Imagine
Lennon Legend
The U.S. vs. John Lennon
Plastic Ono Band
Working Class Hero
Milk and Honey
CD Reviews
Big Improvement Over the 1990 Edition
Ho Chi Minh | Texas | 12/16/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I recently purchased the 2005 STINYC, it Sounds much better than My previous CD, the Muddy 1990 version; The Songs are Dated, of course, stuck in a 1972 Time Capsule, with Extreme Left-Leanings, but they mostly Rock hard and retain a Passion for their Subject matters. Dylan must have heard "Angela", as He followed with His Leftist Hit "George Jackson" (Angela Davis' Imprisoned Lover, Shot Dead while attempting a Jailbreak for those who don't know) soon after; "Sinclair" has excellent Slide Guitar from Lennon, and "Sisters" shows this is a True collaborative effort from John/Yoko....I like the Single Disc 2005 Edition, the 1990 CD was a Double Set that had the Jams relegated to Disc 2, which I tossed out as mostly irrelevant, but I'm glad the best of that side, and 2 Bonus Cuts are presented Here to fill out 75 minutes, Good/Wise Editing from Yoko in My Opinion...."
A very mixed bag
J. Harper | Houston, tx United States | 08/30/2006
(3 out of 5 stars)
"For me, and I may be alone on this, the comedic highlight of the album is in the live portion when John is tearing through "Baby Please Don't Go" and in between the Lennon's phrases Yoko injects her, and I use the term lightly here, "singing". It just has to be heard to be believed. You could not make this kind of stuff up. You could NOT make it up. The remaster sounds good and the big surprise is that this album rocks. I go around humming "Attica State" sometimes and there are a lot of nice musical touches, the slide guitars on John Sinclair or the chord changes of "Woman is the Nigger of the World". The new CD is cut (this does not include all of the original album) but does sound pretty good. I had an original 8-track of this album, still laying around the house somewhere, and I don't think the cuts will be missed much unless you just have to hear everything.
This is a very mixed bag but John is in spectacular voice. If anyone else had done this album it would have been a total bomb (why does this remind me of Elvis' early 1960s recordings). This is not the place to start digging into Lennon's albums, "John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band" would be my vote for that, but it does have enough merit to venture a listen to, a very quirky cause-of-the-moment kind of album."
Nostalgia and finally in my price range!
G. Wallace | Hilliard, OH USA | 09/02/2006
(3 out of 5 stars)
"another fine restoration supervised by Yoko Ono. I think this was a commercial and career disaster for Lennon when it was released at some sky high price during the 1972 election campaign. Now it's an interesting period piece. Feminism was the hot topic that year, and Lennon sang about it like a recent convert in "Woman is the Nigger". Lyrics get silly but the vocal and production are first rate. Elephant's Memory was a nice backing group with at least one radio hit of their own ("Mongoose" I think). Yoko's "Sisters O Sisters" is lyrically quaint and musically very witty as it sort of evokes the Phil Spector heyday. And I love the singing couple on "Born in a Prison" although the lyric gets very silly. And Yoko does ruin "Luck of the Irish" with her "blarney." And her willful avoidance of western pop singing tradition can seem very strange. She also misses rhythm and meter on the "Water" song. The best Lennon numbers from this record are on the new soundtrack about his persecution from the U.S. federal government. But you'd miss the great live vocal on "Baby Please Don't Go".
Basically Ono went for broadly general artistic statements and Lennon wrote songs as almost a visceral response to heavy handed violence practiced by various governments. Unfortunately his fascination with all things "instant" prevented him from rounding these protests into strong songs."
Sometime is still better than no time at all
majestikmoose9 | Kansas City, KS USA | 11/28/2005
(4 out of 5 stars)
"As you are undoubtedly aware, Sometime in New York City is not typically grouped together with Lennon's strongest albums. In fact, it's often considered to be his worst.
As far as the remaster/remix goes, however, this is a tremendous leap from the 1990 CD release (or even the original LP, for that matter). The sound is very clean and crisp overall, as opposed to the somewhat muddled/muffled sound of the 1990 version. And while it's true that the topics of John and Yoko's political protests, like "John Sinclair" and "Attica State," haven't exactly kept with the times, the songs still sound fresher than ever.
Although some may grumble and complain about the album's political slant, each song from the original first disc is very listenable. I have never been much of a Yoko fan myself, so I was surprised to find "Sisters, O Sisters" and "We're All Water" quite enjoyable. And of course, Lennon's tracks are filled with his biting lyric and sharp voice that keep the album rolling smoothly.
The live jam "bonus" disc (some would call the phrase "bonus disc" a cruel joke in this case) has been ditched entirely, save for "Cold Turkey," "Don't Worry Kyoko," and "Well Baby Please Don't Go," the strongest songs of the jam. Thankfully, Yoko was wise enough to keep "Jamrag," "Scumbag," and "Au" off the album. Thank God. Although these three tracks are certainly the weakest on the album (and I am sure that Yoko herself knows this), they provide the listener with just enough (and not too much) of the performance with Zappa to stay interested.
The album closes with two bonus tracks, "Listen The Snow Is Falling" and "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)," neither of which really fit in but are still a suitable and enjoyable close to the album.
While it may be true that this album isn't one of the highlights of Lennon's collection, it is an essential piece for any Lennon (or Ono) fan. Don't let someone else tell you what to think of this album without hearing it for yourself first. You may be surprised to find that it isn't so bad after all."
Sometime in the 21st Century
T-Ro | St. Louis, MO | 11/23/2005
(3 out of 5 stars)
"Aside from their late '60s experimental albums, "Sometime in New York City" remains Johnandyoko's weakest effort. Yoko improves this remastered reissue by shaving off half of the "Live Jam" portion, with "Jambag," "Scumbag" and "Au" all coming under the ax. Oddly, she also edits her own "Don't Worry Kyoko (Mummy's Only Looking for a Hand in the Snow)" and takes two minutes off of the end of "We're All Water," probably her best song on the album. She adds the single "Happy Xmas (War is Over)" and her own terrific "Listen, the Snow is Falling." Over all, it's an improvement on any prior edition, but especially over the muddy-sounding 1990 CD."
Track Listings (15) - Disc #1