I can feel you there (Julian Lennon) #237 - 238

Julian Lennon  Valotte/ Well I Don't Know (Charisma, JL1, 1984)

Julian Lennon  Say You're Wrong/ Bebop (Charisma, JL3, 1985)

We haven't quite finished with the Lennon clan yet. 

Cynthia and John Lennon's only son, John Charles Julian Lennon, embarked on an unlikely music career following his father's death. 

Both the A sides by Julian (named in honour of John's mother - Julia) come from his debut album, also called Valotte. 

The A side songs are actually pretty good in a poppy sort of way. Phil Ramone's production is sympathetic. 

The biggest distraction/ appeal is Julian's voice which can be quite similar to John's
with certain inflections but he has none of John's rawness. It's tough to be too hard on the kid though. Not his fault he shares DNA with the greatest rock and roller of all time is it?

Hidden gems: Well I Don't know is a song about his dad and Bebop is the rarity - it didn't appear on the parent album. Bebop suffers from the horrors of an eighties production but Well I Don't Know is pleasant. Can't call them gems though - sorry Julian.

A cloudburst doesn't last all day (Hari Georgeson)

I've been catching up on my reading of late. We sent home 22 boxes of stuff from the Middle East and after an eternity (five months) they finally arrived at Wozza's place in August. A few of the boxes contained my stockpiled CDs, DVDs, and books. It was like Christmas at our place!

A lot of the books I had put on the shelf in Al Ain and knew I'd read them when I got home - mainly music books, and mainly large format Beatles related coffee table epics bought at the Dubai Mall.

So far I've made my way through May Pang's Instamatic Lennon - catchy name for her (slight) photograph book; Bob Gruen's John Lennon - The New York Years; Julian Lennon's Beatle's Memorabilia; Chris O'Dell's opportunistic Miss O'Dell; and Fab Four Faq.

The Bob Gruen collection of photos and text is the best of that bunch. Julian's collection of Beatles memorabilia is pretty slight - mainly a collection of Gold Records. It looks good though.

I'm currently working my way through Fab Four Faq 2.0 which concerns the 1970-80 decade of Beatle solo doings, before launching into Olivia Harrison's huge book called George Harrison - Living In The Material World.

The Fab Four Faq 2.0 is a better book than the first volume as it concerns itself with stuff that most Beatle books neglect - the 'what happened next?' stuff of the seventies which is where I really started to collect and appreciate the solo efforts and which, in turn, led me back into the Beatles music.

Ringo's solo efforts are fascinating to consider. I own every single one - that's also fascinating to consider (I also continue to collect every Yoko album). I eventually got to the point where I just had to keep on having them (knowing what I was in for) but it didn't start out that way.

I began with Ringo in 1973 and loved it instantly. Goodnight Vienna and Ringo's Rotogravure also had substantial merits that kept me hooked. From there I backtracked eventually to his first two false starts Sentimental Journey and Beaucoups of Blues. It's clear why Ringo considers his solo career starts with Ringo. After Ringo I've collected every album on its release. Bad Boy severely tested my resolve but I persevered.

His latest album is called Ringo 2012. Smart guy tapping into that feel good Brit feeling that's been so prevalent this year. It's not bad (nothing will ever plumb the depths of Bad Boy) but it's hardly essential.

And yet - when a random track came up on my ipod shuffle the other day it stood out in an unexpectedly pleasant way. And that cheered me up no end. I was made up that the still lovable Ringo is still putting out albums that contain songs that can do that to me.

Cheers Ritchie!

Out in the great wide open, a rebel without a clue (Tom Petty)

Following on from the Baxter Dury post, I thought I'd focus on some more famous parent/progeny musical relationships.

Rock and Roll is such a new musical form that the idea of sons and daughters following in the musical footsteps of their famous parents is still pretty new. I can't think of any grandparent/ grandchildren relationships for that reason (they obviously exist in older music genres like folk, jazz and blues).


It seems to me that it is largely a poisoned chalice being born to a gifted and/or famous musician. How the hell does anyone follow on from a Beatle, or a Dylan?

Impossible I would have thought, but it hasn't stopped Jakob Dylan trying to carve out a career, and nor should it when you think about it, but what must it feel like following in those footsteps?

Some famous rock and roll progeny:

• John Lennon - Julian Lennon, Sean Lennon
• Paul McCartney - James McCartney
• George Harrison - Dhani Harrison
• Ringo Starr - Zak Starkey
• John Bonham - Jason Bonham
• Frank Zappa - Ahmet, Moon and Dweezil Zappa
• Loudon Wainwright III - Rufus and Martha Wainwright
• Tim Buckley - Jeff Buckley
• Jim Croce - A J Croce
• Ozzy Osbourne - Kelly Osbourne
• Eddie Van Halen - Wolfgang Van Halen
• Steven Stills - Chris and Jennifer Stills

None of these sprogs have outshone their famous parents. How can they?

Zak Starkey is a terrific drummer. He's played with The Who and Oasis but he'll never outshine the gear fab Ringo.


A J Croce went for a different genre than his singer songwriter dad but with limited success.


Dweezil has gone for a Zappa tribute show - playing his dad's songs and keeping the legacy alive with quite a lot of success but he'll never actually write a body of work that comes close to Frank.

The Wainwrights, Stills, Dylan and Buckley have all emerged as chips off the old blocks (tragically Jeff, like Tim, also died far too young). They have managed to create niche careers in music - albeit ones that always hover in the shadows of their more illustrious parents.

Others like Jason Bonham, Wolfie Van Halen, Moon Zappa and James McCartney have gone for a more musically obscure role in their fathers' bands which seems to be one way of getting around the problem. If you can't beat 'em, join 'em.

That leaves the Lennon blood brothers. Problem.

I feel for them both. I really do.

Imagine writing a lyric, composing a pop song, knowing in your heart of hearts that it will immediately be compared to Beatle John; that it won't measure up - how can it?; wondering how much their name and how much their talent secured the record deal and lead people like me to buy their product; trying to live up to an ideal image of the greatest songwriter of the rock era (I'm biased).

Like I said: Problem. But I wish them well. And I'll continue buying their albums (Julian has a new one out soon apparently http://www.list.co.uk/article/37431-julian-lennon-releasing-new-solo-album/) as long as albums exist.