Julian Lennon Valotte

I remember when Valotte came out. I read a lot of music magazines at the time and there was some pre-release hype for this. As the son of a legendary Beatle, he was expected to be good. Or as a son of a Beatle, he was cashing in and this would be a comical joke. This hype could kill an album right away.

The first single was the title track. It was a good piano folk song. No intro, right into vocals. Actually the music comes after a few words in. It was almost hypnotic with the right singable words. Released in winter, it’s slow dreamy night music. It went Top 10.

The next release in Spring was “Too Late for Goodbyes.” It’s fun, bouncy and has a harmonica solo. The video was simple, a band playing. It was a big hit and got a lot of airplay.

There aren’t a lot of lyrics. The hook is the short verses and repeating the “much too late” phrase. People looking for it can see both songs are about his absent father. If you don’t know him, these are break up songs.

There was another release called, “Say You’re Wrong.” It wasn’t as big as the other releases. The horns are bouncy and his voice works mixing in with the music not overpowering it. it has a bit of Stax records feel.

There was a concert clip video for “Jessie.” The song feels like a late 1970s summer song. A song about late nights and finding trouble.

The first album wasn’t just good. It was very good. He bested the hype. He seemed like a good guy. Interviews went well with no gaffes. This could be the start of a big career.

Let’s forget all that hype baggage. How was the album? It still holds up almost 40 years later. It’s still got fun songs and dreamy ballads. The album cover art is a simple picture of Lennon sitting on a bench shot in black and white. The rest of the cover is white with black lettering. The cover isn’t dated or in your face. It says forget the baggage. Come for the tunes.