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Shaved Fish

 
Album Review: Shaved Fish
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Shaved Fish

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Similar Albums:

Empty Glass, Born to Run, Before the Flood, John Lennon Collection, Greatest Hits, Loaded, Anthology 3, Sultans of Swing: The Very Best of Dire Straits, Double Fantasy, All Things Must Pass, Kink Kronikles
  • Artist: John Lennon
  • Rating: StarStarStarStarHalf Star
  • Release Date: October 24, 1975
  • Total Time: 38:11
  • Type: Compilation (best of), Lyrics are included with the album, Contains explicit content
  • Genre: Rock

Review

At the time of its release, Shaved Fish didn't attract as much attention as any compilation of John Lennon's work would have either a few years before or a few years after. Lennon had just issued the somewhat disappointing genre album, Rock 'n' Roll, and was only a year from Walls and Bridges, not one of his strongest albums, and had also grown somewhat stale as a public figure. Drawing on his singles up to that point in his career, it shows a punkier, more defiant vision of Lennon's work than subsequent compilations, which would dwell on a broader cross section of his output. "Happy Christmas" and "Imagine" are moments of peace in the company of artifacts from his political/agitprop ("Power to the People") and primal scream ("Mother") periods, and his attempts at topical songwriting ("Woman Is the Nigger of the World"), and "Whatever Gets You Through the Night," which was unique to this LP, was a better piece of mainstream rock & roll than any of the late-'50s numbers that he ground out for Rock 'n' Roll. This collection, which was the last LP release to come from Lennon in any form until Double Fantasy five years later, was the only compilation of his work released in Lennon's own lifetime, and has since been supplanted by various posthumous assemblies of his music. ~ Bruce Eder, All Music Guide

Tracks

Track TitleComposersPerformersTime
Give Peace a Chance (Lyrics) Paul McCartney, John Lennon John Lennon, John Lennon & the Plastic Ono Band (:59)
Cold Turkey (Lyrics) John Lennon John Lennon & the Plastic Ono Band, John Lennon (5:03)
Instant Karma! (Lyrics) John Lennon John Lennon, John Lennon & the Plastic Ono Band (3:15)
Power to the People (Lyrics) John Lennon John Lennon & the Plastic Ono Band, John Lennon (3:06)
Mother (Lyrics) John Lennon John Lennon, John Lennon & the Plastic Ono Band (5:08)
Woman Is the Nigger of the World (Lyrics) John Lennon, Yoko Ono John Lennon & the Plastic Ono Band, John Lennon (4:38)
Imagine (Lyrics) John Lennon John Lennon, John Lennon & the Plastic Ono Band (3:04)
Whatever Gets You Thru the Night (Lyrics) John Lennon John Lennon, John Lennon & the Plastic Ono Band (3:06)
Mind Games (Lyrics) John Lennon John Lennon & the Plastic Ono Band, John Lennon (4:12)
#9 Dream (Lyrics) John Lennon John Lennon & the Plastic Ono Band, John Lennon (4:48)
Medley: Happy Xmas (War Is over)/Give Peace a Chance (Reprise) John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Yoko Ono John Lennon & the Plastic Ono Band, John Lennon (4:16)

Credits

Derek Taylor (Vocals), Michael Bryan (Illustrations), Roy Kohara (Design), Yoko Ono (Producer), Tom Smothers (Vocals), Roy Kohara (Art Direction), Stevie Wonder (Vocals), Timothy Leary (Vocals), John Lennon (Producer), John Lennon (Guitar), John Lennon (Vocals), John Lennon (Keyboards), Allen Ginsberg (Vocals), Phil Spector (Producer), John Lennon (Arranger)
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Wikipedia: Shaved Fish
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Home > Library > Miscellaneous > Wikipedia
Shaved Fish
Superimposed on a background consisting mostly of a cloudy, pale blue sky is a three-row by four-column borderless grid. Eleven of the 12 blocks in the grid contain the title from one of the songs on the album and an illustration for that song. The 12th block, located in the first row, third column, has a white background. Starting from the top, the words "SHAVED FISH LENNON" are vertically aligned, appearing in large black block capitals with a red dot centered in a separate row between "FISH" and "LENNON"; below "LENNON", in a single row of smaller block capitals, are the words "PLASTIC ONO BAND".
Compilation album by John Lennon
Released 24 October 1975
Recorded June 1969 – July 1974
Genre Rock
Length 41:55
Label Apple/EMI
Producer John Lennon, Yoko Ono
& Phil Spector
Professional reviews
John Lennon chronology
Rock 'n' Roll
(1975)		 Shaved Fish
(1975)		 Double Fantasy
(1980)
Question book-new.svg
 This article needs additional citations for verification.
Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (November 2009)

