Walls and Bridges
	Produced by John Lennon
	Released on September 26, 1974
	UK CHART POSITION #6 . . . US CHART POSITION #1 . . . GOLD RECORD (10/22/74)
	Find it at GEMM
SW-3416 cover [high resolution photo]

I t’s there in the corner, so matter of fact that you might almost miss it. “On the 23rd Aug. 1974 at 9 o’clock I saw a U.F.O.” Same old John, laying it out there for everyone to see. Walls And Bridges was one of the first albums I ever owned, and the occasional pops and skips don’t sting any more today than the childhood memories of skinned knees on sweet, green grass. These were defects incurred in the careless enthusiasm of youth: stacking my favorite elpees on a rickety spindle, slipping the vinyl roughly into the sleeve, drawing the black magic from an inferior needle. As a young boy, my favorite songs were the more tuneful and upbeat entries: “Whatever Gets You Thru The Night,” “What You Got,” “Surprise Surprise (Sweet Bird of Paradox).” The more sophisticated and emotional entries left me nonplussed; I didn’t know what “#9 Dream” was on about, I wasn’t interested in “Scared” or “Bless You,” and “Nobody Loves You (When You’re Down And Out)” seemed too self-pitying. Obviously, time has filled in those missing gaps for me, and I can appreciate the album as the natural byproduct of what Lennon was seeing at the time. His estrangement from Yoko again fuels some of the material, notably the opening “Going Down On Love,” while a brief reunion with son Julian on drums justifies “Ya Ya.” The standard line on this album (and Mind Games) is to comment on how Lennon’s personal life had bled into his music for the worse. It takes me back to that line about the UFO and the judgment it invites. Who cares whether he really saw one or not? He wrote that he did, and that’s as far as the reality of a writer extends. And who cares where the songs from Walls And Bridges come from: pain, profligacy, distraction. Call it an unremarkable album from a remarkable artist if it makes you feel less like a greasy groupie, maybe add a tongue cluck at his infidelity for good measure, and then go home and play this in the dark. The moment I paid for the record, I earned the right to play it, scratch it, stack it, skip over some songs and wear out others. But who among us has earned the right to really judge it? On a different note, this would make my Hall of Fame for attractive elpee packaging alongside Olias of Sunhillow, Brain Salad Surgery and some others.

SW-3416 back cover	SW-3416 lyric booklet	SW-3416 picture sleeve

TRACK LISTING

1. GOING DOWN ON LOVE    3:53
2. WHATEVER GETS YOU THRU THE NIGHT    3:24
3. OLD DIRT ROAD    (Music: John Lennon, Lyrics: John Lennon/Harry Nilsson)    4:10
4. WHAT YOU GOT    3:06
5. BLESS YOU    4:39
6. SCARED    4:37
7. #9 DREAM    4:44
8. SURPRISE, SURPRISE (SWEET BIRD OF PARADOX)    2:33
9. STEEL AND GLASS    4:35
10. BEEF JERKY    3:25
11. NOBODY LOVES YOU (WHEN YOU'RE DOWN AND OUT)    5:07
12. YA YA    (M.Robinson/L.Dorsey/C.L.Lewis)    1:06
    
    All songs written and arranged by John Lennon unless noted

CREDITS

JOHN LENNON (a/k/a Dr. Winston O'Boogie, Dr. Winston O'Ghurkin, Hon. John St. John Johnson, Rev. Thumbs Ghurkin, Kaptain Kundalini, Rev. Fred Ghurkin, Mel Torment, Dr. Dream, Dr. Winston O'Reggae, Dwarf McDougal) -- vocals, guitar, piano, acoustic guitar, illustrations
KEN ASCHER -- electric piano, clavinet, mellotron, organ, orchestration and conducting
JESSE ED DAVIS -- guitar
NICKY HOPKINS -- piano, electric piano
ARTHUR JENKINS -- percussion
JIM KELTNER -- drums
LITTLE BIG HORNS:
  Ron Aprea --
  Howard Johnson -- baritone saxophone
  Bobby Keys -- tenor saxophone
  Steve Madaio --
  Frank Vicari --
EDDIE MOTTAU -- acoustic guitar
KLAUS VOORMANN -- bass
Lori Burton -- background vocals
Joey Dambra -- background vocals
Elton John -- organ, piano, vocal harmony
Julian Lennon -- drums (12)
Harry Nilsson -- background vocals (3)
May Pang -- production coordinator, background vocals
Shelly "I can't take the pressure" Yakus -- engineer
Jim "What it is" Iovine -- over-dub engineer
Roy "I only like singles" Cicala -- strings and re-mix engineer
Roy Kohara -- art direction/design
Bob Gruen -- photography

SUGGESTED READING

Since Walls and Bridges abounds with Lennon's early illustrations (and ample proof of his playful wit), you might be interested in buying the author's first book, In His Own Write. I haven't read it myself (only so much sunlight in a day, I'm afraid), but it appears to be irreverent humor with a dark side.

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