The Lennon CD Box Set That Never Was
Cherry Pop
of John Lennon's outtakes in 1994, with Mark Lewisohn's involvement. This
box set would have differed significantly from the "Lennon Anthology" that
Capitol Records in the U.S., released in November of 1998.
When Lennon's contract with EMI, expired on January 26, 1976, there existed
477 reels of studio outtakes of his solo recordings (up to 1976). Since EMI
paid for Lennon's recording sessions, they had the rights to ownership of
his tapes. EMI already had the 8 track tapes for "John Lennon / Plastic Ono
Band " since it was recorded at Abbey Road Studio in 1970. After Lennon
relocated to the U.S. on August 13, 1971, his other recordings (which
included mixes and multitracks) were flown to the U.S. via chartered air
flight and stored in rented space at the Record Plant in New York.
(including "Imagine" which was recorded at Tittenhurst Park, England.)
EMI had been concerned that these tapes would deteriorate if they were not
looked after properly They finally acquired these recordings in the late
1980's, at which time, the tapes were shipped back to the U.K. (in cheap
cardboard boxes!). Digital safety copies were made in the States prior to
the tapes being sent to the U.K. (Imagine if the originals had been lost
without safety copies being made!) When the tapes arrived, a lot of the
boxes had John's hand written notes and even some lyrics.
Yoko & EMI agreed to produce a box set comprised of some of these unreleased
tracks plus some home demos, etc. derived from the material she had just
made available to Westwood One to air on their "Lost Lennon Tapes" radio
series. Mark Lewisohn spent about six month's between 1990 and 1993
cataloguing the tapes (in a similar vein to what he had done with the
Beatles material). Every Lennon take had a vocal (which he would re-record
if the take proved worthy) and so every take was a possible candidate for
inclusion in the box set. Mark Lewisohn drew up a list of the more "interes
ting" takes.
Test CDs were pressed and sent to Yoko for approval. However, as things
sometimes do, nothing became of these discs. Some of the tracks on the
unrleased EMI version that didn't make it onto the released Capitol version
of the Lennon Anthology include : (1) "Just Because" (the full take, with
John greeting Paul, George & Ringo after saying goodnight to the listeners);
(2) An alternative version of "Cold Turkey" considered to be such a strong
track that test pressings of a CD single were made to promote the box set;
(3) a demo of "Gimme Some Truth" recorded at Tittenhurst Park; (4) a
two-track stereo tape of "Luck of The Irish" recorded in November, 1971
which ended with J&Y whispering "Rolling Stone is a rip-off." [ala the
ending of "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)"]. This was because John was cheesed
off that Jann Wenner had issued the "Working Class Hero" interview in book
format without consulting him. Also included were many more tracks from the
Phil Spector "Rock 'n' Roll" sessions recorded on 16 track-tape.
Mark Lewisohn's absence from the Lennon Anthology project after 1994 was due
to a subsequent falling out with Yoko (SURPRISE!! SURPRISE!!). In
preparation for his book, "A Day in the Life", (published in 1995) Mark
Hertsgaard gained access to Beatles' session tapes through Mark Lewisohn.
Lewisohn had been granted permission by EMI to allow Hertsgaard into the
studio. However, Yoko took exception to this and placed the blame entirely
on Lewisohn. The fact that EMI had granted permission was completely
ignored by Yoko, and EMI conveniently allowed Lewisohn to be the fall guy,
as they were loathe to alienate Yoko lest future Lennon releases be
jeopardized. In addition, Yoko was displeased with a Beatles BBC special
and book that Lewisohn was working on with BBC researcher Kevin Howlett. In
spite of these incidents, however, Yoko never for a moment abandoned her
plan to release some version of a Lennon Anthology box set. After all,
unlike the Beatles Anthology CD sets, she would not have to share the
profits with the other Apple board members.
