In Defense of "Sometime in New York City"

I remember buying this album new in the Summer of 1972. Coming less than a year after Imagine (which could be considered Lennon's best post-Beatle album), I was turned off by the Elephant's Memory horn section, the number of Yoko songs and the heavy political themes.

It retrospect, Sometime in New York City has become one of my favorite Lennon lps. While Yoko's "Sisters, O Sisters" and "Born in a Prison" are weak, her album closer "We're All Water" is a terrific number. Great lyrics, great tune...I absolutely love it. And the band really rocks on it, too.

"Woman is the Nigger of the World" is one of John's (and Yoko's) best. "John Sinclair" never fails to fascinate me: A seemingly standard folk song, the weirdly timed chorus is a grabber.

Also super are "New York City", "The Luck of the Irish" and "Angela".

The "Live Jam" on Disc 2 doesn't do much for me, but the original release included it as a freebee, so I figure I'd rather have it than not.

Give this album another chance. It's a neat time capsule into the world of John and Yoko and Nixon's America. And also provides a nice companion piece to the five episodes of the "Mike Douglas Show" that J&Y co-hosted...I remember watching them as a teen in the afternoons of February 1972, and I have the complete shows on a Rhino video collection.