John Lennon

Separated from Yoko, Lennon recorded this laid-back, likable LP with drinking buddies like Harry Nilsson, Nicky Hopkins and Elton John. Believe it or not, Lennon's disco duet with Elton, "Whatever Gets You Thru the Night," was his first No. 1 hit and it carried the LP to the top of the charts. "Dream # 9" is goofy and amazing -- nothing else on the LP even approaches it.

Walls and Bridges shows John Lennon to be as mercurial as ever. I anticipated an
unbearable suffering occasioned by the collapse of one of this century's most public love
affairs -- after all, Yoko Ono was presented as the membrane between agony and peace for
Lennon, between illusion and reality. Yet the relative clear-headedness of this album
suggests that she may have been only the most recent in a series of causes from... More >

These songs seem more felt than those on Mind Games, probably because they express personal pain rather than generalized optimism--"Bless You," to Yoko in someone else's arms, is a real leap. But the melodies are received, the accompaniment ordinary, and the singing disoriented. What can it be like for this ex-Beatle to trade harmonies with Elton John (who sings backup on "Surprise, Surprise," just as Lennon does on Elton's new single) in the inescapable knowledge that it's Elton who's doing him the favor? (Grade - B-)