Here then is the detailed chronology of how the Capitol version of the
Lennon Anthology came to find its place on your CD shelves:
1988
Yoko asks Rob Stevens to digitally transfer John Lennon's work for archival
purposes, using digital technology now considered neanderthal. The material
consists of 600 reels of tape (over 2,000 hours) found in the basement of
the former Record Plant in New York. Stevens, a producer and (king?) mixer,
had previously worked with Ono on her long-forgotten solo albums and John
Lennon's posthumous projects since 1986 (including the soundtrack for the
"Imagine: John Lennon" theatrical documentary). Stevens' credentials also
include work with Gil Scott-Heron and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
1988 - 1992
The broadcast of the "Lost Lennon Tapes" radio series by Westwood One. The
221 hour series drags on for more than four years by drawing on Lennon's
private archives padded out with completely extraneous material (e.g., an
entire program devoted to promoting Julian Lennon's third and worst LP).
The "Lost Lennon Tapes" series serves to create a public demand for an
Anthology type release despite the apparent ease with which anyone could
tape the series as it was being broadcast. I say "apparent" because many,
many folks who were determined to tape the entire series gave up after the
second or third year due, in large part, to the fact that many radio markets
broadcast the program at the time of day when it would do the least possible
damage to their overall listener ratings....such as early Sunday mornings or
late Saturday afternoons. In any case, the homemade copies of the series
were the source for countless bootleg recordings.
October 30, 1990
On what would have been the year of John Lennon's 50th birthday (and
approaching the 10th anniversary of his death), EMI-Capitol releases the
"Lennon" 4 CD box set. This set is a compilation of most of Lennon's solo
work and is released without fanfare....and without any attempt at
remastering. Around this time, Mark Lewisohn, (who also worked on this
"Lennon" compilation) drafts a track listing for a box set of Lennon's
outtakes for a projected 1994 release.
1991 - 1996
This time period covers the preparation and execution of the "Beatles
Anthology" project. Two John Lennon demos ("Free as a Bird" and "Real
Love") are used as the basis for the "Beatles Anthology" "reunion" singles.
Other Beatles related items include the 1993 reissue of the Beatles'
"1962-1966" and "1967-1970" best-of compilations on compact disc and 1994's
popular "Live at the BBC" double CD. Logically, these projects temporarily
defer the public's (and EMI-Capitol's) attention away from the John Lennon
Anthology.
1994
As the world is about to experience a wave of renewed interest in the
Beatles, producer Rob Stevens was building a master database of all
existing Lennon recordings and hunting down 20 - 30 hours of additional
master tapes that were not accounted for in 1988. Stevens' database
eventually grows to more than 2,500 pages. During the summer, Stevens works
on the Lennon Anthology in anticipation of a fall 1994 release which is
subsequently postponed. (see following May 24, 1995 "Good Day Sunshine"
interview)
A forerunner to the Lennon Anthology was detailed in the May 1994 issue of
"CD-ROM World" (page 41). Compton's NewMedia was planning to release a
CD-ROM titled "Imagine: John Lennon" in the fall of 1994. This disc (for
Windows 3.1 and Macinthosh) promised to be a "virtual gallery" of Lennon's
life containing "home videos, music and art never before released." A
similar blurb appeared in "Rolling Stone" magazine; however, as it turned
out, the CD-ROM was never released.
May 24, 1995
An interview was conducted with Rob Stevens for publication in "Good Day
Sunshine" a now-defunct Beatle fanzine. The Lennon Anthology was discussed
(with the highly imaginative title of "Lost Lennon Tapes".) During the
course of the interview, Stevens volunteers that he may compile two
different sets of unreleased Lennon material. This interview was
significant as it appeared prior to the release of the "Beatles Anthology".
Based on Stevens' comments at the time, it is apparent that the more
biographical approach used for the "Beatles Anthology" was originally absent
from the Lennon project. In fact, the success of the Beatles in 1995 - 1996
was responsible for redirecting the marketing and outcome of the Lennon
Anthology.
