Elly Roberts reviews
John Lennon:
Working Class Hero - The Definitive Collection
Distributed by
Parlophone
- Cat.no: 0946 3 40080 2 0
- Released: October 2005
- Rating: 10/10
- Format: 2 CD set
On Sunday October 9 2005, John Lennon could have officially claimed his pension.
Quite a bizarre thought - not that he'd have needed it. To mark the
anniversary of his birth, and the rapidly following anniversary of his
murder by screwball Mark Chapman on December 8, Working Class Hero is a
timely reminder of his prolific songwriting output as a solo artist away
from The Beatles mothership. His rise as a world renowned singer-songwriter
and peace activist secured his place in history.
These thirty-eight tracks spread over two discs easily surpass previous
songbooks - The John Lennon Collection (1982) and Lennon Legend (1997).
Compiled by Yoko Ono Lennon and Mike Heatley, with a running time of 150
minutes, it's not intended as a chronological running order of singles
releases, which include some virtually unnoticeable ' enhancements' here and
there, along with key album tracks, making this essential listening even if
you have the previous albums. According to my PC information, there's
remixes on tracks , 2, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 & 17 on disc 1, and
tracks 2, 3, 5, 6, 9, 11, 13, 14, 15, 16 on disc 2.
Whatever's been 'added' does not diminish or tacky-up the originals - it's
very clever work. The most striking aspect of this collection is the
tracklisting format: songs flow superbly. Despite the huge difference in
stylings and pace, the balance is perfect as they cozy-up to each other. Ben
E. King's Stand By Me is a raucous ballad by comparison with the original,
with Oh Yoko sounding as vibrant and great as ever from Imagine. Oh My Love,
also Imagine, is arguably the most beautiful song he ever wrote, as keys and
vocals float delicately over its 2 minutes plus: the highlight of disc one.
Come Together is a storming live version, with Lennon in typical sarcastic
mood.
Disc two offers a few of duds: Love, Woman, God and Scared are probably the
least impressive on the collection. Beautiful Boy, #9 Dream and Gimme Some
Truth restore the class, proving to be the highlights.
Controversy is never far away in the shape of the powerhouse Woman Is The
Nigger Of The World, with Yoko getting a contribution on the credit.
By the end, we're given not only a message to Yoko - Grow Old With Me - but
a message to us all. Thankfully, we'll all grow old remembering John Lennon.
This release is the pivot for a large number of events which will happen
around John's birthday. These include a major documentary to be screened by
the BBC and the reissue of two further albums in the Lennon catalogue -
Walls & Bridges and Sometime In New York City. Yoko will be in Tokyo
to join the Dream Power tribute concert for Lennon at the legendary Budokan,
where The Beatles performed. She will also attend events in London and
Paris.
Yoko recently said, "Once he was honoured as 'The Man Of The Decade'. That
was 35 years ago. Now he is a man of the century and the future. His work
inspires all people, and his voice reaches the whole planet".
So it will.
The full list of tracks included are :
Review & concert pics copyright © Elly Roberts, 2004-2010.