John Lennon

[ep1str0phy]

So--granted all the talk about the Beatles reissues--here's something a little different:

I'm actually a pretty big fan of the Yoko Ono/Plastic Ono band album, and I think Lennon's playing is totally unheralded. If he were anyone but a former Beatle, we'd be talking about him in the same breadth as Ray Russell, Masayuki Takayanagi, and, dare I say it, Sonny Sharrock--not that his playing on that album is quite as technically accomplished as any of those individual players' idioms, but it's pretty fantastic... proto-Arto Lindsay in that sort of clustery, ultra-rhythmic, anarchic kind of way.

A lot of Lennon's solo features with the Beatles, come to think of it, have a savantish, No Wave kind of charm--his distorted barking on the "The End" guitar battle, the wiry, somewhat uncontrolled fills on "Get Back," (what I assume to be) his propulsive, almost rock pianistic triplet solo on "Yer Blues."

Does anyone ever talk about his playing in these terms? I recall, actually, chewing the fat with Fred Frith, who mentioned that he had seen the concert that wound up on Two Virgins (from memory, so not 100% sure). Fred was apparently bored to death by most of the proceedings of the concert (John Stevens and John Tchicai were there ?!), but he found the Lennon/Ono pairing really compelling.

I love the Beatles, but/and Yoko Ono and the Lennon/Ono duo are pretty awesome, in my eyes.

Edited September 17, 2009 by ep1str0phy

[clifford_thornton]

I agree re Lennon's playing with Plastic Ono Band. It's pretty woolly and primitive, and the recording quality brings out a nice, tinny quality (perhaps using cheap guitar/amp as well).

But I don't know about the rest of the catalog, have pretty much unequivocally avoided it because I find them mostly boring.

[Big Al]

A lot of Lennon's solo features with the Beatles, come to think of it, have a savantish, No Wave kind of charm--his distorted barking on the "The End" guitar battle, the wiry, somewhat uncontrolled fills on "Get Back," (what I assume to be) his propulsive, almost rock pianistic triplet solo on "Yer Blues."

Yeah yeah yeah on "Yer Blues!" As well as the off-meter buzzsaw-sounding solo on "I Call Your Name." I agree that Lennon's guitar-playing is underrated, and I would also argue that one could make the case that Lennon was one of the best rhythm-guitar player ever, right up there with Chuck Berry and Keith Richards.

[JETman]

A lot of Lennon's solo features with the Beatles, come to think of it, have a savantish, No Wave kind of charm--his distorted barking on the "The End" guitar battle, the wiry, somewhat uncontrolled fills on "Get Back," (what I assume to be) his propulsive, almost rock pianistic triplet solo on "Yer Blues."

Yeah yeah yeah on "Yer Blues!" As well as the off-meter buzzsaw-sounding solo on "I Call Your Name." I agree that Lennon's guitar-playing is underrated, and I would also argue that one could make the case that Lennon was one of the best rhythm-guitar player ever, right up there with Chuck Berry and Keith Richards.

Agreed. Lennon could definitely rock. Played a hell of a lead when given the chance. One of my musical heroes, and the reason my daughter is named Julia!

[Brad]

A lot of Lennon's solo features with the Beatles, come to think of it, have a savantish, No Wave kind of charm--his distorted barking on the "The End" guitar battle, the wiry, somewhat uncontrolled fills on "Get Back," (what I assume to be) his propulsive, almost rock pianistic triplet solo on "Yer Blues."

Yeah yeah yeah on "Yer Blues!" As well as the off-meter buzzsaw-sounding solo on "I Call Your Name." I agree that Lennon's guitar-playing is underrated, and I would also argue that one could make the case that Lennon was one of the best rhythm-guitar player ever, right up there with Chuck Berry and Keith Richards.

Agreed. Lennon could definitely rock. Played a hell of a lead when given the chance. One of my musical heroes, and the reason my daughter is named Julia!

Well, that's cool about your daughter. Very neat.

[AllenLowe]

how do we know Lennon is playing guitar on those Beatles things? My money is on Paul -

[JETman]

how do we know Lennon is playing guitar on those Beatles things? My money is on Paul -

Because I was there

[ep1str0phy]

That would hurt my brain. For whatever it's worth:

[Chalupa]

I never appreciated how creative he was on the guitar until I learned how to play "Dear Prudence" and "Julia" . Simple yet intricate, melodic guitar parts. Amazing really when you consider he had no formal musical training. But yeah he could get his free freaky thing on too.

