JOHN LENNON
SHAVED FISH |
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| | Reviews: 18 |
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| Average Rating: 7.89 |
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Listen
by John Crawford Terrace, BC Canada
Reviewed on March 20th, 2002
People have become spoiled by CDs, it seems. Common criticisms of "Shaved Fish" are that it doesn't contain any of Lennon's later material, and that it doesn't contain enough material. There are a number of reasons why "Shaved Fish" is what it is: * It's a straight reissue of an LP. The typical 1975 LP contained 30-40 minutes of music. * It's a singles collection, and about half the tracks had never been available on any album. Furthermore, the original release date of October 1975 suggests it was targeted in part at holiday shoppers. * As with George Harrison's "The Best of George Harrison", it's important to remember that "Shaved Fish" essentially a Contractual Obligation Album. 1980's "Double Fantasy" was originally a Geffen release, while the posthumous "Milk and Honey" originally came out on Polydor. All of Lennon's post-Beatles recordings before his five-year hiatus from the music business were released on Apple (EMI). It is only because of subsequent licensing arrangements between Yoko Ono and EMI that Lennon's eighties recordings are included on any compilations (e.g., "The John Lennon Collection", the "Imagine" soundtrack, "Lennon Legend") with his 1970-75 material. (N.B., those who complain about the lack of songs from the "Imagine" LP should keep in mind that the song "Imagine" wasn't even released as a single in the UK until 1975 - which means that it could have failed to make this collection at all.) The really great thing about "Shaved Fish", of course (though this is probably less of a selling point now than it was in 1975), is the inclusion of the non-album singles "Give peace a chance", "Cold turkey", "Instant karma!", "Power to the people", and "Happy Xmas (War is over)". All of these songs are still vital, though "Power to the people" hasn't aged as well. "Give peace a chance" is still relevant (despite its dated references), "Cold turkey" and "Instant karma!" are still powerful in their rawness, and "Happy Xmas" has become a modern Christmas classic. The "lost weekend" chart highlights are all here as well: the utopian "Mind games", the no.1 "Whatever gets you through the night" (with Elton John on piano and harmony vocal), and the gorgeous "#9 dream" - still my favorite Lennon single. Complain about the lack of later songs if you like, but "Shaved Fish" is still the only compilation of Lennon songs to have actually been released during his lifetime - and it's still available, in all its raw, abbreviated glory...
More "Shaved Fish" reviews:
[2004-01-28] FOR THE TRUE BEATLE FAN (10)
[2003-09-25] This Is A Great One (10)
[2003-04-27] Conceptual Greatest Hits Package (10)
[2003-01-04] Lennon Legend is a better collection. (8)
[2002-04-19] John shines on and how (10)
[2002-03-20] Listen (10)
[2001-12-23] Essential, yet underrated (8)
[2001-05-24] Highly Collectible Lennon! (10)
[2001-05-17] Outdated (4)
[2000-07-05] Shaved Fish Doesn't Get Me Thru The Night (6)
[2000-06-13] Lennon Shaves (10)
[2000-06-05] "Instant Karma" is worth every penny. (8)
[1999-09-27] Great Apple Singles Collection (10)
[1999-09-23] Cover story (6)
[1999-09-13] Good material, better available elsewhere (8)
[1999-05-31] Great cover but hardly worth the price (6)
[1999-05-17] Early Greatest Hits Now Outdated (4)
[1998-12-27] Pretty weak. Disappointing. (4)
Displaying reviews from 1 to 18
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