John Lennon song by song album by album thread.

Recording of Jealous Guy, from Gimme Some Truth documentary:

 

Interesting. I can’t say I remember ever hearing “Child of Nature”. I’m glad he saved this tune and wrote better lyrics. A beautiful melody and a hard song not to love. 5/5

 

Jealous Guy: 4.5 / 5

Another excellent number. So far this album looks to be a winner, he's 3 for 3 right out of the gate.
Good lyric and great melody. Big improvement over Child of Nature, I'd say.
Glad he held off on that one for this, better concept & lyric by far.

 

It's part of the Escher demos, the songs they worked on after coming back from India and just before going into the studio to record the White Album. Available for a long time as a bootleg but officially released recently as part of The White Album Deluxe re-mixed by Giles Martin.

 

Also they played Bllack Dog Blues - the basis for Crippled Inside in Jan 69

And more than one Beatle played on at least Teddy Boy and I believe Hot As Sun and Let It Down and perhaps Junk

 

I have listened to a lot of the Escher demos in the past, but I can’t recall this song on it. Now I need to dig back into those demos!

 

I first heard Child of Nature when I bought The Lost Lennon Tapes Volume 9 from a Chicago record shop in the mid ‘90’s. It contained all of Johns Esher demo’s & it was a real thrill to hear The Beatles ‘unplugged’ like this; especially the discovery that Jealous Guy had previously been Child of Nature.

I think we can all agree that John’s initial lyrics weren’t his best & Yoko was right to suggest a complete re-write.

 

Jealous Guy is vastly improved from Child Of Nature. Replaced an embarrassingly weak lyric with an epic one. Very similar to Imagine in both tempo and arrangement. My favorite line is "I was shivering inside" - I once wrote that line into a song - then realized I stole it from John and cut it.

A very enjoyable and beautiful song, but not one of my very favorites so I will rate it 4/5.

 

Jealous Guy - 4/5

 

Here’s a nifty little Child of Jealous Guy mash-up for anyone who’s ever wondered how the finished song may have sounded if John had never written new lyrics:

 

Wholly crap That is impressive!

 

Another Beatles run-through of Child of Nature with George providing harmonies:

 

Love that whistling. Wish he had done more of it.

 

Jealous Guy - just beautiful.
There was always this one note during the verses which was spine tingling.
Listening to the Alan White interviews posted earlier in the thread I realised it was the vibraphone played by Alan.

Child of Nature could be a totally different song for how it became transformed.

5/5 and some.

 

Jealous Guy 5/5

 

Not much to add to this except: YES. "Jealous Guy" is exquisite. Although later albums certainly had their moments, the POB and Imagine albums represent the high point of John's post-Beatles career IMHO.

 

Jealous Guy - beautiful song that really works with the simple/vulnerable feel that Lennon gives it.

4.8/5

Roxy Music's version is also great, even though it's really a different style.

 

Jealous Guy, Raw Studio Mix, 2018:



I really like these Raw Studio mixes; it’s like listening to them performing live in the room without any effects or overdubs.

 

Jealous Guy, Evolution documentary mix, 2018:

 

I love the “john lennon imagine ultimate collection”! I just hope Apple does something similar for John Lennon / Plastic Ono Band later this year.

 

I’m hoping/expecting one. Can’t wait to see what else they have, as we’ve already had plenty of stuff those those sessions on previous releases like Anthology & the Signature box-set.

 

I think Jealous Guy is one of those songs that gets a positive reaction by anyone who hears it. It’s a perfect song with the most delicate of melodies and a very mature lyric from John, basically admitting to something we all (whether we like it or not) can relate to. A timeless classic. 5/5

 

That 's fantastic! And beautiful.

 

I'm a couple songs behind and will post tomorrow but . . .

what exactly did John do to prompt the Jealous Guy lyrics?

 

Jealous Guy (5/5)

Certainly one of the best ballads John ever wrote. The melody is unforgettable and the lyrics are a honest confession of vulnerability. Very good performance too. The first line saying "I was dreaming of the past" brings the concept of "Yesterday" to my mind; but while Paul's song is about a lost love, John's song is about fear of losing love. Oh, and the track may feature one of the most famous whistlings recorded on a song.