Details : Originally Released 1984\nCD Edition Released July 1987\n\nAMG EXPERT REVIEW: This strong debut showcases Julian's remarkable vocal resemblance to his father. ~ Dan Heilman\n\nAmazon.com Customer Review\n"We're really not so clever as we seem to think we are", December 17, 2003 \nReviewer: mwreview "mwreview" (Northern California, USA)\nThe "Valotte" single came out when I was 10 years old and I remember making fun of it at the time ("sitting on a PEBBLE by the river"? Ouch!). Years later I ran across this album and thought I'd give it a try since, all kidding aside, the title track is great. To my surprise, the rest of the album is nearly as good. The first side (in vinyl terms) is the most solid. "O.K. For You" is an awesome rocker as is "Well I Don't Know." "Space" is beautiful and sounds like it could be "Valotte II." "On the Phone" bugs me because it sounds too much like "If This Is It" by Huey Lewis and the News.\n\nThe second half is weaker. It starts with the other top ten single "Too Late For Goodbyes" which, even though it is only 3 1/2 minutes, seems like it goes on too long. After one verse and chorus it runs out of ideas. The rest of the side offers some diverse sounds: a tiny bit of gospel in "Lonely," a touch of Latin horn in "Say You're Wrong." "Jesse" is definitely the best and most interesting track on side 2. It ends with the slow, yet upbeat 2-minute "Let Me Be." Together, these songs make for a very enjoyable album. Julian Lennon definitely inherited plenty of songwriting talent from his father and, only 4 years after John Lennon's shocking murder, Valotte was a mature-sounding tribute to those talents. That Julian was only 21 at the time makes this album particularly amazing. Now I feel guilty for making fun of him back in the day.\n\nHalf.com Album Credits\nPhil Ramone, Producer\n\n\nAlbum Notes\nOpening 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 aging 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."
