Double Fantasy

Double Fantasy
Studio album by John Lennon and Yoko Ono
Released 17 November 1980
Recorded 7 August – 19 October 1980
Studio The Hit Factory, New York
Genre Rock
Length 45:05
Label Geffen
Producer John Lennon, Yoko Ono, Jack Douglas
John Lennon chronology
Shaved Fish
(1975)		 Double Fantasy
(1980)		 The John Lennon Collection
(1982)
Yoko Ono chronology
Feeling the Space
(1973)		 Double Fantasy
(1980)		 Season of Glass
(1981)
Singles from Double Fantasy
  1. "(Just Like) Starting Over"
    Released: 20 October 1980
  2. "Woman"
    Released: 12 January 1981
  3. "Watching the Wheels"
    Released: 13 March 1981
  4. "Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy)"
    Released: 11 April 1981
Double Fantasy Stripped Down
Cover of the 2010 remix with stripped down production.

Double Fantasy is a 1980 album released by John Lennon and Yoko Ono. It is the seventh and final studio album released by Lennon during his lifetime. The album was initially poorly received.[1][2] However, following Lennon's murder three weeks after its release, it became a worldwide commercial success and went on to win the 1981 Album of the Year award at the 24th Annual Grammy Awards.

Background

Following the birth of his son Sean in 1975, Lennon had put his career on hold to help raise him.[3] After five years of little musical activity aside from recording the occasional demo in his apartment in New York, Lennon felt ready to resume work.

In the middle of 1980, Lennon made a sailing trip through treacherous waters from Newport, Rhode Island, to Bermuda. During the journey, his yacht encountered a prolonged severe storm, and most of the crew succumbed to profound fatigue and seasickness. Lennon, free of seasickness, was eventually forced to take the yacht's wheel alone for many hours. He found this terrifying but invigorating. It had the effect of both renewing his confidence and making him contemplate the fragility of life. As a result, he began to write new songs and reworked earlier demos. He commented later, 'I was so centered after the experience at sea that I was tuned in to the cosmos – and all these songs came!'[4] Ono also wrote many songs, inspired with new confidence after Lennon had stated that he believed that contemporary popular music such as the B-52's "Rock Lobster" bore similarities to Ono's earlier work.[5]

The couple decided to release their work on the same album, the first time they had done so since 1972's politically charged Some Time in New York City. In stark contrast to that album, Double Fantasy (subtitled A Heart Play) was a collection of songs wherein husband and wife would conduct a musical dialogue. The album took its title from a species of freesia, seen in the Bermuda Botanical Gardens, whose name Lennon regarded as a perfect description of his marriage to Ono.[6]

Recording

Ono approached producer Jack Douglas, with whom the couple had previously worked, and gave him Lennon's demos to listen to. "My immediate impressions were that I was going to have a hard time making it better than the demos because there was such intimacy in the demos," Douglas told Uncut's Chris Hunt in 2005.[4]

Sessions for the album began at The Hit Factory in New York City on 7 August 1980 and continued through 19 October 1980.[7] They produced dozens of songs, enough to fill Double Fantasy and a large part of a projected second album, Milk and Honey.

Lennon wanted to work with different musicians than he had previously, and had Douglas assemble and rehearse the band without telling them who they would be recording with.[8] While the sessions were underway, Douglas brought Rick Nielsen and Bun E. Carlos of the band Cheap Trick (whom he was also producing)[9] to play on Lennon's "I'm Losing You" and Ono's "I'm Moving On", but these were eventually re-recorded with the studio musicians. (The Cheap Trick version of "I'm Losing You" was included on the John Lennon Anthology collection released in 1998.)[10]

The sessions remained top secret. Lennon and Ono still were not signed to a record label and paid for the initial sessions themselves.[8] After they were satisfied that the album was strong, their publicist Bruce Replogle leaked the news that the couple were back in the studio again.

