Preceded by the single "Woman Is the Nigger of the World", which caused controversy due to its title, Some Time in New York City received scathing reviews on release and performed poorly commercially.
John Lennon and Yoko Ono moved to New York City in September 1971 and continued their involvement in political, peace and social justice causes of the counterculture era.
When they settled in Greenwich Village, in October,[1] they were quickly contacted by activists Jerry Rubin and Abbie Hoffman who persuaded them to appear at an upcoming rally for left-wing writer John Sinclair, who had been jailed for possession of two marijuana joints.
[6] In addition to Lennon and Ono, the supergroup featured George Harrison,[5] The Who's drummer Keith Moon, Delaney & Bonnie,[3] Billy Preston and Legs Larry Smith, among others.
[1] The album also featured a recording of Lennon and Ono performing with Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention at the Fillmore East on 6 June 1971, a collaboration instigated by Andy Warhol.
[1] Lennon and Ono, with the assistance of studio drummer Jim Keltner, hired Elephant's Memory, a local band known for their hard partying and anti-establishment musical style[citation needed], to back them for a series of albums and live performances.
[1] 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.
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 not meant as an affront to black people.
[18] In a scathing critique published in Rolling Stone, Stephen Holden wrote that "the Lennons should be commended for their daring", but not before calling the album "incipient artistic suicide".
"[20] The Milwaukee Sentinel declared that John and Yoko had produced "another crude, superficial look at trendy leftist politics and have plunged even further into their endless echo chamber".
[21] In the NME, Tony Tyler presented his album review in the form of an open letter, titled "Lennon, you're a pathetic, ageing revolutionary".
"[22] More recently, Garry Mulholland of Uncut magazine has described Some Time in New York City as "a contender for the worst LP by a major musical figure, its list of '70s left-wing clichés hamstrung by the utter absence of conviction within the melodies and lyrics".
"[11] More impressed, Mark Kemp of Paste considered that "the album has been unfairly chastised", identifying "Woman Is the Nigger of the World" as "one of Lennon's finest songs" and Ono's "Born in a Prison" as another highlight.
[15] On 30 August 1972, Lennon and Ono performed two benefit concerts for the Willowbrook State School for the mentally challenged at Madison Square Garden, at friend Geraldo Rivera's request.
[d][25] Some Time in New York City was remixed, remastered and reissued in November 2005 as a single CD, removing, in the process, several of the Live Jam cuts, while adding "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)" and "Listen, the Snow Is Falling".
Another remix (part of the "ultimate mix" campaign following the Imagine, Plastic Ono Band, and Gimme Some Truth albums) was slated for 2022, but has been delayed due to unknown reasons.
[1] These mixes/edits make Zappa and his band more prominent in the mix (most notably in the song "Scumbag" where Mark Volman and Howard Kaylan's vocals are audible) than they had been on Some Time in New York City.
[24] In some cases the songs were given new titles: "Say Please" and "Aaawk" are edited from "Jamrag" (a longer piece on Some Time in New York City), and "Aü" is retitled "A Small Eternity with Yoko Ono".