Wedding Album [Japanese import]

Wedding Album is the third and final in a succession of three experimental albums by John Lennon and Yoko Ono. It followed Unfinished Music No. 1: Two Virgins and Unfinished Music No. 2: Life with the Lions. In Britain, the album was released credited by “John and Yoko”, without last names mentioned. In the United States, it was released credited by “John Ono Lennon & Yoko Ono Lennon.”

“John & Yoko”, the first side, a recording made on 22 and 27 April 1969, is of Lennon and Ono calling out each other’s names, through a range of volume, tempos, and emotions, over the sound of their heartbeats. The two recorded on individual microphones. Lennon described the heartbeats as being “like African drums”, and the piece being “like an extended, very extreme John and Marsha that was out years ago by Stan Freberg. It really makes your hair stand on end.” Lennon edited the two together on 1 May 1969.

“Amsterdam”, the second side, had been recorded first, in a hotel room at the Hilton Hotel in Amsterdam, the Netherlands during 25–31 March 1969. The piece consists of interviews explaining their campaign for peace, conversations and captured sounds during the couple’s “Bed-In” honeymoon. An early form of what would become “John John Let’s Hope for Peace” forms the beginning of “Amsterdam”. There were also four other musical interludes including Lennon performing a blues-style composition on acoustic guitar, featuring the words “Goodbye Amsterdam Goodbye”. Ono sings “Grow Your Hair”, a song regarding peace. Lennon sings a brief excerpt in a cappella of the Beatles song “Good Night”. The last interlude is a short recitation of the words “Bed peace” and “Hair peace”.