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ALBUM REVIEW: John Lennon - Double Fantasy (1980)

Posted by admin on 29th Jan 2010

Strange as it seems now, the endure anthology John Lennon appear in his lifetime was advised as a comeback, or rather as a departing beachcomber at retirement: "Watching the Wheels" and "Beautiful Boy" bless the joys he begin alfresco the brilliant system, and "(Just Like) Starting Over" is a hardly awkward rocker about rejoining the calm apple that's aswell array of about rejoining the pop world. The studio-pro arrange are a little too slick, but Lennon rarely articulate happier. Ono, whose songs alternating with his in a alternation of contemporary diptychs, was demography a ache at channeling her artier impulses into pop and is about beneath successful--her articulation works in a ambience of art-weirdness, but not as able-bodied in accepted tunes. This 2000 remastered copy is fleshed out with a audience of "Help Me to Help Myself" and Ono's abandoned adaptation of "Walking on Thin Ice," which was recorded on the aforementioned day her bedmate was attempt to death.

While "Double Fantasy" was meant to be Lennon's improvement album, it ultimately served as his candied farewell.

John Lennon was a actual accomplished artisan throughout a lot of of the 60s and throughout the aboriginal bisected of the 70s. Between 1963 and 1975, a year didn't canyon by in which Lennon didn't absolution an album, aboriginal with the Beatles and again as a abandoned artist. The additional bisected of the 70s, however, saw no new music from Lennon. Indeed, he around abolished from the limelight.

In the early-to-mid 70s, afore his agreeable hiatus, Lennon advantaged in his abominable "lost weekend." During this time Lennon was afar from Yoko and advantaged in drugs, booze and accepted excess. After this aphotic phase, Lennon took the additional bisected of the 70s off to acquisition himself. In that time he accommodated with Yoko, became a father, and formed on new music.

November of 1980 saw the absolution of "Double Fantasy." It was Lennon's aboriginal anthology of aboriginal actual aback 1974's "Wall and Bridges." Although it initially accustomed alloyed reviews from critics, it was a hit, accomplishing gold cachet aural a few weeks. The album's aboriginal individual "(Just Like) Starting Over" aswell accepted to be a hit single. With a new apple bout planned for 1981, Lennon was assertive to accomplish a able improvement and yield the 1980s head-on.

But again came December 8, 1980, a night in which the apple was beggared of one of its bigger talents.

After Lennon's death, admirers went to the almanac food in droves to aces up "Double Fantasy." It became one of 1981's top sellers and becoming a Grammy. Although it had initially accustomed alloyed reviews from critics, it is now admired by admirers and critics akin as one of his finest abandoned offerings. The anthology accepted to be a sad-but-sweet farewell.

Because "Double Fantasy" was appear so abutting to Lennon's death, it's harder to accept to it and yield it out of that context. It's a rather abstruse listen. The attributes of the anthology is celebratory and positive, yet it was appear in the deathwatch of such a tragedy. It's so arbitrary that a man who was so gifted, so optimistic about the future, should accept it all taken away. All this makes "Double Fantasy" a actual apricot album.

John Lennon's music has consistently been autobiographical. After the annihilation of the Beatles, if Lennon was advancing to agreement with his activity and fame, he appear his atrociously honest masterpiece "Plastic Ono Band" (1970). It was an anthology of absolution go, a absolute catharsis, a absolution of all his pent up demons. In 1974, if he was afar from Yoko, lost, and didn't apperceive what to do with his life, he appear the confessional "Walls and Bridges," which was a account of that aphotic time in his life.

In 1980, Lennon was as blessed and accomplished as he had anytime been, and "Double Fantasy" is a attestation to that. He was appropriately married, had a adolescent child, and was acquisitive to get aback into apple affairs, tour, and accomplish a statement.

"Double Fantasy" sees a collective John Lennon/Yoko Ono collaboration. Both sing and pen every added song, so anniversary artisan is amidst by a song of the other. Often the songs are a acceptance to one another, like a dialogue.

Lennon's endure few albums afore his aperture had been brilliant, if unfocused. "Double Fantasy" sees Lennon's best plan in years. With Jack Douglas bearing and backed by best flat musicians, Lennon came up with a arch accumulating of complete and polished, yet agitation songs.

The Fats Domino-esque "Just like Starting Over" gets the anthology off to a abundant start. The mid-tempo "Cleanup Time," with its communicable horns has a abundant angle and keeps the drive going. The downdraught afraid "I'm loosing you" is evocative of Lennon's plan from "Walls and Bridges." Lennon's accolade to his son Sean, the new age aural lullaby-like "Beautiful Boy" is both aboveboard and gorgeous, after aural corny. The album's big hit, the mid-tempo "Watching the Wheels" offers an account as to Lennon's absence from the music apple for the above-mentioned few years. Lennon shows his adept pop-sensibility for the beauteous "Woman." The up-tempo "Dear Yoko" is a good, if not amazing pop song. The horns add a nice touch. The 2000 remaster accession includes a asperous audience of the hymn-like "Help me to advice myself," which shows Lennon's admiration to accumulate on the straight-and-narrow path.

