1000 Day Album Challenge (#94) John Lennon / Yoko Ono: Double Fantasy / Stripped Down (1980 / 2010) [03.04.24]
this one’s for Gene, Eddie, and Elvis…and Buddy…
I never bought Double Fantasy when it was current. I might not have owned it until my forties. I can’t say I disliked the music at the time, it was just that I was pursuing other musical interests. John Lennon was not really on my personal musical radar until later and even then it was more about Plastic Ono Band (1970) and Imagine (1971).
when I finally bought Double Fantasy I found it quite listenable. yes, I dug John’s cuts more than Yoko’s but it’s not like I would skip through the album to only listen to John’s music.
apparently, John was always self-conscious about his vocals so they were always heavily processed. when the Stripped Down version of Double Fantasy was released in 2010 I loved hearing John’s vocals without reverb and other effects.
I also loved hearing a lot of the studio chatter between takes. this version feels very personal to me. I was surprised as I did a bit of research this morning to find out that Stripped Down is not universally preferred. it seems like there are quite a few who prefer the original 1980 release.
I’m also a fan of Let It Be…Naked (2003). what can I say?
#1000DayAlbumChallenge #JohnLennon #YokoOno #JohnLennonYokoOno #DoubleFantasy #StrippedDown