Chart Week: December 1, 1984
\nSong: \u201cValotte\u201d – Julian Lennon
\nChart Position: #18, seventh week on the chart. Peaked at #9 the week of January 12, 1985.<\/p>\n
When Julian Lennon released his first album in the fall of 1984, there was no mistaking his genetics. His voice was eerily similar to that of his late father. Hell, I was 13 years old and far from a Beatles expert, and even I was shocked at how much son sounded like dad. \u201cValotte\u201d could have been on Milk and Honey<\/a><\/em>, John Lennon\u2019s posthumous album which had been released earlier in 1984. There is little doubt that similarity was the biggest factor in Julian\u2019s first two singles peaking in the Top 10 in the US. Because neither song was all that great.<\/p>\n Although he was a newcomer to the pop charts as a recording artist, 21-year-old Julian had already made an impact on them. <\/p>\n While still in nursery school, he drew a picture of a girl in his class with five stars around her. His father asked who was in the picture and Julian responded, \u201cLucy, in the sky with diamonds.\u201d Thus the inspiration for the record of the same name. <\/p>\n When John divorced Julian\u2019s mother, Paul McCartney wrote a song for the lad about not letting their split get him down or sour him on love. Originally titled \u201cHey Jules,\u201d it morphed into \u201cHey Jude,\u201d and became one of the biggest hits of the rock era.<\/p>\n Despite his connection to those two tracks, Julian was largely new to us Americans. In the UK, however, he was constant tabloid news fodder. Especially when he turned into a bit of a party boy in his late teens. During this show, Casey shared Julian\u2019s reflection about those wild days.<\/p>\n \u201cNow I\u2019ve got a brain. I used to be a bit loose in the head. I didn\u2019t think much. Now I think too much.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n What a quote! The beginning sounds very much like something his dad would have said, especially the \u201cloose in the head\u201d bit. The end sounds very much like an artist trying too hard to have his music taken seriously.[1]<\/a> <\/p>\n The problem with Julian\u2019s music, especially \u201cValotte,\u201d are that they sounded too much like what his dad might have been recording in 1984 if he was still alive. In other words, middle-of-the-road music made by a middle-aged man. Julian doesn\u2019t sing with the passion or energy that a 21-year-old who has been through some serious shit should sing with.[2]<\/a> \u201cValotte\u201d is about that key moment in a relationship when you aren\u2019t sure which direction it will go. There is no sense of fear or excitement about those possibilities in Julian\u2019s voice. It\u2019s just a long sigh.<\/p>\n And while I\u2019m not sure Julian can be held responsible for how the track was produced, \u201cValotte\u201d has a sleepy quality that makes me think of background music you might hear at a dentist\u2019s office. Worse, the song and album were named for the French chateau his record company sent him to on a writing retreat. That\u2019s some very middle-aged, privileged man stuff right there. Just a few years earlier artists Julian\u2019s age were living in squalor in London as they created punk and New Wave. <\/p>\n After those first two top ten hits – \u201cToo Late For Goodbyes\u201d reached #5 – Julian did not have much musical success. Eventually he got into other things, including acting, producing, photography, and writing. Most importantly, he and his half brother Sean became rather close over the years. <\/p>\n Julian Lennon\u2019s father cast a huge shadow over his life and career. When he finally took a stab at making his own music, the world was desperate for a reminder of his father\u2019s genius. That hunger and the Lennons\u2019 common vocal traits got a lot of people to buy Julian\u2019s albums and a lot of radio stations to play his singles. Sadly Julian was not talented enough to carve out his own musical niche. 5\/10<\/strong><\/p>\n\n