Sometime in New York City
Agitprop political sensibilities have seldom made for great rock music, even in the hands of a genius like John Lennon. Or perhaps we should sayespeciallyin the hands of Lennon. Coming as it did on the heels ofImagine, arguably his most balanced and artistically accomplished solo record, this album-length harangue (with a "bonus" live disc that felt more like a booby prize) takes on all the de rigueur victims and causes of the day, from feminist hardships ("Woman Is the Nigger of the World") to American injustice ("John Sinclair," "Born in a Prison," "Attica") and the Irish Troubles ("Sunday Bloody Sunday," "Luck of the Irish") and comes off as tedious as it is ham-fisted. Though it features many of Lennon's stellar Plastic Ono Band sidemen (Billy Preston, Nicky Hopkins, Klaus Voorman, Eric Clapton, Jim Keltner) and the presence of legendary producer Phil Spector at the helm, none were brave or wise enough to yank the soapbox from beneath Lennon just once during the sessions. A telling chapter in any Lennon character study, though more an exercise in caricature than an album.--Jerry McCulley