Customer Reviews

The Art & Music of John Lennon

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The pseudonymous John Robertson is one of the few writers on John Lennon (or the Beatles) who doesn't subscribe to any of the myths that clog this important artist's legacy. This book and his later chronology "Lennon 1940-1980" are essential reading for any serious fan, both scrupulously researched and entertaining, scholarly yet readable. From Lennon's teenage scribblings to his first recordings with the 'Quarry Men', to the years of Beatlemania and psychedelic experimentation, to Yoko Ono and avant-garde wackiness, to the 'Lost Weekend' and the shut-in Dakota years, to Lennon's final, sudden burst of creativity before the end - every twist and turn of this bizarre, brilliant career is chronicled with a sharp, critical but loving eye. There was a lot more to Lennon than 'Imagine', and a lot of it was truly surreal - whole books of stream-of-consciousness, pun-laden nonsense; 'art' exhibits filled with grapefruit, spoons and sponges; endless avant-noise recordings and live performances that came close to absolute madness; reviews, self-advertisements and letters to the editor; spoken word tapings, erotic lithographs and off-the-wall cartoons (Dali as done by Thurber) - the aesthetic debris cast off by a whirling dervish of creativity, a man who often did nothing but sleep for months on end but somehow could never squelch his burning desire to create and perform, the spark that dragged him from 'Please Please Me' to 'Cold Turkey', and then to 'Double Fantasy'. A definitive study of Lennon would require several volumes; in about 200 pages, Robertson provides a better (and mercifully shorter) analysis than almost anyone else so far.

This is a vital book for any fan, every piece of art & music John Lennon has ever done. John Robertson does a good job which other Lennon books miss: Detailed Account to all the art done with Yoko, solo music, and tour information. One of the best highlights is all the lost sessions, including the five year seclusion while John was house husband. Robertson covers so many songs that John has recorded that are not even released to this day. Robertson's book judges the man not for his mistakes, but for the works of art and music John Lennon has left behind for us all.