Valotte＜Turquoise Vinyl/限定盤＞

父ジョンレノンの死から約4年。ピアノが美しい瑞々しいデビュー曲(1)「ヴァロッテ」のプロモーションビデオを観た時、父親に顔も声も歌い方も驚くほど似ていた事に歓喜を持って迎えられた、ジュリアンレノンのデビュー作。
80年代半ばのデジタルな音を纏ったプロダクションでメロディの良さがぼやけてしまっている楽曲もあるが、後年に更に磨かれるジョンレノンやビートルズの影響を受けたソングライターとしてのセンスはもっと高く評価されるべき。(1)(6)(8)(9)がシングルヒット。

Julian Lennon released his debut, Valotte, in 1984, not even a full four years after his father John's assassination. The wounds were still fresh and there were millions of listeners ready to embrace the son of a Beatle, particularly when he sounded remarkably like his father on the stately piano-led ballad "Valotte," the first single from the album. Its elegant evocation of late-period Beatles -- deliberate but not self-conscious -- invited some carping criticisms that Julian was riding on his father's coattails when the reality is this: any pop singer/songwriter of Julian's generation was bound to be influenced by the Beatles. At his best on Valotte -- particularly the title track, but also the caramelized psychedelic chorus of "Well I Don't Know," the tightly wound "Say You're Wrong," and the spare, simple closer "Let Me Be" -- Julian demonstrated a keen ear for Beatlesque pop songwriting, drawing equally from Lennon and McCartney. At his worst, he followed synthesized '80s conventions, relying a little bit too heavily on rigidly sequenced rhythms and canned keyboards. These are the elements that date Valotte, taking down some otherwise charming songs like the bouncy "Too Late for Goodbyes," but beneath this shiny gloss, this is by any measure the debut of a gifted pop melodicist. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine