John Lennon took an official five years off between 1975 and 1980 to raise his newborn son Sean Lennon with his famous (or infamous, depending on who you talk to) Japanese artist and wife Yoko Ono, with whom he collaborated on this album release. This album initially did not fare very well critically or commercially, but following the tragic murder of John Lennon in late 1980 shortly after this album was released in New York, it sold and charted highly in memory of one of the most talented musicians of the 20th century that John Lennon was. Booking some sessions in early 1980 at the Hit Factory studios in New York, these songs originated out of a strange series of circumstances whilst at sea. That is no joke. Signed to the now legendary Geffen Records, this is a very important recording in the history of music. John Lennon was not totally aware that his time on this planet was up, but all the same, we should explore this album for its historical and culturally important music, given what happened afterwards. Let’s take a listen to this important album and we shall hear where it takes us.

(Just Like) Starting Over begins with a bell chime and has some rather aged singing by John Lennon with some acoustic guitar chords. This sounds quite good, although it lacks the energy and immediate impressiveness of the works of The Beatles. Soon enough, this launches into a pseudo-reggae groove that sounds quite good. This is a good song but it sounds quite tuneless and some of the singing sounds a little out of key. It’s not outright bad but could have been a lot better per se. This is relatively enjoyable and a timely reminder of the power and musical importance of John Lennon, even if the five years off from making music clearly impacted the quality of the music. Still, this is very quintessentially Beatlesque and it does sound really sweet and great. A good piano-driven piece that is a reminder of such an awesome and talented musician from the 21st century. This has a false ending with flanger-laden vocals, before resuming to conclude with a nice fade out. Good but not great.

Kiss Kiss Kiss is a Yoko Ono piece that begins with some whispered Japanese lyrics and launches into a song that is, quite frankly, awful. Instantly, do skip this song. Yoko Ono is neither a great singer nor a musician, and John Lennon ought to have known better than to trust her in that area. In any case, this is a joke of a song that you can play with your friends for a bit of a laugh. A weird and odd listening experience, there is a breakdown in the second half with some samples of Yoko’s god-awful screams, and some sexual Japanese throughout as well. Clever but it does not make for great music. Anyway, it is over fairly quickly.

Cleanup Time begins with some weird and discordant clean electric guitar, launching into an odd song sung by John Lennon. Even so, this is a better-than-expected listening experience with an element of legendary sound and classy nature. A really cool three-minute-long tune that sounds interesting, musically varied and adventurous, especially with the guitar playing and dual-tracked saxophones throughout. Cool, quirky and different, John Lennon still pulls it off nicely in his later years. The saxophone solo in the second half is awesome, as is the overall vibe of this song. A great, great listen from this album. Definitely worth a listen, it ends with a fade out of random noises.

Give Me Something is another Yoko Ono piece. It begins with delayed wah-wah guitars and has Yoko Ono yelping away before this launches into a Yoko Ono sung tune by John Lennon that is fairly aged and not that impressive, to be fair. Fortunately, this is only a minute and a half long. Even so, this is certainly nothing special in the history of music. The guitars sound poorly arranged and do not match each other. It ends abruptly. Very weird.

I’m Losing You is a John Lennon piece with some raptor vocals and traditional guitars and keyboards, along with drums, to begin with. This is back to the more normal John Lennon musical side that we are used to here. A good song but certainly lacks The Beatles magic of the past, it is clear that Lennon’s time off was not all that well utilised in musical terms, to be fair. In any case, this is okay but this album is obviously lacking, despite the fact it has its moments. This is another case in point. John Lennon had lost his musical focus by this point, and although he has moments of glory, they are rare on this album. A weird guitar solo section in the second half emerges before John Lennon launches into ego overdrive. An okay effort but certainly nothing memorable, and very repetitive as well. This could have been done much better. It fades out with some odd random bits of noise, segueing into the next track.

I’m Moving On continues on with the noises, before this song kicks in. It’s another rather ordinary Yoko Ono piece that does not need to be listened to. Again, this is a fairly short piece of music just over two minutes in length that kickstarted the 1980s Synth Pop scene in a not-so-good way. There are guitars present as well. This is barely okay as the melodies and musicianship are very below par. Fortunately, you can skip this tune, even with Yoko Ono’s sustained vocal, which is different. She does her weird wailing at the end as well. In short, not good.

Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy) begins with the sounds of rushing waves, some bell chimes and launches into a keyboard ballad at hand. This is, no doubt, about Sean Lennon, John’s son. John Lennon sings a nice song here, but even so, this is a lack of effort throughout this song as a piece of music. Even so, John Lennon made a good song for his young son at this time. This is a picturesque and decent listening experience that sounds and seems more focused musically. A better piece of music that has some originality and flair musically. “Life is what happens to you when you are busy making other plans…” is the standout lyric on this song, just before the chorus returns here again. This has various sound effects and bongo drums to match as well. A very sweet and gentle listening experience, John Lennon makes one feel appreciated in the process. In the second half, this ends prematurely, before John Lennon whispers to his son a goodnight message. This wraps up with rushing waves and the sound of children on the beach. Sweet yet different.

