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John Lennon and Yoko Ono – A listen to the Wedding Album once again – Reviewed by Calum MacDonald

Posted on October 13, 2011

In July 1964 John Lennon bought a house in the St George’s Hill estate in Weybridge,Surreynamed “Kenwood”.

In an earlier post of mine I talked about his home based recording setup which was put together for John Lennon by Paul McCartney. McCartney had set up John Lennon’s tape recorders so that he could overdub tracks, essentially mono / stereophonic tape recorders joined so that an overdub could be done and this was done in the houses attic area.

This set off John recording and demoing future Beatles songs but also a series of avant garde music which didn’t sell well at all but are of great interest to Beatles fans.

I’m going to review all three of John Lennons avant garde albums in release order this is the third and last:

This album was not recorded at Kenwood but the whole Kenwood idea of avant garde was continued on here.

Wedding Album – Released 7/11/69. Recorded March and April 1969

calum macdonald john lennon wedding album review

Front cover of John Lennon and Yoko Ono's Wedding Album

calum macdonald review of Lennon and Ono's Wedding Album

Back cover and inserts of John Lennon and Yoko Ono's Wedding Album

This album was the final in what is now a series of three avant garde albums recorded by John Lennon and Yoko Ono in the late 1960’s.

The album has two tracks, one on each side and the CD re-release has three bonus tracks.

Track one “John and Yoko” consists of John Lennon and Yoko Ono repeating their names to each other over the sound of I would imagine their own heartbeats. They instill a different emotion each time they name call each other. Effective avant garde.

“Amsterdam” track 2 on side 2 was recorded as you would guess in Amsterdam at their now very famous bed in. They were married earlier in the year and this piece has Yoko singing of peace and a journalist interviewing them with John and Yoko answering as they always did with understanding of how the world needs peace. There are various other sounds underpinning the track and I enjoyed this.

The CD bonus tracks are:

“Who Has Seen The Wind” sung by Yoko Ono with a really nice backing. The song was Lennons “B” side for single Instant Karma in 1970.

“Listen The Snow Is Falling” once again sung by Yoko Ono and this was the B side to John Lennons “Happy Xmas (War Is Over)” from 1971. Once again a nice track.

I really quite like that period of Lennon and Ono working together with her child like vocal style to his musical backing, this track also features session musicians.

“Don’t Worry Kyoko (Mummy’s Only Looking For Her Hand In The Snow)” is another Yoko Ono track with Lennon backing her on acoustic guitar. This appears to be a demo recording and from my research possibly recorded on cassette at Queen Charlotte’s hospital, London in November 68. It is quite a rough recording but quite magical too.

Interestingly enough the CD re-releases of the John Lennon Yoko Ono avant garde albums seem to come with bonus Yoko Ono tracks, not a bad thing just interesting as I’m sure there were many Lennon tracks that could have been added to the collection. Maybe contractual licencing issues were a reason for this.

The album sold somewhere between 20,000 and 50,000 copies. It came as a box set with many inserts such as a copy of Lennon and Ono’s wedding certificate, press clippings and a picture of their wedding cake.

As per the other two avant garde albums they didn’t dent the charts and were possibly a mystery to Lennons Beatle fans at the time.

I for one am glad they did them, they were unusual and apart from the recordings themselves represented a period were one of the musical greats of history decided to change course and as we all now know leave The Beatles behind him. He was to take on a more political stance with his music in the future and he moved styles away from the “She loves You” type tracks.

I’m sure these recordings, that seem an aberration in the middle of Lennon’s other work, were necessary to him and in some ways propelled him in into his later styles more than maybe The Beatles tunes ever could. Being an artist to me should be an evolving process and Lennon showed that through his lifes work.

At the end of the day we have albums that love or hate them, make you think, and that can’t be a bad thing.

Track Listing

Side one

John & Yoko – 22:44

Side two

1. Amsterdam– 25:00

CD bonus tracks

Who Has Seen the Wind? – 2:05
Listen, The Snow Is Falling – 3:25
Don’t Worry Kyoko (Mummy’s Only Looking for Her Hand in the Snow) – 2:35

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John Lennon – Life With The Lions – 41 years later – Reviewed by Calum MacDonald

Posted on October 11, 2011

by Calum MacDonald

In July 1964 John Lennon bought a house in the St George’s Hill estate in Weybridge, Surrey named “Kenwood”.

This set off John recording and demoing future Beatles songs but also a series of avant garde music which didn’t sell well at all but are of great interest to Beatles fans.

I’m going to review all three of John Lennons avant garde albums in release order this is the second:

This album was not recorded at Kenwood but the whole Kenwood idea of avant garde was continued on here.

Unfinished Music No.2: Life with the Lions-released May 9^th 1969-recorded 11/68 to 3/69

calum macdonald john lennon life with the lions front cover

John Lennon and Yoko Ono's Unfinished Music No 2: Life With The Lions front cover

calum macdonald john lennon life with the lions

John Lennon and Yoko Ono's back cover of Unfinished music No 2: Life With The Lions

This album was the follow up to the Unfinished Music No 1 – Two virgins release from 1968.

