January 17,
2012 -- Julian Lennon News
JULIAN LENNON's New album "EVERYTHING CHANGES" - REVIEW
by JOHN CHERRY
I was pleased to learn that Julian Lennon had returned to the recording studio after an extended absence. I had always liked him personally and had purchased most of his previous releases. Reports are that he had retreated from music due to unpleasant experiences with the business aspects of recording.
I recall my first listen to a Julian Lennon song in 1984. Putting on the headphones, I closed my eyes and felt that his father John had returned to earth. Did this enhance my interest in Julian's music? Of course, but I liked it on its own merits as well.
The new music has much less vocal similarity between Julian and John. Nevertheless, any informed Beatle fan will easily recognize both John's influence, as well as that of Paul McCartney and George Harrison.
The title song opens the CD, stating the
premise that the world is a tough place, but people can change
to make it better. Like many others in this collection, it is
a slower paced song, opening with just a piano following the lyrics.
During the choruses, the song fills up with strings and even a
synthesizer. A nice opening tune.
"Lookin 4 Luv" is more mid-paced, again opening with just a piano before expanding in the chorus. The lyrics describe a search for love and feelings about love. The middle eight is superb with its beautiful harmonies. The last portions of the song include what sounds like a backwards guitar solo (Beatles "I'm Only Sleeping" influence?) and repeats the title of the song multiple times (another Beatle influence?).
"Hold On" has a soft string opening that leads to a piano solo and then light percussion is added. The song talks about love and trying to convince an ex-lover and friend to return, and healing one's own heart.
"Touch the Sky" also opens with strings, and speaks of leaving the past behind and digging yourself from the depths of negative feeling. The chorus once again elevates the song. There is a Harrison sounding guitar part, as well as various sound effects. Lyrically, this is one of the best on the release and probably my personal overall favorite.
"Just for You" discusses the trials of love and distraction. It has more changes of pace than the rest of the songs.
"Always" seems to be a song for John if he was still living. Addressing the misery of war, greed and fear, there is hope for solution, but until that happens, "the universe will cry until we get it right." There is also a dig at religion ("Imagine?") and politics. Musically, the song is quite simple and fairly slow-paced.
"Disconnected" sounds again like George Harrison, perhaps from the Beatles Sgt. Pepper era. The lyrics are also reminiscent of Harrison, focusing on how to live and what life can bring to you. There is an extended ending, and the song approaches "Hey Jude" in length, clocking in at 6:45.
"Never Let You Go" might remind you of George, John and Paul. The slow opening is led by a sitar, a la George. The lyrics reference The Beatles "All You Need is Love" and Paul's "Venus and Mars." The vocal is backed by single note piano and guitar playing. There is also the use of echo and the sound effect of singing from a megaphone.
"Guess It Was For Me" is a song of personal growth; getting away from blaming the world for one's problems. Perhaps, this is Julian's way of telling his own story. The mid-paced song has a strong, although brief, guitar solo.
The slow-paced "Don't Wake Me Up" opens with just a piano and drum brushes, but is joined later by a guitar and drums. I consider it a brighter version of "I'm Only Sleeping." The lyrics also focus on a beautiful dream of a special love, and not wanting to face the reality of losing that love.
I would consider the finale
"Beautiful" a loving tribute from Julian to his father.
The constrained ballad is mostly led by a piano, and also builds
in the chorus. Julian appears to be addressing his father in heaven,
telling him that the love and spirit he showed on earth will continue
to live on in the future. I can easily imagine John creating and
singing this song.
This collection is not for anyone looking for a rocker-filled
CD. But, it is lyrically strong, and a pleasure to enjoy alone
with the headphones and to inspire your mind. It is wonderful
to have Julian back and making music.
BUY on AMAZON.com
Everything Changes
- Tracklisting
1. Everything Changes
2. Lookin' 4 Luv
3. Hold On
4. Touch the Sky
5. Invisible Listen
6. Just for You
7. Always
8. Disconnected
9. Never Let You Go
10. Guess It Was Me
11. Don't Wake Me Up
12. Beautiful
John Cherry is the author of
"Better Than Lennon," and "Paul McCartney's Solo
Music Career 1970-2010."
www.betterthanlennon.com
"It was Roberta," recalls Smith during a recent conversation with Back Page Magazine. "She told me that John Lennon had just been killed."
