John Lennon - 2015 - Lost Home Tapes 1965 - 1969

John Lennon

2015

Lost Home Tapes 1965-1969

Misterclaudel MCCD-123/124

Private Home Tape
101. He Said, He Said
102. She Said, She Said
103. Hold On, I'm Coming
104. Mr. Moonlight
105. Mellotron Music No. 1
106. Mellotron Music No. 2
107. Mellotron Music No. 3
108. Mellotron Music No. 4
109. Mellotron Music No. 5
110. We Can Work It Out/Lucy From Littletown
111. Down In Cuba
112. Pedro The Fisherman
113. Chi-Chi's
114. Daddy's Little Sunshine Boy
115. Stranger In My Arms

The 'Good Morning, Good Morning' Tape (January-February 1967)
116. Piano Songs 1 And 2
117. Testing The Equipment No. 1
118. Good Morning, Good Morning/Testing The Equipment No. 2/There's A Blue Ridge 'Round My Heart/Mellotron Rhythm/Mellotron Drones And Cacophony

The 'Cry Baby Cry' Tapes
119. Guitar Jam
120. Mellotron Noises And Babbling
121. Cry Baby Cry/Guitar Instrumental
122. Piano Instrumental/Laughing Eyes
123. Piano Waltz/Listening To Records
124. Cry Baby Cry/Across The Universe
125. Drone And Cueing Tapes

Private Home Tape
201. Nothing But Hold Tight/Hey Bulldog/Hey Bulldog/Hey Bulldog/Set Me Free/Across The Universe/Piano Instrumental
202. She's Walking Past My Door/You Know My Name (Look Up The Number)

The 'Julia' Rehearsal Tapes
203. Julia (False Start)/Julia (Guitar Track)
204. Julia (False Start)/Julia (Vocal Overdub)
205. Julia (Vocal And Guitar Overdub)/Julia (Playbacks)
206. The Maharishi Song

The 'Oh My Love' Rehearsal Tape
207. Oh My Love (Acoustic Guitar Demo)/Oh My Love (Acoustic Guitar Demo)/Oh My Love (A Capella Demo)/Oh My Love (A Capella Demo)/Oh My Love (Acoustic Guitar Demo)
208. A Case Of The Blues
209. I've Got A Feeling
210. Don't Let Me Down
211. Don't Let Me Down
212. I've Got A Feeling
213. I Want You

Well….here’s one you absolutely need!

John Lennon’s Beatles era Home Demos updated and revised to include new and lengthened home demos from 1965–1969. Kudos to Misterclaudel for releasing to the collector new and expanded demo tracks we’ve only read about in Sulpy’s “Guide” book.

The problem here is the enjoyability factor….or lack of. It’s a tough CD to sit through compared to the latest home demo set John Lennon At Home from the His Master’s Choice Label. This set does have two new items that are pleasant and bearable. One track called “Hold On I’m Coming” which is no more than a sketch of an idea that John abandoned and a misplaced yet pleasant “Mr. Moonlight” that post-dates this era. Complete with typing in the background. The rest are made up of new to bootleg stoned out mellotron experiments, John’s attempts at comedy and extended demos that are incomplete workouts. Sound quality is just above bearable on most of these tracks. I was only able to sit through most of these once. At times, once was more than enough. The rest are familiar to collectors. Some are extended, but the sound quality is no better than previous shortened versions that have been available. They’ve even sourced some tracks from old bootleg vinyl! I was also hoping for the inclusion of other home demos, such as the previously released (on bootleg) “I’m In Love”, to round it out.

