Valotte in Bloomington, MN

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
's generation was bound to be influenced by
the Beatles
. At his best on
-- 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"
--
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
, 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