ira Posted March 26, 2006 Share Posted March 26, 2006 Eric-I am going to plagiarize myself.Back in the day I posted this query.On Paul's first post-Beatle single-"Another Day"-his voice comes out of the radio with no intro.It is dramatic.It is terrific.It is the first time the world is hearing him solo.It announces "Here I Am"-or so I've always felt.The opening of "Let's Pretend' is every bit as dramatic -every bit as wonderful- if not moreso-as the opening to "Another Day".When your voice comes out of the radio with no intro- and the words -"I can't sleep nights"... fill the air -it is magic.It is known you admire Paul's work.Was his song an influence on how you opened "Let's Pretend"? Pleae share some thoughts with me on the genesis of this great song.Thanks-Ira. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LC Posted April 9, 2006 Share Posted April 9, 2006 Ira, It just hit me! You started a thread a while back where you got a little rough on John Lennon for his post-Beatles career. And on this thread here, I see that you love Paul McCartney's "Another Day." Today, I was listening to a Lennon CD in the car and suddenly, I put 2 and 2 together: When John wrote "How Do You Sleep" for his Imagine album (1971), he ripped Paul's music to shreds --- and he specifically mentioned "Another Day": "The only thing you done was yesterday, And since you're gone you're just another day. Ahhhhh, how do you sleep? Ahhhhh, how do you sleep at night?" I love Lennon and McCartney equally, but as a teenager back in the 1970s, I remember being peeved at John for writing "How Do You Sleep." (He took another little shot at Paul in an interior photo on Imagine, where he's shown grabbing onto a pig; he was mimicking a picture of Paul grabbing a ram on his Ram album.) I've since come to love "How Do You Sleep." What a GREAT song it is... classic Lennon: "The sound you make is muzak to my ears. You must have learned something in all those years. Ahhh, how do you sleep...." Anyway, Ira, my friend, it suddenly all made sense. The post in which you questioned Lennon's sincerity in his music was borne from John's knock of "Another Day." Am I right? --LC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LC Posted April 9, 2006 Share Posted April 9, 2006 PS: Paul's response to "How Do You Sleep," of course, was to write an unabashedly Lennonesque song, probably to show that he could nail John's style in a heartbeat. Quick, who knows what song it was? Clue: Paul played it on both of his major tours in 2001/02 and 2005.(This one's too easy for TOMMY TUNES, I know...) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
popdude Posted April 9, 2006 Share Posted April 9, 2006 "Let Me Roll It."Great song it is, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skip from st.paul mn Posted April 9, 2006 Share Posted April 9, 2006 That is a great question regarding Let's Pretend and it's genesis (Ira).Kudosto the other respondents take, very informed and insightful on the McCartney/Lennon analysis. We, by the way, listened to John's CD Rock and Roll this evening. Tremendous, especialy 30 years after. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ira Posted April 9, 2006 Author Share Posted April 9, 2006 Another real (and probably obvious to everyone too) MCartney/Carmen moment was Eric's "Oh Yeah" in "If You Change Your Mind"-Unbelievable! I always thought this coulda been the greatest "WINGS" record ever made.Hearing this song at my "Coming Out" party in Chicago was but one of many great moments that night. LC-you've probably got something there. And in all due respect to John-"MUZAK"-INDEED-Hmmph!-Ira. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lew Bundles Posted April 9, 2006 Share Posted April 9, 2006 How do you guys rate Lennon's solo output...I thought his stuff was so inconsistently weak...I have seen a lot of Paul bashing, but it seems to me that his solo albums(?) were so much more consistent than Lennon's offerings...PLATIC ONO BAND...Overrated, good but not great...IMAGINE...Some great moments, but overall pretty okay...SOMETIME IN NEW YORK CITY...HorribleMIND GAMES...A couple of decent numbers, but essentially sub-parWALLS AND BRIDGES...Much better than the last two predecessors...Kind of equal to DRIVING RAIN...ROCK AND ROLL...Better than Mac's 50's albumDOUBLE FANTASY...Consistently, his best stuff, but of course,you have to work around Yoko's things...MENLOVE AVE...take it for what its worth...Stuff that he didnt release when he was alive...As with Paul, some of his best stuff were singles that were never originally released within the framework of an LP...Instant Karma,Give Peace A Chance and Power to the People...Just my opinion Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LC Posted April 9, 2006 Share Posted April 9, 2006 Lew, I'd pretty much agree with everything you've got there. Great capsule reviews! I probably like Imagine more than you do, and also I might like Mind Games a little better than you might ("par" rather than "subpar"), but yeah, you've nailed post-Beatle John.That said, I'll put on any of his '70s compilations any time and enjoy the heck out of it. Because when you add up the highlights from each of those albums, it's a killer body of work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LC Posted April 9, 2006 Share Posted April 9, 2006 PS: Imagine is probably my favorite solo John, even more so than Plastic Ono Band. Besides "How Do You Sleep," there are some timeless gems there.... "Crippled Inside," "Jealous Guy," "Oh Yoko," "It's So Hard" (it's really hard, sometimes I feel like I'm goin' down), and, of course, the title track.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lew Bundles Posted April 9, 2006 Share Posted April 9, 2006 Imagine is my favorite also, with Jealous Guy being at the top of the heap...Other John highlights...(Other than the obvious)GodIsolationBless YouNew York CityI'm Losing YouStand By MeJust Because Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MAM Posted April 9, 2006 Share Posted April 9, 2006 I've always been fond of "Mother", "God" and "Oh My Love". When Double Fantasy came out I transferred it to tape, left out the Yucko Ucko tracks and retitled it "Single Fantasy". Much more enjoyable (to my ears) to listen to.By the way, Cheap Trick does an awesome version of "I'm Losing You" on one of their in concert DVDs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
popdude Posted April 9, 2006 Share Posted April 9, 2006 MAM said: By the way, Cheap Trick does an awesome version of "I'm Losing You" on one of their in concert DVDs. Cheap Trick's Rick Neilsen and Bun E. Carlos actually recorded guitar and drum parts on John Lennon's "I'm Losing You," but reportedly a "jealous" and/or "paranoid" Yoko Ono made sure that their contributions were nowhere to be found on the finished tune... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MAM Posted April 9, 2006 Share Posted April 9, 2006 oh yeah, I forgot about that, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pierson Posted April 9, 2006 Share Posted April 9, 2006 PS: Paul's response to "How Do You Sleep," of course, was to write an unabashedly Lennonesque song,.... who knows what song it was?well... besides Let Me Roll It, he wrote a response to How Do You Sleep very shortly after hearing it... that would be "Dear Friend" on Wildlife Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raspberrywine Posted April 10, 2006 Share Posted April 10, 2006 Yes but what Lennon song was the "Let me Roll it" lick derived from?????? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lew Bundles Posted April 10, 2006 Share Posted April 10, 2006 Sounds like it could have been derived from "Cold Turkey"...Also, the Nielson/Carlos instrumentation can be heard on the Lennon box set...It is a rippin' version... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raspberrywine Posted April 10, 2006 Share Posted April 10, 2006 Yes, Cold Turkey!! Way to go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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