Content
The opening song of the studio album, "Woman Is the Nigger of the World" (a phrase Ono had coined in the late 1960s), was intended as a negation of sexism and was also issued as a single in the US to controversial reaction, and – as a consequence – little airplay and much banning. The Lennons went to great lengths (including a press conference attended by staff from Jet and Ebony magazines) to explain that the word "nigger" was being used in an allegorical sense and not as an affront to black people.
Lennon's other tracks include the biographical "New York City", a Chuck Berry-styled rocker that details the Lennons' early months in their new home, as well as "John Sinclair", his musical plea for Sinclair's release from a ten-year sentence for giving two marijuana joints to an undercover policewoman.
Yoko Ono, very much a feminist supporter, responds musically with "Sisters O Sisters", tackles the lacking education system with "Born in a Prison", and celebrates a culture of one in "We're All Water". In fact, this album is generally seen as the beginning of Ono's emergence as a songwriter after her rather challenging previous two releases.
Together, Lennon and Ono lament police brutality in "Attica State", the hardships of war-torn Northern Ireland in "Sunday Bloody Sunday" and "The Luck of the Irish", and pay tribute to Angela Davis with "Angela".
The original double album contained the live album Live Jam containing Lennon and Ono's December 1969 live performance of "Cold Turkey" and "Don't Worry Kyoko (Mummy's Only Looking for Her Hand in the Snow)" at the Lyceum Ballroom in London, from a UNICEF charity show with Eric Clapton, George Harrison and Keith Moon, among others, was unearthed. (Extended live versions of both songs were already included on the Live Peace in Toronto 1969 album that was released three years earlier). The album also featured a recording of Lennon and Ono performing with Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention at the Fillmore East in June 1971. The inner sleeve for Live Jam featured Lennon's doodling over the cover of Zappa's album, Fillmore East - June 1971, adding his credits and commentary to Zappa's.
Zappa criticised the presentation of this performance, as the vocals of Mark Volman and Howard Kaylan had been removed on the release, and Zappa did not receive writing credit for "King Kong", which was identified on this release as "Jamrag". Lennon and Zappa had also agreed that each would release their own version of the performance, but Zappa was legally prevented from releasing his version, which did not appear until the release of Playground Psychotics in 1992.
Some Time In New York City was packaged like a newspaper of the events covered in the album, causing even more consternation with an altered photo of Richard Nixon and Mao Zedong dancing nude together. (The photo was stickered over on many of the issued copies, with a non-removable seal). With most of the gatefold cover space taken up by printed lyrics and photographs, the album credits appeared on the first disc's inner sleeve. The customised label, featuring the face of Lennon morphing into Ono's, was created by Iain Macmillan.
Read more about this topic: Some Time In New York City
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