Smith, who has worked for the likes of Led Zeppelin, The Yardbirds and Aerosmith over the years as both a roadie and road manager, relates that the immediate response to the call was both sadness and concern.
"The people at The Dakota (where Lennon was living at the time) had called Roberta. They didn't know if John's murder had been a part of a conspiracy or what and, since she had lived at The Dakota, they wanted to make sure that Roberta was going to be alright."
Smith's reaction to the news was two-fold.
Like everyone else, there was unparalleled sadness. But, unlike
others, there was also an element of self interest at the news.
"I stood a chance of making some good money with John on that tour," he admits of Lennon's long anticipated One World, One People tour set for May 1981 in which he would serve as both road manager and de facto booking agent. "I could have become a very wealthy man."
Smith was introduced to John
Lennon late in 1980 by producer Jack Douglas, who produced the
album Double Fantasy. It was shortly after the completion of the
album and Lennon, for the first time in a long time, was getting
ready to tour.
The official announcement that Lennon would undertake a U.S. and
Europe tour was made on October 8, 1980. The musicians who had
worked with him on Double Fantasy were in active rehearsal for
the concert tour that Lennon hoped would hit the road in seven
months. At the point when Smith was contacted, Lennon was looking
for a road manager and crew support. Smith laughs at the memory
of how nervous he was at that first meeting with Lennon at the
famed Record Plant in New York City.
"I mean this was John Lennon! I was so nervous that I was pinching my leg so hard when I was talking to him that I had black and blue marks. I didn't want to sit there, just smiling and laughing at him."
Smith found Lennon to be extremely
down to earth when discussing his upcoming tour. "He said
he knew nothing about sound and lights because Brian Epstein
had always taken care of those things for him. He joked that "'I
know how to turn on the lights with a light switch and I can turn
the sound up and down on a radio.'" And that was basically
all he knew!"
So it was agreed that Smith would be road manager for the Lennon
tour and pull together a core group of technicians that included
long time crew mates Dick Hansen and John Conk from the famed
Brittania Row sound and lighting company. However as the conversations
with Lennon continued, Smith managed to get the legendary musician's
attention in another area.
"John told me that he was in the process of getting Bill Graham to promote the tour as well as a booking agent. I told him, 'You don't need all that! You're John Lennon!' To prove my point, I called up a booking agent I knew in Texas called Lewis Messina and told him 'I said if I can give you ten John Lennon dates, would you take them?' The guy just laughed. I told him 'I'm serious.' When he realized I wasn't pulling his leg, he said 'Of course I would.'
"John understood what I was telling him," he continues. "He understood that there was no need to give up a huge chunk of his money that really wasn't going to do anymore for him than my just calling up people I knew and asking if they were interested in John Lennon shows. So John agreed that I would promote the tour for five percent of the gross and save him forty percent of the money he would have had to pay Graham and a booking agent."
Smith next turned his attention to the particulars of the stage setting for Lennon's return to live performances. Everybody was in agreement that Lennon's shows had to be nothing short of spectacular. Smith, in discussion with long time sound man Dick Hansen, envisioned a stage in which none of the instruments would be visible. But Smith recalls that video was ultimately an approach to the live Lennon experience that would have been groundbreaking.
"Playing with video would have been
totally new in 1980. We immediately thought of Mark Fisher (a
British based architect who had forged a second career creating
the stage magic for such super groups as Pink Floyd, The Rolling
Stones and U2). I called him in the afternoon, he got on a plane
that night and flew to New York. By the time he got there, he
already had a few ideas penciled out and we gave him a few of
our ideas."deas, explained Smith, that would cement Lennon
s attitude of being up close and personal with his audience.
What we were going to do was take John and Yoko
to each city on the tour a day before the show and film them just
walking around the streets and famous points of interest and finally
walking into the show. We would set up five video screens at five
different points on the stage. When the people would walk in for
the actual show, they would see John and Yoko on the screens,
walking through their city and into the show. We also had the
idea of filming the actual audience as they were walking into
the show. There would be a time delay of about 20 minutes and
the people already in the arena would see themselves walking into
the arena. For the time, it would have been pretty trippy.
