John Lennon: Rock ‘N’ Roll

Elly Roberts reviews

John Lennon:
Rock ‘N’ RollDistributed by
Parlophone (EMI)

• Year: 2004
• Rating: 5/10
• Cat. No: 7243 874329 2 5

Track listing:

1. Bebop A Lula
2. Stand By Me
3. Medley : Rip It Up / Ready Teddy
4. You Can’t Catch Me
5. Ain’t That A Shame
6. Do You Wanna Dance
7. Sweet Little Sixteen
8. Slippin’ And Slidin’
9. Peggy Sue
10. Medley : Bring It On Home To Me / Send Me Some Lovin’
11. Bony Moronie
12. Ya Ya
13. Just Because

Bonus Tracks:

14. Angel Baby
15. To Know Her Is To Love Her
16. Since My Baby Left Me
17. Just Because (reprise)

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This reissue of John Lennon’s tenth and controversial 1975 albumdoes little to hide the problems of the day. At the time it reached number six in thealbum charts in the UK, but received very mixed reviews. One minute it works,the next it’s a total disaster.

As Paul McCartney started to spread hisWings in the early seventies, John Lennon was becoming more and more of ahouse husband to Yoko Ono. Glamrock ruled the airwaves, so what did Lennondo? He went back to his musical roots and enlisted the help of Phil Spectorand recorded Rock ‘n’ Roll. There was however, more to this release than meetsthe ear. Controversy surrounded it from start to finish.

It was troubled times: John and Yoko were having marriage problems, andLennon was being sued. Apparently, this album was the result of a lawsuitbrought by Morris Levy, the owner of several Chuck Berry copyrights, whoclaimed Lennon had committed plagiarism, by borrowing the music from YouCan’t Catch Me for the Beatles’ Come Together in 1969. To settle the suit outof court, which called for him to record three Levy copyrights, Lennonagreed, and they ended up on this album. Ironically, the track he ‘borrowed’turns up in the tracklisting; being one of the best.

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Of the four Beatles, Lennon was probably the out – and – out rocker, so heselected some late 50’s early 60’s favourites and put them together withsome pretty high profile musicians including Jose Feliciano, Leon Russell,Jim Keltner and Klaus Voorman. A covers album dedicated to his heroes – GeneVincent, Fats Domino, Little Richard, Buddy Holly and Ben E.King – hebrought in Phil Spector to produce on some tracks.

Originally to be called Oldies But Mouldies, recording began in LosAngeles in late 1973, but they disagreed over the product, and the sessionsfell apart. Spector, who held the tapes, was later involved in a car accident,with Lennon unable to get them back. When he did, he decided only four takeswere acceptable.

A year later, just after the release of Walls and Bridges, he re-recorded them.In my opinion it’s a fifty – fifty split as to whether it works. Maincriticism is: the vocals seem overloaded by Spector. Secondly, Lennon’ssinging sounds strained at times eg Ain’t That A Shame. Thirdly, was thisRock ‘n’ Roll? Very debatable, using a big band sound for the genredidn’t appeal to everybody, but they were pretty hot.

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If you separate the singing from the musicianship, you get a very differentfinished product, and Lennon failed to see this.

Highlights include a storming Stand By Me, You Can’t Catch Me.

Thumbs-down for a silly Do You Wanna Dance, a shoddy Peggy Sue, and anasty Bony Moronie and Just Because.

After further legal wrangling, it was eventually released in April 1976.

Lennon once said, “I’m ending as I started, singing this straightrock’n’roll stuff” I’m not too sure about that.

This reissue, remixed and remastered complete with four bonus tracks, wassupervised by Yoko Ono.

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