Menlove Ave.

Menlove Ave.
Compilation album by John Lennon
Released	3 November 1986
Recorded	Late 1973, mid-1974, October 1974
Genre	Rock
Length	42:20
Label	Parlophone/EMI
Producer	John Lennon, Phil Spector
John Lennon chronology
Live in New York City (1986) Menlove Ave. (1986) Imagine: John Lennon (1988)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
Blender	[2]
Robert Christgau	B+[3]
MusicHound	[4]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	[5]

Menlove Ave. is a 1986 album by English rock musician John Lennon. It is the second posthumous release of Lennon's music, having been recorded during the sessions from his albums Walls and Bridges and Rock 'n' Roll. Menlove Ave. was released under the supervision of Yoko Ono, Lennon's widow.

Background

The first side of the LP comprises session outtakes from the Rock 'n' Roll sessions with Phil Spector in late 1973, save for "Rock and Roll People" which is from the Mind Games sessions.^[6] The remainder features rehearsal recordings in mid-1974 for Walls and Bridges.

The song "Rock and Roll People" was originally recorded and released on Johnny Winter's seventh studio album John Dawson Winter III.

The title refers to Lennon's childhood home, 251 Menlove Avenue, in Liverpool. Menlove Avenue is a long road in South Liverpool, part of the Liverpool ring road. While it is mainly residential, it is also a primary route - the A562. It also passes Woolton Village where Lennon and Paul McCartney first met.

Album cover

The artwork for the release was effected by artist Andy Warhol, just months before Lennon's death in 1980.^[7] It was later used as a cover for 2005 compilation album Working Class Hero: The Definitive Lennon.

Reception and Aftermath

Though Menlove Ave. included previously unreleased material of John Lennon, it failed to chart in the United Kingdom. It did manage to reach number 127 in the United States, making it Lennon's least-successful album. Menlove Ave. has not been printed since 1986.

Tracks 3-5 appeared as bonus tracks in the 2004 remastered version of Rock 'n' Roll. The song "Here We Go Again" was included on the 2006 soundtrack album The U.S. vs. John Lennon and 2010 box set Gimme Some Truth.

Track listing

All songs written by John Lennon, except where noted.

Side one

1. "Here We Go Again" (John Lennon / Phil Spector) – 4:50
2. "Rock and Roll People" – 4:21
3. "Angel Baby" (Rosie Hamlin) – 3:42
4. "Since My Baby Left Me" (Arthur Crudup) – 3:48
5. "To Know Her Is to Love Her" (Spector) – 4:37

Side two

6. "Steel and Glass" – 4:10
7. "Scared" – 4:17
8. "Old Dirt Road" (Lennon / Harry Nilsson) – 3:53
9. "Nobody Loves You (When You're Down and Out)" – 4:29
10. "Bless You" – 4:05

Notes

• Tracks 1, 3-5 are recorded in late 1973.
• Track 2 is recorded for, but left off, Mind Games.
• Tracks 6-10 are rehearsal recordings for Walls and Bridges in mid-1974.

Personnel

Phil Spector - producer (tracks 1, 3-5)

References

1. Menlove Ave. at AllMusic
2. http://www.blender.com/guide/reviews.aspx?id=2413 Archived 10 September 2005 at the Wayback Machine.
3. Christgau, Robert (31 March 1987). "Christgau's Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. New York. Retrieved 28 April 2013.
4. Gary Graff & Daniel Durcholz (eds), MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide, Visible Ink Press (Farmington Hills, MI, 1999; ISBN 1-57859-061-2), p. 667.
5. "John Lennon: Album Guide | Rolling Stone Music". Rollingstone.com. Archived from the original on 9 February 2014. Retrieved 16 August 2014.
6. Calkin, Graham. "Mind Games". Jpgr.co.uk. Retrieved 27 January 2013.
7. "10 Album Covers Designed by Andy Warhol". January 28, 2013. Retrieved 2015-01-01.