March 7, 1997
EMI-Capitol forms a new company to "develop music based properties and
market the Group's prized catalogue." Press Release: "On behalf of Capitol
Records, the company will serve as the exclusive, worldwide marketing entity
for the Grammy award-winning Beatles, one of the best selling musical acts s
in its stable of artists. The company will oversee all existing Beatles
catalogue and any new initiatives involving the group's repertoire." In
addition to the Beatles catalogue, this press release states Capitol's
intent to come up with "new and innovative" ways to repackage and market
many of their top acts, including the works of John Lennon and Paul
McCartney.
1997 - 1998
EMI-Capitol's marketing strategy at this time places the emphasis on solo
Beatle projects. In 1997, Paul McCartney releases "Flaming Pie" and
"Standing Stone". Anticipation starts to build once again for a set of
unreleased John Lennon material. On October 27, 1997, EMI-Capitol releases
"Legend: The Very Best of John Lennon," yet another in a long, long line of
repackaged material.
Fall, 1997
By this time, the process of compiling the Lennon Anthology becomes more
serious. Rob Stevens had whittled down the archived Lennon material to
about 100 hours in anticipation of a series of massive box sets spread over
five or more years with a thick coffee-table type book to accompany it
However, EMI balks at the sheer size and scope of the project. Together,
Stevens and Ono work the material down to a more practical 50 hours, at
which point, Yoko becomes heavily involved in the project. Again, EMI
objects. The tapes are eventually pared down to just under 5 hours (!) for
inclusion in a "highlights" type box set.....and without the coffee-table
book
December, 1997
These two pieces (which may be referring to the same item) generated a bit
of a stir in late 1997 - early 1998. The Swedish issue of "A Spaniard in
the Works" (with accompanying bonus CD) had a very limited run before being
pulled off the market about a week after it's initial printing. Although
some U.S. dealers were taking advance orders, none of the copies actually
made it to the U.S. At first, this was believed to be an officially
sanctioned release by the Lennon estate - even a "market teaser" for the
Anthology.
Selections on the Bonus CD referred to above included:
1. John sings "My Life". Recorded in John and Yoko's home in the Dakota
building in New York late 1979. Was later combined with the song "Don't Be
Crazy" and reworked into "(Just Like) Starting Over". Time: 2:30
2. Interview. John talks about how he met Yoko and about their relationship.
Time: 1:44
3. John sings "Dear John". Home recording from the Dakota apartment,
November 1980. Possibly the last song John ever wrote, only a few weeks
before his death in December 1980. Time: 4:10
4. Interview. John talks about the Cosmic Joke Number 9; the paradoxy of
responsibility and the idea of leadership as a false God. Time: 1:30
5. John sings his Bob Dylan-parody "Lord, Take This Makeup Off Me". Home
recording from the mid or late seventies. Time: 2:18
6. Interview. John talks about how important it is for eberyone to produce
their own dreams and go their own ways. Don't follow leaders. Time: 1:13
7. John sings "Make Love, Not War". Recorded at John and Yoko's country
estate Tittenhurst Park in England, late 1970. This song later developed
into the song "Mind Games". Time: 3:13
8. Interview. John talks about the rock star life. He is not interested in
all that any longer, he now interested in the family and in making music.
Time: 1:45
9. John sings "Here We Go Again" Demo recording made before the sessions for
the album "Rock'n'Roll" in October 1973. The finished version of the songs
was released on the "Menlove Avenue" album in 1986. Time: 2:57
10. Interview. John talks about pacifists that got shot, Gandhi, Martin
Luther King. Yoko talks about the beauty of life. Time: 0:57
11. Interview. Yoko talks about her feeling that John's spirit is still
here. Time: 0:46
The speech tracks derives from the interviews which John and Yoko gave to
the reporter David Sheff in the autumn of 1980, except for track 11 which
derives from an interview that Yoko gave to Elliot Mintz in 1981.
From the 12/12/97 New York Post:
"Lennon Set to Top Charts Again"
LONDON - Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! John Lennon is expected to skyrocket up the
charts early next year with four brand-new songs. The slain Beatle's tunes
were just recently discovered. They include one he wrote and recorded just
days before he was slain.