[BruceH]

So--granted all the talk about the Beatles reissues--here's something a little different:

I'm actually a pretty big fan of the Yoko Ono/Plastic Ono band album, and I think Lennon's playing is totally unheralded. If he were anyone but a former Beatle, we'd be talking about him in the same breadth as Ray Russell, Masayuki Takayanagi, and, dare I say it, Sonny Sharrock--not that his playing on that album is quite as technically accomplished as any of those individual players' idioms, but it's pretty fantastic... proto-Arto Lindsay in that sort of clustery, ultra-rhythmic, anarchic kind of way.

A lot of Lennon's solo features with the Beatles, come to think of it, have a savantish, No Wave kind of charm--his distorted barking on the "The End" guitar battle, the wiry, somewhat uncontrolled fills on "Get Back," (what I assume to be) his propulsive, almost rock pianistic triplet solo on "Yer Blues."

Does anyone ever talk about his playing in these terms? I recall, actually, chewing the fat with Fred Frith, who mentioned that he had seen the concert that wound up on Two Virgins (from memory, so not 100% sure). Fred was apparently bored to death by most of the proceedings of the concert (John Stevens and John Tchicai were there ?!), but he found the Lennon/Ono pairing really compelling.

I love the Beatles, but/and Yoko Ono and the Lennon/Ono duo are pretty awesome, in my eyes.

I agree. That first solo album is musically remarkable in a number of ways, but not least for Lennon's guitar playing and Ringo's drumming.

[ep1str0phy]

Oh, let's not forget Ringo. He kills it on both parts of Plastic Ono Band, though I can only wonder what he was thinking when the whole thing was going down. Rock steady.

There was a Downbeat (?) feature on Hendrix's influence on jazz a while back, and I think it was Branford Marsalis who said that Band of Gypsys achieved the grease that the Beatles and Led Zeppelin got close to--but I'd be damned if even Buddy Miles could lay it down as straight, fat, and relaxed as Ringo's drumming on those Plastic Ono Band albums... close to no embellishment, just perfectly minimalist.

[Brad]

That would hurt my brain. For whatever it's worth:

What we would have given to be there.

[Teasing the Korean]

Supposedly, Lennon played the (excellent) solo on "You Can't Do That." Rumor has it that he didn't like George's solo on the A side, "Can't Buy Me Love," so he figured he'd play the solo on the B-side.

Can anyone confirm this? It certainly sounds like John playing.

[marcello]

Does anyone ever talk about his playing in these terms? I recall, actually, chewing the fat with Fred Frith, who mentioned that he had seen the concert that wound up on Two Virgins (from memory, so not 100% sure). Fred was apparently bored to death by most of the proceedings of the concert (John Stevens and John Tchicai were there ?!), but he found the Lennon/Ono pairing really compelling.

That's on Unfinished Music No.2: Life with the Lions, on Zapple Records, a LP that I actually have held on to for some reason.

"The album opens with an extended and improvised recording entitled "Cambridge 1969", recorded on 2 March at Cambridge University, before a live audience. The piece consists of Yoko Ono's vocalisations accompanied by electric guitar feedback from John Lennon. Saxophonist John Tchicai and percussionist John Stevens join Ono and Lennon towards the end of the piece."

Recorded live 2nd March 1969 at Lady Mitchell Hall, Cambridge

Personnel :

Yoko - Vocals

John - Guitar

John Tchicai - Saxophone

John Stevens - Percussion

Introduced by Yoko, she says :

"This is a piece called Cambridge 1969".

This is the very first solo performance of a Beatle, and includes John producing feedback from his guitar with Yoko doing her own thing. Her first screech lasts almost 45 seconds, and then it doesn`t get any better... screeches and feedback almost incessantly (my children were none too pleased when I played this to time it for this research !)

The other two performers listed appear towards the end of the piece, and in fact performed for longer but this was faded out.

MORE HERE and HERE

Yes, it's boring, to say the least.

Edited September 18, 2009 by marcello

[ep1str0phy]

Whoops. I guess a single google search would have sufficed to fact-check my last statement. Maybe more compelling in person? Fred was pretty transfixed by it.