Immediately, Lennon was inundated with offers from all the major labels. The recording industry was shocked when the couple signed with the newly formed Geffen Records on 22 September 1980[11] because David Geffen shrewdly insisted on speaking with Ono first, and regarded her contributions as equal to Lennon's. He signed them before hearing any of the tracks.[12]

Release, reception and aftermath

The album was preceded by the single "(Just Like) Starting Over", which was backed with Ono's "Kiss Kiss Kiss".[11] It was released on 20 October 1980 in the United States, and four days later in the United Kingdom.[11] Originally peaking at number 8 in the UK chart, after Lennon's death the single reached number one. In the US, the single was inching upward in the top 10 before reaching number one following Lennon's death.[11]

The album was released on 17 November 1980 in both the UK and US.[13] Geffen had planned an elaborate cover for Lennon's comeback, but Ono could not decide on a photo.[14] Not wanting to miss the Christmas release deadline, Geffen used the single sleeve as the front cover, while choosing an outtake from the same photo session for the back. The tracks were sequenced as a dialogue between Lennon and Ono; one of his songs followed by one of hers.[15] On the initial pressings, the track listing was out of sequence on the album cover.[16] Initial sales were sluggish. In the UK album charts, it had peaked at number 14 then slipped to number 46,[17] while in the US, it had risen to number 11. Upon Lennon's murder, the album jumped to number 1 in the US Billboard chart, where it stayed for eight weeks,[18] and in the UK, it jumped to number 2, where it remained for seven weeks before finally spending two weeks at number 1.[17]

"Woman", chosen by Lennon, was released as a posthumous single, backed with Ono's "Beautiful Boys".[19] It was released on 12 January 1981 in the US and 16 January in the UK, reaching number 1 in the UK and in the US on the Cash Box singles chart,[19] while peaking at number 2 for three weeks on the Billboard Hot 100.[20] Released as the final single from the album, "Watching the Wheels", backed with Ono's "Yes, I'm Your Angel", peaked at number 10 and 30 in the US and UK charts respectively.[21] The single was released in the US on 13 March 1981, and on 27 March 1981 in the UK.[21]

Lennon's Bermuda trip and Double Fantasy inspired the 2013 tribute CD and book Lennon Bermuda.[22][23]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Retrospective reviews
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[24]
Christgau's Record GuideA[25]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music[26]
Mojo[27]
MusicHound3.5/5[28]
Paste[29]
Q[30]
Rolling Stone (2010)[31]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[32]
Slant Magazine[33]

Initial critical reaction to the album was largely negative.[34] However, three weeks after the album's release, Lennon was murdered and several negative reviews by prominent critics were withheld from publication,[35] including those by Stephen Holden of The New York Times, Tom Carson of Rolling Stone, and Geoffrey Stokes of The Village Voice.[36] The negative reviews focused on the album's idealisation of Lennon and Ono's marriage. Stokes found the concept and theme to be "basically misogynist", and Kit Rachlis of the Boston Phoenix admitted to being "annoyed" by Lennon and Ono's assumption "that lots of people care deeply" about them.[36] Charles Shaar Murray, of New Musical Express, wrote that the couple's domestic bliss "sounds like a great life, but unfortunately it makes a lousy record," adding that he wished Lennon had "kept his big happy trap shut until he has something to say that was even vaguely relevant to those of us not married to Yoko Ono."[37]

Double Fantasy finished 37th in The Village Voice's 1980 Pazz & Jop, an annual poll of prominent music critics.[38] Robert Christgau, the poll's creator, ranked it 7th on his own list of the year's best albums.[39] Although he was put off by its simplistic lyrics and music upon first listen, Christgau said that the music works a "minor miracle" with "rich, precise" song form and a "command of readymades" to put "the anonymous usages of studio rock to striking artistic purpose." He felt that the use of alternating Ono's improved vocals with Lennon's "makes the union come alive" better than his outspoken, straightforward lyrics, and concluded that the album is not great, but "memorable and gratifying" as rare, "connubial rock and roll".[36]

In 1982, Douglas, Lennon and Ono won the 1981 Album of the Year for Double Fantasy at the 24th Annual Grammy Awards. In 1989 the album was ranked number 29 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 100 greatest albums of the 1980s.[40]

