Unfinished Music No.2: Life with the Lions
Encyclopedia
Unfinished Music No.2: Life with the Lions is an album of noise music
released by John Lennon
and Yoko Ono
in 1969, and the successor to 1968's highly controversial Unfinished Music No.1: Two Virgins
. The title parodies the BBC
radio comedy
Life with the Lyons
, which had been a favourite of Lennon's.
The album opens with an extended and improvised recording titled "Cambridge 1969", recorded on 2 March at Cambridge University
, before a live audience. The piece consists of Ono's vocalisations accompanied by electric guitar
feedback
from Lennon. Saxophonist John Tchicai
and percussionist John Stevens
join Ono and Lennon towards the end of the piece.
The remainder of the album was recorded on a cassette tape in their suite at Queen Charlotte's Hospital
in London during November 1968, where Ono would suffer the first of three miscarriages by the couple. "No Bed For Beatle John" consists of John and Yoko singing the text of press clippings about themselves, in a cappella chant style. "Baby's Heartbeat" is a recording (made with a Nagra
microphone) of the ill-fated child's actual palpitations. "Two Minutes Silence" follows; sometimes compared to composer John Cage
's 4'33" in that, like Cage's avant garde composition, it is completely silent, the track was intended as a memoriam for the baby, "and for all violence and death." The album closes with "Radio Play"; thirteen minutes of a radio dial flipped back and forth with brief moments of John Lennon making a telephone call in the background. (Incidentally, The Beatles
song "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da
" is discernible amongst the radio static during this recording.)
The album's front cover photo was taken while Ono was bedridden at Queen Charlotte's with Lennon by her side, while the back cover was a news photo of Lennon and Ono leaving Marylebone Police Station, after their arrest for hashish
possession on 18 October 1968. (The back also carried a 'quote' from Beatles producer George Martin
: "No comment".)
Unfinished Music No.2: Life with the Lions failed to chart in the United Kingdom, but managed a #174 peak in the United States; Lennon told the media later they had sold about 60,000 copies in the US. (He and Ono were disappointed that Apple Records in the UK hadn't given any promotion to the album, or included it in any advertising).
Unfinished Music No.2: Life with the Lions was initially released on the Apple Records
subsidiary label, Zapple Records, but was reissued through Rykodisc
in 1997 with two previously unreleased bonus tracks, "Song For John" and "Mulberry". These two tracks stem from the Queen Charlotte Hospital recordings, the source for the second half of the LP.
Noise music
Noise music is a term used to describe varieties of avant-garde music and sound art that may use elements such as cacophony, dissonance, atonality, noise, indeterminacy, and repetition in their realization. Noise music can feature distortion, various types of acoustically or electronically...
released by John Lennon
John Lennon
John Winston Lennon, MBE was an English musician and singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music...
and Yoko Ono
Yoko Ono
is a Japanese artist, musician, author and peace activist, known for her work in avant-garde art, music and filmmaking as well as her marriage to John Lennon...
in 1969, and the successor to 1968's highly controversial Unfinished Music No.1: Two Virgins
Unfinished Music No.1: Two Virgins
Unfinished Music No.1: Two Virgins is an album released by John Lennon and Yoko Ono in 1968. The result of an all-night session of musical experimentation in Lennon's home studio at Kenwood, John and Yoko's debut album is known not only for its avant garde content, but also for its cover...
. The title parodies the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
radio comedy
Radio comedy
Radio comedy, or comedic radio programming, is a radio broadcast that may involve sitcom elements, sketches and various types of comedy found on other media. It may also include more surreal or fantastic elements, as these can be conveyed on a small budget with just a few sound effects or some...
Life with the Lyons
Life With The Lyons
Life with The Lyons was a British radio and television domestic sitcom dating from the 1950s .-Overview:Life with The Lyons was unusual in that it featured a real-life American family...
, which had been a favourite of Lennon's.
The album opens with an extended and improvised recording titled "Cambridge 1969", recorded on 2 March at Cambridge University
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
, before a live audience. The piece consists of Ono's vocalisations accompanied by electric guitar
Electric guitar
An electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
feedback
Audio feedback
Audio feedback is a special kind of positive feedback which occurs when a sound loop exists between an audio input and an audio output...
from Lennon. Saxophonist John Tchicai
John Tchicai
John Martin Tchicai is a Danish jazz saxophonist. He was one of the earliest European free jazz musicians. He is of Danish and Congolese descent....
and percussionist John Stevens
John Stevens (drummer)
John William Stevens was an English drummer. He was one of the most significant figures in early free improvisation, and a founding member of the Spontaneous Music Ensemble .-Biography:Stevens was born in Brentford, the son of a tap dancer...
join Ono and Lennon towards the end of the piece.
