Sydney, AU (EMI MUSIC AUSTRALIA) - Following the release of 'Working Class Hero - the Definitive Lennon', Parlophone will be reissuing two Lennon catalogue albums on November 20.
'Some Time in New York City' and 'Walls and Bridges' are the latest releases in a campaign of reissues featuring remixed and/or remastered tracks. 'Some Time in New York City' now appears as a single CD, condensed from the original double.
'Sometime in New York City' was originally released in 1972. Tackling a range of issues including feminism, black activism and Northern Ireland, the album reflected the fact that John and Yoko had settled in New York and were part of a radical, highly politicised arts scene centred around their Greenwich Village apartment. It also reflected John's new-found love for New York, a city he fondly called 'a big Liverpool'.
'Some Time in New York City' featured a front cover that was a pastiche of the New York Times. Recorded with the group Elephants Memory and featuring several Yoko compositions, 'Some Time…' originally featured a bonus disc, 'Live Jam' from two sources. First was a December 1969 gig by the Plastic Ono supergroup at London's Lyceum. Billed as 'peace for Christmas' event, the night saw John and Yoko joined onstage by guest including George Harrison, Eric Clapton and Keith Moon.
The remaining tracks on the original double album were taken from a surprise appearance at Frank Zappa's Fillmore East show in June 1971. It is these tracks that Yoko Ono has decided to edit, making the new version of the album a concise single CD. Yoko said:
'When John started singing ‘Baby Please Don't Go' at the Fillmore East show it was his cry from the heart to the two heavily avant garde artists - Frank Zappa and myself - with whom he was sharing a stage.
John started to sing a rock n roll song with simple chords from his childhood, to which not much could be added musically by Zappa's great band. I did my vocalisation to add a little twist, while Frank jammed on his guitar - but the main emotion of the piece was pure Liverpool. John sang beautifully'.
'I decided that the Fillmore performance should end here after this track, without going into the long avant garde improvisation that followed, led by Frank and I. I wanted John to have the last voice on the album, spreading his childhood over us.
If you miss the ‘freak out'part…just put a microphone to the many battlefields in the world. You will hear everything - children crying, guys shouting, and the occasional silence created by the dead' Yoko 2005
For this new single CD, 'Listen The Snow is Falling' and 'Happy Xmas (War Is Over) have been added. 'Happy Xmas' did not feature on the original album, although it preceded its release when it was released as a single, backed with 'Listen, The Snow Is Falling' in the US in 1971 and in the UK a year later. 'Happy Xmas' has gone on to become one of the most popular Christmas songs of all time and was the fulcrum around which John and Yoko built their highly visible billboard peace campaigns which would dominate the most populated areas of major cities with the slogan 'War is over! If you want it. Happy Christmas from John and Yoko'. Yoko continues this idea to this day, often using billboards and newspaper ads to spread the peace message
All tracks have been remixed except ‘John Sinclair' and ‘Attica State', which have been remastered.
'Walls and Bridges' was first released in 1974 and features contributions from Elton John, Klaus Voormann, Jesse Ed Davis, Jim Keltner and Nicky Hopkins. It gave John his first solo No. 1 hit single with 'Whatever Gets You Thru The Night' and, perhaps because of the turmoil he was going through at the time, proved to be a great album. This new edition features three bonus tracks including a live version of 'Whatever Gets You Through The Night' recorded live at Madison Sq Gardens on November 28, 1974.
This was the legendary show when John made a surprise appearance with Elton, having lost a bet that the song would top the chart. Elton challenged that John should repay the favour by appearing onstage with him in a show that would go on to attain legendary status for two reasons - it led to the reconciliation of John and Yoko after John's ‘lost weekend', and it would turn out to be the last time John ever appeared on a public stage.
Two further bonus tracks are; ‘Nobody Loves You (When You're Down and Out)', a previously unreleased acoustic outtake, and an interview recorded in LA and originally distributed by the EMI UK sales teams on the b side of a special pressing of ‘Whatever Gets You Thru The Night'.
John Lennon would have been 65 on October 9, 2005.
SOMETIME IN NEW YORK CITY AND WALLS AND BRIDGES ARE RELEASED 20 NOVEMBER
