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The album is technically a soundtrack recording, being part of the audio portion of D.A. Pennebaker's documentary movie Sweet Toronto. Lennon and Ono made a deal with Pennebaker to license their portion of the show for record, in exchange for rights to include their appearance. Unfortunately the deal fell through, with Lennon and Ono changing their minds about the inclusion (Lennon had been ill the day of the concert, and it showed on camera), and the movie was never originally released. (Showtime ultimately presented the performance during the 1980s, and the full movie appeared later on home video and DVD.) As initially released on LP and later cassette tape, 8-track and on video cassette, side one of Live Peace in Toronto 1969 comprised John's set, which included his two Plastic Ono Band singles for the year, "Give Peace A Chance" and a preview of the yet-to-be released at the time of the show "Cold Turkey;" "Yer Blues" from The Beatles; and some favoured covers of 1950s rock and roll. Side two comprised Yoko's set, including the b-side to "Cold Turkey," "Don't Worry Kyoko," and featuring her trademark caterwauling stage act, which was not quite as well received as Lennon's performance. The album ends with Lennon, Clapton, and Voorman leaning their guitars against the amplifiers to create a sustained roar of solid feedback, while Yoko continues screaming as the rest of the band leaves the stage. Unlike many Lennon and Beatles albums, the individual guitars are clearly distinguishable in the stereo mix, with Lennon's toward the left channel and Clapton's toward the right. Also, the movie mix of the soundtrack offers stronger vocals by Ono during "Yer Blues", and Clapton during "Give Peace A Chance". By contrast, Lennon's guitar is hardly audible on the movie. Admitting he could not remember the recorded lyrics ("I've forgotton all those bits in between, but I know the chorus"), Lennon improvised words to "Give Peace A Chance": :Everybody's talkin' about :John And Yoko, Eric Clapton, Klaus Voormann, :Penny Lane, Roosevelt, Nixon, :Tommy Jones and Tommy Cooper and Somebody!. Live Peace in Toronto 1969, though not making the British charts, was a US hit album, reaching #10 and going gold. The original LP came with a thirteen-month 1970 calendar. Tape versions of the album included a mail-in coupon for the calendar. The album was released to quash any bootleg versions that Lennon was sure would leak onto the market. EMI were reluctant at first to issue the album, after two commercial failures in a row (Unfinished Music No.2: Life with the Lions and Wedding Album) from Lennon and Ono. (Their first effort, Two Virgins, was distributed by Track Records, and had also failed commercially.) The album's success came as a pleasant surprise, changing EMI's perceptions. Yoko Ono supervised a remixing of Live Peace in Toronto 1969 for its 1995 CD reissue. While the earlier fadeout between sides was eliminated for compact disc, the original ending to the album (a cut-off closing announcement) was eliminated. The CD booklet included a reproduction of the calendar, updated to 1995. Currently the album is available from audiophile label Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab (UDCD 763) and from the iTunes Music Store. The booklet for the Mobile Fidelity release, which was issued in 2006, includes an updated calendar for 2006. |