Lennon's widow, Yoko Ono, has approved the recordings for release in two
months. That means Lennon could reach No. 1 on Billboard's "Hot 100" chart
some 17 years after he was gunned down by a crazed fan. "Anything by John
that has never been heard before is bound to sell millions of copies," said
Nick Masters, a recording analyst in London.
"It sounds a bit ghoulish, but John's popularity keeps getting bigger. The
new record will be one of the highlights of the decade in rock music."
The four new songs include "Dear John," a ballad written and recorded
shortly before he was shot dead in front of the Dakota apartment building on
Central Park West on Dec. 8, 1980. It contains the lyrics: "Dear John, don't
be so hard on yourself. The race is over. You won."
The tunes feature Lennon singing and playing his guitar or piano. They were
recorded in his home at the Dakota and are not at studio quality. They are
being worked on in a digital recording studio to make them sound better for
radio play.
They will not be tinkered with like two other Lennon pieces, which were
"sweetened" for release last year in a move that outraged Beatles fans.
Those songs - "Free As A Bird" and "Real Love" - featured on the Beatles
Anthology, beefed up old Lennon vocals with new instrumentals and singing by
the surviving Beatles.
They were touted as the first new Beatles songs in 25 years - but some fans
accused the surviving Fab 3 of selling out. Several rock critics said John
was probably spinning in his grave over the gimmick.
The new Lennon songs will be included on the as-yet-untitled record
featuring other versions of classic Lennon songs and interviews John
conducted not long before he died. The songs were found when Lennon
archivists working for Yoko stumbled across them in John's music files at
the Dakota.
January 19, 1998
In a telephone interview with Steve Marinucci, Yoko described her tentative
release plans for the Lennon Anthology. The final deciding factor for the
release date was the process of compiling the liner notes.
June 1998
Ringo Starr records and releases "Vertical Man" with assistance from Paul
McCartney and George Harrison (among others). It heads straight to the
cutout bins.
June 20, 1998
The June 20th issue of "Billboard" magazine features an ad from Capitol on
page 17 with the following text: "In preparation for an upcoming release,
Capitol is seeking the multitrack tapes (or information leading to their
acquisition) of Ringo Starr's recordings of the following songs: "I'm the
Greatest," "Only You," "Goodnight Vienna," "Cooking in the Kitchen of Love,"
Studio quality 2-track tapes of the John Lennon guide vocals on these tracks
are also being sought."
July 11, 1998
"Rolling Stone" reports that a new Lennon "tribute" album's release has been
delayed. The album has been in the works for 4 years. The report states
various reasons for the delay, including a lack of interest from
contributing artists and poor sales of Hollywood Records' "Working Class
Hero: A Tribute to John Lennon".
September 1, 1998
An article appears on Billboard's web site (under "Daily Music News") with
the following title: "100 Unreleased Songs On Lennon Boxed Set". The title
of the set is given as "The John Lennon Anthology". The release date is
quoted as Nov. 3. Over the next 24 hours, this story begins to circulate
among various music news sources on the internet.
September 3, 1998
"CAPITOL ANNOUNCES THE JOHN LENNON ANTHOLOGY"
Capitol's press release of September 3rd officially confirms what was in the
Billboard article of September 1st! This is *the* day that we've been
anticipating for years! O.K.. ALL LENNON FANS CAN NOW BREATH A COLLECTIVE
SIGH OF RELIEF!!!
September 11, 1998
"YOKO ONO OFFERS COMMENTS ON THE JOHN LENNON ANTHOLOGY..
" Capitol's press release details a few "highlights" from the Lennon
Anthology. Yoko Ono is named as "co-producer" (with Rob Stevens) and is
also credited as the person who selected the final tracks for the Anthology.
Yoko Ono and Anthony DeCurtis are credited for the liner notes. (Note: Mark
Lewisohn who worked on the early '90s version of the Lennon Anthology and
who is renowned for his expertise and notation of various Beatle-related
projects is conspicuous by his absence.)
