The 1980 Listening Post - David Peel & The Super Apple Band - John Lennon for President

 Reviewed by Tom Mott

Released: 1980 David Peel & The Super Apple Band John Lennon For President Genre: Acoustic Gutter Hippie Punk Rating: 3.000033 out of 5 Highlights: Amerika Imagine (Tiny Tim) You might vaguely recall the chant "Howard Stern for Governor"--and if you don't, you can <ahem> "Imagine" it: A thick New Yawk voice leading a boisterous trashcan chant with plenty of acoustic guitars and percussion. And now you've imagined "John Lennon for President" too! Same musician, same melody--or rhythm anyways--same approach. Which isn't to say it's terrible. It's kinda catchy, especially with the skronky sax slithering all over the top. The real treat here is the 9 minute Amerika, recorded live with John and Yoko (I think? Otherwise a lovely piece of detourned audio). It's a fantastic showcase to Ono's shrieking. It won't move the needle on how you perceive Yoko Ono[1], but I've been firmly Team Yoko for years, so I dig it. The rest of this mish-mash is a mish-mosh: interview snippets, spoken-word preambles, not one but three versions of John Lennon for President[2], an infantile song The Pope Smokes Dope, an unnecessary busked cover of Imagine, and a perfect 5-second cover of Imagine by Tiny Tim. If you were looking for the missing link that connects Howard Stern and Tiny Tim to John Lennon, Yoko Ono, and GG Allin, well here it is. --------------------- 1. This year's Ocean Child compilation of Ono's songs covered by other artists stands a good chance of challenging your opinions of Ono. Ethereal and lovely from beginning to end. 2. One version is marked "live" which causes a head scratch on the other two versions, both just as sloppy and leaky.