John Lennon Review - Working Class Zero
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The Guardian | Music | 28th June 2017
Royal Albert Hall, London
The best of the Plastic Ono Band fails to mask the fact John Lennon just isn't in demand anymore
Thirty years ago a concert fronted by John Lennon would have been the talk of the town, a landmark cultural event. Not in 2017.
Over the course of this moderately lukewarm night in London, we assume one thing: John Lennon isn't the same without Yoko Ono. And it shows. After his rendition of the Orange Juice classic, Flesh of My Flesh - backed by cold blue light - he gave a statement, something not unusual for one of his shows nowadays. "Defend Our Rights!" he yelled to a crowd of 5,000, immediately followed by the calypso tones of Independence Bingo, from Lennon's album Ulcer, released twenty years ago this week.
"Defence" of stated "Rights" is not a topic you would expect a man like John Lennon to approach in any manner but that of a lackadaisical upstart. The man of "Give Peace A Chance" and the bed protest is no more, as many commentators would observe and reluctantly accept. Lennon wouldn't blame you for being nostalgic. The man who reformed the Plastic Ono band three times wouldn't have a leg to stand on.
The unfortunate truth is that while not a complete lacky for the forces of dimwitted evil that some of his colleagues are, Lennon's views have morphed into an uncomfortable acceptance of the power of the government over lives. Telling a transgender protester to "fuck off" with some deadly language represented a rather low mark for a man once praised for his social tolerance.
It's possible that remark shows that Lennon is still stung from his controversial sit-down interview with Christian Amanpour last year, even as he tours for his newest album, Banging Gong. His remarks came at a time when his input was welcomed and could've changed the conversation, but instead he opted for a curt couple of sentences about the "tightening" of norms and how you couldn't get anything as radical as Get Back nowadays. Expletives were allegedly used, though Lennon denies calling Amanpour a "bitch".
The words would have been such a disappointment for those who idolised the young Lennon, and excitement for those who idolise the man who seemed to by-pass all major music movements since Kraftwerk and New Wave. Lennon, for the longest time, served at the cutting edge of rock and roll, but after an arrest in 1989 and especially after his divorce from Yoko Ono in 1999, he has been committed to stirring up controversy. In 2003 he was photographed joining a protest against the Iraq war holding an Iraqi flag. 2011 marked him being caught out for tax evasion, while previously writing songs calling out the likes of Phil Collins for doing so. Just two months ago at a question and answer session in Middlesborough, he referred to the act of voting as "a spook" but said that he has toyed with supporting Ukip, referring to controversial leader Nigel Farage as "a firestarter...an upstart." A certain four letter word marks comments sections of album reviews. The upcoming EU referendum is one place where he hasn't made a statement, consider that a blessing if you must.
If there's one thing you can credit modern Lennon for, it's his choice of musical scenery, and this gig is no exception. His sense of muted showmanship shows itself. Cool lights, transitions backed by strings, and a display based on his iconic look from the Rooftop Concert keep the audience in a dreamlike state, but of course scenery can't save Lennon from his own pitfalls. The pre-gig tribute to the late David Bowie, with whom Lennon had a unique friendship and some say served as a mentor, was truly beautiful and shows that Lennon isn't completely loathable. Lennon followed this with covers of Let's Dance and Big Brother, tracks from Bowie's 1983 album of the same name and Diamond Dogs respectively. There is a certain lamentation in circles that Lennon could have taken a cue from Bowie, a man who reinvented himself as a variety of different personalities and characters to create a world of musical enjoyment. Alas, there would never be an equivalent of Aladdin Sane for John Lennon, and maybe that was for the best. Not every musician has to dramatically change their style, but many say that would be most welcome in Lennon's case. And for a man who turns 77 this October, it may be grim to say, but time is running out either way.
Throughout the night, Lennon and his band prove themselves capable at not only utilising some of their electronic inspirations, namely Aphex Twin (who sued Lennon for using an unauthorised sample of his song Mookid) and more recently, the Robert Smith affiliated Crystal Castles, but combining them with some of the Beatles era classics. Temporary Secretary, a Paul McCartney song and one of the headliner tracks for the infamous Beatles '87 tour, was played with the computerised sound of the original completely taking over. Lennon's main musical currency, at least as far as Imagine (whose titular track he refuses to play) goes, is a sense of going beyond and thinking about life. Not a gloomy sense of forboding, simply reflection. This gig both reinforces and rejects this.
Lennon's new songs move the audience, but don't excite them, with the exception of Winnowing, a song as lyrically heavy as it is tonally bouncy, a glad break from the attempts at critical social commentary. As one Pitchfork review put it, "Banging Gong has one message: John Lennon has opinions, and you need to listen to them."
Covers of Siouxie and the Banshee's Hong Kong Garden and Lou Reed's Satellite of Love (Reed wasn't a fan of the Beatles but didn't mind Lennon as a solo musician) draw a comparison between the lighter side of Lennon's taste and the darker side. Whatever Gets You Thru The Night stays a remarkable tune, while Jealous Guy brings the audience to a deep emotional state. He flashes the peace sign, a rousing chant of "John" goes up, and he is left with little to say but: "The light will never go out. What we have here will never be lost."