Somehow the surreal SME/Ono band pairing brings to mind (for me) the even more surreal Live Peace Toronto version of the Ono band, with Clapton on guitar. Again, I don't have the recording in front of me, but I think he stays in for the duration of the free jam "Don't Worry Kyoko (Mummy's Only Looking for Her Hand in the Snow"--which is, if anything, rawer and less controlled than the stuff on Yoko Ono/Plastic Ono Band.

[ep1str0phy]

Supposedly, Lennon played the (excellent) solo on "You Can't Do That." Rumor has it that he didn't like George's solo on the A side, "Can't Buy Me Love," so he figured he'd play the solo on the B-side.

Can anyone confirm this? It certainly sounds like John playing.

This video would seem to confirm your suspicions, TTK:

[ep1str0phy]

RE: Clapton--this video answered my own question. The look on his face is priceless:

Clapton having Cream/pseudo-harmolodic flashbacks in Toronto.

[skeith]

Supposedly, Lennon played the (excellent) solo on "You Can't Do That." Rumor has it that he didn't like George's solo on the A side, "Can't Buy Me Love," so he figured he'd play the solo on the B-side.

Can anyone confirm this? It certainly sounds like John playing.

This video would seem to confirm your suspicions, TTK:

Not really - I am pretty sure that is a lip-synched performance. DId you notice there are no microphones for the singers and the electric guitars have no chords coming out of them? Also people in the audience dancing only inches away from Lennon and clapping hands and yet those sounds not picked up.

Finally, this sounds exactly like the recorded version.

I rest my case.

[AllenLowe]

your case needs a rest.

(sorry, couldn't resist that old Steve Allen line)

actually, I agree with you -

Edited September 21, 2009 by AllenLowe

[ep1str0phy]

It's a logical leap, but the fact that Lennon syncs to the solo makes me think that it was his to begin with. (Unless there's another instance of John/George trading solos for live syncing. For the hell of it?)

Too much youtube after late? Yes, I think so.

Supposedly, Lennon played the (excellent) solo on "You Can't Do That." Rumor has it that he didn't like George's solo on the A side, "Can't Buy Me Love," so he figured he'd play the solo on the B-side.

Can anyone confirm this? It certainly sounds like John playing.

This video would seem to confirm your suspicions, TTK:

Not really - I am pretty sure that is a lip-synched performance. DId you notice there are no microphones for the singers and the electric guitars have no chords coming out of them? Also people in the audience dancing only inches away from Lennon and clapping hands and yet those sounds not picked up.

Finally, this sounds exactly like the recorded version.

I rest my case.

[AllenLowe]

well in that case I'm going to start lip-synching Charlie Parker solos -

[skeith]

well maybe - I am not sure that Lennon is synching to the solo and the cameramen for a lot of these rock shows were clueless about who they should focus on.

It's a logical leap, but the fact that Lennon syncs to the solo makes me think that it was his to begin with. (Unless there's another instance of John/George trading solos for live syncing. For the hell of it?)

Too much youtube after late? Yes, I think so.

Supposedly, Lennon played the (excellent) solo on "You Can't Do That." Rumor has it that he didn't like George's solo on the A side, "Can't Buy Me Love," so he figured he'd play the solo on the B-side.

Can anyone confirm this? It certainly sounds like John playing.

This video would seem to confirm your suspicions, TTK:

Not really - I am pretty sure that is a lip-synched performance. DId you notice there are no microphones for the singers and the electric guitars have no chords coming out of them? Also people in the audience dancing only inches away from Lennon and clapping hands and yet those sounds not picked up.

Finally, this sounds exactly like the recorded version.

I rest my case.

[ep1str0phy]

OK--this is ridiculous to the extent that every live video of YCDT cuts away from Lennon at the guitar solo, but in this one:

YCDT

Which is pretty clearly live, George isn't playing the solo. In this one:

This one:

YCDT

You can actually catch a second of the solo, but it goes by so fast that it's hard to tell if it's George or John (by George's right hand, it looks like he's playing the rhythm part, right down to the psuedo-lead chording right before it cuts to Ringo).

Enough to convince me, but then I always get thrown off of juries...

Edited September 21, 2009 by ep1str0phy

[AllenLowe]

well, people ask me how I ever played that solo on Koko - I tell 'em, lots of heroin and a good rhythm section -

[ep1str0phy]

And cutting away when it's your turn to play.