September 21, 1998
"CAPITOL RECORDS ANNOUNCES JOHN LENNON ANTHOLOGY TRACK LISTING"
Capitol provides a run down of the tracks that will appear on the Lennon
Anthology. A more descriptive track listing with musician / production
credits appears on the internet within the next few days. This track
listing highlights George Martin's recent completion of "Grow Old With Me"
(disc 4; track 18). (Note: The track listing also indicates that there was
a change in this project's format which distinguishes it from what Lewisohn
may have originally envisioned. Similar to the "Beatles Anthology", the
track run down now includes spoken bits and has a more "biography in
outtakes" feel as opposed to a collection of purely musical outtakes. This
biographical attempt may also explain why the Anthology provides an
"alternate" mirror view of Lennon's official solo output at the expense of
other unreleased material (i.e. the "Dakota demos").
September 28, 1998
A Capitol promotional disk "howitis" was recorded in New York City on
9/28/98. The CD features an interview with Yoko Ono (58 tracks - released
the week of John's 58th birthday) and an unedited take of "I'm Losing You"
which was about :45 seconds longer than the track that appears on the Lennon
Anthology (with an additional bridge - John calls out for the chord "C").
The day's events were also filmed for an EPK
As for the "last minute" discovery of "Only You," a few weeks prior to the
recording of "howitis", a CD reference set of the "Anthology" was sent to
Jody Denberg to prepare for the production of the disc. Ironically, these
reference CD-Rs included a version of "Only You" that includes a spoken word
bit by Ringo (reciting a verse over the music: "only you, can make this
world seem right, only you can make the darkness bright.") For some reason
this was edited out before the song was placed on the box set! This
indicates that although the Richard
Perry/Goodnight Vienna stuff was probably some of the last material Yoko &
Rob Stevens located, it could not have been at the very last minute (as
reported in RS #801) if they had time to edit Ringo's bit out after the
CD-Rs had been circulated.
October 5, 1998
"HOLLYWOOD AND VINE' SITE TO PREVIEW TRACKS FROM THE "JOHN LENNON ANTHOLOGY"
A MONTH BEFORE RELEASE"
Capitol announces the opening of the Anthology website on Friday, October
9th (the date of John Lennon's birthday). On this and each subsequent
Friday until Nov. 3rd, a track from the Anthology will be posted on the
website: "I'm Losing You" (Oct. 9th); "Oh, My Love" (Oct. 16th); "Watching
the Wheels" (Oct. 23rd); "Sean's In the Sky" (Oct. 30th) Oddly, the Oct.
30th track was actually "The Rishi Kesh Song".
October 9, 1998
The premier of Hollywood and Vine's "John Lennon Anthology" website - and
what a "site" it is! This impressive effort features artwork from the box
set, a full track listing, press releases, excerpts from Anthony DeCurtis'
liner notes and many memorable photographs (as well as the aforementioned
audio clips). Updates which were eventually added to the site include video
clips; news and subsequent press releases. On the same day, VH1 premiers
the video for the Anthology version of "Working Class Hero".
October 12, 1998
Capitol distributes a seven-cut sampler of tracks featured on both the 4-CD
box set and "Wonsaponatime" to triple-A and AC radio.
October 14, 1998
Capitol's press release for the single disc version of the Lennon Anthology
(with track listing):
"WONSAPONATIME" Single Disc Digest Culled From 4-CD Box Set "THE JOHN LENNON
ANTHOLOGY" Being Simultaneously Released on November 3rd to Feature 21
Tracks" .
October 25, 1998
An edited version of Yoko's liner notes for the Lennon Anthology appears on
Britain's "Electronic Telegram" website.
October 27, 1998
Yoko and Sean are interviewed on C.T.V.'s "W5" program. John Lennon's
legacy is discussed and a few tracks from the Lennon Anthology are
highlighted.
