Customer Reviews

Photograph Smile

5 star:		(81)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I LOVE this album! I had never heard of Julian's music until a few years ago. I have been a fan of The Beatles and John since I was 11 but didn't know much about Julian until I was 16. Then, I watched an interview with him on ABC's Primetime. Immediately I was struck by how much he resembled John and how alike their voices are! Yet, I saw him as an individual with a LOT of talent ALL his own! I also heard some samples of his songs and KNEW that I had to buy his newest album.

From the first time I listened to it, I LOVED IT!!! At times, I swore I was listening to John sing. He is hauntingly similar to his father, and that is a good thing! But, in voice only. Yes, he has some of the same unconscious mannerisms and stances of John, but, Julian has his own UNIQUE, beautiful style that really touched my heart. His voice has a lovely timbre, and he is quite talented in his writing, singing and playing of various instruments.

The songs themselves are so varied, from the Environmentally conscious "How Many Times" to the hopeful "Faithful" and "Day After Day" to the lighthearted "Kiss Beyond the Catcher" to yet another depth with "Good to be Lonely" and "Believe", personal favorites of mine. Hopeful songs in themselves. Other notables are "She Cries" "I Should Have Known" "Cold" and "Walls". Oh heck! The whole album is worth listening to OVER and OVER for the rest of your life!!! In fact, I'm listening to it as I write this review.

It's sad that today's music has changed so much, now we have to endure hip hop and rap dominating the charts, real musicians like Julian have been overlooked in favor of the one-hit wonders and fads that grow old quickly. Julian's style is enduring, he has put care and thought into each and every song! I found no fillers or "banged together" quickly-done songs on this album.

The years Julian took to put this together and pursue other interests really paid off, he constructed an enduring, spiraling, solid collection of his own ART! It can be compared to old-style architecture: slow to build but timeless in its endurance! He makes the most of his talents and in no way exploits them. Julian uses them to create songs truly drawn from the depths of his soul. Years in between albums has allowed Julian to mature and ripen like a fine wine, and I applaud the result!

Why on earth is it no longer available New on Amazon? As many critics have said, this was a new beginning for Julian! A true masterpiece of his own. As the great George Martin (producer for The Beatles) said: "Julian in himself is great, he would be greater if it were not for John, but still, he is a great artist on his own" which basically means that he always has to live in John's shadow because people will always compare him to John. If it weren't for John, Julian might be more well-known, but unfortunately, people write him off as an imitation of John without really knowing anything about Julian and his own brand of genius!

"Wind through the window, come sing me a song, show me a way to go on. I've been disconnected, loved and rejected, traveling inside of my soul. And I've clenched my fist, and I've cried for love, and I've prayed for the other souls out of control and the answers that came from above."
"Rain on the traintracks, the beat of my heart, the rhythm of life carries on. In mem'ries and dreams of the faces and places, I know I'll always belong."

That is pure genius in itself! And, it is wrapped in such a lovely melody! Julian speaks to me, his songs have found a kindred connection with my soul, I can't wait to hear more from him! Please Amazon, bring this back!!!

This is Julian's best yet! Jules is the best, he is a genius in his own right and has a beautiful, original creativity!

Julian Lennon has done his fans proud with probably his best album to date. He is finally letting his emotions out and not holding back one bit. Especially towards Yoko Ono whom he describes in the song "I should have Known" (just listen to the lyrics and you'll understand what I'm saying). Finally free of record companies trying to squeeze number one hits out of him and making him feel like he has to live up to his father, John Lennon's, legend. Julian shows everyone that he is his own person and the result is an album of beautiful songs. He even pays homage to his Beatle heritage "I Don't Wanna Know" with an equally humourous music video featuring a Beatlesque band which Julian does not appear as a band member. Which I think is a very smart move on his part. To all the skeptics out there, Julian is not trying to be his father or overshadow his father's career. He is a talented musican in his own right and I feel he deserves that respect. So get over it! I love this album and I hope that he keeps proving the skeptics wrongs with the albums that follow. Great work Jules!

This album is solid! My wife loves it! Julian is in fine form vocally...and his songwriting has blossomed, matured...Paul Mccartney should do a colloboration with Julian...musically they stand on similar terrain...immediate standout tracks are "And she Cries" with a sound similar to George harrison All Things Must Pass Album, the last track which takes off cleverly from Lucy in the Sky...after all, John said Julian did co-author the song in a way....and the 64 Beatlesque or should I say Rutley "I don't Want to Know".....all the other tracks are richly melodic...and a Beatles fan will find themselves proudly ading Julian to their Beatles collection!

