It was prepared under the supervision of his widow, Yoko Ono, and released in 1986 as his second official live album, following Live Peace in Toronto 1969.
Recorded on 30th August 1972 at Madison Square Garden in New York City, both John Lennon and Yoko Ono performed two shows, entitled "One to One", to raise money for children with mental challenges at friend Geraldo Rivera's request. He introduces Lennon and Ono at the beginning of the album.
Other performers at these concerts included Stevie Wonder, Roberta Flack and the Sha-Na-Na, although their performances are not included on the album.
Live in New York City captures John Lennon's last full-length concert performance, coming right after the release of Some Time in New York City, the commercial failure of which had devastated Lennon. Not surprisingly, his stage talk, while humorous, is also self-deprecating and slightly nervous in tone. Backing Lennon and Ono were Elephant's Memory, the band used on Some Time in New York City. Although he performs material largely from his last three albums (John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band, Imagine and Some Time in New York City), Lennon pleases fans by resurrecting his Beatles hit "Come Together" and pays tribute to Elvis Presley with "Hound Dog" before leading the audience in a singalong of "Give Peace a Chance".
Upon its early 1986 release, Ono was criticized by former members of Elephant's Memory for using the first - and weaker - performance instead of the stronger evening show. They also took issue with the simultaneous video release of the concert, which was edited to show Ono as prominently as Lennon. However, Ono cut out from the audio edition of the concert all of her solo performances, which included "Sisters O Sisters" among others, to give fans what they wanted - a pure John Lennon album. (The video retains the complete set list.)
The first part of the second performance later saw release on The John Lennon Anthology.
Live in New York City reached #55 in the UK, and surprised many with its US appeal where it peaked at #41 and eventually went gold.
The concerts were Lennon's only full-length live performances in his solo career, and his first formal, full-fledged shows since The Beatles retired from the road in 1966 (after brief and informal performances in between). He never had the opportunity to tour solo. They also marked the last time he would perform live with Ono.
Recorded on 30th August 1972 at Madison Square Garden in New York City, both John Lennon and Yoko Ono performed two shows, entitled "One to One", to raise money for children with mental challenges at friend Geraldo Rivera's request. He introduces Lennon and Ono at the beginning of the album.
Other performers at these concerts included Stevie Wonder, Roberta Flack and the Sha-Na-Na, although their performances are not included on the album.
Live in New York City captures John Lennon's last full-length concert performance, coming right after the release of Some Time in New York City, the commercial failure of which had devastated Lennon. Not surprisingly, his stage talk, while humorous, is also self-deprecating and slightly nervous in tone. Backing Lennon and Ono were Elephant's Memory, the band used on Some Time in New York City. Although he performs material largely from his last three albums (John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band, Imagine and Some Time in New York City), Lennon pleases fans by resurrecting his Beatles hit "Come Together" and pays tribute to Elvis Presley with "Hound Dog" before leading the audience in a singalong of "Give Peace a Chance".
Upon its early 1986 release, Ono was criticized by former members of Elephant's Memory for using the first - and weaker - performance instead of the stronger evening show. They also took issue with the simultaneous video release of the concert, which was edited to show Ono as prominently as Lennon. However, Ono cut out from the audio edition of the concert all of her solo performances, which included "Sisters O Sisters" among others, to give fans what they wanted - a pure John Lennon album. (The video retains the complete set list.)
The first part of the second performance later saw release on The John Lennon Anthology.
Live in New York City reached #55 in the UK, and surprised many with its US appeal where it peaked at #41 and eventually went gold.
The concerts were Lennon's only full-length live performances in his solo career, and his first formal, full-fledged shows since The Beatles retired from the road in 1966 (after brief and informal performances in between). He never had the opportunity to tour solo. They also marked the last time he would perform live with Ono.
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