Valotte

Opening with a simple piano figure and the strikingly conversational first line "Sitting on the doorstep of a house I can't afford", Julian Lennon's debut single "Valotte" is an understated, melancholy gem. Equally blessed and cursed by both looking and sounding uncannily like his late father John, Lennon's first album was greeted with much more scrutiny than that of the average 21-year-old singer/songwriter. Because Julian Lennon was unfairly compared to the elder Lennon and unwillingly adopted as a real-life mascot by ageing baby boomers eager to relive their memories of Beatlemania, the often excellent music contained on VALOTTE often seemed somehow beside the point in the intense media coverage that followed the album's release. This is a shame, because in addition to the title track and two other excellent hit singles, "Say You're Wrong" and the reggae-tinged "Too Late for Goodbyes", VALOTTE contains a handful of gems like the heart-wrenching "Well I Don't Know" and "OK for You".|