Julian has had a lot to live up to...and he seems to have taken it in beautiful stride. He vowed, in 2000, to not speak again about his dad, and I commend him for this. He is John's son, but he has his own unique voice, and I dare say, may almost surpass his dad's solo career. Looking back over the reviews, I find it ludicrous that reviewers condemned him for sounding 'too much like his father'...for heaven's sake, he is the man's son!
But nowhere before does he sound more like John than on this album. From the start, with 'Day After Day' the role is written and sung, and never more beautiful. Julian has said this is the album he spent the most time on, to give his fans the 'real' Julian, and if there's more where this came from, I say bring it on. Emotions, raw, deep, questioning, fill this work. Loss, love, doubt, it's all here. My favorite would have to be 'Good to be Lonely'..."I've been disconnected, Loved and Rejected, travelling inside of my soul...it's good to be lonely, sometimes, 's better than nothing at all, it's good to be lonely, sometimes, a' least I'm prepared for the fall...and it's better than nothing at all...'a track about surviving, getting the guts to sustain one's self, after the world has let you down. It's a mantra to survival, and who has had to survive more than Julian? Who has had more to live up to, and with so little to work with, besides one's heritage? The songs 'Photograph Smile' and 'Way to Your Heart' leave me in tears each time I hear them, much like John's songs 'Oh my Love' and 'Mother' have the same effect. A truly soulful work, and one I listen to over and over again, as if I'm hearing it for the first time. Truly beautiful...the son that John left in the cold has come back warm, real and with real heart. I'm sure that somewhere in the afterlife, he's smiling and praising him.

Being a child of a Beatle must have been daunting to Julian Lennon. But as for inheriting the creative genes, Julian did indeed inherit them. For his 1999 release, Photograph Smile, which he lovingly dedicated to his `Step'-Father Roberto Bassanini, Julian produces one of his best albums to date. The entire record has a melodic Beatles style from the string arrangements to the gentle guitar strums, but it is all Julian along with songwriting partner Mark Shapiro contributing the musical compositions and Bob Rose also at the production reigns.

Every track is praiseworthy. With Julian producing, writing, playing, and singing the songs on Photograph Smile, he most likely was showered with inspiration by the music of John, Paul, George, and Ringo. From two opening tracks, "Day After Day" and the very John-like and atmospheric "Cold," you know this is going to be an amazing record. As the album progresses a "hard day's night" opening chord begins "I Don't Wanna Know," Julian contemplates the future as he had done in "Saltwater" in the philosophical, "How Many Times," and the song for the broken-hearted, "And She Cries." But apart from the Beatles comparisons, Julian offers two of the most beautiful tracks on the record, "Believe" and "Faithful" (with guest vocals done by Gemma Hayes).

Photograph Smile is a highly recommended album for any Julian Lennon fan or anyone who has an interest in good songwriting and music.

After reading a few of the reviews on here (positive & negative), I decided to take a chance. It's a very good CD, but that's me talking. At the same time, I can see why some people didn't care for it. Yeah, it's got a bit of a Sgt. Pepper's sound to it, but it also comes through as being unique in its own way (to me anyway). There's over an hour's worth of music on this cd, and as far as I can tell JL didn't waste any time here. Sounds hauntingly like his father, but that's not a bad thing, either. This CD probably would have fared much better had it been released earlier (70s-early 80s), and the rappers certainly wouldn't care for it. By the way, if you're having trouble locating it (new that is), you might want to try Amazon Japan (a bit pricier, however). Cheers!

Julian finally makes an album after 7 years. (As of 2005, another 7 years have passed still no new one in sight which is disappointing) But here Julian has matured, and his music and lyrics are much better than anything he has done, nice melodies. There is nothing groundbreaking here, but if you like Julian, this is a must have. Highlights are Day after Day, I Should Have Known, How Many Times, I Dont Wanna Know.

I have been a fan since Valotte. and I like the other reviewers here, can't believe why this cd didn't receive the airplay it deserves!There must have been some politics in there, with Sean's cd coming out on the same day ( Yoko?) It is one of those cds that you just leave on and you don't feel like you have to go and skip over songs that you don't like! I love every song!! Especially "Day after Day"," I should have known", "I don't want to know" and my fav right now "Cold".. I hope that what I have heard is true that he is working on his latest now. Can't wait! Buy this cd.. you won't regret it!

