By John Lennon, 2004

*Japanese import mini-vinyl CDsConceived at a time when John Lennon was struggling to regain his footing as a solo artist, Rock ‘n’ Roll afforded the hardly ancient ex-Beatles (he was only 33 when work began on the LP) a chance to revisit his Liverpool roots. Feeling nostalgic, Lennon enlisted Phil Spector to guide him through rewordings of tunes from early heroes Chuck Berry, Fats Domino, Buddy Holly, and Little Richard. Sounds easy enough.

Something about the ‘70s made thirtysomething musicians long for the ‘50s (around the time Lennon began work on this project, the Band released the all-oldies collection Moondog Matinee) and Lennon certainly had the vocal chops to take on any rocker. The Spector sessions, however, fell apart, producing only four songs that made it to vinyl. Lennon took over production and completed the album the following year, actually helming most of the album’s highlights.

"Stand by Me" proved to be a perfect dramatic vehicle for Lennon and scored as a single. The likes of "Be-Bop-A-Lula," "Slippin’ and Slidin’," and "Just Because" were comfortable fits for "Dr. Winston O’Boogie." And though "Do You Wanna Dance" and "Sweet Little Sixteen" are misbegotten attempts to slow down and reimagine the originals, by any fair gauge, there’re are three winners here for every misstep.

The remixed and remastered reissue comes with four bonus tracks that rank with the final cuts. Conceived perhaps as something of a stopgap title, Rock ‘n’ Roll has aged well and serves as a tribute not only to the fathers of rock & roll, but to Lennon the vocalist and producer. --Steven Stolder

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