We All Shine on: The Stories Behind Every John Lennon Song: 1970-1980

Rating:
Summary: Lennon rediscovered!!
Review: Finally the comprehensive book on John lennon's much undeservedly neglected solo work. Du Noyer takes us on a trip like no one has before. Through the mind of John Lennon, when he was composing hits like 'Instant Karma'(which definitely has got to be his best solo work),'Imagine', 'Jealous Guy' and the poignant love songs from the 'Double Fantasy' album. What makes the book really worth many reads is the fact that at no point does Du Noyer make an attempt to glorify all that Lennon composed after breaking up with the Beatles. He is dispassionately unbiased while separating the non-inspiring works like Some Time In New York City from classics like Imagine, Plastic Ono Band etc. A must read for any Lennonophile.

Rating:
Summary: Marvelous - how is it out of print so quickly?
Review: I don't think that the author is necessary conflicted between the Coleman and Goldman views of Lennon's life so much as looking from the outside, considering all possibilites without claiming to "know" anything. Not as good as A Hard Day's Write, true, but still a very excellent companion to Lennon's life and works.

Rating:
Summary: Marvelous - how is it out of print so quickly?
Review: I don't think that the author is necessary conflicted between the Coleman and Goldman views of Lennon's life so much as looking from the outside, considering all possibilites without claiming to "know" anything. Not as good as A Hard Day's Write, true, but still a very excellent companion to Lennon's life and works.

Rating:
Summary: The 'Real' J.L.
Review: In the decade that elapsed between the Beatles' dissolution and his death in 1980, John Lennon wrote songs that were inspired by events which affected him personally. Here some light is shed on the biographical background to his solo work by veteran music journalist, Du Noyer, whose 'Q' and 'Mojo' credentials shine through in the magazine-style form and glossy photos.

Rating:
Summary: Interesting....but Disappointing
Review: This book is pretty much a sequel of sorts to Steve Turner's "A Hard Day's Write," which remains the definitive book on the background of the Beatles' songs. Du Noyer was right to decide that Lennon's solo work deserved a similar reference of its own, but, unfortunately, it doesn't measure up to the Turner book. Using the same format, and even some of the same photos, Du Noyer takes us through Lennon's mainstream albums from Plastic Ono Band to Milk & Honey, but in the end can't come up with anything new; it's all a retread of the same old story - and Du Noyer can't decide whether he wants to believe Ray Coleman or Albert Goldman, so he just chooses to dodge the delicate question of whether Lennon, as a person, was an all-around wonderful guy (the 'St Lennon' of rock'n'roll myth) or a deranged, self-destructive hypocrite. Even worse, Du Noyer can't decide whether he's a fan of the music or not. He intersplices fan-like gushing over Lennon's best songs with snide put-downs directed at most of the rest of the repertoire. In the end, there's not much here for either the devoted Lennon fan or the newcomer, who may wonder what all the fuss is about if so much of Lennon's music merits all this criticism.

Rating:
Summary: Interesting....but Disappointing
Review: This book is pretty much a sequel of sorts to Steve Turner's "A Hard Day's Write," which remains the definitive book on the background of the Beatles' songs. Du Noyer was right to decide that Lennon's solo work deserved a similar reference of its own, but, unfortunately, it doesn't measure up to the Turner book. Using the same format, and even some of the same photos, Du Noyer takes us through Lennon's mainstream albums from Plastic Ono Band to Milk & Honey, but in the end can't come up with anything new; it's all a retread of the same old story - and Du Noyer can't decide whether he wants to believe Ray Coleman or Albert Goldman, so he just chooses to dodge the delicate question of whether Lennon, as a person, was an all-around wonderful guy (the 'St Lennon' of rock'n'roll myth) or a deranged, self-destructive hypocrite. Even worse, Du Noyer can't decide whether he's a fan of the music or not. He intersplices fan-like gushing over Lennon's best songs with snide put-downs directed at most of the rest of the repertoire. In the end, there's not much here for either the devoted Lennon fan or the newcomer, who may wonder what all the fuss is about if so much of Lennon's music merits all this criticism.