Defend the Indefensible: "Sometime in New York City"

say, what exacly does "you bastards, you killed Hiraki" mean, anyway? '(Don't Worry Kybko')

 

Um...one joint and a Kurosawa movie too many?

 

Side 4, believe it or not, got me through a troubled adolescence. Don't ask me why or how, it just did. For the album itself, I love "Attica State," "Born In A Prison," "John Sinclair" and "New York City." The rest of it is a cringefest, even when I was 13. I saw Broadway second preview of Lennon:The Musical and they actually used "Woman Is The ****** Of The World." You could tell that they were trying to show how ballsy they were by including it, but they made certain there were enough African-American cast members to deflect any possible criticism (in the end, a good move: Chuck Cooper, Michael Potts, Mark Richard Ford and Marcy Harriell, who sings "Woman Is..." and who does a pretty funny Elton John and Jerry Rubin impersonation, are the best things in it). They also use the opening lines from "Luck Of the Irish, " "John Sinclair" and all of "New York City" and "Attica State" I'm pretty amazed they used that much of the album in the show.

 

One?

 

I think she says "Hanratty" - a reference to the allegedly wrong conviction and execution of James Hanratty in 1961.

http://www.stephen-stratford.co.uk/james_hanratty.htm

 

In general, 1972 was an uneven year for the solo four -
While JL did STINYC, PM did Wild Life.
OTOH, RS did Back Off Boogaloo. GH released Concert for Bangladesh.

 

a question about the best pressing of this LP - would it be the UK or US? the album was recorded right in NYC, correct?

 

what a strange thing to yell at a NYC rock concert in 1971. just who did she think was in the audience, anyway?

 

I always assumed (repeat: ASSUMED) that, because EMI owned the rights, it didn't matter where the album was recorded. once it was finished, the master tape would be sent to the UK for storage, and a safety transfer would be prepared for each country. I always sought out the first UK pressings based on this assumption. none of them made me too unhappy.

(if John and Yoko had moved to, and recorded in, Mexico, would you want to own the Mexican pressings?)

 

"Don't Worry Kyoko" is from the London Lyceum, December 1969, when the Hanratty case was the Lennons' cause of the week. By January they had pretty much forgotten all about it.

- John

 

Well.... This was my favorite Lennon's album, when I was 11-12. And Lennon was my favorite artist.
Perhaps I must warn you that not being an English native speaker, all the excessive straightness (or plainness) of the lyrics simply escaped me at that time. The straightness even helped me to understand the subjects a little. I remember I did some translations of those lyrics to Portuguese.
And I still think it's a good rock'n'roll album. Not at all sophisticated, but very strong. Songs like "New York City", "Sunday Bloody Sunday", "Attica State", they rock. "Luck of the Irish", if you forget the lyrics, is an acceptable "hymn". So is "Angela". "Woman is the ****** of the world" is good tune by any standard.
And the "live jam" disc, well... It was the first time I heard about Zappa, and it has the best Cold Turkey version, including the white album's.
Of course, IMO.

 

The topics of this album dated it within six months of it's release. Consider, also, that Yoko, looking back, must be embarrassed by it. Hence her not remastering it or re-releasing it. "New York City", "John Sinclair", and "Woman" are the only tracks that can still be listened to today, and even then, the heavy-handed lyricism kill those tracks.


Evan

 

I don't think "Cold Turkey" was on the White Album, or any Beatles album for that matter.