Track one was recorded live on the 2/3/69 at Cambridge University. The recording has Yoko Ono improvising to John Lennons guitar sounds. The couple were joined by a saxophonist and percussionist during the piece.

If you are not a Yoko Ono fan and I wouldn’t say I am but I find her interesting then this shrill track of Yoko Ono backed by John Lennon using feedback won’t appeal. The track lasts for 26:30 minutes and takes some patience to listen to but again as in the “Two Virgins” album this is historical and that may not mean you have to like it but it does add an interest and a feel to what is being produced.

Yoko Ono went on to endure three miscarriages, one can only imagine how traumatic that must have been for the couple. The rest of the recordings are done on cassette tape and were made at Queen Charlotte’s hospital in London in November 1968 were Yoko Ono was admitted.

“No Bed for Beatle John” is a recording of John and Yoko singing or chanting, take your pick, words from press clippings that were written about them. Yoko’s voice seems to be more to the front here.

The track “Baby’s Heartbeat” is as it says a recording of the baby’s abnormal heartbeat and that is what it is for the whole track.

“Two Minutes Silence” is actually two minutes of silence and reminds me of the John cage 4’33 piece that he did, which was 4’33 minutes of silence. Apparently this was meant to be in memory for the baby and a reminder to us all that violence and death are not the way we should go.

“Radio Play” which lasts for 12’35 is apparently John Lennon moving through a radio, flipping between channels with at one stage John Lennon involved in a phone call. This track for me was annoying, I guess as a piece of avant garde it may appeal to some but once John Lennon was on the phone as well as the radio dialing, the piece lost it really for me. Once again though interesting in a historical sense.

The CD re-release comes with two bonus tracks. The first is “Song For john” which is a song sung by Yoko with Lennon on a tinny acoustic guitar. I quite liked this, maybe after “Radio Play” it felt good but you wouldn’t have heard this on the original album and this type of track is what Lennon and Yoko did well.

The other bonus track is “Mulberry” a piece with John lennon playing fairly wild acoustic guitar and Yoko Ono vocalizing over this. As a piece of avant garde I like this as well, once again not on the original album.

The front cover of the album shows Yoko Ono lying in bed at Queen Charlotte’s hospital next to her is Lennon lying on what appears to be two bean bags. A very hard time for the couple and you can see this clearly in their faces.

The back cover is a shot of Lennon and Ono leaving Marleybone police station after having been arrested for drugs in October 1968.

I think listening to these tracks, 41 years later is immensely interesting. There has always been a fascination for many many people regarding the Beatles but not so much these uncommercial Lennon and Ono albums. For me they are essential listening and throw in the fact that the pieces provide you with gripping memories as well as sonic interest, I am very glad i made the effort.

“Radio Play” not so much but hey that’s just me. The album according to Lennon went on to sell around 60.000 copies, quite a few more sales than “Two Virgins”. Maybe the new avant garde style of John Lennon and Yoko Ono was starting to catch on.

Track Listing

Side one

Cambridge 1969 (26:31)

Side two

No Bed For Beatle John (4:41)
Baby’s Heartbeat (5:10)
Two Minutes Silence (2:00)
Radio Play (12:35)

CD bonus tracks

Song For John (1:29)
Mulberry (8:47)

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John Lennon and Yoko Ono – Unfinished Music No 1: Two Virgins – 42 years later – Reviewed by Calum MacDoanld

Posted on October 9, 2011

by Calum MacDonald

In July 1964 John Lennon bought a house in the St George’s Hill estate in Weybridge, Surrey named “Kenwood”.

This set off John recording and demoing future Beatles songs but also a series of avant garde music which didn’t sell well at all but are of great interest to Beatles fans.

I’m going to review all three of John Lennons avant garde albums in release order this is the first:

Unfinished Music No 1: Two Virgins – released Nov. 29, 1968

calum macdonald review of John Lennon and Yoko Ono's Two Virgins album

Pictures of John Lennon and Yoko Ono's Two Virgins controversial front cover

calum macdonald review of john lennon and yoko ono two virgins album

Pictures of John Lennon and Yoko Ono from the back cover of their Two Virgins album

The recording was the result of one all night session between John Lennon and Yoko Ono (possibly 19th May 1968). The music is definitely avant garde and if as a Beatles fan you expected melody and a form of coherence then the result was far far from this and possibly shocked those who were mop top fans. There are no John Lennon songs or John Lennon lyrics here unless you count vocal adlibs.

The cover of the album possibly became more controversial than the recording itself. The front cover had a full frontal picture of John Lennon and Yoko Ono and the back cover a full rear picture of the couple. This caused the distributors to sell the album in a brown paper cover.

