(The Praeger Singer-Songwriter Collection) Ben Urish, Ken Bielen-The Words and Music of John Lennon-Praeger (2007) (29 page)

and “drinking coffee from our favorite cup” as an apology for his boorish

(the Hyde part of the Jekyll and Hyde combination) behavior. It sounds

to be a composing tape that needs more work both lyrically and musically.

Lennon employs lyrics similar to those he has used previously, sounding like

he is feeling his way to what he might want to eventually use and bridging

the gaps with intentional filler. At the end, he loses whatever grasp of lyrical

114 The Words and Music of John Lennon

structure he had and laughs at his own “bill and spoon in June, and croony

woony woony” lyrics, asking finally “can you stand it?”

The song “Dear John” may be Lennon’s last composing tape, compris-

ing a double meaning on the famous relationship breakup notes called Dear

John letters, and a missive to himself. Of course, it could also have become

a companion piece to “Dear Yoko.” The song is in an early stage of com-

position, with not quite two complete verses. The opening verse indicates

that it might have also been related to the statements of self-support and

assurance that make up “Hold On” from
John Lennon/ Plastic Ono Band

a decade previously. Here Lennon comforts himself as he approaches the

start of middle age with “the race is over, you’ve won” and “don’t be hard

on yourself” in a soft, pleasantly relaxed voice. Riffing until he decides to

try another verse, Lennon discovers that his chords are those of the famous,

late-life romance ballad “September Song,” which causes him to chuckle to

himself, stop unexpectedly, and immediately begin again. It is a charming

moment in what might have developed into a charming song of similar

measure.

“The Great Wok” is one of a handful of “Dakota Mind Movies” Lennon

prepared from 1977 to 1979, more of which were included in episodes of

The Lost Lennon Tapes.
They are usually ridiculous and silly but harmlessly

amusing and creative. Most have out-of-place music playing in the back-

ground as Lennon, in the guise of some character (a French detective named

Maurice Dupont was a favorite), unleashes a pun-filled stream of discon-

nected wordplay imagery and illogical narrative. The recordings varied in

length and were clearly planned out and prepared, at least to some degree,

with room to improvise on the irrational as the mood so struck him. If typed

up and read, the content would not be out of place with any of Lennon’s

pieces from his first two books. Nor would the lyrics be atypical of the writ-

ings (roughly contemporary to the “mind movies” recordings) collected as

the book
Skywriting by Word of Mouth,
which was published in 1986, almost

six years after his slaying.

This particular recording was done for New Year’s Eve 1979, and Len-

non is in the guise of a guru called the Great Wok, who tells us that the

truly “great wok must be done.” His character is cut from the same cloth as

the “Brahma from Burma” and he relates a holiday message. Included is his

New Year’s resolution to renounce everything but “complete luxury and self-

indulgence,” and he announces this sacrifice as his duty “not only as a human

being, but as a person,” based on the advice gleaned from that well-known

“sage, George Formby” (the British Music Hall veteran). One way to look at

it, the Great Wok relates, is “simply not to look at it at all.”

“It’s Real” is barely over a minute long and features Lennon pleasantly

whistling a plaintive melody while strumming bouncy rhythmic chords on his

acoustic guitar. If he had developed lyrics yet, he does not use them here, and

the breezy tune does not seem to need them if he had.

Gone from This Place 115

WonsaPonatime

Wonsaponatime
is a single CD selection of cuts from
John Lennon Anthol-

ogy,
largely favoring alternate studio takes and rehearsals and unexpectedly

omitting some of the true rarities from the box set. If the larger collection is

for serious fans, it might have made sense for
Wonsaponatime
to feature the

rare selections such as the tracks discussed previously. Instead, it appears as

though the idea was to make a collection of generally more easily recognized

material; given the larger enterprise, the choice baffles.

Working cLass hero
(Covers ColleCTion)

Working Class Hero
is an intriguing collection of covers and remakes of

Lennon’s post-Beatles career, sanctioned by his estate and used to raise funds

for animal charities. Released in 1995, the lineup includes an eclectic selec-

tion of performances from such stalwarts as Cheap Trick and George Clinton

as well as alternative groups Screaming Trees and Candlebox. Most versions

of the songs do not stray too far from Lennon’s performed or recorded con-

ceptions of the songs, but each artist or group manages to put its charac-

teristic imprint on its offering. Standouts include Clinton’s near-delirious

“Mind Games,” The Flaming Lips’ snarling “Nobody Told Me,” Cheap

Trick’s “Cold Turkey,” and “Well Well Well” by Super 8. “Grow Old with

Me” by Mary Chapin Carpenter received some FM radio airplay, charting on

the adult contemporary lists at number 17—and deservedly so for its quiet

grace.

John Lennon’s Jukebox

John Lennon’s Jukebox,
a unique two-CD set release, is reputedly made up

of songs found on a jukebox once owned and stocked by Lennon, and a tele-

vision documentary accompanied its release in 2004. This jukebox is not one

of the fabled Dakota apartment jukeboxes, stocked with Bing Crosby and

Elvis Presley, but a portable one owned by Lennon in the 1960s.6

One joy of the collection of 40 recordings is to hear many of the originals

that either The Beatles or Lennon covered at some point in their respective

recording careers. Even more interesting are certain musical riffs or snatches

of lyrics that Lennon adapted to his own work. Some may be coincidence—

such as “Steppin’ Out” by Paul Revere and the Raiders, which perhaps

inspired Lennon’s “I’m Stepping Out”—but others have more significant

and demonstrable connections.

