Double Fantasy
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Double Fantasy | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
|||||
| Studio album by John Lennon and Yoko Ono | |||||
| Released | 17 November 1980 | ||||
| Recorded | 4 August 1980 – late September 1980 | ||||
| Genre | Rock | ||||
| Length | 45:05 | ||||
| Label | Geffen, Capitol | ||||
| Producer | John Lennon, Yoko Ono, Jack Douglas | ||||
| Professional reviews | |||||
| John Lennon chronology | |||||
|
|||||
| Yoko Ono chronology | |||||
|
|||||
Double Fantasy is the comeback album by John Lennon and Yoko Ono, released in 1980 initially on the newly-formed Geffen Records, and now through EMI, the distributor of all of Lennon's output (including his Beatles material). It is notable for being John Lennon's last authorised release, coming out just three weeks before his murder. The album won the 1982 Grammy Award for Album of the Year.
Contents |
[edit] Recording
With the birth of his son Sean in 1975, Lennon put his career on hold to raise the boy. In the summer of 1980, both Lennon and Ono felt ready to resume work and began composing.
After five years of little musical activity aside from recording the occasional demo in his apartment at The Dakota, Lennon was absolutely bursting with creativity. He had fulfilled a lifelong ambition of learning how to sail in early 1980 and had been given fresh creative impetus in June of that year following his life-affirming experiences sailing a 43-foot sloop to Bermuda, accompanied by a small crew. Once in Bermuda, he started writing songs for a new album, sometimes writing about new experiences and occasionally reworking the half finished demos that he had recorded in the Dakota building.[1]
He was also, he claimed, the most content he had ever felt in all his years, even writing a song called "Life Begins at 40" to commemorate that milestone in his life. His assuredness and love for his family came through on the retro "(Just Like) Starting Over", as well as "Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy)" and "Woman".
Yoko Ono approached producer Jack Douglas, with whom both Lennon and Ono had worked before, giving him John's demos to listen to. “My immediate impressions were that I was going to have a hard time making it better than the demos because there was such intimacy in the demos,” Douglas told Uncut's Chris Hunt in 2005.[1]
Lennon, Ono and Douglas produced dozens of songs beginning that August, enough to fill Double Fantasy and beyond. A projected second album, Milk and Honey, was well into the rehearsal phase when work was halted following Lennon's murder that December.
Ono was currently being regarded with fresh perspective after the onslaught of the late 1970's punk movement which bore similarities to her earlier work. As such, with renewed confidence, she produced many songs.
Lennon and Ono made the decision to release their impending songs together on the same album, the first time they had done so since 1972's controversial Some Time in New York City. Subtitled "A Heart Play", Double Fantasy would be a collection of songs whereby John and Yoko would be singing to each other.
Signed by David Geffen, alongside Elton John and Donna Summer, for his new label, Geffen, Double Fantasy was preceded by Lennon's "(Just Like) Starting Over", which quickly became a US #1 hit. The album itself was received with much interest, coming after such an extended break. However, sales were not so generous. The album debuted at #27 in the UK and the following week reached #14, but then it fell down very quickly to #25 and then #46, making the #14 its peak position. In the US, the situation was different. There, the album debuted at #25 and then rose to #12 and then #11. Although Double Fantasy was mildly criticized upon release for being slick, and Ono's songs were overlooked, the musical community was glad to have Lennon back.
[edit] Tragedy and aftermath
On the evening 8 December 1980, Mark David Chapman shot John Lennon four times as he was walking into The Dakota with Ono; Lennon died approximately twenty minutes later. “The last time I saw John he had this incredible smile on his face,” Jack Douglas later told journalist Chris Hunt. “It was the evening we finished ‘Walking On Thin Ice’. He was just thrilled, and so was Yoko, because we all knew we had accomplished what John set out to do with that track. I walked him to the elevator and said goodnight. About 40 minutes later my girlfriend came to the studio, all white. ‘It’s just been on the radio,’ she said. ‘John was shot’.”[1]
With worldwide grief for Lennon's death on an almost unparalleled scale, Double Fantasy rose to #1 in most countries making a #11-#1 move in the US and rising from #46 to #2 in the UK, spending there an impressive 7 weeks and then finally peaked at #1 for 2 weeks. "(Just Like) Starting Over" also immediately rose to #1 worldwide, selling several million copies, with many of Lennon's past solo and Beatles releases re-charting as well. Subsequent singles, "Woman" and "Watching the Wheels" were also big successes.
