Reception
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic | |
| Robert Christgau | C |
The album was released to quash any bootleg versions that Lennon was sure would leak onto the market. EMI were reluctant at first to issue the album, after the commercial failures of their three experimental albums Two Virgins, Life with the Lions, and the Wedding Album. The album's American success came as a pleasant surprise, changing EMI's perceptions about Lennon and Ono's collaborations.
Criticism was directed at Side two of the LP, the side consisting entirely of two Yoko Ono songs. Richard Ginell of Allmusic remarks:
Side two, alas, was devoted entirely to Ono's wailing, pitchless, brainless, banshee vocalizing on "Don't Worry Kyoko" and "John John (Let's Hope for Peace)" -- the former backed with plodding rock rhythms and the latter with feedback. No wonder you see many used copies of the LP with worn A-sides and clean, unplayed B-sides -- and Yoko's "art" is just as irritating today as it was in 1969. But in those days, if you wanted John you had to take the whole package.Read more about this topic: Live Peace In Toronto 1969
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