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My Amazon Reviews: John Lennon "Imagine"

100 Proof, Undiluted, Lennon  
5 Out of 5 Stars  

"Imagine" is the pinnacle of John Lennon's solo albums. Coming after the experiment "Two Virgins" and the primal scream motivated "Plastic Ono Band," it was his turn to classic, accessible melodies and multi-faceted look at his complex personality. The title track alone is one of the best songs ever written, an anthem to Utopian vision that still rings true some five decades later.

In the course of "Imagine's" eleven songs, you hear Lennon the hippie romanticist on the title track, the hard edged political commentator ("Gimme Some Truth," "I Don't Wanna Be a Soldier"), the artist battling self doubt ("How?," "Jealous Guy") and the lovesick puppy ("Oh! Yoko!"). Of course, there's also the infamous divorce from Paul McCartney, "How Do You Sleep," where he snarls "the best thing you done was "Yesterday"...the sound you make is muzak to my ears." George Harrison adds a wicked slide guitar, which left little doubt to whose side he was on at the time (he also added a great solo to "Gimme Some Truth").

Probably more than any of his other solo albums, "Imagine" was Lennon's statement of purpose. It was his very public dismissal of The Beatles, an openly obvious attempt to prove that he could make 'hits' on his own, and proof to himself that he was still on solid musical footing in the seventies. "Imagine" was a kiss goodbye to the sixties as well as John Lennon's look to a hopeful future.

My Amazon Reviews: Richard Thompson "Front Parlour Ballads"

Parlour Picking with Richard Thompson  
3 Out Of 5 Stars

This is one of those low key efforts by Ricard Thompson, where almost half the songs are just him and his acoustic, telling stories about the down trodden and those whom ultimately will arrive there. "Front Parlour Ballads" is not the album you could use to convert new listeners to Richard's music, as it tends to stay in a mostly dour mind-set and the playing is not the lightening fingered style of Richard at his best.

The only real toe-tapper here is "Let it Blow," a song about a serial husband, which also displays Richard's oft-wicked sense of humor. The remaining cast of characters range from a violent gang of vandals ("The Boys of Mutton Street"), the boy the likely bullies ("When We Were Boys at School") and one of the hooligans grown to become a drab office worker we lives for 'smug little victories' ("A Solitary Life"). As always, the album is also laden with songs of haunted love like "For Whose Sake" and "Precious One," but none to mach such pinnacles as "When The Spell is Broken" or "1952 Vincent Black Lightning."

Overall, "Front Parlour Ballads" (named after Richard's garage studio) is a modestly satisfying record by his own exacting standards. Fans will enjoy, others should looks towards "Action Packed" or "Across a Crowded Room."