[edit] Track listing
- "(Just Like) Starting Over" (John Lennon) – 3:56
- "Kiss Kiss Kiss" (Yoko Ono) – 2:41
- "Cleanup Time" (John Lennon) – 2:58
- "Give Me Something" (Ono) – 1:35
- "I'm Losing You" (John Lennon) – 3:57
- "I'm Moving On" (Ono) – 2:20
- "Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy)" (John Lennon) – 4:02
- "Watching the Wheels" (John Lennon) – 4:00
- "Yes I'm Your Angel" (Ono) – 3:08
- "Woman" (John Lennon) – 3:32
- "Beautiful Boys" (Ono) – 2:55
- "Dear Yoko" (John Lennon) – 2:34
- "Every Man Has a Woman Who Loves Him" (Ono) – 4:02
- "Hard Times Are Over" (Ono) – 3:20
- Bonus tracks on 2000 re-release
- "Help Me to Help Myself" (John Lennon) – 2:37
- "Walking on Thin Ice" (Ono) – 6:00
- "Central Park Stroll" (dialogue) – 0:17
[edit] 8-track release
Double Fantasy was released as an 8-track with a reordered track listing due to the technical limitations of the 8-track format.
[edit] Program one
- "(Just Like) Starting Over" (John Lennon)
- "Kiss Kiss Kiss" (Yoko Ono)
- "Cleanup Time" (Lennon)
- "Give Me Something" (Ono)
[edit] Program two
- "Watching the Wheels" (Lennon)
- "Hard Times Are Over" (Ono)
- "I'm Losing You" (Lennon)
[edit] Program three
- "I'm Moving On" (Ono)
- "Woman" (Lennon)
- "Beautiful Boys" (Ono)
- "Dear Yoko" (Lennon)
[edit] Program four
- "Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy)" (Lennon)
- "I'm Your Angel" (Ono)
- "Every Man Has a Woman Who Loves Him" (Ono)
[edit] Singles
- "(Just Like) Starting Over" (John Lennon, 24 October 1980, #1 UK, #1 U.S.)
- "Woman" (John Lennon, 16 January 1981, #1 UK, #2 U.S.)
- "Walking on Thin Ice" (Yoko Ono, 20 February 1981, #35 UK, #58 U.S.)
- "Watching the Wheels" (John Lennon, 27 March 1981, #30 UK, #10 U.S.)
[edit] Miscellanea
- In 1989, it was ranked #29 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 100 greatest albums of the 1980s.
- On 24 February 1982, Double Fantasy won the Grammy award for "Album of the Year", amid emotional scenes as Yoko Ono and six-year-old Sean accepted the award.
- In 1989, EMI acquired the rights to Double Fantasy from Geffen.
- In 2000, Yoko Ono supervised the remastering of Double Fantasy, adding three bonus tracks to its CD reissue, including "Walking on Thin Ice".
- In 2003 the copy autographed by Lennon for Mark Chapman was sold for $525,000, making it the most valuable record ever.[2]
- In 2007, the album was released as a download on iTunes.
[edit] Personnel
- John – lead, harmony and background vocals; rhythm and acoustic guitars; piano and keyboards; arranger and producer.
- Yoko – lead and background vocals; arranger and producer.
- Jack Douglas - arranger and producer.
- Earl Slick – lead guitar.
- Hugh McCracken – lead guitar.
- Tony Levin – bass.
- George Small – keyboards.
- Andy Newmark – drums.
- Arthur Jenkins Jr. – percussion.
- Ed Walsh – oberheim, synthesizer.
- Robert Greenidge – steel drum (on "Beautiful Boy").
- Matthew Cunningham – hammer dulcimer (on "Watching the Wheels").
- Randy Stein – English Concertina
- Howard Johnson – horns.
- Grant Hungerford – horns.
- John Parran – horns.
- Seldon Powell – horns.
- George "Young" Opalisky – horns.
- Roger Rosenberg – horns.
- David Tofani – horns.
- Ronald Tooley – horns.
- Tony Davillo – horn arrangements and musical associate.
- Michelle Simpson, Cassandra Wooten, Cheryl Mason Jacks, Eric Troyer, Benny Cummings Singers, The Kings Temple Choir – background vocals.
- Toshihiro Hamaya – production assistant.
- Julie Last – assistant engineer.
- George Marino – original mastering and remastering.
- Lee DeCarlo – engineer.
- Jon Smith – assistant engineer.
- Anthony Davilio – musical associate.
- James A. Ball – assistant engineer.
- Bob Gruen – photography.
- Kishin Shinoyama – cover photo and photography.
- Karla Merrifield – reissue art coordinator.
- Nishi F Saimaru – photography.
- David Spindel – photography.
- Lilo Raymond – photography.
- Christopher Whorf – artwork.
[edit] References
- ^ a b c "Just Like Starting Over" by Chris Hunt, Uncut John Lennon Special, 2005
- ^ BBC NEWS | Entertainment | Music | Lennon killer's signed LP on sale
[edit] External links
- Double Fantasy at Graham Calkin's Beatles Pages
- Just Like Starting Over The Recording Of Double Fantasy by Chris Hunt, published in Uncut John Lennon Special, 2005
| Preceded by Greatest Hits by Kenny Rogers |
Billboard 200 number-one album December 27, 1980 – February 20, 1981 |
Succeeded by Hi Infidelity by REO Speedwagon |
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||
|
|||||
