Mother - Kazuyuki Sekiguti
It's a curious thing about a ukulele that it can lighten the mood of even the gloomiest song. John's parents leaving him has never sounded so jolly ! If you can find it I would strongly recommend the Ukulele Lennon CD from which it emanates.Hold On - Doba Caracol
There are several ways of doing a cover and this is the one where you use the words of the original but otherwise ignore it. So here we have a jazz funk groove with a loose melodic association with a tune that John Lennon once wrote.I Found Out - Red Hot Chilli Peppers
Lennon occasionally wrote a song which could best be described as, well, bad. In my view this number falls neatly within this category. Not even the Chilli Peppers can save it, however hard they try.Working Class Hero - Marianne Faithful
Lennon himself thought this was wonderful and he was right. An incessant pounding rhythm track and a smoky vocal make this a minor classic.Isolation - Snow Patrol
This is taken from the Save Darfur compilation of Lennon covers put together for Amnesty International. In the UK HMV advertise an mp3 download of a bumper 66 tracks for twenty quid. But they can't deliver ! Apparently the album is too long for their software to cope with. Anyway, you can get this one on the double CD, or as an individual track download, and very pleasant it is too.Remember - Okkervil River
It took years of trying before I alighted on this cover - the only one I know of this average-ish ditty. It is live and a bit unoriginal but my joy at finding it is still undimmed. Plus it was available as a free download, running my cup over nicely.
Love - Kiyoshi Kobayashi
I find this song ever so slightly juvenile, particularly lyrically, so this up-beat ukulele-based instrumental is the perfect treatment of it for me.Well Well Well - Rocky Dawuni
Rocky reggaes it up and transforms an ordinary song into a slightly above ordinary reggae song.Look At Me - Finger Eleven
Another track from the Darfur compilation - the comments about the compilation were all very negative on Amazon but I think it is pretty good. This is a curious treatment - alternate lines are done accompanied by either solo guitar or a full band. It sort of works. Sort of.God - Jack's Mannequin
But surely, I hear you ask, this is a deeply personal song - surely it would sound a little odd coming out of the mouth of someone who is not John Lennon ? And surely, the lines "I just believe in me, Yoko and me", "I was the dream weaver", and "I was the walrus but now I'm John" make no sense sung by someone else ? Yes.My Mummy's Dead - Lolita 18
The album comes full circle with a jolly ukulele strumming number - this time about Julia's death. I actually really like it. What kind of a sick pervert does that make me ? (How many kinds are there, etc.)