I can't say anything bad about this album. I got it some months back and, after hearing it the first time thought, "yeah. Its OK." But after I put it on again, and again, I fell in love with it. My mother eventually stole it from me, however, because she is supposedly his biggest fan. (She really digs that kind of music.) But anyway, its a beautiful record. The only song I don't like, surprisingly, is that "I Don't Want To Know" thing. Firstly, it is a very BAD John-Lennon "rip-off" song. John Lennon, when he was writing things like "A Hard Day's Night" or "If I Fell" was so overflowing with genius that I can't imagine him writing anything as weak as that tune.And lastly, its just not a good song. Its quite annoying, to be honest.

But all the other songs are just beautiful. And Julian has a MAGNIFICENT voice. He sounds just like his father, and to me John Lennon had the greatest voice ever. I also wouldn't want to judge this to any of John's albums. Its obvioius that his son inherited a great deal of songwriting talent, but it's a bit cruel to say, "well Julian can't make music like his dad." Hello? Its John Lennon. The man wrote "Strawberry Fields" and "I Am the Walrus" and all those other brilliant songs. Julian is absoutely fantastic in his own right, and he's definitely John's son- as is Sean.

I'm sure their father would be so proud if he could be here now.

"Photograph Smile", Julian Lennon's 5th album and his first in eight years since 1991's "Help Yourself" is quite simply his masterpiece. There isn't a bad song on this album! This record has the same lush, soothing, transcendant feel as his legendary father's (you know who!) 1971 album "Imagine". It features lush string arrangements that enhance the melody without turning it into mush. This is definitely a welcome return for someone that hasn't been heard from in awhile. The album is dedicated, "In Loving Memory", to his late step-father Roberto Bassanini. This loss must be the source of some of the brooding lyrics and melodies. Now Julian has lost two father figures in his lifetime and it's apparant that it's affected him deeply. Just as his debut album (1984's "Valotte") showed Julian coming out of the dark times he went through in the years immediately following John Lennon's murder, "Photograph Smile" shows Julian coming to terms with the death of another loved one. What's astounding listening to this album is the consistent quality of the songs and the beatlesque harmonies and melodies throughout. "Photograph Smile" is unlike his 3rd album (1989's "Mr. Jordan") where Julian tried to distance himself from sounding like his father and wound up sounding more like David Bowie in the process. "Photograph Smile" shows a fully matured Julian Lennon who isn't too self-concious anymore to worry about whether or not he sounds too much like his famous father. The opening track, "Day After Day" (also the album's first single), sets the tone for the entire record, with lush production and beatlesque vocals, it's Beatles/Lennon paradise!! There are other interesting moments on this record, such as the beginning of "Kiss Beyond The Catcher", where Julian mutters at the beginning: "Hello Mother..." in a thick, Liverpudlian accent soundly eerily like his father. Another example is "I Don't Wanna Know", an uptempo rocker with jangling guitars (an obvious choice for a 2nd single from the album). One of the most intriging songs, "Crucified", shows the influence of another Beatle, George Harrison, MBE. This song features tabla drums and string arrangements giving the song a feel reminiscent of Jimmy Page and Robert Plant's 1994 "No Quarter" album. The song also features Julian playing a "Sitar Guitar". Beatle George must be at least intrigued if not proud of this track! The final song, "Way To Your Heart", closes the album with a majestic bridge in the song recalling the "newspaper taxis" of "Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds", which (according to Beatle lore) Julian named one of his paintings in grade school, and, in turn, inspired his dad to use the phrase as a song title. (I'm certain Julian wasn't thinking about LSD when he came up with that title as a young toddler! LOL!!) Indeed, it's been well worth the wait. This record shows Julian Lennon maturing from the teenybopper heart-throb he was in the mid-1980s (as was his father in the mid-1960s) into a talented singer/songwriter. He's definitively expanded upon his vocal range, at times hitting falsettos that are exhilirating to hear. And it's nice to hear Julian embracing his late father's legacy once again instead of trying to distance himself from it. "Photograph Smile", along with Sean Lennon's recent release "Into The Sun" are ample proof that John Lennon's spirit and muse live on in the music of his sons.