“Some Other Guy” by The Big Three provides an example of a musical

influence that Lennon would adapt in the future. This tune was a staple of

The Beatles in their Hamburg and Cavern Club days and appears on the

group’s
Live at the BBC
collection. Lennon took the opening passage, three

116 The Words and Music of John Lennon

solid note-chords and transferred them almost verbatim for his own open-

ing to “Instant Karma!” The songs could not be less alike after that, but the

beginning is more than similar; it is the same.

A clear lyrical borrowing comes from Barrett Strong’s “Oh I Apolo-

gize.” The general approach of the song may have influenced such Lennon

creations as “Jealous Guy,” “Aisumasen (I’m Sorry),” and “(Forgive Me)

My Little Flower Princess.” But in the first verse, a more specific influence

becomes apparent. Strong sings, “I don’t expect you to take me back, after

I’ve caused you so much pain” to a simple pounding rhythm similar to the

passage from Lennon’s “Isolation” in which he sings, “I don’t expect you to

understand, after you’ve caused so much pain.” The line and Strong’s per-

formance of it is felt again in some of the demos of Lennon’s “Real Love,”

where he sings, “I don’t expect you to understand, the kingdom of heaven

is in your hand” in a similar melodic rhythm. Interestingly, the version of

“Real Love” completed by The Beatles for the
Anthology 2
collection does

not contain the passage.

acoustic

In fall 2004, Ono sanctioned the release of
Acoustic,
which was Lennon

performing acoustic versions of some of his songs. At the time of
Acoustic
’s

release, there were still many unreleased home recordings of Lennon acousti-

cally busking through various old rock and roll and rhythm and blues num-

bers (several had been broadcast on
The Lost Lennon Tapes
), and it reasonably

might have been supposed that this collection would compile the best of them.

The collection’s running time of just under 45 minutes allows for another

half hour of music on the CD. However, with three notable exceptions, the

included tracks are all rehearsals or polished demos of Lennon accompany-

ing himself on songs that he composed, so the idea behind the album is not

just acoustic performances by Lennon, but acoustic guitar performances by

Lennon of his own post-Beatles compositions—no acoustic piano and no

non-Lennon compositions. Ono included charts of guitar chords and lyrics,

explaining in her liner notes that she hoped to encourage future musicians to

play from their hearts as Lennon always had.

Of special note is that many of the songs that are performed on piano in

their finalized versions are here performed on guitar. Some of the record-

ings, especially “Woman Is the Nigger of the World, “ It’s Real,” and “My

Mummy’s Dead,” are so short or fragmentary as to be of limited interest and

value. It is perplexing as to how they might be of use to guitar students.

Yet there are some real gems. For instance, “God” does not have the

best sound quality, but Lennon’s guitar work provides a rolling rhythm and

the pace is faster than the studio version, making the mood oddly more

upbeat and palatable. Lennon jokes around with the introduction, saying

that angels must have sent him from above with a message about “our love.”

Gone from This Place 117

It is akin to a 1950s teen romance parody, and Lennon almost breaks him-

self up, thereby softening the “God is a concept by which we measure our

pain” line that follows. As noted previously, Lennon sings “I don’t believe in

Dylan” instead of “Zimmerman,” which makes more thematic sense. After

stating his belief in himself, he does not add the “Yoko and me” line as in

the final version.

As for the rest, “Cold Turkey” features Lennon’s intriguing shuddering as

if in drug withdrawal and fractured vocals, and “What You Got” has a gutsy

blues tinge that is a real joy because it is not as evident in the final version.

“Watching the Wheels” shows its Dylansesque roots in a wonderful perfor-

mance, and “Dear Yoko” sounds even more like the Buddy Holly songs that

inspired it, at least musically. “Real Love” is not the same take as on the

Imagine: John Lennon
collection but is fairly close to that track and to the

Beatles’ completed version.

Three songs on the album are culled from live performances. “Imagine”

comes from a concert at the Apollo Theater to support the families of those

killed in the Attica State Prison riots and is one of the better versions extant

for its gentle power in full effect. Also included are two numbers from the

four-song set in Ann Arbor, Michigan, to support the release of John Sinclair

from prison. “The Luck of the Irish” is a cut or two above passable, but after

Lennon encourages the crowd to “start again” if attempts at social change do

not work, “John Sinclair” is performed to great effect with lilting ease. While

not the album fans may have been expecting, there is enough interesting

material on
Acoustic
to make the collection worthwhile.

John Lennon: the musicaL

In 2004–2005, Ono collaborated on a production of a musical of Lennon’s

life and art, using his songs to tell the story of his life. Three songs never

professionally recorded by Lennon during his life time were included in
John

Lennon: The Musical,
and the availability of bootlegs of Lennon’s demos of

those songs increased as a result. One of the three songs was “Cookin’ (In

the Kitchen of Love),” his 1976 contribution to Ringo Starr’s
Rotogravure

album, discussed in chapter 5. The other two were “India, India” and “I

Don’t Want To Lose You.”

“India, India” seems to have been written for the autobiographical musical

the couple planned off and on from the mid-1970s titled “The Ballad of John

and Yoko.” Lennon reportedly worked on it sporadically, though in earnest,

in 1977 and 1978; the couple mentioned it as a future project in interviews

publicizing
Double Fantasy;
and Ono discusses it in her introduction in Len-

non’s posthumously collected prose work
Skywriting by Word of Mouth.

The song exists in a complete and overdubbed demo, sounding fairly pol-

ished as a result. As the title indicates, the song comments on Lennon’s emo-

tional state of mind during The Beatles’ well-known trip to India in 1968.

118 The Words and Music of John Lennon

It is an upbeat but wistful tune played on acoustic guitar. Lennon sings of

India, asking it to take him to its heart and reveal its ancient mysteries. Imme-

diately, however, he admits he has the answers he needs deep in his mind.

The verse changes this awareness to his need to “follow my heart” which is