Recordings
The sessions were with record producer Phil Spector, mostly between 21 and 22 August 1972 at Studio Instrument Rentals (SIR Studios), a room in Manhattan, New York, which began operations late this year. The album title is an obvious pun between this name studio and the British honorary title of "Sir," although Lennon himself was never entitled to use it.
The only exceptions were "Honey Hush" and the "jam session" by Yoko Ono, recorded on 18 August at the Butterfly Studio and 20 and 22 August at the Fillmore East theatre, both venues in the same city. These last sessions have a sound quality significantly of lower quality.
As usual in this type of unofficial recordings, the audio is not optimal from the original tape and was one of the main reasons why it never was released at the time. The rehearsals were published in 1995 on CD by the Italian label Moonlight Records, that acquired the rights to use this recordings.
Along with A Toot and a Snore in '74 , this is one of the bootlegs of rehearsals by John Lennon lesser known, and never included in compilations.
Context
Rehearsals were recorded in a time when John Lennon's career began to take radically a different turn after his peak period as a political activist (see Bed-In and Bagism ).
The change in musical direction came amid several problems: the commercial failure of his controversial album Some Time in New York City (released just two months ago), including the various geo-political events that shook the world in 1972 and finally, there was an artist's stated desire to return to his usual rock and roll music. After nearly two years of trying to shape the project, Lennon would make it culminated in 1975 with the release of his album Rock 'n' Roll , but only included his version of ""Ain't That a Shame," from the tested songs in 1972. In an interview in 1975, Lennon said this about Rock 'n' Roll: "It started in '73 with Phil," [1] but never said nothing about his rehearsals in SIR Studios, one year before.
It's not very clear that these recordings were originated directly for the concert on 30 August 1972 at Madison Square Garden (which was filmed and released under the name Live in New York City until 1986), because it has very few the songs performed on the show: only was performed "Come Together" and "Hound Dog." Lennon probably only would consider possible songs for future recordings in the studio, without being certain of what is going to play in the upcoming concert.
This CD consists primarily of classic songs from rock and roll and the only one Lennon song "Come Together." The songs credited to Yoko Ono is some blues rock improvisations with spontaneous screaming from her. "We're All Water" is an Ono song included in Some Time in New York City.
The editing eliminated much of the dialogue between John and the band, focusing on the interpretation of the songs.
Some Time in New York City is a part-studio, part-live double album by John Lennon and Yoko Ono as Plastic Ono Band that included backing by the American rock band Elephant's Memory. Released in June 1972 in the US and in September 1972 in the UK on Apple Records, it is Lennon's sixth album to be released under his own name, and his fourth with Ono. Like Lennon's previous solo albums, it was co-produced by Lennon, Ono and Phil Spector. The album's agitprop lyrics are politically charged compared to its predecessors, addressing political and social issues and topics such as sexism, incarceration, colonialism, and racism.
Rock 'n' Roll is the sixth and final solo studio album by English musician John Lennon. Released in February 1975, it is an album of late 1950s and early 1960s songs as covered by Lennon. Recording the album was problematic and spanned an entire year: Phil Spector produced sessions in October 1973 at A&M Studios, and Lennon produced sessions in October 1974 at the Record Plant (East). Lennon was being sued by Morris Levy over copyright infringement of one line in his song "Come Together". As part of an agreement, Lennon had to include three Levy-owned songs on Rock 'n' Roll. Spector disappeared with the session recordings and was subsequently involved in a motor accident, leaving the album's tracks unrecoverable until the beginning of the Walls and Bridges sessions. With Walls and Bridges coming out first, featuring one Levy-owned song, Levy sued Lennon expecting to see Lennon's Rock 'n' Roll album.
Double Fantasy is the fifth studio album by John Lennon and Yoko Ono, and the final one to feature Lennon before his death. Released in November 1980 on Geffen Records, the album marked Lennon's return to recording music full-time, following his five-year hiatus to raise his son Sean. Recording sessions took place at the Hit Factory in New York City between August and October 1980. The final album features songs from both Lennon and Ono, largely alternating between the two in its track listing. Other tracks recorded by Lennon from the sessions were compiled by Ono for release on Milk and Honey in 1984.
Live Peace in Toronto 1969 is a live album by the Plastic Ono Band, released in December 1969 on Apple Records. Recorded at the Toronto Rock and Roll Revival festival, it was the first live album released by any member of the Beatles separately or together. John Lennon and his wife Yoko Ono received a phone call from the festival's promoters John Brower and Kenny Walker, and then assembled a band on very short notice for the festival, which was due to start the following day. The band included Eric Clapton, Klaus Voormann, and drummer Alan White. The group flew from London, and had brief unamplified rehearsals on the plane before appearing on the stage to perform several songs; one of which, "Cold Turkey", was first performed live at the festival. After returning home, Lennon mixed the album in a day.
