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28 of 30 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Jules Rules, October 5, 2002
VALOTTE was my fave album of 1984. Just amazing! A incredible raw debut from a legend's survivor. There is no need to compare because it would be like comparing apples and yokos. So instead let me highlight this brilliant CD."Valotte" in case you didn't know was the name of the chateau where the album and this song were recorded. The first line gives you the hint "sitting on the doorstep of the house I can't afford". The mood is striking with piano, guitar and string ensemble. The lyrics are interesting in that it seems to be Julian musing about a relationship and asking questions, "will you still be there", "do you know there's something wrong?". "Too Late for Goodbyes" is his most recognizable with its chirpy synth and guitar song about regret. Still stands well even today. And listen to people when try to hit the high notes in this song....great! "Say you're wrong" was my fave video at the time. The third single is a faster paced song that goes in different directions finding that the singer is lost. A very underated song! Drums, brass and electric guitar fuel the rhythm. The fourth single "Jesse" was a fan favorite at concerts. Late night driving song that is very humable! "Lonely" is almost like a new age blues song. The kind of bar song on Moonbase 10! One of my faves from the album tracks as well as "On the phone" and "Space". Treat yourself to an amazing debut from a talented musician!
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14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Still a pleasure 20 years later, August 11, 2005
Julian Lennon specialized in reflective ballads and midtempo upbeat pop. If you were around in 1984, you no doubt remember the three hits from this album - "Say You're Wrong," "Too Late for Goodbyes" and "Valotte." They still bring me a smile, as does much of this album. It's a consistenly pleasant treat and sets a terrific mood if you were a teen back in the Reagan days. For a mid-80s pop album, "Valotte" doesn't go overboard with drum machines and silly cheezy synths, helping it to age very nicely. In fact, it's aged better than the sort of material that ends up being played on "80s Nights" at nightclubs.
It's obvious from some of producer Phil Ramone's (admittedly tasteful) touches that Atlantic Records was trying to market Julian as John Lennon's true creative heir. 20 years on, I still have mixed feelings about this. Rather than allow Julian to fully develop his own musical personality, both Atlantic and much of the record-buying public seemed to expect Julian to pick up exactly where his father left off in 1980. Julian was given sessionmen rather than a real band with challenging collaborators, and that's not the way to develop your own sound. It got Julian lots of airplay, but at a serious cost. It's no wonder that Julian's recording career was relatively brief - it's no easy feat to live up to John Lennon's legacy. And that's a shame, because based on this CD, Julian Lennon could have grown into an impressive talent in his own right.
Buy this one for the hits, and appreciate it for the lesser-known ballads.
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Hey Jules, September 8, 2003
For those that didn't already know, Paul McCartney's legendary song "Hey Jude" was originally written as 'Hey Jules', and was written to a young Julian Lennon. Julian, the young man with the blessing and the curse of being born to the immortal John lennon, and gifted with a voice that is hauntingly reminiscent of his departed father.The songs on "Valotte" are of extremely good quality, and the most recognizable is the hit single "Too Late For Goodbyes". "O.K For You", "Valotte", "Well I Don't Know", and "Say You're Wrong" are also excellent upbeat pop tracks, while "Lonely" and "On The Phone" are beautifully done somber ballads. For a debut release, this is absolutely phenomenal and it's hard to believe that his career stalled after releasing such a gem. When "Valotte" was released in 1984, the assassination of John was still a raw wound, and there were very mixed feelings to hearing his son sing and perform, especially given the uncanny vocal resemblence. On this, his debut album, Julian releases an excellent album with sharp instrumentation and production and insightful lyrics, yet his work will forever be overshadowed by the legacy that is his burden to bear. In many ways this is a shame, for although Julian has carried the burden well, he deserves to be judged upon his own artistic merits and not upon how well he compares to his father.
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~ Julian Lennon
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by Julian Lennon 