Smith was under the impression that the set would consist of primarily
songs off of Double Fantasy and was not sure as to whether Lennon
would perform any Beatles or Lennon solo material. Rumors would
abound on just what Lennon would play. Lennon was quick to stir
the pot by indicating the tour set would include some reworked
early Beatles
songs, some Lennon solo songs
and some 50's rock and roll to go along with the Double Fantasy
selections. But he did indicate that a novel way of presenting
the songs had been set up.
A lot of what was going to happen during the show was John and
Yoko on stage, drawing pictures of what the songs meant to them.
So, as a song was going to be played, the audience would see a
stick figure that John drew, representing what the song meant
to him. It definitely would have been different and very personal.
Sadly, all the ideas and predictions of Lennon's triumphant return
to the stage were wiped out in a hail of bullets from the gun
of MDC. Thousands of miles away, Smith remembers how his small
group of performers and crew honored the life and untimely death
of John Lennon.
"Roberta wanted to sing a song at that night's show that would bring closure to what happened to John and what he meant to the world. So she had us go out and buy a copy of the Imagine album, she learned the song and sang Imagine that night. What can I say?
"It was very emotional and very sad."
The new book, "Strawberry Fields: Central Park's Memorial
to John Lennon," by Sara Cedar Miller (Abrams, New York,
2011) is a must-have for fans who would love to know more about
the entire section of Central Park dedicated to Lennon's memory.
An extensive essay of its history is presented, detailing how
the 5.3 acre memorial to John came to be. Full of beautiful photos
of the park's gorgeous landscape during different seasons, from
the cherry blossoms of spring to the snow-clad hills of winter,
it will appeal to gardening enthusiasts as well.
Colorful photos of John and wife Yoko Ono walking through the area that is now Strawberry Fields (taken by Bob Gruen and Allen Tannenbaum) remind us that John walked these grounds shortly before his death and was a revered spot for he and his wife.
The foresight and vision behind the creation of Strawberry Fields is fascinating, and the book is full of behind-the-scene facts, including the history of the Dakota Apartments where John lived.
The book explains that by the time of John's death, Central Park was in utter shambles due to New York being nearly bankrupt. In fact, during the filming of the video for "Woman", (see You tube video) John and Yoko looked around at the dead branches and ugly landscape and suggested out loud that they should perhaps donate to the park. There was no hint then of the beauty that one can find there today.
The vision for creating the memorial to John Lennon was a four-pronged effort, springing from a newly created Central Park Conservancy dedicated to the park's renovation, the desire for a special area dedicated to the memory of John Lennon that came from the Parks Commissioner Henry Stern and Yoko Ono, and finally the work of landscape architect Bruce Kelly.
Forgotten or little known facts revealed:
1. The 5.3 acres known as Strawberry Fields is-appropriately--tear-drop shaped. The inside cover of the book includes a detailed map of the teardrop.
2. The original plan for this spot in 1858 was for a large restaurant.
3. How Isaac Singer, inventor of the Singer sewing machine, featured in the building of the Dakota Apartments, and the connection between the portrait carvings above the entrance, and the Statue of Liberty.
4. John's death coincided with the park's rebirth efforts.
5.The fascinating history of the building of the Dakota apartments, and the famous artists who lived there from the beginning.
The letter Yoko Ono published in newspapers on August 19, 1981 is reprinted here, inviting all countries around the world to donate plants, trees, and stones in an act of love. As we know, offers came pouring in from all over the world, of native plants, trees, benches, fountains, gates, and even a totem pole. Strawberry Fields would become the place where "the world would live as one", fulfilling Lennon's dream in the song Imagine.
It was Yoko's idea to have a "circle of peace," inspired by a design she saw in Naples, at the entrance to the area known as the "garden of peace" developed by Kelly. The groundbreaking for Strawberry Fields took place on March 21, 1984, and the dedication came on October 9, 1985, John's 45th birthday, and son Sean's 10th..
This hardback book, priced at $11.53 on Amazon, is a beautiful tribute to the area commonly visited to pay respects to John Lennon, vastly expanding the reader's peripheral vision beyond the Imagine Mosaic, which is just inside the entrance. Taking you deeper into the park and the dedication that has gone into Strawberry Fields, you can only say "wowI didn't know that." It is for certain that I, for one, will make more of an effort to appreciate the entire park the next time I lay roses on the mosaic for John. I wish the book was larger though, in order to more fully appreciate the beautiful photos.
Jorie Gracen