Live Peace in Toronto 1969

John Lennon | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (July 18, 1995)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Capitol
• ASIN: B000002UT9
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  DVD Audio  |  Vinyl
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (29 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #85,307 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

39 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars John Lennon, Live and Raw!!, December 24, 2003

By 

Louie Bourland (Garden Grove CA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Live Peace in Toronto 1969 (Audio CD)

"Live Peace In Toronto" captures John Lennon and a hastly assembled group of players in a raw rare live performance at Toronto's Rock and Roll Revival Festival on September 13th 1969. Lennon's makeshift band during this performance consists of Eric Clapton on guitar, Klaus Voorman on bass, Alan White (later to become famous in the band Yes) on drums and of course, Yoko Ono.
The almost 'anything goes' nature of this performance is largely due to the fact that this group had never played together before (hence John's opening announcement). The only rehearsal being on an airplane from England to the actual Toronto gig.
Once on the stage, John and his Plastic Ono Band dive into some remarkable renditions of some classic oldies that had been an influence on Lennon. After a brief tune-up, the band rips into a snarling version of "Blue Suede Shoes" followed by an equalling heavy version of "Money". This is followed by a solid yet spontaneous take on "Dizzy Miss Lizzie" in which John seems to be making up the words as he goes along. John's set closes with three Lennon originals beginning with "Yer Blues" from The Beatles "White Album". The version included here launches into a short but stellar jam with some great lead guitar work from Lennon and Clapton. Next up is the world premiere of John's ode to heroin withdrawl "Cold Turkey". The audience's reaction to this song was understandably mixed which prompted John to tell the audience to "come on and wake up". This quote was edited out of the album but is left in its accompanying film. Finally, Lennon finishes his half of the show with a rousing amped-up version of "Give Peace A Chance" which turns into a joyful sing-along. Not a bad way to end a show....
...But it's not over yet. After "Give Peace A Chance", John steps up to the microphone and announces that "Yoko is going to do her thing all over you". What follows is a full-throttle assault on the Toronto crowd beginning with the jamming "Don't Worry Kyoko" in which Yoko cackles, wails and screams while the band jams on a repeated four-chord riff. This leads into a raucous 13-minute finale entitled "John, John, Let's Hope For Peace" which features more of Yoko's torturous howling accompanied by droning screeching guitar feedback from the instruments of Lennon, Clapton and Voorman along with White randomly making fills across his drum kit when he can. The show ends with Yoko bleating out a series of high-pitched screams while John Lennon and the rest of the band leave their instruments against their amplifiers before walking off the stage. After Yoko bellows her last breath, it's the sound of solid feedback which follows. After roadie Mal Evans shuts off the amps, there is an obvious sound of confusion and disarray from the crowd. A surprising end to an outstanding one-off performance.
This CD captures the entire Toronto performance in its entirety from the band tuning-up to the final drone of feedback at the end. The mix on the CD is different from that of the original LP. The LP captures more of the raw live sound heard at the event while the CD has a more polished mix with echo added to the drums and some of the vocals. I personally perfer the mix on the original LP but the CD version is not bad either.
The CD booklet features a reproduction of the original calender which came with the LP. Instead of being for 1970, it's for 1995 (a bit outdated now).
"Live Peace In Toronto" is still a rare find for Lennon and Beatle collector's. Both the CD and the original LP are worth searching out for. Most people will want to skip over Yoko's half of the show and only listen to John's. Apart from the strange finale from Yoko, this is a great performance from John Lennon. There was really nothing quite like this afterwards.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Live Peace Rules, August 12, 2001

By 

angelo savino (staten island, new york United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Live Peace in Toronto 1969 (Audio CD)

From start to finish, one of the greatest live albums ever. Great takes on rock standards Dizzy Miss Lizzie, Blue Suede Shoes, and Money, and new songs like Cold Turkey. On "Side 2", where Yoko does her thing all over you, you get to hear John doing some amazing things with distortion and feedback. Highly recommended, and worth every penny.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Historic and raw, March 12, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Live Peace in Toronto 1969 (Audio CD)

This was a liberating performance for Lennon and Ono, and an oddly riveting one. The band is loose around the edges, never having played together before, but they end up creating a powerhouse of sound.