Unfinished Music No. 2: Life with the Lions is the second of three experimental albums of avant-garde music by John Lennon and Yoko Ono, released in May 1969 on Zapple, a sub label of Apple. It was a successor to 1968's highly controversial Unfinished Music No. 1: Two Virgins, and was followed by the Wedding Album. The album peaked in the United States at number 174, 50 places lower than the previous album. The album, whose title is a play on words of the BBC Radio show Life with The Lyons, was recorded at Queen Charlotte's Hospital in London and live at Cambridge University, in November 1968 and March 1969, respectively. The Cambridge performance, to which Ono had been invited and to which she brought Lennon, was Lennon and Ono's second as a couple. A few of the album's tracks were previewed by the public, thanks to Aspen magazine. The album was remastered in 1997.
Live in New York City is a posthumous live album by English rock musician John Lennon with the Plastic Ono Elephant's Memory Band. It was prepared under the supervision of his widow, Yoko Ono, and released in 1986 as his second official live album, the first being Live Peace in Toronto 1969.
Elephant's Memory was an American rock band formed in New York City in the late 1960s, known primarily for backing John Lennon and Yoko Ono from late 1971 to 1973. For live performances with Lennon and Ono, the band was known as the Plastic Ono Elephant's Memory Band.
John Lennon Anthology is a four-CD box set of home demos, studio outtakes and other previously unreleased material recorded by John Lennon over the course of his solo career from "Give Peace a Chance" in 1969 up until the 1980 sessions for Double Fantasy and Milk and Honey.
The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus was a concert film hosted by and featuring the Rolling Stones, filmed on 11–12 December 1968. It was directed by Michael Lindsay-Hogg, who proposed the idea of a "rock and roll circus" to Jagger. The show was filmed on a makeshift circus stage with Jethro Tull, The Who, Taj Mahal, Marianne Faithfull, and the Rolling Stones. John Lennon and his fiancee Yoko Ono performed as part of a one-shot supergroup called The Dirty Mac, featuring Eric Clapton on guitar, Mitch Mitchell on drums, and the Stones' Keith Richards on bass. The recently formed Led Zeppelin had been considered for inclusion, but the idea was rejected.
The Plastic Ono Band was a rock band formed by John Lennon and Yoko Ono in 1969 for their collaborative and solo projects based on their 1968 Fluxus conceptual art project of the same name.
"Yer Blues" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles, from their 1968 double album The Beatles. Though credited to Lennon–McCartney, the song was written and composed by John Lennon during the Beatles' retreat in Rishikesh, India. The song is a parody of blues music, specifically English imitators of blues.
Menlove Ave. is a 1986 compilation album by English rock musician John Lennon. It is the second posthumous release of Lennon's music, having been recorded during the sessions for his albums Walls and Bridges and Rock 'n' Roll. Menlove Ave. was released under the supervision of Yoko Ono, Lennon's widow.
Imagine: John Lennon is a soundtrack album of popular music compiled for the 1988 documentary film Imagine: John Lennon from songs written or co-written by John Lennon. Originally released that year as a double album, it now remains available on one CD.
Milk and Honey is the sixth and final studio album by John Lennon and Yoko Ono, released in January 1984, three years after Lennon’s murder. It is Lennon's eighth and final album, and the first posthumous release of new Lennon music, having been recorded in the last months of his life during and following the sessions for his 1980 album Double Fantasy. It was assembled by Yoko Ono in association with the Geffen label.
"Grow Old with Me" is one of the final songs written by John Lennon. It was recorded by Lennon as a demo while in Bermuda in 1980, and later appeared on the posthumous album Milk and Honey in 1984. It was also allegedly planned as a possible reunion single by his former bandmates during the making of The Beatles Anthology.
"Well Well Well" is a song by English musician John Lennon from his 1970 album John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band. The eighth and longest track on the album, "Well Well Well" features an aggressive guitar sound, screaming vocals and a pounding backing track.
Instant Karma: All-Time Greatest Hits, a three-disc compilation album of music recorded by John Lennon, is a budget release targeted for sale at warehouse-type stores such as Sam's Club and Costco. The album was released in 2002 by Timeless/Traditions Alive Music under license from Capitol/EMI Special Projects.
"We're All Water" is a song written by Yoko Ono that was first released on the 1972 John Lennon and Yoko Ono Plastic Ono Band album Some Time in New York City. It was the last song on the first record of the album, and the last song on the album that was recorded in the studio.
"Don't Worry Kyoko (Mummy's Only Looking for A Hand in the Snow)" is a song by Yoko Ono that was originally released by Plastic Ono Band in October 1969 as the B-side of John Lennon's single "Cold Turkey" and was later released on Ono's 1971 album Fly. Several live versions have been released, including on Live Peace in Toronto 1969 and Some Time in New York City in 1972. An early version was titled "Mum's Only Looking for Her Hand in the Snow". It has been covered by several other artists.
"Listen, the Snow Is Falling" is a song written by Yoko Ono and recorded by Ono and the Plastic Ono Band that was first released as the B-side of John Lennon's 1971 single "Happy Xmas ." A version of the song was later released on a reissue of Lennon and Ono's Wedding Album and was covered by Galaxie 500.
