Track Listing

1. Be-Bop-A-Lula
2. Stand by Me
3. Medley: A) Rip It Up/B) Ready Teddy
4. You Can't Catch Me
5. Ain't That a Shame
6. Do You Wanna Dance?
7. Sweet Little Sixteen
8. Slippin' and Slidin'
9. Peggy Sue
10. Medley: A) Bring It on Home to Me/B) Send Me Some Lovin'
11. Boney Moronie
12. Ya Ya
13. Just Because
14. Angel Baby [*]
15. To Know Her Is to Love Her [*]
16. Since My Baby Left Me [*]
17. Just Because (Reprise) [*]

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #7391 in Music
• Released on: 2004-11-02
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Original recording remastered
• Dimensions: .21 pounds

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*Japanese import mini-vinyl CDs

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Conceived at a time when John Lennon was struggling to regain his footing as a solo artist, Rock ‘n’ Roll afforded the hardly ancient ex-Beatles (he was only 33 when work began on the LP) a chance to revisit his Liverpool roots. Feeling nostalgic, Lennon enlisted Phil Spector to guide him through rewordings of tunes from early heroes Chuck Berry, Fats Domino, Buddy Holly, and Little Richard. Sounds easy enough. Something about the ‘70s made thirtysomething musicians long for the ‘50s (around the time Lennon began work on this project, the Band released the all-oldies collection Moondog Matinee) and Lennon certainly had the vocal chops to take on any rocker. The Spector sessions, however, fell apart, producing only four songs that made it to vinyl. Lennon took over production and completed the album the following year, actually helming most of the album’s highlights. "Stand by Me" proved to be a perfect dramatic vehicle for Lennon and scored as a single. The likes of "Be-Bop-A-Lula," "Slippin’ and Slidin’," and "Just Because" were comfortable fits for "Dr. Winston O’Boogie." And though "Do You Wanna Dance" and "Sweet Little Sixteen" are misbegotten attempts to slow down and reimagine the originals, by any fair gauge, there’re are three winners here for every misstep. The remixed and remastered reissue comes with four bonus tracks that rank with the final cuts. Conceived perhaps as something of a stopgap title, Rock ‘n’ Roll has aged well and serves as a tribute not only to the fathers of rock & roll, but to Lennon the vocalist and producer. --Steven Stolder

Customer Reviews

You should have been there-Dr. Winston O'Boogie
On the verge of retirement from music, John Lennon went back to the music he loved as a kid. "Rock 'n' Roll" came out just at the right time; punk was about to explode and bands like The Clash, Elvis Costello and the Attractions were only a couple of years away from revitalizing rock'n'roll. "Rock 'N'Roll" shows Lennon trying to catch his breath after a whirlwind of twelve years in the spotlight. Featuring superlative remakes of "Be-Bop-A-Lula", "Stand By Me" (which Lennon makes very much his own with his passionate almost pleading vocal), "You Can't Catch me" (one of the Chuck Berry songs that Lennon supposedly stole from for "Come Together". Beyond the hypnotic opening and a couple of lines, it's a very different song) and a stunning version of "Peggy Sue", it's clear that after "Walls & Bridges" that Lennon was looking to the past to inspire him. In fact, "Rock 'N' Roll" acts as a perfect bridge to Lennon's last finished album "Double Fantasy" that would come out five years later.

What matters here is whether or not the remixing/remastering process has improved the album. Yes and yes. While one can argue about remixing an album, Yoko Ono and remix engineer Peter Cobbin focus on cleaning up the album without making it sound sterile. There's still plenty of grit in these performances but the detail and sonic clarity has been improved enourmously.

We get four bonus tracks two of which have been released before on the "John Lennon Anthology" boxed set or "Menlove Ave" album. The four tracks provide an interesting glimpse into what oculd have been a much different album. It's fun to have them available all in one spot. A reprise of "Just Because" is particularly touching as Lennon continues his monologue that concluded that song and says "Hi to Ringo, Paul and George". It's rather touching that, after all they went through when The Beatles broke up, that Lennon would take the time sent a greeting to his former bandmates (there's also a witty reference to Lennon's "Goodnight Vienna" which closed out Ringo's album of the same name in a similar fashion).

