ROCK'N'ROLL

by

John Lennon

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On the verge of retirement from music, John Lennon went back to the music he loved as a kid. "Rock 'n' Roll" came out just at the right time; punk was about to explode and bands like The Clash, Elvis Costello and the Attractions were only a couple of years away from revitalizing rock'n'roll. "Rock 'N'Roll" shows Lennon trying to catch his breath after a whirlwind of twelve years in the spotlight. Featuring superlative remakes of "Be-Bop-A-Lula", "Stand By Me" (which Lennon makes very much his own with his passionate almost pleading vocal), "You Can't Catch me" (one of the Chuck Berry songs that Lennon supposedly stole from for "Come Together". Beyond the hypnotic opening and a couple of lines, it's a very different song) and a stunning version of "Peggy Sue", it's clear that after "Walls & Bridges" that Lennon was looking to the past to inspire him. In fact, "Rock 'N' Roll" acts as a perfect bridge to Lennon's last finished album "Double Fantasy" that would come out five years later.

What matters here is whether or not the remixing/remastering process has improved the album. Yes and yes. While one can argue about remixing an album, Yoko Ono and remix engineer Peter Cobbin focus on cleaning up the album without making it sound sterile. There's still plenty of grit in these performances but the detail and sonic clarity has been improved enourmously.

We get four bonus tracks two of which have been released before on the "John Lennon Anthology" boxed set or "Menlove Ave" album. The four tracks provide an interesting glimpse into what oculd have been a much different album. It's fun to have them available all in one spot. A reprise of "Just Because" is particularly touching as Lennon continues his monologue that concluded that song and says "Hi to Ringo, Paul and George". It's rather touching that, after all they went through when The Beatles broke up, that Lennon would take the time sent a greeting to his former bandmates (there's also a witty reference to Lennon's "Goodnight Vienna" which closed out Ringo's album of the same name in a similar fashion).

The booklet, on the other hand, is a bit more a problem. One review mentioned that the album has all the credits listed. That's not quite accurate. While the original album and reissued CD credits are here, we have no idea as to who's playing what on various tracks. There's no lyrics which, even though Lennon didn't write these songs, would have been nice to have as well. Finally, I wish that Yoko had included the guitar tab for these songs since Lennon radically rearranged some of these tunes himself. That's a minor quibble at best and doesn't effect the music. I would also liked to have an essay on the making of the album with interviews from some of the surviving session musicians involved.

"Rock 'N' Roll" finds Lennon looking to his past to reinvent himself yet again. It provides a perfect bridge to Lennon's last complete album "Double Fantasy" and the sparkling sound brings many of these classic performances back to life again. While one can quibble about Yoko's right to remix the album, she's done a great job trying to stay true to the original mixes while improving the sonic clarity. Here's hoping that the criminally underappreciate "Walls & Bridges" is next on the remaster front with the demo tracks from "Menlove Ave" for "Walls" included as well. I'm hoping that album will have a limited edition cover similar to the original fold out cover of the vinyl.

Sweet Little Sixteen is awful, but the other Spector tracks are pretty good, even with that weird attenuated sound. Otherwise Ya Ya swings pretty good and Do You Wanna Dance? is an effective arrangement. There are some very ineffective arrangements as well, though, particularly the Little Richard numbers and Ain't That a Shame. And it's no surprise that To Know Her is to Love Her got left out once you hear it. It doesn't come close to the version Lennon was singing on the BBC circa 1963. I wish Lennon would have gone with more obscure tunes and less horns and studio gee whiz.