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Rating: I have always wondered as a musician what the ultimate boundary is, the point of no return between experimentalism and noise. Reading scattered phrases and half-reviews about this amphetamine period of Lennon, the most often babbled words are "experimental," "avant-garde," and "unfortunately little understood," and listening to "Life With The Lions," I discovered why and went beyond.
Anyway.. for those who didn't know, a little history lesson: between 1968 and 1969, Beatle John released three albums of so-called avant-garde music influenced by the French musique concrète movement of the early fifties and the works of Italian composer Luciano Berio and particularly Karlheinz Stochkausen. All with the precious and decisive help of Yoko Ono.
Informative prelude: I do not belong to that school of thought that sees Yoko Ono as the dark soul, the concentrated evil, the bitch who addled Lennon and dissolved the Beatles.. simply because I have too much respect for John Lennon. End of prelude.
The album opens with "Cambridge 1969." The announcement is by Yoko, and there's little else to say. Lennon is responsible for the constant, hypnotic feedback while Yoko screams and giggles for 26 minutes and 30 seconds, the entire duration of the track. Listening to it, I come to the conclusion that this is the sound an old hen would make if it could stick markers up its ass to crow like a rooster. Listen to believe.
We move on hopefully. The second track once again features Yoko Ono and is a composition supported by voices alone. "No Bed For Beatle John" it tells us, and in the distance, it is possible to hear Lennon whispering a disharmonic melody. Pure boredom. There's still room (or torment) after "Baby's Heartbeat," the most successful episode of the album, for "Two Minutes Silence," in my opinion, unnecessary after the lesson and provocation of John Cage, which, as the title suggests, consists of two precise minutes of absolute silence, and "Radio Play" in which the influence of Stockhausen's experiments is evident.
"Life With The Lions" concludes with "Song For John" where Lennon plays an "orthodox" guitar and "Mulberry" bonus track woven by a graceless, atonal guitar and the whining, moaning of Our/Your Yoko Ono.
In conclusion, this is an album for a select few on this earth. For Beatle John's maniacs. The amphetamine John.
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