October 29, 1998
Yoko is interviewed on "Access Hollywood" about the release of the John
Lennon Anthology. Tracks from the Lennon Anthology are prominently featured
throughout the segment.
October 30, 1998
Yoko Ono's interview with Amazon.com is posted the weekend before the
Anthology's release.
October 30, 1998
The internet was buzzing with speculation about the upcoming video for "I'm
Losing You". The key question was whether any promotional footage of the
original August 19, 1980 recording session would be used for the new video.
Much of the speculation was fueled by the following excerpts from Tony
Levin's web diary (Levin was one of the session musicians). A web site was
devoted to this issue.
LEVIN DIARY ENTRIES:
Portland, Oct 30. A lot of developments today. I've heard that there's to
be a four CD anthology of John Lennon's work released next week by Capitol
Records. It'll be titled Onceuponatime. And there is a plan afoot to shoot
a video of one song, "I'm Losing You," that I played on with Rick Nielson
and Ben E. Carlos. Talk about short notice, they just called me about it,
and the video is being shot in L.A. next Monday - so it's a possibility that
I'll fly down from San Francisco that morning, shoot the video, and fly back
for soundcheck that afternoon and gig that night!
"P4 Tour - Day 11 - San Francisco, Nov. 2 The Lennon taping. Still no
computer, and again I'm in Chris's room late at night, using his. Today we
taped the video in L.A. for John Lennon's "I'm Losing You" - When I arrived
at the studio, Rick Nielsen (THAT'S the correct spelling of his name) and
Ben E. Carlos were there, looking at my web site! We hadn't met up since we
recorded the track - in August 1980. Amazingly, after 18 years, we all
remembered our parts on the song. The video shoot was fun and very
professional - between shots of the three of us playing (in front of white
screen for John's films and drawings to be added in) and riding a bicycle
for three, and holding big balloons.....between those takes I was playing
around on Rick's computer - their site, CheapTrick.com, has a cute hotel
room interface, where the visitor gets a room key and goes exploring. Check
it out! The last shot I did (I had to catch a plane back to San Francisco
for soundcheck) was of the three of us throwing buckets of green paint onto
the wall. Don't know the reason for that particular shot - but I rushed out
to the plane, made it, and spent the flight sitting there with green paint
spattered on my pants and shoes! An interesting memento of the video!"
November 3, 1998
The Lennon Anthology is released in North America. (The Anthology is also
released on November 2nd in England and on November 6th in Japan).
"Wonsaponatime" is released simultaneously with the 4-CD set. There are no
plans for a "single". However, "I'm Losing You" (on which Lennon is backed
by members of Cheap Trick) receives some airplay as an album track.
November 7, 1998
A 9-minute promotional video featuring interviews with (who else?) Yoko and
footage of John and Yoko is posted on the John Lennon Anthology web site.
November 11, 1998
"Lennon Anthology Box Set Makes It's Debut At No. 99 With A Bullet in the
Billboard Top Current Album Chart, Becoming Second Best-Selling Box Set of
1998. First Week Sales Nearly 17,000 Units." The good news in a press
release from Capitol.
November 28, 1998
A clip from the upcoming "I'm Losing You" video was premiered just before
and during the closing credits of "Entertainment Tonight" (weekend edition).
From what was shown, there was no indication of the original session
footage.
December 1, 1998
Yoko Ono unveils an anti war billboard in Times Square, New York identical
to the one that she and John Lennon placed around the world at Christmas in
1969 ("War Is Over" "If You Want It"). Also in early December, a 1:00 A.M.
curfew is placed on Central Park, which will restrict fans from an all night
vigil on the 18th anniversary of John Lennon's death.
December 3, 1998
"John Lennon's Famous Line Drawings Come to Life in Upcoming Video For "I'm
Losing You"
Capitol's press release announcing the release of the "I'm Losing You" video
on Thursday, December 3rd on VH1: "The video was directed by Dean Karr
(Dave Matthews Band, John Forte, Marilyn Manson, etc.) and produced by
Arthur Gorson for Black Dog Films. The director of photography was James
Hawkinson." "I'm Losing You" features Rick Nielsen on guitar and Bun E.
