John Lennon
John Lennon, ‘Imagine’, 1971. Lennon would’ve been 80 today. He was in The Beatles you know. Born 1940, same year as my Mum. When I was at college the only time my Mum brought me a cup of tea in bed was the day he was shot. She was visibly shocked, and I got a sense of how big the Beatles had been – even my mum was upset!
His solo stuff is hit and miss but this album has some corkers on it. The title song is the one he was most proud of: a rival to Macca’s ‘Yesterday’. ‘Gimme Some Truth’ righteous ire and even more pertinent today than it was then. ‘It’s So Hard’ dirty blues. ‘Oh My Love’ a gorgeous melody. ‘How Do You Sleep?’ slinky groove. ‘Crippled Inside’ honky-tonking. ‘How?’ a companion piece to ‘Imagine’. ‘I Don’t Wanna Be A Soldier Mama I Don’t Wanna Die’ funky groove and paranoia with Vietnam still raging. ‘Oh Yoko!’ singalong strumming. Gear. Fab. Etc.
Happy Birthday John.
John Lennon
John Lennon, ‘Imagine’, 1971. Lennon would’ve been 80 today. He was in The Beatles you know. Born 1940, same year as my Mum. When I was at college the only time my Mum brought me a cup of tea in bed was the day he was shot. She was visibly shocked, and I got a sense of how big the Beatles had been – even my mum was upset!
His solo stuff is hit and miss but this album has some corkers on it. The title song is the one he was most proud of: a rival to Macca’s ‘Yesterday’. ‘Gimme Some Truth’ righteous ire and even more pertinent today than it was then. ‘It’s So Hard’ dirty blues. ‘Oh My Love’ a gorgeous melody. ‘How Do You Sleep?’ slinky groove. ‘Crippled Inside’ honky-tonking. ‘How?’ a companion piece to ‘Imagine’. ‘I Don’t Wanna Be A Soldier Mama I Don’t Wanna Die’ funky groove and paranoia with Vietnam still raging. ‘Oh Yoko!’ singalong strumming. Gear. Fab. Etc.
Happy Birthday John.