Watching The Wheels is a piano-driven ballad by John Lennon. It has his inimitable voice and drums to match the piano, along with subtle bass guitar. John sings about the public image persona versus the John Lennon that only a few really knew of in his personal life. In any case, this is a very enjoyable song that sounds quite cool. It rails against those who criticised him after The Beatles and their various complaints about him. All the same, this is another good but probably not great song to listen to. At least John Lennon got his act together to create this last album before he left us. Nonetheless, this is better than you’d think. The brass is arranged like a string section here. This song ends with some treated vocals and piano finale, before a strange intermission to conclude this song enters. Very weird. Only John himself would have gotten this.

Yes, I’m Your Angel leads in from the previous song with footsteps, followed by the distant sound of piano and music at hand. This slowly fades in and launches into a horrible ballad with Yoko Ono singing this one. It just points out exactly why John should have never let her near the microphone. This is not a good song and is obviously filler on this album. Only John & Yoko would have understood this nonsensical and poor song to listen to. Skip ahead if you wish, you are not missing out on much here. Yoko’s singing voice is better than her infamous wailing on the experimental album releases back in the late 1960s (of which the less said about, the better). Ordinary.

Woman is the signature tune from this album. It begins with the band playing away and chiming electric guitars, launching into a good song that does have some more typical John Lennon-styled magic throughout. In any case, this is a good Pop/Rock tune that sums up 1980 in a musical nutshell. John’s playing and singing are both very good here, and this has a very late 1970s/early 1980s flavour musically to it all. Sadly, John Lennon is no longer with us but his immortal spirit is present in his music. A cool, enjoyable and accessible song. There is a key change in the second half which adds more flavour to this tune. A simple, soppy yet good listening experience. Good music and songcraft, all the way through to the fade out.

Beautiful Boys is a Yoko Ono based piece. It has reversed flute, acoustic guitars and some very awful sounds as well. Yoko Ono sings about her son, and this music is not worth listening to, to be fair. Sadly, this could have been bettered or removed in retrospect. Yoko Ono would be best not to go anywhere near a recording studio and instead stick to her conceptual art at hand. Aside from some good acoustic guitar, this has little to no musical value. Skip ahead, if you wish. There are some Star Wars samples (surely, they could have been sued for that?) and other musical samples that are interesting. Aside from that, avoid this. Not impressive.

Dear Yoko begins with some upbeat and funky guitar sounds. John Lennon launches into an Elvis Presley-influenced tune that is again, not the greatest. John sings selfishly about his one and only, and he professes his eternal love to her. Sort of catchy for how bad this is, this song isn’t mind-blowingly nor that sweet. A musical mish-mash of rather lazy and uninspired music, this is also worth avoiding, if you can. The Country Music styling is very much not John Lennon. It ends quickly with some random sound samples and wraps up there.

Every Man Has A Woman Who Loves Him begins with some rather ordinary and uninspired music with beats, rhythmic guitars and Yoko Ono singing this song. It’s okay but as we approach the end of this album, one can sense the fact that this is a lethargic and lazy effort as an album overall. This sounds out of place, especially as it is a John Lennon song sung by his non-musical wife. Think about that. The music here isn’t the greatest either, and although it’s not outright horrible, it could have been done much, much better. In any case, John and Yoko deliver their often ridiculed and much-overlooked worldview philosophy on tracks such as these. A good listen, at best. This album would be best ignored, except for the standout tracks. Sadly, this is not up to the hype. A weird and odd listening experience is present. It fades out at the end.

Hard Times Are Over is the final piece on this album. It begins with some background chatter and launches into a Yoko Ono sung ballad with piano. This is a good listen but certainly not a standout musical experience. Again, why on earth is Yoko Ono singing on John Lennon’s music? She is not a distinctively memorable or good vocalist overall, especially when she does her wailing. The saxophone solos are very sweet, however. Regardless, this music is certainly an interesting listening experience for its dull and subpar nature. The chorus on this song is rubbish. The saxophone on this song does save it a bit until this song numbs your brain with boredom and poor melodies. This ends after over three minutes, and the album finishes here.

In retrospect, this album is a failure. The mixture of poor music, bad musicianship and unfocused songs with weird melodies makes this an uncomfortable listening experience. The patchiness of this album’s material also does drag this down. Sure, this did end up being fairly popular, but just because something is popular, does not mean that it is good. Should you listen to this album? Only if you are a hardcore John Lennon fan, otherwise the answer is clearly no.

R.I.P. John Lennon.

5/10