Carlos on drums and bassist Tony Levin (from King Crimson), each of whom
played on the original version of the song with Lennon in 1980. In a
playful and whimsical fashion, well-known animator David Spafford has
expanded upon Lennon's original drawings making them come to life as they
float through and interact with the musicians' 1998 live performance". "I'm
Losing You" has also been picked up by "MuchMoreMusic" in Canada.
Note: The video for "I'm Losing You"did not incorporate the video footage of
August 19, 1980. This leaves many "Lennonologists" to speculate whether the
footage will ever be used; is lost forever or may not currently exist.
December 8, 1998
"The John Lennon Anthology is Certified Gold"
In an ironically timed press release, the Lennon Anthology has been
certified gold by the RIAA. In accordance with the 1992 RIAA revisions,
this means sales of at least 125,000 box sets (each set counts as 4 CDs).
According to a Capitol representative, the John Lennon Anthology has
exceeded sales expectations in 38 countries worldwide. "The Anthology has
received widespread critical acclaim for both its content and design,
prompting Steve Morse to write in The Boston Globe: "This project is the
most intimate, and arguably the most creative, boxed set in the history of
the genre." SPIN gives the set a "9" and states that it not only "provides
sacred relics for devotees," but "ultimately reveals Lennon as a man worthy
of myth."
December 19, 1998
An interview with (who else?) Yoko about the John Lennon Anthology is
featured in the Saturday, December 19th edition of the "London Times".
December 21, 1998
Yoko participates in a webcast on "SonicNet" to comment on her current
activities and speak about the John Lennon Anthology....in that order.
January - February, 1999
The February 1999 issue of "Guitar World" magazine has an excellent cover
story entitled, "The Second Coming of John Lennon: The Resurrection of
Rock's Rebel Genius." In this article, Yoko and several others who worked
with Lennon provide a retrospective view of his solo career. A sidebar deals
directly with the release of the Lennon Anthology. Sean Lennon also
comments on his father's lasting influence.
January 9, 1999
The John Lennon Anthology is named 1998's "Box Set Of The Year" in a year
end "critics choice" poll in "Rolling Stone" magazine (RS # 804)
December 26, 1999
Season Greetings from Yoko: This site includes a detailed interview with
(who else?) Yoko Ono by Jody Denburg of KGSR radio in Texas. Parts of this
interview was used to prepare a promotional CD for the "John Lennon
Anthology".
Interesting facts about the "John Lennon Anthology":
52 out of the 94 tracks that appear on the Anthology have not been
previously released on bootleg (including song fragments and spoken bits.)
Perhaps a third of the material was first heard on the Westwood One radio
series, "The Lost Lennon Tapes."
According to a "person involved" in the Anthology: "Lennon was incredibly
prolific as a writer, and I know there's a ton of stuff that they haven't
even chosen to use yet. They were searching for really rare and unique
stuff."
There are no overdubs (except for George Martin's work on "Grow Old With
Me") and most of the reverb and slapback echo effects are as they were
recorded on the original tapes.
Some of the tapes in Ono's possession were still in shoe boxes. The guide
vocal for "I'm the Greatest" was found in a Capitol Records vault in New
Jersey. In some instances, because of missing tapes, bootlegs had to be
used (as was the case for the demo of "New York City")
The track, "Only You", was just barely able to be included in the Anthology.
The tape was discovered only days before the box set's mastering deadline.
According to Rob Stevens, Lennon did not write an excess amount of material
for his albums. Unlike some artists (i.e. Springsteen), Lennon had a firm
idea of what he wanted to do before he entered the studio. If he had ten
songs in his head, those ten songs would be recorded. Stevens explains his
philosophy for mixing the Anthology, "We determined that we would only mix
material that John had not mixed himself." "We put John's voice front and
center on some recordings because, believe it or not, John did not like his
own voice, so he put as many effects on it as he could."
