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Among the many posthumous works published after John Lennon's death (large commercial operations that still taint his memory), we have this "Live in New York City", put together under the supervision of the black widow Yoko Ono and released in 1986 as the second official live album after the disappointing "Live Peace in Toronto 1969". The live album, recorded on August 30, 1972, at Madison Square Garden during the "One to One" festival (organized to raise funds for associations that cared for mentally disabled children), also included performances by other artists besides Lennon, such as Stevie Wonder and Roberta Flack, but their performances were not included in the album.
Okay, now let's talk about the album: for this event, our John enlisted the Elephant's Memory, who had already played on the controversial "Some Time in New York City" (a failure both critically and with the public). The performance opens with Geraldo Rivera (the organizer of these concerts) introducing Lennon and Ono, and he is also mentioned by Lennon during an improvisation in the lyrics of the first song played, "New York City", widely supported by choral singing. This song is nothing more than a welcome greeting to the American audience, even if it's sung: we immediately notice that in the live show, we will also have the presence of the sax, almost never present in either the Beatles' albums or John's.
Probably here, to make the concert more exciting and exhilarating, the ex-Beatle decided to rely on the same instrument. Then we move on to "It's So Hard" which flows like a river but leaves no mark. However, the ballad "Woman Is the Nigger of the World" deserves mention, a song with libertarian imprints conceived by Yoko. The song describes and denounces the condition of women's servitude in different world cultures and was even banned from the radio because of the word "nigger" in the title, although many Black personalities of the time spoke out in defense of the song. After a song we define as "calm," the tones slightly rise with "Well Well Well", the usual cacophonous Lennon tune.
In a sense, however, it is almost slightly softened here, as if a pillow had been placed over it. The guitar roars less, while John's voice is not as aggressive as we are used to. "Instant Karma!", performed here perhaps in a more frantic and fast way (with a heavy drum), introduces the long and intense session of classics: indeed, then comes the raw "Mother", the same as we know it in the studio version (not a noteworthy demonstration here either) and, although the songs performed by John Lennon predominantly draw from the last three albums published (John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band, Imagine, and Some Time in New York City), he also includes a track from the Fab Four, "Come Together", and pays tribute to his idol Elvis Presley by playing "Hound Dog". Among the setlist, we also have the ultimate pacifist anthem, that "Imagine" that has made and continues to make millions of people dream around the world, and the cold "Cold Turkey" that does not hide explicit references to drugs. It all ends with a short "Give Peace a Chance" sung by the spectators, bringing the live show to a close.
A good album, no doubt, but not definable as epic or legendary. To listen to casually, for all those who want to spend about forty minutes in the company of good music.
Tracklist and Lyrics
02 It's So Hard (03:18)
You gotta live
You gotta love
You gotta be somebody
You gotta shove
But it's so hard, it's really hard Sometimes I feel like going down
You gotta eat
You gotta drink
You gotta feel something
You gotta worry
But it's so hard, it's really hard
Sometimes I feel like going down
But when it's good
It's really good
And when I hold you in my arms baby
Sometimes I feel like going down
You gotta run
You gotta hide
You gotta keep your woman satisfied
But it's so hard, it's really hard
Sometimes I feel like going down
06 Mother (04:59)
Mother, you had me, but I never had you
I wanted you, you didn't want me
So I, I just got to tell you
Goodbye, goodbye
Father, you left me, but I never left you
I needed you, you didn't need me
So I, I just got to tell you
Goodbye, goodbye
Children, don't do what I have done
I couldn't walk and I tried to run
So I, I just got to tell you
Goodbye, goodbye
Mama don't go
Daddy come home
(repeat 9 more times)
08 Imagine (03:17)
Imagine there's no heaven
It's easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us only sky
Imagine all the people
Living for today
Imagine there's no countries,
It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace
You...you may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope some day you'll join us
And the world will be as one
Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world
You...you may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope some day you'll join us
And the world will live as one
09 Cold Turkey (05:29)
Temperature's rising
Fever is high
Can't see no future
Can't see no sky
My feet are so heavy
So is my head
I wish I was a baby
I wish I was dead
Cold turkey has got me on the run
My body is aching
Goose-pimple bone
Can't see no body
Leave me alone
My eyes are wide open
Can't get to sleep
One thing I'm sure of
I'm in at the deep freeze
Cold turkey has got me on the run
Cold turkey has got me on the run
Thirty-six hours
Rolling in pain
Praying to someone
Free me again
Oh I'll be a good boy
Please make me well
I promise you anything
Get me out of this hell
Cold turkey has got me on the run
Oh, oh, oh, oh
10 Hound Dog (03:10)
We like to do the last number and go and recover.
One, two, three, four!
You ain't nothin' but a hound dog,
cryin' all the time;
you ain't nothin' but a hound dog,
cryin' all the time.
You ain't never caught a rabbit
and you ain't no friend of mine.
When they said that you was highclassed,
that was just a lie;
when they said that you was highclassed,
that was just a lie.
You ain't never caught no rabbit,
you ain't no friend of mine.
You ain't nothin' but a hound dog,
cryin' all the time;
you ain't nothin' but a hound dog,
cryin' all the time.
You ain't never caught no rabbit
you ain't no friend of mine.
You ain't nothin' but a hound dog,
cryin' all the time;
you ain't nothin' but a hound dog,
cryin' all the time.
You ain't never caught a rabbit
you ain't no friend of mine.
Well, they said that you was highclassed,
well, that was just a lie;
well, they said that you was highclassed, babe,
you know it's a lie.
You ain't never caught no rabbit,
you ain't no friend of mine.
You ain't nothin' but a hound dog,
cryin' all the time;
you ain't nothin' but a hound dog,
cryin' all the time.
Elvis, i love you!!
You ain't never caught no rabbit
you ain't no friend of mine
11 Give Peace a Chance (01:00)
Two, one two three four
Everybody's talking about
Bagism, Shagism, Dragism, Madism, Ragism, Tagism
This-ism, that-ism, is-m, is-m, is-m.
All we are saying is give peace a chance
All we are saying is give peace a chance
Come on
Everybody's talking about Ministers,
Sinisters, Banisters and canisters
Bishops and Fishops and Rabbis and Pop eyes,
And bye bye, bye byes.
All we are saying is give peace a chance
All we are saying is give peace a chance
Let me tell you now
Everybody's talking about
Revolution, evolution, masterbation,
flagellation, regulation, integrations,
meditations, United Nations,
Congratulations.
All we are saying is give peace a chance
All we are saying is give peace a chance
Everybody's talking about
John and Yoko, Timmy Leary, Rosemary,
Tommy Smothers, Bobby Dylan, Tommy Cooper,
Derek Taylor, Norman Mailer,
Alan Ginsberg, Hare Krishna,
Hare, Hare Krishna
All we are saying is give peace a chance
All we are saying is give peace a chance
(repeats)
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