Lost album from "The Lost Weekend"
yokoboy@hotmail.com | Northern California, USA | 02/10/1999
(3 out of 5 stars)
"In 1974 John & Yoko briefly separated, John moving to L.A., Yoko staying in New York. During this period, John released two LPs, 'Walls & Bridges' and 'Rock and Roll'. Though it appeared at the time that Yoko was not doing anything, in reality she was touring her native Japan and recording this album. The album was shelved after her reconciliation with Lennon.Many of the albums tracks have been re-recorded and are featured on other albums, and most of the album was featured as disc 6 of the Onobox. This cd release marks the first time the complete album has seen the light of day in over 20 years. Although many tracks were re-recorded later, the highlights of the album seem to lie in the ones that were not.Of the re-recordings, there are some that faired better in their original forms as released on this album ("Loneliness", "Dogtown"); others were better suited in their new versions ("Will You Touch Me", "Tomorrow May Never Come"); while others are just too different in style to compare to their re-recorded versions ("She Gets Down on Her Knees", "Hard Times Are Over"). The one song that did not change much is "It Happened". In the '81 release of the song, there is a dialog between John & Yoko before the song begins, also Yoko starts the final refrain later than on this original version, but other than that, the song remains the same.As mentioned earlier, the highlights of the album are in the songs that were never re-recorded. Songs like the eerie "Winter Friend", the lively "Heartburn Stew" and what could have easily been the album's single, "Yes, I'm A Witch". Also noteworthy is the title track, a story of a girl who couldn't speak her mind and a boy who couldn't say what he wanted meeting and falling in love. Definitely autobiographical of the John & Yoko story.This release features 3 bonus tracks: early home demos of "Extention 33" and "Anatano Te" (later released as "Your Hands"), and a live acapella version of the final refrain from "Now or Never" recorded during her 1986 "Starpeace World Tour". Although this album serves as a placemark in chronicalizing Yoko's music, it is not one of her better bodys of work. Perhaps it was a wise choice to hold off on it's release until later."
Nice CD
Matthew P. Carroll | Bordentown, NJ | 09/14/2004
(4 out of 5 stars)
"A great CD. Not Yoko's best as were Feeling The Space and "AIU". The vocals aren't as crisp and clear. But the writing and arrangements are superb, as always with Yoko.."
Track Listings (14) - Disc #1