Wedding Album

Wedding Album
Studio album by John Lennon and Yoko Ono
Released	7 November 1969
Recorded	Late March and 22 & 27 April 1969
Genre	Avant-garde
Length	47:38
Label	Apple Records / Rykodisc
Producer	John Lennon, Yoko Ono & Phil Spector
Professional reviews
Allmusic link
John Lennon and Yoko Ono chronology
Unfinished Music No.2: Life with the Lions (1969) Wedding Album (1969) Live Peace in Toronto 1969 (1969)

Wedding Album is the final in a succession of three experimental albums by John Lennon and Yoko Ono. Released in 1969, it consisted of two tracks, one on each side of the record:

"John & Yoko", the first side, is a recording of Lennon and Ono calling to each other, through a range of emotions, over the sound of their heartbeats.

"Amsterdam", the second side, consists of interviews, conversations, and captured sounds during the couple's famous "Bed-In" honeymoon, after being married on 20 March of that year. Interestingly, a brief excerpt of the Beatles song, "Because" appears on this side.

The record came as an elaborate box set designed by John Kosh, including sets of photos, drawings by Lennon, a reproduction of the marriage certificate, a picture of a slice of wedding cake (inside a white sleeve), and a booklet of press clippings about the couple.

Wedding Album was no-show in the UK charts, but managed to peak at #178 in the US. The album was available on vinyl, cassette tape and 8-track tape, each with the same deluxe packaging. The album was also advertised through magazine print advertisements, which Lennon and Ono's previous two albums had not.

When Wedding Album was released, at least one music press reviewer was led to believe that the album was more experimental than it actually was. Richard Williams, who had been given two single-sided test pressings for his Melody Maker review, each with a blank side featuring only an engineer's test signal, took it to be a double album^[1]. Reviewing it as such, he noted that sides two and four consisted entirely "of single tones maintained throughout, presumably produced electronically". This led Lennon and Ono to send the following telegram to Williams: "DEAR RICHARD THANK YOU FOR YOUR FANTASTIC REVIEW ON OUR WEDDING ALBUM INCLUDING C-AND-D SIDE STOP WE ARE CONSIDERING IT FOR OUR NEXT RELEASE STOP MAYBE YOU ARE RIGHT IN SAYING THAT THEY ARE THE BEST SIDES STOP WE BOTH FEEL THAT THIS IS THE FIRST TIME A CRITIC TOPPED THE ARTIST STOP WE ARE NOT JOKING STOP LOVE AND PEACE STOP JOHN AND YOKO LENNON."^[2]

Wedding Album was initially released on Apple Records, but was reissued in 1997 through Rykodisc with three bonus cuts - all of them B-sides by The Plastic Ono Band composed by Ono.

Track listing

All pieces by John Lennon and Yoko Ono, except where noted.

Side one

1. "John & Yoko" – 22:44

Side two

1. "Amsterdam" – 25:00

CD bonus tracks

1. "Who Has Seen the Wind?" (Yoko Ono) – 2:05
2. "Listen, The Snow is Falling" – 3:25
3. "Don't Worry Kyoko (Mummy's Only Looking for Her Hand in the Snow)" – 2:35

Personnel

• John Lennon: Guitars, keyboards, heartbeat sounds, vocals.
• Yoko Ono: vocals, rare sounds, heartbeat sounds.
• Klaus Voormann: Electric guitar, bass.
• Nicky Hopkins: Piano, chimes.
• Hugh McCracken: Piano, chimes.

References