever sounded.\u00a0 At times (\u201cAin\u2019t That A Shame\u201d) his voice is awesome, full of character and a little raspy around the higher register.\u00a0 Other times (\u201cPeggy Sue\u201d), he sounds flat and dull trying to out-Holly Buddy but failing miserably.<\/o:p><\/p>\n

The album opens with a faithful if pedestrian version of Gene Vincent\u2019s \u201cBe-Bop-A-Lula.\u201d\u00a0 \u00a0<\/i>This is quickly followed up with the album\u2019s only true highlight, a beautiful, soulful rendition of \u201cStand By Me.\u201d\u00a0 The stripped down arrangement is a winner and Lennon\u2019s singing is truly inspired.\u00a0 Of the two Chuck Berry songs, \u201cSweet Sixteen\u201d fares the best probably due to the funk-inspired guitars.\u00a0 \u201cYou Can\u2019t Catch Me\u201d is too contrived and was the obvious influence for \u201cCome Together,\u201d for which Lennon would wind up in court over, having been sued for infringement by Roulette Records\u2019 Morris Levy.\u00a0 <\/o:p><\/p>\n

It was this lawsuit that led to Lennon doing a covers album in the first place<\/st1:personname>.\u00a0 After agreeing to record at least three songs that Levy had published for his next album, Lennon found so many of his old favorites that he decided on a full album of covers from the Levy catalogue instead.<\/o:p><\/p>\n

The album really falls apart about halfway through with an atrocious reading of \u201cDo You Want To Dance\u201d — the less said about that one, the better. \u00a0Other tracks like \u201cSlippin\u2019 And Slidin\u2019,\u201d \u201cBoney Maronie,\u201d and \u201cRip It Up\/Ready Teddy\u201d all sound the same and offer nothing new.\u00a0 \u201cBring It On Home To Me\/Send Me Some Lovin\u2019\u201d is pure Vegas schmaltz and really should have been cut; it\u2019s truly horrible.<\/o:p><\/p>\n

The album\u2019s closer \u201cJust Because\u201d isn\u2019t bad, but again by this point just sounds too much like the bland, unimaginative arrangements that litter this record from start to finish. Unfortunately, the coolest thing about this disc is the cover shot of Lennon propped in a doorway, possibly waiting for inspiration.<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Anyway, Lennon would redeem himself big time with his aforementioned masterpiece at the beginning of the new decade, but upon listening to this turkey again, it\u2019s clear that if Spector had never returned those masters, we really wouldn\u2019t have missed much at all.\u00a0 <\/o:p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":67,"featured_media":29664,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"artist":[7187],"rating":[11205],"class_list":["post-41263","review","type-review","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","artist-john-lennon","rating-rating-d-plus"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/41263","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/review"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/67"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41263"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/41263\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/29664"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41263"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"artist","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/artist?post=41263"},{"taxonomy":"rating","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rating?post=41263"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}