Come together (The Beatles) (LP 2106)

John Lennon  Live In New York City (Vinyl, Parlophone Records, 1986) ****  

Genre: Beatle related pop 

Places I remember: Marbecks Records

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Come Together

Gear costume: Imagine 

Active compensatory factors: This is John's last full concert, also known as the One To One benefit concert for Willowbrook School in New York.

Elephant's Memory are billed as Plastic Ono Elephants Memory for the occasion.  

It's all pretty sloppy, but essential, if you know what I mean.

 

John sounds nervous or apologetic, the band are not in sparkling form (as they could be in the studio), Yoko takes a back seat...but it's still mesmerizing. It's John and Yoko's last concert together so there's an added poignancy.

John remains the centre of my attention throughout the concert. These days you can see the whole concert on youtube but back in 1972 only the people at the concert could experience the splendor of John Lennon live.

It's also good to finally have an official version of the concert, rather than the many bootleg versions out there. Although having a full version with other acts that appeared at Madison Square Garden with the Lennons would be nice.

Where do they all belong? As a final concert - it's historic.

New York City (John Lennon, Yoko Ono) (LP 1049 - 1050)

John & Yoko/ Plastic Ono Band with Elephant's Memory  Sometime In New York City (Vinyl and CD, Apple Records, 1974) ****  

John Lennon with Frank Zappa  The Fillmore Tapes (CD, Master of Orange, Bootleg) ****  

Genre: Pop, rock, Apple Records

Places I remember: DJ Records (for the vinyl); Real Groovy Records (CD) for the 2010 double CD version.

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: New York City

Gear costume: Well (baby please don't go)

Active compensatory factors: After Imagine I was really keen for more Lennon and so the vinyl version was bought on release in 1972. Dad brought it home for me from Otahuhu's DJ Records.

I had Zappa's Fillmore East live album from 1971 so I was familiar with him and the art work which SINYC takes as a source material for the second (live) album in this package.

I genuinely loved this record in 1972. I pored over the artwork and I loved many of the songs on the studio set: John Sinclair; The Luck Of The Irish; We're All Water; Woman is the Nigger Of The World; and New York City were often on my teenage turntable.

Then there's the live stuff - a relentlessly intense Cold Turkey is amazing and I loved the Zappa side. John and Yoko just slot right into the Zappa universe.

The second of these albums, The Fillmore Tapes, is for collectors only I suspect. It's a bootleg and features three different versions of the Fillmore tapes. First up is a non edited version direct from the mixing board (it sounds terrible), then Zappa's mix and finally Lennon's original mix (from SINYC).

The Zappa mix is also available on his album Playground Psychotics. I like his version as it pushes the music more to the fore (it would though wouldn't it), but overall the Lennon mix is better.

BTW The Wikipedia entry for this collaboration effort between Lennon and Ono is fantastic.

Where do they all belong? On to some Mind Games next in the Lennon countdown.

Local Plastic Ono Band (Elephant's Memory) (LP 333)

Elephant's Memory Elephant's Memory (LP, 1972) ****

Genre:  Apple/ Dark Horse/ Ring O'Records

Places I remember: George Courts (K Rd)

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Power Boogie




Gear costume:  Chuck 'n Bo, Liberation Special

Active compensatory factors: John was obviously drawn to the gritty Nu Yawk power boogie essentials of Elephant's Memory. For a time there (March to November 1972) they were his go to backing band for his and Yoko's albums. 

They are competent on Lennon's stuff, fantastic on Yoko's and (at times) awesome on this 'solo' album. Maybe John as sideman (guitar, vocals, percussion, piano) and producer freed him up to have a good time!  

Whatever, the songs are infectious, the delivery is spot on with in-yer-face production from John and Yoko.

Not sure what they were thinking with the cover though!

Where do they all belong? John and Yoko would use them again for Yoko's Approximately Infinite Universe, released in 1973, and that was it - didn't use them again.