The remainder of the album was recorded on a cassette tape in their suite at Queen Charlotte's Hospital
Queen Charlotte's Hospital
Queen Charlotte's and Chelsea Hospital is one of the oldest maternity hospitals in Europe, and until recently occupied a site on Goldhawk Road, Hammersmith, West London. Originally called Queen Charlotte's Hospital, it merged with the Chelsea Hospital for Women and is now based at the Hammersmith...
in London during November 1968, where Ono would suffer the first of three miscarriages by the couple. "No Bed For Beatle John" consists of John and Yoko singing the text of press clippings about themselves, in a cappella chant style. "Baby's Heartbeat" is a recording (made with a Nagra
Nagra
Nagra is the trademark referring to any of the series of mostly battery-operated portable professional audio recorders produced by Kudelski SA, based in Cheseaux-sur-Lausanne, Switzerland....
microphone) of the ill-fated child's actual palpitations. "Two Minutes Silence" follows; sometimes compared to composer John Cage
John Cage
John Milton Cage Jr. was an American composer, music theorist, writer, philosopher and artist. A pioneer of indeterminacy in music, electroacoustic music, and non-standard use of musical instruments, Cage was one of the leading figures of the post-war avant-garde...
's 4'33" in that, like Cage's avant garde composition, it is completely silent, the track was intended as a memoriam for the baby, "and for all violence and death." The album closes with "Radio Play"; thirteen minutes of a radio dial flipped back and forth with brief moments of John Lennon making a telephone call in the background. (Incidentally, The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
song "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da
Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da
"Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da" is a song credited to Lennon–McCartney, but written by Paul McCartney and released by The Beatles on their 1968 album The Beatles...
" is discernible amongst the radio static during this recording.)
The album's front cover photo was taken while Ono was bedridden at Queen Charlotte's with Lennon by her side, while the back cover was a news photo of Lennon and Ono leaving Marylebone Police Station, after their arrest for hashish
Hashish
Hashish is a cannabis preparation composed of compressed stalked resin glands, called trichomes, collected from the unfertilized buds of the cannabis plant. It contains the same active ingredients but in higher concentrations than unsifted buds or leaves...
possession on 18 October 1968. (The back also carried a 'quote' from Beatles producer George Martin
George Martin
Sir George Henry Martin CBE is an English record producer, arranger, composer and musician. He is sometimes referred to as "the Fifth Beatle"— a title that he often describes as "nonsense," but the fact remains that he served as producer on all but one of The Beatles' original albums...
: "No comment".)
Unfinished Music No.2: Life with the Lions failed to chart in the United Kingdom, but managed a #174 peak in the United States; Lennon told the media later they had sold about 60,000 copies in the US. (He and Ono were disappointed that Apple Records in the UK hadn't given any promotion to the album, or included it in any advertising).
Unfinished Music No.2: Life with the Lions was initially released on the Apple Records
Apple Records
Apple Records is a record label founded by The Beatles in 1968, as a division of Apple Corps Ltd. It was initially intended as a creative outlet for the Beatles, both as a group and individually, plus a selection of other artists including Mary Hopkin, James Taylor, Badfinger, and Billy Preston...
subsidiary label, Zapple Records, but was reissued through Rykodisc
Rykodisc
Rykodisc Records is an American record label. It is owned by Warner Music Group, operates as a unit of WMG's Independent Label Group and is distributed through Alternative Distribution Alliance.-Company history:...
in 1997 with two previously unreleased bonus tracks, "Song For John" and "Mulberry". These two tracks stem from the Queen Charlotte Hospital recordings, the source for the second half of the LP.
Side two
- "No Bed For Beatle John" – 4:41
- "Baby's Heartbeat" – 5:10
- "Two Minutes Silence" – 2:00
- "Radio Play" – 12:35
Personnel
- Yoko OnoYoko Onois a Japanese artist, musician, author and peace activist, known for her work in avant-garde art, music and filmmaking as well as her marriage to John Lennon...
- Vocals - John LennonJohn LennonJohn Winston Lennon, MBE was an English musician and singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music...
- Vocals, Guitar, Feedback, Radio - John TchicaiJohn TchicaiJohn Martin Tchicai is a Danish jazz saxophonist. He was one of the earliest European free jazz musicians. He is of Danish and Congolese descent....
- Saxophone (Track 1 Only) - John StevensJohn Stevens (drummer)John William Stevens was an English drummer. He was one of the most significant figures in early free improvisation, and a founding member of the Spontaneous Music Ensemble .-Biography:Stevens was born in Brentford, the son of a tap dancer...
- Percussion (Track 1 Only) - Mal EvansMal EvansMalcolm Frederick 'Mal' Evans was best known as the road manager, assistant, and a friend of The Beatles: John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr....
- watch (Track 1 Only) - John Ono Lennon II - Heartbeat (Track 3 Only)
External links
- "No Bed For Beatle John" and "Radio Play" at Ubuweb
- John Lennon & Yoko Ono on The David Frost Show (1969) discussing "Unfinished Music No.2: Life with the Lions" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g2jKFZVIQv0&feature=related