Disc one is the hardest to sit through in terms of listenability, quality but it’s where you’ll find “Hold On I’m Coming” and “Mr. Moonlight” Otherwise, most of it’s hard to tolerate in one sitting. The second disc has some interest and contains more fleshed out ideas. These are more like the working tapes we’ve become used to from his post-Beatles home demos and “Julia and bits of “Oh My Love”(that contains new to bootleg expanded tracks — but you’ll skip through the Yoko part believe me. Thank god for this song having lots hiss!) and Don’t Let Me Down” perked me up. (Track lists below)

Historically, this set puts the working mind of John Lennon during his psychedelic Beatles years into a historical perspective, but it also shows how bringing these ideas to fruition, he needed the Beatles as a whole, to become the masterpieces they became.

14 out of these collective 38 tracks are previously unreleased or longer than previous sources. The sound quality is excellent and the material is both entertaining and compelling. There are a myriad of choices of exhaustive Lennon sessions out there for the taking including: ‘Archives’ Volumes 1-8 on AZIA Records [JLBUT 0301 – 0308], ‘Lost Lennon Tapes’ Westwood One Broadcasts [wo 001 – 218], ‘The Complete Lost Lennon Tapes’ Vol. 1 – 22 on Walrus Records [Walrus 001 – 36], ‘The Lost Lennon Tapes’ Vol. 01 – 11 on Living Legend [LLRDC 045 – 143], ‘Journals (Part 1) 1968 – 1974’ + ‘Journals (Part 2) 1972 – 1980’ on Cedrem Sound Lab [CD 121-130] just for starters.

MCCD-123 starts off with the [Private Home Tape] segment featuring short takes of “She Said She Said”. The real pleaser is the extended softer sounding and more romantic “Mr. Moonlight” featuring more of a guitar instrumental. “Mellotrone Music No. 4” + “Mellotron Music No. 5” are the most enjoyable of those sessions that fade gently and lend to an assortment of moods. The smooth vocals for “We Can Work It Out” sound like signature McCartney, surprisingly. The 2:07 minute “Down In Cuba” is simply a scream. Lennon’s satiric sense of humor shines in the 1:06 minute “Pedro The Fisherman”. The 3:28 minute “Chi-Chi’s” offers more Lennon stand-up comedy where he has absolutely gone mad but it is hysterical and totally entertaining. “Stranger In My Arms” sounds like an Elvis parody that shockingly works with Lennon milking it all the way.

The “Good Morning, Good Morning” Tape (January – February, 1967) includes an interesting take of “Good Morning, Good Morning” (track #18). The “Mellotrone Rhythms” + “Mellotrone Drones and Cacophony” pieces sound very similar to “Revolution 9” on the ‘White Album’.

The “Cry Baby Cry” Tapes kicks off with a very interesting 3:00 min

ute rhythm guitar jam, “Guitar Jam”, mimics portions of Zeppelin’s “White Summer”. The middle to latter part of “Mellotrone Noise and Babbling” + “Noise Redux” are fascinating as Lennon is working through the evolution of “Cry Baby Cry”. It’s raw but powerful and this 6:17 minute track certainly has its moments. “Cry Baby Cry” – “Across The Universe” (track #24) is the most recognizable with Lennon’s lyrical accompaniment and a gem to have due to this extended source.

MCCD-124 Private Home Tape includes a 2:04 minute “You Know My Name (Look Up The Number)”. The “Julia” Rehearsal Tapes begin with a precious guitar instrumental of “Julia” that is classic. I don’t believe Lennon was ever able to “match” the effectiveness of his guitar playing when mixing it vocally. On [The “Oh My Love” Rehearsal Tape], “A Case Of the Blues” sounds like “Glass Onion” from the ‘White Album’. The guitar accompaniment for “I’ve Got A Feeling” (track #9) parallels that from “Julia’. You can have the lyrics on “I Want You”. The guitar, however, sounds a bit haunting. The impromptu back + forth lyrical exchanges/banter between John + Yoko reveal Lennon’s more natural gift as a lyricist. Yoko just can’t keep up.

MCCD-123/124 includes attractive glossy inserts and is housed in a slip case with itemized track listings on the back but no liner notes. The fidelity, once again, is excellent overall and the gain is exceptional.

Does it come highly recommended? Well….sort of.