Search - John Lennon :: Walls & Bridges

My Favorite Lennon Album

Alan Caylow | USA | 12/09/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"My personal favorite John Lennon album is 1974's "Walls And Bridges," which may seem like an odd choice to some people since the album is considered to be one of John's "weakest" releases (and recorded during John's "lost weekend" period, when he was separated from Yoko Ono). Personally, I don't understand the criticism at all. "Walls And Bridges" a "weak" album? Nonsense! Whatever personal problems Lennon was going through during this period, I think he still cranked out a fantastic album. Mind you, I enjoy all of John's solo stuff, including such classics as "Plastic Ono Band," "Imagine," and his songs on "Double Fantasy," but there's just something about "Walls And Bridges" that appeals to me the most. What else can I say? I think the songs, the production, and of course, John's singing and songwriting is just wonderful on this disc. There are memorable melodies and performances throughout "Walls And Bridges." Great songs include "Going Down On Love," the #1 hit "Whatever Gets You Through The Night" (featuring Elton John), the jazz-rock throwdown "What You Got," the gorgeous feel of "Bless You," the atmospheric dreamscapes of "#9 Dream," the powerful "Steel And Glass," the funky instrumental "Beef Jerky," and the classic Lennon ballad "Nobody Loves You (When You're Down And Out)". These songs are absolutely amongst Lennon's best work, so don't tell me that this album is weak. If I'm alone in my opinion that "Walls And Bridges" is the best solo album Lennon ever recorded, then so be it. Maybe I'm just weird. But I totally love John Lennon's "Walls And Bridges" and I always have. I hope you will, too."

The Lost Weekend Album

Wayne Klein | My Little Blue Window, USA | 11/28/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

""Walls and Bridges" was the remains of the "lost weekend". Alcohol dominated Lennon's life during this period. The album isn't as tough sounding as other Lennon albums from earlier and, in fact, it seems Lennon was trying to rediscover his sense of melody and produce something as lush as McCartney's "Ram". While "Walls and Bridges" doesn't measure up to Lennon's first two solo albums, it more than compensates with melodic, rich songs that feature some of the most interesting arrangements of any from his solo career. While the music is a tad inconsistent with filler, the best tracks here compare well to Lennon's best material as a solo artist.



The new reissue has a mix of remixed/remastered tracks for the album. While this edition sounds improved compared to the cloudy first edition, it isn't as large a difference as "Mind Games" or even "Sometime in New York City" (which always sounded a bit muddy to me). The good news is that the best tracks here stand up very well to Lennon's best material; "Going Down on Love", "#9 Dream", "Nobody Loves You When You're Down and Out", "Surprise, Surprise" and others may lack the fire of the primal scream albums but they make up for it with some of Lennon's best vocal performances. it also features Lennon's biggest #1 hit until his death "Whatever Gets You Through the Night" recorded with Elton John. Fans know the story that John predicted it would be a #1 and bet Lennon that it would be. John challenged Lennon to appear in concert with him for the number if it did become a #1 hit. True to his word, Lennon did appear and Lennon performs the song with John (it is missing his performance of "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" which Elton John sang lead vocals on as it was his single at the time). Also included is a nice early version of "Nobody Loves You" and an interview with John. While it isn't John's best album, it has enough of his fire and talent in it to make it worthwhile for Beatles and Lennon fans. Like McCartney, Lennon did indeed endure an artistic slump as he lost his place in the changing world of rock music during the 70's but his talent never deserted him. If anything Lennon could have used an outside producer to help him consolidate and weed through his ordinary songs vs. the gems on this album.



Although I understand Yoko's reluctance to include "Move Over Ms. L" (since it's written about their "break up")as a bonus track here, it was written around the same time and would have fit perfectly. I'm not really clear as to why it wasn't included since it isn't on any of the other albums. Strange days indeed. It's a minor criticism at best and some of the remixed tracks here are a relevation such as "Going Down on Love".



I really dislike the redesign of the cover and prefer Lennon's original one (which I still have as an LP). The original cover folded out with the picture of Lennon sticking out his tongue on the flip side. I would have loved to see the original album cover reproduced (and, in fact, ordered the import edition in hopes that it would reproduce it but it doesn't). The booklet reproduces the original 12 page booklet that came with the album pretty accurately (I haven't broken it out yet for a head-to-head comparison though).



"

A Great Record!

Kenneth Eckerty | NW, Florida | 06/14/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Forget what the critics say concerning his "lost weekend" period. The songs on this album are among his best written. #9 Dream, Steel and Glass, Bless You, When You're Down are among the best songs on this album. "Whatever Gets You through the Night" was his number 1 song co-written with Elton John, and as much as I like that song, it isn't even close to being the best on the album.



While I think that his first solo (Plastic Ono Band) was his best, this is my second favorite.



Buy it, you'll like it."