 

That's quite true. And this "live" version is heavily dubbed in the studio. Klaus Voorman re-recorded his bass track, Nicky Hopkins added a keyboard track and John dubbed, then edited in where necesary, new vocals as well. I wrote enough about this album, enough to listen to it again, from beginning to end last night. I was too kind. IMO, it's a horrible album, recorded terribly, dare I say almost amateurishly. Musical backing is weak, and on some songs emabarrasing. It would be like reading the headlines of today and commenting on the Iraqi war, sexual abuse, church issues, Supreme court appointees, gas prices, George Bush, Michael Jackson and other top issues of the day...in an acerbic, caustic manner....lashing out at everything at once and offering nothing to help the situations. One year after "Imagine".....where did John's hope and optimism go? Two years after "Give Peace A Chance" why the cry for anarchy and protest?? "Got to, got to, got to, got to, got to, got to...set it free" INDEED> Ron

 

I tried to make this point in a less tactful manner in an earlier post, but the political climate then was as polarized then as it is today. It's not surprising that the hippie idealism of the 60s had faded by 1972 - Nixon was still president, the war in Vietnam seemed no closer to ending, the peace and love movement hadn't really changed anything - and now radical groups like the Weathermen were blowing up government buildings in protest. I agree with you that the songs on STiNYC are less subtle than "Imagine," although, as I quoted in my initial post, John stated in contemporary interviews that "Imagine" was the same message as STiNYC, but sugar-coated for mass consumption.

In some respects, STiNYC was a culmination of trends in John's personality that had been evident from the very beginning. He was always acerbic, caustic, and anti-authority. The famous "those of you in the cheap seats, clap your hands, the rest of you rattle your jewelry" quote may have been masked in humour or Beatle "wit," but reflected a very real hostility towards the establishment on John's part, which was glimpsed throughout the 60s in various incidents such as when John insulted the governor of Jamaica during the filming of "Help!", the "bigger than Jesus" controversy, the Philippines controversy, etc. There's a hilarious clip in the Beatles' Anthology where an interviewer asks John about the controversy over the Beatles' performance at the Budokan arena, which was apparently the site of sacred sumo wrestling performances, and John leans into the camera and says something like "It's just wrestling, innit?"

 

Sorry. For a moment I was confused between "cold turkey" and "yer blues". What a shame!

 

One thing that always bothered me about STiNYC:

Picking Elephant's Memory as the backing band.

Outside of Stan Bronstein, who in this band had any chops?

 

Antonkk: I agree!

 

WOw good points and what a lot of thought you put into it. Still wrong but I am impressed. Keep in mind that I still play Unfinshed Music, Two Virgins, Electronic Sounds and the Wedding Album after all these years so might see why I love this Lp and i wished John had explored this direction More!!!

 

Lennon was never really known for being consistent as a solo artist.

"Some Time In New York City" is just another example.

 

Well thanks for the response....by the way neither of us is "wrong" here, just two people with differing opinions. That you can actually "listen" to Two Virgins and the companion albums says a lot about your, shall we say, esoteric tastes in art. As a Beatle fan, I of course bought these albums way back when....listened to them a few times and filed them away. But posts like this can be helpful. Just as i did with STINYC, I took out those early John and Yoko albums and gave them a spin. If anything, my opinion on them has deepened over time. Personally, there is not one single redeeming moment of music on any of them....the Cambridge University gig is beyond horrendous. What exactly is the comparison to these "art" albums and STINYC? Are you referring to the Jam album and the Cambridge set only? Other than that you hear them talking, calling each other's name endlessly...and if listening to Yoko's baby dying heartbeat is your cup of tea....than so be it. I find the contents completely self-indulgent and worthless. Now....what do you think of Wall and Bridges? all the best, Ron

 

"Hiraki" is the name given to Kenny McCormick's character in the Japanese version of South Park.


D.D.

 

Gotta like Cold Turkey

 

Musically, it contains one song I can take or leave (Woman is the.....) and two which, while fit the album atmospherically, are wasted on it. I think both NYC and John Sinclair are worthy of his near-best post Beatle material. While they're not a part of the proper album, I also very much like Well (Baby Please Don't Go) and the live version of Cold Turkey from the bonus album. Both of these feature John at his finest of any officially released performances we got from him as a solo artist. For what it's worth, I like the album for-as I said before- the general atmosphere of immediacy it puts forth as a package (great cover) and an idea. Unfortunately, John's overall songwriting, added to Yoko's songs, make for an album I own simply because it IS John Lennon.