by Z. Hilgefort "music geek" Lakewood, Colorado Reviewed on October 10th, 2004
Let me start off by saying I think Yoko Ono is great. Brave, strong woman, and I treasure the beautiful songs John wrote for her, like 'Jealous Guy', 'Don't Let Me Down', 'Woman', 'Oh Yoko!', etc. She continues tending the flame of John's memory. Now, to the point. I'd nearly forgotten how good Double Fantasy actually is; I usually focus on Plastic Ono Band, Imagine and Mind Games. It'd been a while since I'd heard John's non-hit single work on Double Fantasy, i.e. anything that wasn't on the Lennon Legend compilation, like the upbeat, funky 'Dear Yoko', the pleading 'I'm Losing You', and the renewing 'Cleanup Time', all of which are good, but not as great as the more well known songs. '(Just Like) Starting Over' I've always loved. John had never been so sentimental before, and I wasn't used to it, but I find it charming. Would make a great wedding song. 'Woman' is beautiful, as is 'Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy)'. The latter is unintentionally bittersweet; the line "I can hardly wait to see you come of age, but I guess we'll both just have to be patient" kills me everytime I hear it. Don't worry John, Sean is a great guy, a great musician, actually. 'Watching the Wheels' is also great, John clearly enjoying his househusband role. Overall, more great songs from John, in the last year of his life.
As for Yoko's songs, I find them sometimes hit and miss. But she definately grows on you. I still can't get into 'Kiss Kiss Kiss' much, but it does make for an interesting new wave tune, as odd as that is to hear on an album with John Lennon songs. 'Give Me Something' is better, but nothing to write home about. Ditto with 'I'm Moving On'. 'Yes, I'm Your Angel' is Yoko's famous rewrite of 'Makin' Woopie', which she got sued for some years later. I think it's really good, and quite funny. John once pointed out that Yoko actually has a great sense of humour, and it's evidant in this track. I love John's (it is John, isn't it?) whistling in the background. 'Beautiful Boys' is even better, probably my favorite Yoko song on Double Fantasy. It's a nice companion piece to John's 'Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy)', except it's about both John and Sean. Very good lyrics, haunting melody, arrangement and vocal. No nutso screaming here, just pure prettyness, at least to me. 'Every Man Has A Woman Who Loves Him' is quite good as well, as is the sadly ironic 'Hard Times Are Over'. Give Yoko a chance, listen with some patience, and you just might be rewarded. I myself am not too much into her music, but I was suprised by a few of these aforementioned tracks of hers, and how good they are. I'm thinking about picking up one of Yoko's other albums, especially Season of Glass.
Double Fantasy is by no means John Lennon's greatest hour, but it is still a strong album, both a renewal and a farewell all at once.
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