Working Class Hero - John Lennon Album Review

Photo:Harry Goodwin link

Album Review

On Sunday October 9 2005, John Lennon could have officially claimed his pension. Quite a bizarre thought - not that he'd have needed it. To mark the anniversary of his birth, and the rapidly following anniversary of his murder by screwball Mark Chapman on December 8, Working Class Hero is a timely reminder of his prolific songwriting output as a solo artist away from The Beatles mothership. His rise as a world renowned singer-songwriter and peace activist secured his place in history.

These thirty eight tracks spread over two discs easily surpass previous songbooks - The John Lennon Collection (1982) and Lennon Legend (1997) .

Compiled by Yoko Ono Lennon and Mike Heatley, with a running time of 150 minutes, it's not intended as a chronological running order of singles releases, which include some virtually unnoticeable ' enhancements' here and there, along with key album tracks, making this essential listening even if you have the previous albums. According to my PC information, there's remixes on tracks , 2,4,6,7,8,9,10 & 17 on disc1, and tracks 2, 3, 5, 6, 9,11,13, 14,15, 16 on disc 2.

Whatever's been 'added' does not diminish or tacky-up the originals - it's very clever work. The most striking aspect of this collection is the tracklisting format: songs flow superbly. Despite the huge difference in stylings and pace, the balance is perfect as they cozy-up to each other. Ben E. King's Stand By Me is a raucous ballad by comparison with the original, with Oh Yoko sounding as vibrant and great as ever from Imagine. Oh My Love, also Imagine, is arguably the most beautiful song he ever wrote, as keys and vocals float delicately over its 2 minutes plus : the highlight of disc one.

Come Together is a storming live version, with Lennon in typical sarcastic mood.

Disc two offers a few duds: Love, Woman, God and Scared are probably the least impressive on the collection. Beautiful Boy, #9 Dream and Gimme Some Truth restore the class, proving to be the highlights.

Controversy is never far away in the shape of the powerhouse Woman Is The Nigger Of The World, with Yoko getting a contribution on the credit.

By the end, we're given not only a message to Yoko - Grow Old With Me - but a message to us all. Thankfully, we'll all grow old remembering John Lennon.

This release is the pivot for a large number of events which will happen around John's birthday. These include a major documentary to be screened by the BBC and the reissue of two further albums in the Lennon catalogue - Walls & Bridges and Sometime In New York City. Yoko will be in Tokyo to join the Dream Power tribute concert for Lennon at the legendary Budokan, where The Beatles performed. She will also attend events in London and Paris.

Yoko recently said,

Once he was honoured as 'The Man Of The Decade'. That was 35 years ago. Now he is a man of the century and the future. His work inspires all people, and his voice reaches the whole planet.

So it will.

Elly Roberts