There are many drum, organ, piano, vocal edits and tape looped sounds that John had recorded himself with Yoko in monophonic and overdubbed onto other tape recorders creating an ensemble type sound, if you will.

I must say I do enjoy avant garde music and produce some of it myself so this album I enjoyed listening to. It would be fair to say that once every few years I will probably get this out and listen again, maybe finding more sounds and new parts. It is quite hard to listen to and not an album I would put on too many times in a row, but nevertheless fascinating in terms of it’s origin and as a peice of art.

I think listening back knowing the history of John Lennons home studio and The Beatles and Yoko Ono there is an almost surreal feeling that you get whilst hearing the sounds and the vocal add libs that Lennon put together, this definitely added to the overall impact of the album listening to it after it’s initial release 42 years ago.

There will be listeners that will say it is utter nonsence, well I know where they are coming from but John Lennon in my opinion was always genuine about his work and this is as genuine a work as any of his Beatle tracks just not as commercial. Not commercial at all in fact it sold around 5000 copies.

If I had put together an album such as this it would have gained little interest. Massively successful identities in our society almost demand you listen to them and you can’t help but see more maybe than what is there, as a species we are what we are and well known people do make us listen and see things in a different way.

People like John Lennon were creating musical history and this strange as it may be to some, is part of that.

The CD re-release on Rykodisc has a bonus track. “Remember Love” sung by Yoko Ono with John Lennon on acoustic guitar backing her.

I liked this, Yoko Ono’s voice is almost child like and the Lennon guitar backing is reminiscent of something he would do on the white album. The track has a folky quality to it and really is a melodic musical piece whereas “Two Virgins” isn’t.

If you are a Beatles, John Lennon or Yoko Ono fan listen to this album even if it is only once and take it all in as an interesting piece of avant garde history, a time now well in the past.

Track Listing:

Side one

Two Virgins Side One – 14:14

Two Virgins No. 1
Together
Two Virgins No. 2
Two Virgins No. 3
Two Virgins No. 4
Two Virgins No. 5

Side two

Two Virgins Side Two – 15:13

Two Virgins No. 6
Hushabye Hushabye
Two Virgins No. 7
Two Virgins No. 8
Two Virgins No. 9
Two Virgins No. 10

Rykodisc CD bonus track Remember Love (Yoko Ono)

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Recording studio of the week

Posted on September 24, 2011

by Calum MacDonald

calum macdonald blog john lennon home recording studio 1960's

Beatle John Lennon at his piano in his attic studio in Surrey 1966-69

calum macdonald blog john lennon playing guitar in his Surrey studio

Beatle John Lennon playing guitar in his home studio in Surrey 1966-69

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Beatle John Lennons Home Studio

Posted on September 24, 2011

by Calum MacDonald

I saw this picture on the web thanks to Mr Google images; it was from an old newspaper article discussing John Lennon and his home studio.

What intrigued me were the old analogue tape recorders in the background. Now I knew of course from reading articles about The Beatles and I am an avid fan of their recording process, that John Lennon, Paul McCartney and George Harrison (not sure about Ringo Starr) dabbled in experimental music (we’re thinking here about Yoko Ono and John Lennon’s “Two Virgins”, “Life with the Lions” and “The Wedding Album”) and this obviously was a picture of his studio.

The studio was set up in an attic in a house that Lennon owned called Kenwood, at Weybridge in Surrey.

More research led to more pictures, not many though, there seems to be hardly any taken of the studio and thanks to modern technology namely the internet we have them easily accessible for all of us. These are the photographs I could find.

A great deal of Lennon’s song writing was done in his attic and apparently the capability to overdub from recorder to recorder happened after Paul McCartney set up the recorders for him to do this (and started writing Eleanor Rigby), a productive time.

This then led to the electronic recordings that he undertook on his own, with Yoko Ono and other collaborators.

Getting back to the Brenell tape recorders Lennon appears to have four in the picture, my research leads me to think they are the following models.

The two on the left appear to be a Brenell Mk5M as seen here:

And the two on the right look awfully like the Brenell Standard Mk5:

These machines (the Ferrograph being used more in studios) were at the time for musicians who could afford to set up a home studio, the recorders of choice and all the Beatles were known to have them.

There are numerous bootleg copies of the tapes that John Lennon made on the Brenells between 1966 and 1969 and now they are no doubt some of the most historic home recordings you could have.

Other musical equipment in Lennon’s attic included a mellotron, a piano, an organ (Farfisa) and of course his guitars.

Through the use of tape loops and overdubbing Lennon produced many of what could only be described, as avant garde recordings along with the beginnings and ideas that were later to become many of the Beatles marvellous psychedelic Sgt Pepper era recordings.

For those of you who would like the specs of the Brenells what better than a peek at the manual.

Let’s finish with an old analogue studio from the BBC’s Playhouse theatre in Manchester, what fun you could have with these, if analogue is your thing.