Reissues

"Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy)" was re-released as the B-side to a reissue of "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)" to promote The John Lennon Collection in November 1982.[41] It was first released on CD on 13 October 1986 in the UK, and a nearly a year later on 15 September 1987 in the US.[42] The album was re-released on cassette, CD and vinyl in 1989, after EMI had obtained the rights to the album.[42] On 9 October 2000, EMI/Capitol released a remastered version of the album, containing three bonus tracks.[nb 1][42] In 2010, a two-CD set called Double Fantasy Stripped Down was released. It included a newly remastered copy of the original album along with an alternative version of the album featuring simpler arrangements, with cover artwork by Sean Lennon.

Track listing

Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."(Just Like) Starting Over"John Lennon3:56
2."Kiss Kiss Kiss"Yoko Ono2:41
3."Cleanup Time"Lennon2:58
4."Give Me Something"Ono1:35
5."I'm Losing You"Lennon3:57
6."I'm Moving On"Ono2:20
7."Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy)"Lennon4:02
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
8."Watching the Wheels"Lennon3:35
9."Yes, I'm Your Angel"Ono3:08
10."Woman"Lennon3:32
11."Beautiful Boys"Ono2:55
12."Dear Yoko"Lennon2:34
13."Every Man Has a Woman Who Loves Him"Ono4:02
14."Hard Times Are Over"Ono3:20
Bonus tracks

2010 mixes

Accolades

Grammy Awards

Year Nominee/work Award Result
1982Double FantasyAlbum of the Year[43]Won
Best Pop Vocal Performance - Male[44]Nominated
"(Just Like) Starting Over"Record of the Year[44]Nominated

Charts

Certifications and sales

Region CertificationCertified units/Sales
Australia 285,000[64]
France (SNEP)[65] Platinum 533,900[66]
Germany (BVMI)[67] Gold 250,000^
Japan (Oricon Charts) 306,470[68]
United Kingdom (BPI)[69] Platinum 300,000^
United States (RIAA)[70] 3× Platinum 3,000,000^

^shipments figures based on certification alone

Personnel

Technical
  • Toshihiro Hamaya – production assistant
  • Frederic Seaman – production assistant
  • Julie Last – assistant engineer
  • George Marino – original mastering and remastering
  • Lee DeCarlo – engineer
  • Jon Smith – assistant engineer
  • Anthony Davilio – musical associate
  • James A. Ball – assistant engineer
  • Kishin Shinoyama – cover photo and photography
  • Bruce Replogle – publicist
  • Christopher Whorf - Artwork

