Starting Over: The Making of John Lennon and Yoko Ono's Double Fantasy
“John Lennon is on top of the world,” writes Sharp at the outset of this “comprehensive portrait of Lennon’s last days” and scintillating oral history of the making of Double Fantasy, Lennon’s last album and a loving duo with his wife and guiding light, Yoko Ono. Accompanied by now-poignant photographs of Lennon and Ono in the recording studio, published here for the first time, this is an intimate and heart-wrenching collection of in-the-moment musings and thoughtful memories. Lennon, funny and droll, talks about his need to free himself from the demands of fame to find his way back to “the source.” Ono talks about how nervous they were. The drummer, Andy Newmark, notes that “John and Yoko were always hugging and kissing each other,” while Julie Last, an assistant engineer, remembers Lennon’s delight in new recording technologies. Then arranger Tony Davilio describes seeing a note Ono wrote after speaking with her astrologist, “No tour now, danger around John.” Vivid and intimate, this is an invaluable and vibrant record of Lennon’s last, great burst of creativity, a radiant remembrance, and a warm tribute to Ono. --Donna Seaman