 "A Feel Good Album" | 2006-06-04 |
| - Reviewed By tigana5 |
| I enjoyed Lennon's homage to early rock and roll gems and this still remains one of my favorite feel good albums. I nearly wore out my vinyl copy of it because I discovered it also made a terrific aerobics/workout collection of music. |
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 "Great Oldies Collection" | 2004-09-24 |
| - Reviewed By gwfeds0 |
| This is a collection of songs from the 1950's. These are some of John Lennon's favorite songs from when he was a kid, and he does some outstanding covers of these songs. This is one of my all-time favorite cd's and has been for about 25 years now. That's the nice thing about classic songs like these; they never seem to get old. |
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| "Lennon hits gold" | 2004-09-06 |
| - Reviewed By cartman546 |
| John Lennon spent the last ten years of his life as a very cynical man. He was always one to be wry and sardonic, but from 1970-1980, his songs were written with personal and political sentiments, some even lashing out at those closest to him(i.e. "How do you sleep at night"). After 1972, everyone was tired of hearing his rants, and had all but lost interest in the voice that inspired a generation of children to pursue music as a future. What Lennon does here on Rock 'N' Roll is re-visit his musical roots and once again show the world that he is one of the best raw vocalists that rock and roll will ever offer. Be-Bop-A-Lula is glided through with awe-inspiring fluidity in such a manner that Gene Vincent himself would've cried had he been alive to hear it. The rest of this album follows suit. My personal favorites are Be-Bop-A-Lula, Stand by Me, Peggy Sue, Bring it on Home, and both of the Larry Williams covers on side-B (of the record, tracks 11 and 13 on the CD). Whenever Lennon would cover Larry Williams, whether it was in the Beatles (i.e. Slow Down, Bad Boy, Dizzy Miss Lizzy...etc.) he would always shine with his trademark raspy voice. What Phil Spector produced here is one of the finest post-Beatles albums ever. McCartney had "Ram," Harrison had "All Things Must Pass," and John Lennon had "Rock 'n' Roll." God bless you John! |
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| "John Blows The Roof Off" | 2004-07-14 |
| - Reviewed By divahombach |
| This is one of my favorite Lennon albums because it is fun, simple and nicely recorded and you can tell that John had fun making it. There is alot of peaple who don,t like the album because John didn,t write the music. My favorites are Be Bopa lula You can,t catch me and Bony Maronie. This album and Walls and Bridges are 2 of my favorite Lennon albums. It would be nice to see both albums remasterd with bonus tracks. If you like John and like his music I recomend this one |
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| "BLAST FROM THE PAST!" | 2004-05-22 |
| - Reviewed By Anonymous |
| I think it's an acceptable CD. Phil Spector does a spectacular job producing and john really brings a blast from the 50s. It shows john's love for rock n roll. You've really got to like oldies music to like this album! |
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 "Capitol--How bout a Lennon Rock 'n Roll-Naked?" | 2004-02-03 |
| - Reviewed By rob7939ash |
| I've read all of the reviews and, although I agree with most of them, I don't think this project was such a bad idea. The outtakes on Anthology are truly revelatory and Capitol has never issued the complete album anyway. How about a Rock n Roll Session disc--remastered and complete? I would love to hear some of the other tracks from these sessions, particlarly "Move Over, Ms. L", a kick-ass original. Slippin' and Slidin' shreds the Little Richard original and is arguably one of the best rock and roll records ever! How about it Capitol? You've let these sessions languish long enough. Hell, you haven't even bothered to remaster this one yet! Is this a Yoko thing? Would she just as soon forget this one because John had ditched her during these sessions? |
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| "Rock 'n' Roll" | 2003-12-11 |
| - Reviewed By deckard-croix |
| When I first listened to this album I didn't like it (except for 'Stand by Me', 'Be-Bop-A-Lula', and the 'Ready Teddy Medley'). But the more I listened to it (and then listened to some of the originals I hadn't heard before) I came to appreciate it more. Lennon goes in some different directions, but he stays respectful to the originals. Lennon's voice is in top form here (though I liked the versions of 'Be-Bop-A-Lula' and 'Ready Teddy Medley' on Wonsaponatime better because it was more stripped down). Great stuff and something different for fans would have heard all his more popular tunes. |
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| "What Could've Been..." | 2003-03-03 |
| - Reviewed By jlizon |