References

Footnotes
  1. ↑ The bonus tracks are: "Help Me to Help Myself", "Walking on Thin Ice" and "Central Park Stroll".[42]
Citations
  1. ↑ Seaman, Last Days of John Lennon, Birch Lane ISBN 1-55972-084-0
  2. ↑ Coleman, John Ono Lennon, Sidgwick & Jackson ISBN 0-283-99082-1
  3. ↑ Blaney 2005, p. 182.
  4. 1 2 Chris Hunt (December 2005). "Just Like Starting Over". Uncut Magazine. Retrieved 28 March 2015.
  5. ↑ "Double Fantasy by John Lennon | Rolling Stone Music | Music Reviews". Rollingstone.com. 30 August 2011. Retrieved 9 September 2011.
  6. ↑ Clarke, John Jr.. Paste. Whatever gets you through the storm; 9 January 2007 [archived 17 January 2010; Retrieved 10 May 2010].
  7. ↑ Madinger, Chip; Raile, Scott (2015). LENNONOLOGY Strange Days Indeed - A Scrapbook Of Madness. Chesterfield, MO: Open Your Books, LLC. pp. 519, 530. ISBN 978-1-63110-175-5.
  8. 1 2 Starting Over: The Making of Double Fantasy, Ken Sharp, Gallery Books, ISBN 978-1-4391-0300-5
  9. ↑ Starting Over: The Making of John Lennon & Yoko Ono's Double Fantasy, Ken Sharp 2010
  10. ↑ "The Recording of Double Fantasy". Chrishunt.biz. Retrieved 9 September 2011.
  11. 1 2 3 4 Blaney 2005, p. 177
  12. ↑ American Masters, David Geffin Episode, PBS-TV 2012
  13. ↑ Blaney 2005, p. 182
  14. ↑ Seaman, Last Days of John Lennon, Birch Lane Press, ISBN 1-55972-084-0
  15. ↑ The Day John Lennon Died, BBC-TV, 2010
  16. ↑ Blaney 2005, p. 187
  17. 1 2 3 "John Lennon". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 19 March 2017.
  18. ↑ http://www.billboard.com/#/charts/billboard-200?chartDate=1981-02-14
  19. 1 2 Blaney 2005, p. 196
  20. ↑ http://www.billboard.com/artist/304965/john-lennon/chart
  21. 1 2 Blaney 2005, p. 201
  22. ↑ Cripps, Charlotte (24 May 2013). "John Lennon and son's double-fantasy trip - News - Music". The Independent. Retrieved 14 August 2013.
  23. ↑ "'Lennon Bermuda' John Lennon Book And Double Cd Boxset Released April 29th 2013". Contactmusic.com. Retrieved 14 August 2013.
  24. ↑ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Double Fantasy - John Lennon, Yoko Ono". AllMusic. Retrieved 28 March 2013.
  25. ↑ Christgau, Robert (1990). Christgau's Record Guide: The '80s. Pantheon Books. p. 243. ISBN 067973015X.
  26. ↑ Larkin, Colin (2006). Encyclopedia of Popular Music. 5 (4th ed.). Oxford University Press. p. 174. ISBN 0195313739.
  27. ↑ Doyle, Tom (November 2010). "John Lennon Signature Box". Mojo. p. 114.
  28. ↑ Gary Graff & Daniel Durchholz (eds), MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide, Visible Ink Press (Farmington Hills, MI, 1999; ISBN 1-57859-061-2), p. 667.
  29. ↑ Kemp, Mark (23 October 2007). "John Lennon – Reissues". Paste. Retrieved 13 October 2014.
  30. ↑ "Review: Double Fantasy". Q. London: 140–1. December 2000.
  31. ↑ Sheffield, Rob (10 November 2010). "John Lennon and Yoko Ono". Rolling Stone. India. Retrieved 28 March 2013.
  32. ↑ Evans, Paul; Miles, Milo; et al. (2004). Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian, eds. The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp. 481–2. ISBN 0743201698.
  33. ↑ Lanthier, Joseph Jan (15 October 2010). "John Lennon and Yoko Ono: Double Fantasy Stripped Down". Slant Magazine. Retrieved 28 March 2013.
  34. ↑ "The ballad of Paul and Yoko". Dir.salon.com. Archived from the original on 22 March 2014. Retrieved 18 August 2016.
  35. ↑ "100 Best Albums of the Eighties". www.rollingstone.com. Rolling Stone. 16 November 1989. Retrieved 18 August 2016.
  36. 1 2 3 Christgau, Robert (20 January 1981). "Symbolic Comrades". The Village Voice. New York. Retrieved 28 March 2013.
  37. ↑ Murray, Charles (22 November 1980). "John Lennon & Yoko Ono: Double Fantasy". New Musical Express. London: IPC Magazines Limited.
  38. ↑ Christgau, Robert (9 February 1981). "The Year of the Lollapalooza". The Village Voice. New York. Retrieved 28 March 2013.
  39. ↑ Christgau, Robert (9 February 1981). "Pazz & Jop 1980: Dean's List". The Village Voice. New York. Retrieved 28 March 2013.
  40. ↑ "Rocklist.net Rolling Stone Lists - Main Page". Rocklistmusic.co.uk. 17 October 2002. Retrieved 9 September 2011.
