Produced by John Lennon
Production Coordinator: May Pang
Released September 1974
Recorded at The Record Plant, New York
With the Plastic Ono Nuclear Band
Incorporated into the album's artwork (on the bottom right of the back cover) John records the time that he and May witnessed a UFO, it reads: "On 23 August 1974, I saw a UFO J.L."
Also featured on the album's artwork are various drawings John made when he was eleven years old. Lennon's son, Julian, plays drums on track #12 'Ya Ya'.
Astonishingly, Lennon only had one #1 single in his lifetime ('Imagine' peaked at #3). It was 'Whatever Gets You Thru The Night' from 'Walls and Bridges'.
'Imagine' was not released as a single in the UK until 1975, when it peaked at #6. It was re-released shortly after Lennon's death in 1980 and achieved #1 status.
It was then replaced at #1 by his own 'Woman'... this marked the first time an artist replaced him/herself on top of the UK charts since The Beatles followed 'She Loves You' with 'I Want To Hold Your Hand'.
Tracklist
1. Going Down on Love
2. Whatever Gets You Thru The Night
3. Old Dirt Road
4. What You Got
5. Bless You
6. Scared
7. #9 Dream
8. Surprise, Surprise
9. Steel and Glass
10. Beef Jerky
11. Nobody Loves You
12. Ya Ya
'Walls and Bridges' first appeared on the Billboard chart on October 12, 1974 and reached #1 from November 16th to November 22nd. The album spent a total of 27 weeks on the Billboard charts.
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'Surprise, Surprise'
Lennon began writing 'Surprise, Surprise' dedicated to (and about) May Pang as early as the day after they got together.
As May recalls in 'Loving John':
"The day proved to be exceptionally quiet. John popped in and out of the office but did not mention the night before, and neither did I, except when he told me that he'd started to write a song about me, a song that was to become 'Surprise, Surprise' on 'Walls and Bridges'."
May had been moved to tears the first time she heard John play the song, her "nicest present"... and "thrilled" when Elton John agreed to sing harmony.
Surprise, Surprise - Sweet Bird of Paradox
(Dedicated to May Pang)
Sweet as the smell of success,
Her body's warm and wet,
She get's me through this god awful loneliness,
A natural high butterfly Oh I,
I need, need, need her.
Just like a willow tree,
A breath of spring you see,
And oh boy you don't know what she do to me,
She makes me sweat and forget who I am,
I need, need, need, need her.
Well I was wondering how long this could go on, on and on,
Well I thought I could never be surprised,
But could it be that I bit my own tongue,
Oh yeah, it's so hard to swallow when you're wrong.
A bird of paradise,
The sunrise in her eyes,
God only knows such a sweet surprise,
I was blind she blew my mind think that,
I love, love, love, love, love her,
I love her, I love her, I love her, I love her.
Sweet sweet, sweet sweet love.
Sweet sweet, sweet sweet love.
Sweet sweet, sweet sweet love.
Sweet sweet, sweet sweet love.
Sweet sweet, sweet sweet love...
The Voice on '#9 Dream'
Contrary to some accounts, it is May Pang whispering John's name on '#9 Dream' and not the voice of Yoko Ono... even though Yoko is clearly giving the impression it is she who is calling John's name in the music video.
The rumour about May singing 'Hare Krishna' on '#9 Dream', believed to be an effort contrived by John to make amends to George Harrison over a previous dispute, is also not true. It is actually an audio effect of May saying John's name backwards. May also sang background vocals on '#9 Dream' with Lori Burton and Joey Dambra.
'Walls and Bridges' is May's favorite solo Lennon album, not only because of 'Surprise, Surprise', but because it was the first album both she and John had worked on together from start to finish.
Rolling Stone reviewer, Ben Gerson, commented (Nov 21, 1974): "'#9 Dream' and 'Surprise Surprise (Sweet Bird of Paradox)' prove that Lennon is resilient and can still love."
John explained the title... "Walls keep you in either protectively or otherwise, and bridges get you somewhere else."
May Pang was awarded a RIAA gold record for the album's production.