Sometime in New York City [Original recording remastered]

John Lennon | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (November 22, 2005)
• Original Release Date: 1972
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Original recording remastered
• Label: Capitol
• ASIN: B000AZ6N5G
• Also Available in: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #91,403 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Agitprop political sensibilities have seldom made for great rock music, even in the hands of a genius like John Lennon. Or perhaps we should say especially in the hands of Lennon. Coming as it did on the heels of Imagine, arguably his most balanced and artistically accomplished solo record, this album-length harangue (with a "bonus" live disc that felt more like a booby prize) takes on all the de rigueur victims and causes of the day, from feminist hardships ("Woman Is the Nigger of the World") to American injustice ("John Sinclair," "Born in a Prison," "Attica") and the Irish Troubles ("Sunday Bloody Sunday," "Luck of the Irish") and comes off as tedious as it is ham-fisted. Though it features many of Lennon's stellar Plastic Ono Band sidemen (Billy Preston, Nicky Hopkins, Klaus Voorman, Eric Clapton, Jim Keltner) and the presence of legendary producer Phil Spector at the helm, none were brave or wise enough to yank the soapbox from beneath Lennon just once during the sessions. A telling chapter in any Lennon character study, though more an exercise in caricature than an album. --Jerry McCulley

Product Description

2005 reissue with 'Listen the Snow Is Falling' and 'Happy Xmas' replacing the last jam on the CD. Capitol. 2005.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Big Improvement Over the 1990 Edition, December 16, 2005

By 

Ho Chi Minh (Texas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sometime in New York City (Audio CD)

I recently purchased the 2005 STINYC, it Sounds much better than My previous CD, the Muddy 1990 version; The Songs are Dated, of course, stuck in a 1972 Time Capsule, with Extreme Left-Leanings, but they mostly Rock hard and retain a Passion for their Subject matters. Dylan must have heard "Angela", as He followed with His Leftist Hit "George Jackson" (Angela Davis' Imprisoned Lover, Shot Dead while attempting a Jailbreak for those who don't know) soon after; "Sinclair" has excellent Slide Guitar from Lennon, and "Sisters" shows this is a True collaborative effort from John/Yoko....I like the Single Disc 2005 Edition, the 1990 CD was a Double Set that had the Jams relegated to Disc 2, which I tossed out as mostly irrelevant, but I'm glad the best of that side, and 2 Bonus Cuts are presented Here to fill out 75 minutes, Good/Wise Editing from Yoko in My Opinion....

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Sometime in the 21st Century, November 23, 2005

By 

T-Ro (St. Louis, MO) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sometime in New York City (Audio CD)

Aside from their late '60s experimental albums, "Sometime in New York City" remains Johnandyoko's weakest effort. Yoko improves this remastered reissue by shaving off half of the "Live Jam" portion, with "Jambag," "Scumbag" and "Au" all coming under the ax. Oddly, she also edits her own "Don't Worry Kyoko (Mummy's Only Looking for a Hand in the Snow)" and takes two minutes off of the end of "We're All Water," probably her best song on the album. She adds the single "Happy Xmas (War is Over)" and her own terrific "Listen, the Snow is Falling." Over all, it's an improvement on any prior edition, but especially over the muddy-sounding 1990 CD.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars nostalgia and finally in my price range!, September 2, 2006

By 

G. Wallace (Hilliard, OH USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sometime in New York City (Audio CD)

another fine restoration supervised by Yoko Ono. I think this was a commercial and career disaster for Lennon when it was released at some sky high price during the 1972 election campaign. Now it's an interesting period piece. Feminism was the hot topic that year, and Lennon sang about it like a recent convert in "Woman is the Nigger". Lyrics get silly but the vocal and production are first rate. Elephant's Memory was a nice backing group with at least one radio hit of their own ("Mongoose" I think). Yoko's "Sisters O Sisters" is lyrically quaint and musically very witty as it sort of evokes the Phil Spector heyday. And I love the singing couple on "Born in a Prison" although the lyric gets very silly. And Yoko does ruin "Luck of the Irish" with her "blarney." And her willful avoidance of western pop singing tradition can seem very strange. She also misses rhythm and meter on the "Water" song. The best Lennon numbers from this record are on the new soundtrack about his persecution from the U.S. federal government. But you'd miss the great live vocal on "Baby Please Don't Go".

Basically Ono went for broadly general artistic statements and Lennon wrote songs as almost a visceral response to heavy handed violence practiced by various governments. Unfortunately his fascination with all things "instant" prevented him from rounding these protests into strong songs.