George Martin's work on "Grow Old With Me" involved improving the original
tape's quality with the aid of voice restoration technology. He scored the
song for strings and flutes and composed a bass line that sounds very
"McCartney-like". It's not McCartney, however. "I thought of asking Paul,"
says Martin, "but obviously I didn't want to interrupt him in the midst of
his apparent grief over Linda." The track was produced at the Beatles old
London studio, Abbey Road.
Some of the home demos that Lennon was working on in his "house-husband"
period were written for the intent of a Broadway musical called "The Ballad
of John and Yoko". In consideration of this fact, some of these home demos
may one day become part of a stage production starring (who else?) Yoko.
While Yoko Ono states that there is enough strong material left for many
future releases, there won't be another package with the scope and magnitude
of the Anthology. Any remaining tracks will come out in "a different way"
[translation: whatever will generate the most profits]]
The response to the Anthology has been favourable and EMI-Capitol are
justifiably proud of it's success. Yoko Ono realizes however, that it is
difficult to please everyone and there will always be critics: "They have to
excuse me" she declares, "for being the one who was there. I did my best,
that's all."
As for my opinion, whether we would have been better off with the 1994
version of the Anthology or what we now have is purely a matter of
speculation. In an ideal world, I would like to own both versions but in
the "real" world, I am grateful for the set that I've been enjoying since
November 3rd, 1998 .
Jud McCranie
wrote:
>The broadcast of the "Lost Lennon Tapes" radio series by Westwood One. The
>221 hour series drags on for more than four years ...
>Anthology type release despite the apparent ease with which anyone could
>tape the series as it was being broadcast.
Well, a commercial CD sounds a lot better than a cassette made of the
radio, and is a lot more convienent.
>many folks who were determined to tape the entire series gave up after the
>second or third year due, in large part, to the fact that many radio markets
>broadcast the program at the time of day when it would do the least possible
>damage to their overall listener ratings
I gave up before the end of the second year, for a couple of reasons.
One, I got bored with it (it was going downhill). Secondly, I
realized that I was probably never going to listen to the tapes again.
I taped almost all of the shows for the nearly the first two years,
but I haven't listened to any of them again.
Also, the radio station did exactly what you said - putting it on in
strange times and moving it frequently. And they would move it
without anounceing it, so I would miss a show or two until I could
find out when it was on. They took it off completely at one point in
the first year. I called the program manager about it, and he said
that "people say that it is always the same". I said that it was
always the same in the sense that you can always hear things you can't
hear any other way. They put it back on, but I think they dropped it
before the end of the second year.
---
Replace you know what by j to email
Mister Charlie
"Jud McCranie" <youknowwha...@adelphia.net> wrote in message
news:3102a097jiqatba07...@4ax.com...
let it go. Luckily the PD where I worked wanted to get all of the 3
years worth of LP's out of his office so he let me have them. Sold most
of them.
Dan Van Vugt
proper credit being attributed - is an entire section of my website
and a copyright infrigement of my original work. This goes well beyond
"fair use". Since the person who posted this didn't provide a link to
the original source, here it is:
http://www.cyber-beatles.com/timeline.htm
Dan Van Vugt
On 11 May 2004 14:57:34 GMT, "Cherry Pop" <popp...@hotmail.com>
wrote:
>Many fans may not realize that EMI in the U.K. intended to release a box set
Danny Caccavo
BTW, those tapes were not "found" in the basement of the Record Plant.
The "lennon vault" was there for years. I had the honor (sort of, I felt
like a coronor) of going through all his tapes (visually) and
photocopying all the take sheets, a few weeks after he died. Saw a lot
of tapes, only listened to a couple.
There were other tapes in a different area of Record Plant, which ended
up being bootlegged after Record Plant closed (Jim Keltner Fan Club
multitracks, which were the "toot and a snore" tapes. We pulled them
down to take a listen, so depressing, plus quad mixes of several Lennon
albums, a copy of Hollywood bowl '65 (which I did listen to at the
time), etc etc.
dc