Although the architecture of the alternating John/Yoko songs is an absorbing abstraction for a middle-aged adulation adventure abstraction album, in all honesty, it would accept been bigger if John and Yoko anniversary appear their own songs on abstracted albums. Yoko Ono is artistic and a able songwriter, but her songs just assume out of abode next to John's. That said, there are some acceptable Yoko songs to be begin on "Double Fantasy," like the disco-esque "Kiss, Kiss, Kiss," the cabaret-like "Yes I'm your Angel," and the communicable club-beat of "Every man has a Woman who adulation him."

I never in fact accept to "Double Fantasy" as is, per-se. Rather; I accept a CDR of all the Lennon songs from "Double Fantasy," and all the Lennon songs from the following follow-up, "Milk and Honey," (1984) which was done in the aforementioned John/Yoko alternating format. This makes for a far added constant and agreeable listen.

While Lennon's aboriginal afterlife is the bigger accident bedrock n' cycle anytime faced, it is of some abundance to apperceive that Lennon spent the endure few years of his activity in top spirits. "Double Fantasy" ultimately serves as an acceptance of that, apricot as it may be.

It is, of course, absurd to abstracted the anthology from what happened anon afterwards it was released. In backward November 1980, John Lennon fabricated his agreeable acknowledgment afterwards 5 years of self-imposed retirement with "Double Fantasy," a full-fledged accord with his wife, Yoko Ono; on December 8th of that year, he was murdered on his way home from a recording studio. Rather than getting his comeback, "Double Fantasy" became Lennon's sweet, affable farewell.

But it would accept been a bedrock & cycle accident regardless. Afterwards a self-indulgent, eighteen-month "lost weekend," a break from Ono and a few black albums, Lennon had aloof into a activity of domesticity in backward 1975, devoting himself to getting a househusband and a ancestor to his son Sean.

In the bounce of 1980, Lennon and Sean sailed to Bermuda for a abrupt vacation; there Lennon became absorbed by New Wave musicians like the Pretenders, Lene Lovich and Madness. And if he heard the B-52's song "Rock Lobster," he was spurred to action. "It sounds just like Ono's music," he told ROLLING STONE, "so I said to meself, 'It's time to get out the old axe and deathwatch the wife up!'"

Lennon would address a song, alarm Ono in New York and sing it to her; she would acknowledgment with a new tune she had written. They wrote added than two dozen songs in three weeks, again recorded two albums' account of actual at the Hit Factory, in New York City. He went into the studio, Lennon afterwards said, "not to prove annihilation but just to adore it."

The aftereffect was structured as a chat - one song by Lennon, again one by Ono - ambidextrous with their trials, their break and, aloft all, their love. Despite the tensions brought to the apparent in songs like Lennon's "I'm Losing You" and Ono's "I'm Moving On," a lot of of the anthology deals with the comfort Lennon enjoyed already he had larboard the music business behind. "No best benumbed on the merry-go-round," he sings in the marvelous, attentive "Watching the Wheels," "I just had to let it go."

Initial analytical acknowledgment was not absolutely favorable. Some aboriginal reviewers attacked "Double Fantasy" for it s comfortable domesticity, and several added arresting pans were accounting but aloof from advertisement afterwards Lennon's death. But in the end the anthology accepted to be abiding not just as - in the words of ROLLING STONE contributor Stephen Holden - "an admirable account of a absolute heterosexual union" but as a admirable account of the beatitude two artists accept begin in anniversary other. "I cannot be a jailbait in Hamburg and Liverpool anymore," said Lennon three canicule afore his murder. "I'm earlier now. I see the apple through altered eyes. I see the apple through altered eyes. I still accept in love, accord and understanding, as Elvis Costello said, and what's so funny about love, accord and understanding?"

TRACK LISTING
1.(Just Like) Starting Over
2.Kiss, Kiss, Kiss
3.Cleanup Time
4.Give Me Something
5.I'm Losing You
6.I'm Moving On
7.Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy)
8.Watching the Wheels
9.Yes, I'm Your Angel
10.Woman
11.Beautiful Boys
12.Dear Yoko
13.Every Man Has a Woman Who Loves Him
14.Hard Times Are Over
15.Help Me to Help Myself
16.Walking on Thin Ice
17.Central Park Stroll (Dialogue) - (dialogue)