Shaved Fish is the seventh album by John Lennon, released in October 1975 on Apple Records, catalogue SW 3421. It is a compilation of singles, comprising every one that he had issued in the United States as a solo artist with the exception of "Stand By Me," taken from the album Rock 'n' Roll. The only compilation of his non-Beatles recordings released during his lifetime, it was a commercial success, reaching #5 in the UK and #12 in the US,[citation needed] ultimately going platinum. It is currently out of print in any format.

The compilation includes many of Lennon's most popular solo recordings, five of which had not yet appeared on an album.[citation needed] Eight of these singles made the Top 40 on the Billboard chart, with "Whatever Gets You Thru the Night" going to #1; five made the Top Ten in the United Kingdom. "Imagine," never a single in the UK, was issued as such concurrent to the release of this album, going to #5 in the UK chart. Several of the master tapes were unavailable for the compilation, and dubs were used, some with shorter fadeouts.[citation needed]

Its release came less than two weeks after the resolution of Lennon's long-running immigration dispute,[citation needed] and the birth of Sean Lennon. The name of the album originates from the Japanese food katsuobushi, a kind of dried fish.[citation needed]

Contents

Reception

The year the album was released, a Creem magazine reader's poll included it among the top five "Best Reissues" of 1975, placing fourth, behind two Rolling Stones compilations (Made in the Shade and Metamorphosis) and Bob Dylan's The Basement Tapes.[4]

Robert Christgau called the album "eleven shots in the dark from the weirdest major rock and roller of the early '70s" and said "not counting the two available on must-own albums, the only great cuts are "Instant Karma" (Lennon's best political song) and "#9 Dream" (catchier nonsense pop than McCartney's ever managed)."[3]

Re-release

A later compact disc issue used the original masters,[specify] restoring the full fadeouts of these songs.

Track listing

All songs by John Lennon, except where noted.

Side one
No. Song Length Notes
1 "Give Peace a Chance" 0:58
2 "Cold Turkey" 5:01
3 "Instant Karma! (We All Shine On)" 3:21
  • "Instant Karma!" was released as a single on 6 February 1970 and credited to John Lennon with The Plastic Ono Band. Although the B-Side was credited to "Yoko Ono Lennon with the Plastic Ono Band," the American single (Apple 1818) was actually credited to "John Ono Lennon" without reference to the Plastic Ono Band.[citation needed]
4 "Power to the People" 3:21
  • "Power to the People" was released as a single on 12 March 1971 and credited to John Lennon/The Plastic Ono Band
5 "Mother" 5:03
6 "Woman is the Nigger of the World" (John Lennon, Yoko Ono) 4:37
Side two
No. Song Length Notes
1 "Imagine" 3:02
2 "Whatever Gets You Thru the Night" 3:03
3 "Mind Games" 4:12
4 "#9 Dream" 4:47
5 "Happy Xmas (War is Over)" /
"Give Peace a Chance (Reprise)" (Lennon, Ono)		 4:15
  • "Happy Xmas (War is Over)" was released as a single on 1 December 1971 in the U.S. and 24 November 1972 in the UK and credited to "John & Yoko/The Plastic Ono Band"
  • An excerpt from a live performance of "Give Peace a Chance (Reprise)" recorded at the 1972 "One to One" concerts is crossfaded into the song's ending.[citation needed]

References

  1. ^ "Shaved Fish". Allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:vjuvad7kv8w1. Retrieved 2009-11-20. 
  2. ^ Dave Marsh (Dec 18, 1975). "Shaved Fish". Rolling Stone. http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/johnlennon/albums/album/97040/review/5942481/shaved_fish. Retrieved 2009-11-20. 
  3. ^ a b "John Lennon: Shaved Fish". Robert Christgau. http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?id=684. Retrieved 2009-11-20. 
  4. ^ "CREEM Magazine 1975 Reader Poll Results". Creem. rocklistmusic.co.uk. http://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/creem_lists.htm#1975. Retrieved 2009-11-20. 



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