  41. ↑ Blaney 2005, p. 96.
  42. 1 2 3 4 Blaney 2005, p. 188
  43. ↑ "Past Winners Search". grammy.com. Retrieved 3 October 2011.
  44. 1 2 "Rock On The Net: 24th Annual Grammy Awards - 1982". Retrieved 3 October 2011.
  45. 1 2 Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, NSW: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  46. ↑ "austriancharts.at John Lennon / Yoko Ono - Double Fantasy". Hung Medien (in German). Retrieved 3 October 2011.
  47. ↑ "Top Albums/CDs - Volume 34, No. 7, January 24, 1981". RPM. Retrieved 3 October 2011.
  48. ↑ "dutchcharts.nl John Lennon / Yoko Ono - Double Fantasy". Hung Medien, dutchcharts.nl (in Dutch). MegaCharts. Retrieved 12 September 2011.
  49. ↑ "InfoDisc : Tous les Albums classés par Artiste > Choisir Un Artiste Dans la Liste" (in French). infodisc.fr. Archived from the original on 3 November 2013. Retrieved 12 September 2011.
  50. 1 2 "Hit Parade Italia - Gli album più venduti del 1981" (in Italian). hitparadeitalia.it. Retrieved 3 October 2011.
  51. ↑ "Yamachan Land (Archives of the Japanese record charts) - Albums Chart Daijiten - The Beatles" (in Japanese). 30 December 2007. Archived from the original on 14 February 2012. Retrieved 3 October 2011.
  52. ↑ "charts.org.nz - John Lennon / Yoko Ono - Double Fantasy". Hung Medien, charts.org.nz. Recording Industry Association of New Zea Land. Retrieved 3 October 2011.
  53. ↑ "norwegiancharts.com John Lennon / Yoko Ono - Double Fantasy". Hung Medien, norwegiancharts.com. VG-lista. Retrieved 3 October 2011.
  54. ↑ "swedishcharts.com John Lennon / Yoko Ono - Double Fantasy". Hung Medien, swedishcharts.com (in Swedish). Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved 3 October 2011.
  55. ↑ "allmusic ((( Double Fantasy > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums )))". allmusic.com. Retrieved 3 October 2011.
  56. ↑ "Album Search: John Lennon" (in German). Media Control. Retrieved 3 October 2011.
  57. ↑ "Les Albums (CD) de 1980 par InfoDisc" (in French). infodisc.fr. Archived from the original (PHP) on 9 January 2016. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
  58. 1 2 "Complete UK Year-End Album Charts". Archived from the original on 19 May 2012. Retrieved 4 October 2011.
  59. ↑ "Austriancharts.st - Jahreshitparade 1981" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 4 October 2011.
  60. ↑ "RPM Top 100 Albums of 1981". RPM. Retrieved 3 October 2011.
  61. ↑ "Japanese Year-End Albums Chart 1981" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved 12 September 2011.
  62. ↑ "Year End Charts - Year-end Albums - The Billboard 200". Billboard.com. Archived from the original on 10 February 2008. Retrieved 6 August 2009.
  63. ↑ "Album – Jahrescharts: 1987". charts.de. Media Control Charts. Retrieved 13 September 2011.
  64. ↑ "Billboard Vol. 94, No. 23– Majors Flight Economics with Quirky Rock Originals". Billboard. 6 December 1982. Retrieved 11 May 2012.
  65. ↑ "French album certifications – John Lennon & Yoko Ono – Double Fantasy" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique.
  66. ↑ "Les Albums Platine". infodisc.fr. SNEP. Archived from the original on 1 July 2015. Retrieved 3 October 2011.
  67. ↑ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (John Lennon/Yoko Ono; 'Double Fantasy')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie.
  68. ↑ Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970-2005. Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN 4-87131-077-9.
  69. ↑ "British album certifications – John Lennon/Yoko Ono – Double Fantasy". British Phonographic Industry. Select albums in the Format field. Select Platinum in the Certification field. Type Double Fantasy in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
  70. ↑ "American album certifications – Lennon, John & Yoko Ono – Double Fantasy". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH. 
Bibliography

  • Blaney, John (2005). John Lennon: Listen to This Book (illustrated ed.). [S.l.]: Paper Jukebox. ISBN 978-0-9544528-1-0.

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