The booklet, on the other hand, is a bit more a problem. One review mentioned that the album has all the credits listed. That's not quite accurate. While the original album and reissued CD credits are here, we have no idea as to who's playing what on various tracks. There's no lyrics which, even though Lennon didn't write these songs, would have been nice to have as well. Finally, I wish that Yoko had included the guitar tab for these songs since Lennon radically rearranged some of these tunes himself. That's a minor quibble at best and doesn't effect the music. I would also liked to have an essay on the making of the album with interviews from some of the surviving session musicians involved.

"Rock 'N' Roll" finds Lennon looking to his past to reinvent himself yet again. It provides a perfect bridge to Lennon's last complete album "Double Fantasy" and the sparkling sound brings many of these classic performances back to life again. While one can quibble about Yoko's right to remix the album, she's done a great job trying to stay true to the original mixes while improving the sonic clarity. Here's hoping that the criminally underappreciate "Walls & Bridges" is next on the remaster front with the demo tracks from "Menlove Ave" for "Walls" included as well. I'm hoping that album will have a limited edition cover similar to the original fold out cover of the vinyl.

An exciting remastered CD!
This is an exciting album! Originally released in 1975, this CD remains John's tribute to some of his musician heroes. Now this album has been digitally remastered for re-release on CD with four bonus songs, making this a wonderful John Lennon CD to own. Lennon's voice and musical accompaniment here are very strong; he was in first class shape for these recordings. Lennon's prowess as a uniquely talented singer and musician creates a selection of songs performed in a very special style. On this CD John rocks, sings romantic ballads with reggae beats added in, and emotes all the emotions of love, lust, sadness, and honest expression. The production of the CD also allowed Lennon to perform songs reminiscent of his younger and more innocent youthful life before fame with The Beatles. The intensity, the power of John's voice displays the passion he felt about these songs and their writers.

John pays tribute to quite a few great talents here: Chuck Berry ("Sweet Little Sixteen," "You Can't Catch Me"), Buddy Holly ("Peggy Sue"), and Ben E. King ("Stand By Me") are just a few. John loved and worshiped these people and this tribute is John's way of thanking them for inspiring him and not just a tribute.

The four bonus tracks are: a medley of "Bring It On Home To Me" and "Send Me Some Lovin'," "Bony Moronie," "Ya Ya," and "Just Because." Phil Spector produced some of the songs here.

The insert doesn't include liner notes but the credits are listed completely. There are great black and white photos of John from Yoko's personal collection.

The CD is a must have for John's fans as well as Beatles' fans. Fans of rock and roll legends like Buddy Holly and Little Richard can also delight in this CD. Buy this album and enjoy John's music. John was a treasure to us all; and through John's music on CDs such as this one he lives on.

A Re-release of a John Lennon Album of Rock and Roll
The original 1975 album was one of Mr. Lennon's post-Beatles projects. The album cover by Jurgen Vollmer features a young John Lennon (1960?) in a doorway of a Hamburg nightclub before a performance. In those days, the Beatles did covers of the American rock and roll classics of the 1950's that so heavily influenced their early work. This album is a homage to Mr. Lennon roots.

Begun as part of a settlement to a plagiarism lawsuit in 1973, Mr. Lennon turned to Phil Spector again (he completed the "Let It Be" record when the Beatles dissolved the band). But the collaboration foundered on the overproduction excesses of Mr. Spector and Mr. Lennon completed the album himself in 1975.

All of this material has been released before either on the original album or the "Menlove Avenue." The ballads are not as successful as the rockers (such as "Peggy Sue") that Mr. Lennon so clearly enjoys here. The reprise of "Just Because" is priceless for a typical John Lennon Christmas greeting to various persons. The sound is digitally remastered and sounds great. If you are a John Lennon fan , then you will like this album.