A project like this, John Lennon doing oldies, should make for music that every music fan would want, no DEMAND in their collection. Sadly, that's not the case with "Rock 'n' Roll." Even more oddly, many people seem to blame Phil Spector, who co-produced only 4 of the 13 tracks. Its seems they convienently forget that Lennon didn't have to use his(Spectors)versions or that Lennon himself produced the bulk of this erratic effort. "Be-Bop-A-Lula" starts this disc in good spirits. Although the song is certainly no rocker, its apparent that John is having lots of fun with the song. The single from the disc, "Stand By Me" is next and its a winner. Its dueling lead guitars and Lennon searing vocal make one wonder why it wasn't a hit on the singles chart. The medley "Rip It Up/Ready Teddy" comes next and this is the first sign something is amiss: The big, overblown horns. They don't damage this song, but in others, that would not be the case. "You Can't Catch Me' is the first time we hear Spector and it's noticeable. Also the tempo of the song is too slow and once again, the horns drag down what energy Lennon is putting into the song with his voice. "Ain't That A Shame" is what this disc should be about: Its uptempo and lively and in this case, the horns augment the song, not bury it. "Do You Want To Dance" causes the disc to screech to a halt. Overblown production(courtesy John Lennon), makes this song unlistenable. "Sweet Little Sixteen" is next. I don't understand--this is material Lennon could do in his sleep, so what does he do here? He slows it down and then buries it with horns(again). Maybe he should've dusted off a copy of "The Beatles at the Star-Club" to see how it should be done. John redeems himself with "Slippin' and Slippin' because nobody, absolutely nobody, can sing like him. The song is nonstop and he keeps up with it. "Peggy Sue" is not much different than the original. The second medley is next: "Bring It On Home To Me/Send Me Some Lovin' showcases more Lennon impassioned vocals but only mediocre material. "Bony Maronie" is simply overproduced. It has some nice breaks in it, though. "Ya-Ya" is a waste of time. The disc's closer, "Just Because" could be the stellar track of this mis-fire. Lennon's spoken intro and outro only add to his melancholy voicing of this song.
Why Lennon felt compelled to bury his beloved oldies with so much unnecessary production makes one wonder. However, there are some cuts to show everybody what could've been. |
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 "Horns, Horns, Horns!" | 2002-10-28 |
| - Reviewed By fredwemyss |
Released in 1975, John Lennon's album, ROCK 'N' ROLL demonstrates that the problem with records from the seventies can be summed up in one word: "Horns."
In an effort to make these tracks sound as if recorded in the fifties, Phil Spector turned on the echo machine, making John's vocals indistinct. Then, in an effort to put his trademarked wall-of-sound on the album, he stuck about nine-million horns on it. I have a vinyl copy released in Britain, and it says that four cuts are produced by Phil Spector and John and that the rest is produced only by John. I do notice a difference. "Stand By Me," for example, is not produced with Phil Spector. John's vocal is not given much echo on this song, horns are absent and the instruments played are distinguishable from one another. John produced "Peggy Sue" as well and the sound is clear. John does add horns to some of the other ones he himself produced, and they are overly manic, but at least there's some drive. The tracks Lennon and Spector co-produced ("You Can't Catch Me," "Sweet Little Sixteen," "Bony Moronie" and "Just Because") are distant-sounding.
The album cover is great, though; a photograph of John as a teen in the doorway of an old brick building. Other reviewers here have noted that the LENNON ANTHOLOGY has some outtakes from ROCK 'N' ROLL and I agree with them that these sound great. There are no horns on those. If the horns on ROCK 'N' ROLL could be erased, I'd love the sound of most of it. That would be like colorizing a movie, though. It wouldn't be as it was intended.
Lennon's a lot like Orson Welles. Both of them have unfinished works which keep cropping up and finished works needing clearing up. But, where does restoration end and tinkering begin? As is, ROCK 'N' ROLL is worthwhile for "Stand By Me," "Peggy Sue" and "Ain't That a Shame." The rest of it is pretty depressing. (Fans take note: Cheap Trick has always said that their version of "Ain't That a Shame" is based on John's version.) |
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| "Beneath him" | 2002-08-07 |
| - Reviewed By jazzyjake |
| Only "Stand By Me" is worth having. The rest are forgettable and perhaps even regrettable. John's performance is perfunctory; Spector's production is awful [is that a sax or a kazoo?]; the arrangements add nothing; though there are some good musicians credited, the playing is unimaginative. I don't even think the concept was worthwhile. He would have been better advised to work a couple of these moldy-oldies into albums of original material. I *am* a die-hard Lennon fan, but would rather this project had been left in the can. Note: there are other songs from this session available - "Angel Baby" is one - they are no better. |
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![John Lennon - Mind Games [Bonus Tracks]](product_images/164000/164307_thumb.jpg)
