Walls & Bridges Songs Ranked
Walls and Bridges is the fifth studio album by English musician John Lennon. It was issued by Apple Records on 26 September 1974 in the United States and on 4 October in the United Kingdom. Written, recorded and released during his 18-month separation from Yoko Ono, the album captured Lennon in the midst of his “Lost Weekend”. Walls and Bridges was an American number-one album on both the Billboard and Record World charts and included two hit singles, “Whatever Gets You thru the Night” and “#9 Dream”. The first of these was Lennon’s first number-one hit in the United States as a solo artist, and his only chart-topping single in either the US or Britain during his lifetime. The album was certified silver in the UK, and gold in the US. Here are all of Walls & Bridges songs ranked.
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12. Scared
“Scared” reveals these feelings better than almost any song Lennon ever did. Like many of the songs on this album Lennon eschews the use of a guitar as a lead instrument turning to a saxophone as the primary solo instrument.”
11. Ya Ya
“Vocally, Lennon sounds way down and a bit hoarse. “Ya Ya” is a snippet of home recording: John’s put-on vocal over piano with 11-year-old son Julian’s bad drumming. The track fades out during the refrain.”
10. Nobody Loves You
“”Nobody Loves You” is the album’s masterstroke, but in the end, even it isn’t enough to completely salvage one of Lennon’s good, but flawed efforts. Though it’s a mistake for Lennon fans to overlook the album, WALLS AND BRIDGES still fails to meet, let alone surpass IMAGINE or PLASTIC ONO BAND.”
9. Bless You
“Bless You” was equally moving. John sings about his love for a woman who is now in the arms of another man. He pines for her and I could identify with his sadness based on my own life experiences as I’m sure many people can. This is a very good, strong ballad that will strike a nerve in many of you! The ending interview with John is also nicely done.”
See more: John Lennon Albums Ranked
8. What You Got
“What You Got,” a hard rocker with unusual percussion instruments, echoes John’s hard-edged PLASTIC ONO BAND vocals. He pleas here with Yoko to “give me one more chance.”
7. Beef Jerky
“Beef Jerky” is pure filler and the quirky piano duet between him and Julian ends the album on a strangely throwaway moment.”
6. Steel and Glass
“Formally, ex manager Allen Klein is the recipient in “Steel and Glass”. The strings are appropriate on this scathing cut. It turns up the negativity that strings seldom do. They had worked on “How Do You Sleep?”, but this song offers the better excuse.”
See more: John Lennon Songs Ranked
5. Old Dirt Road
“Old Dirt Road” is a comfortable song co-written with Harry Nilsson who was John’s drinking buddy during the “lost weekend”. Lennon had also produced Nilsson’s studio album at this time.”
4. Surprise, Surprise
Surprise, Surprise (Sweet Bird of Paradox)” is a good pop/rock song probably written about May Pang, Lennon’s companion during the seperation. Funky horns, aggressive guitars, changing tempos and even a nod to The Beatles is John at his happiest here.”
3. Whatever Gets You Thru the Night
“Whatever Gets You Thru the Night” is a rocking radio hit (featuring harmony vocals by Elton John). “Whatever Gets You Thru the Night,” opens with fade-in feedback. The unsettled melody builds upward to brief climaxes.”
2. #9 Dream
“#9 Dream” is a song that goes for that “dreamy” sound that has the music to convey that feeling (don’t you just hate what has been done to this song?). The hypnotic “#9 Dream” is here, featuring a cameo by Lennon’s girlfriend of the time, May Pang.”
1. Going Down on Love
“Going Down On Love,” is the track. The track one of the two best songwriters, a maker of late 20th Century culture, writes when he has been SUCH a bad boy, his wife kicks him out. A King, banished to LA, wants nothing more than to be forgiven.”