Shaved Fish

After the release of his album of oldies cover versions, Rock 'n' Roll (1975), Lennon was planning to work on an album of new material. However, when his wife Yoko Ono became pregnant, he decided to reissue songs from his solo career.{{Cite book|last=Blaney|first=John|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZuCZR7MiDA0C|title=John Lennon: Listen to This Book|date=2005|publisher=John Blaney|isbn=978-0-9544528-1-0|pages=173|language=en}}

{{quote|What I found out was, when I went to look for the "Cold Turkey" master tapes, nobody knew where they were. I had to use dubs of "Power to the People" because the tapes were gone, nobody could give a damn at the record companies because they weren't... you know, that big. Big enough for them to be interested... I thought if I don't put this package together, some of the work is just going to go... they will be lost forever.|John Lennon{{Cite book|last=Peebles|first=Andy|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/9158501|title=The Last Lennon Tapes: John Lennon and Yoko Ono Talk to Andy Peebles December 6, 1980.|date=1983|publisher=Dell Publishing|isbn=0-440-04903-2|location=New York|oclc=9158501}}}}

Shaved Fish includes many of Lennon's most popular solo recordings in their original 45 rpm single edits. Five of the songs had not been previously issued on an album: "Cold Turkey", "Instant Karma!", "Power to the People", the holiday single "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)" and "Give Peace a Chance". The latter appears in truncated form and opens side one, while an excerpt of a live version of the song closes side two.{{cite book|last=Madinger|first=Chip|title=Eight Arms to Hold You: The Solo Beatles Compendium|year=2000|publisher=44.1 Productions|location=Chesterfield, MO|isbn=0-615-11724-4|author2=Easter, Mark |page=80}} Eight of these singles made the Top 40 on the Billboard chart, with "Whatever Gets You thru the Night" going to number 1; five made the top ten in the United Kingdom. "Imagine", never previously released as a single in the UK, was issued as such concurrent to the release of this album.

Roy Kohara was the art director of the album, and the illustrations were made by Michael Bryan. The cover is divided into twelve rectangles: one for each of the eleven songs on the LP, and one for the album title, written in Bruce Mikita font (also known as Novel Open).{{Cite web|last=Hardwig|first=Florian|date=2020-10-09|title=Lennon / Plastic Ono Band – Shaved Fish album art|url=https://fontsinuse.com/uses/33185/lennon-plastic-ono-band-shaved-fish-album-art|access-date=2020-11-06|website=Fonts in Use}}

The album title originates from the Japanese food katsuobushi, a kind of dried fish.{{citation needed|date=December 2021}}

Shaved Fish was released on 20 October 1975 in the US{{Cite web| title=Shaved Fish |url=http://www.johnlennon.com/music/albums/shaved-fish |access-date=17 December 2021 |website=johnlennon.com}} and 24 October in the UK.{{cite web|url=https://www.bpi.co.uk/award/5813-2886-2|title=BPI}} The release of the album came less than three weeks after the resolution of Lennon's long-running immigration dispute and the birth of Sean Lennon.{{cite book|last1=Womack|first1=Kenneth|author-link1=Kenneth Womack|title=The Beatles Encyclopedia: Everything Fab Four|date=2014|publisher=ABC-CLIO Greenwood|location=Santa Barbara|isbn=978-0-313-39171-2|page=823|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xWRyBAAAQBAJ&q=%22john%20lennon%22%20%22katsuobushi%22&pg=PA823|access-date=29 November 2014}}

Several of the master tapes were unavailable for the compilation, and dubs from 45 rpm single records were used. Due to this, the first release of the compact disc in May 1987 suffered from poor sound quality and needed to be remastered. The improved CD version was issued in December 1987, restoring the full fadeouts that were shortened in some of the songs on the original release.{{Cite web|date=1 June 1989|title=Better late than never for remastered CDs|url=http://www.newspapers.com/newspage/423708581/|url-access=subscription|access-date=2020-11-07|website=The Gazette from Montreal|location=Quebec|page=54|language=en|via=Newspapers}}

In February 1976, following the release of the album, Lennon's recording contract expired, and he was uninterested in re-signing with EMI/Capitol.{{cite book|last=Ingham|first=Chris|title=The Rough Guide to The Beatles|year=2003|publisher=Rough Guides|location=London|isbn=978-1-84353-140-1|edition=1st|pages=110–111}}

{{Album ratings

| rev1 = AllMusic

| rev1Score = {{Rating|4|5}}{{cite web| title=Shaved Fish | url={{AllMusic|class=album|id=r11535|pure_url=yes}} | publisher=AllMusic |access-date=2009-11-20}}

|rev2 = Christgau's Record Guide

|rev2Score = B+{{cite book|last=Christgau|first=Robert|author-link=Robert Christgau|year=1981|title=Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies|publisher=Ticknor & Fields|isbn=089919026X|chapter=Consumer Guide '70s: L|chapter-url=https://www.robertchristgau.com/get_chap.php?k=L&bk=70|access-date=1 March 2019|via=robertchristgau.com}}

| rev3 = MusicHound

| rev3Score = 3/5Gary Graff & Daniel Durchholz (eds), MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide, Visible Ink Press (Farmington Hills, MI, 1999; {{ISBN|1-57859-061-2}}), p. 667.

| rev4 = The Rolling Stone Album Guide

| rev4Score = {{Rating|3|5}}{{cite web|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/artists/john-lennon/albumguide |title=John Lennon: Album Guide | Rolling Stone Music |publisher=Rollingstone.com |access-date=16 August 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140209175016/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/artists/john-lennon/albumguide |archive-date=9 February 2014 }}

}}

Robert Christgau of The Village Voice called the album "eleven shots in the dark from the weirdest major rock and roller of the early '70s" and said "not counting the two available on must-own albums, the only great cuts are 'Instant Karma' (Lennon's best political song) and '#9 Dream.'"{{cite web| title=John Lennon: Shaved Fish| url=http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?id=684 | publisher=Robert Christgau |access-date=2009-11-20}} Dave Marsh of Rolling Stone praised the inclusion of non-album songs like "Instant Karma!", calling it "Lennon's best solo track", but deemed the compilation "so diffuse that it probably does present an accurate overview of Lennon's confused career since leaving the Beatles." He concluded that the album was evidence "not only of John Lennon's genius but of his continuing career difficulty."{{cite magazine |last=Marsh |first=Dave |title=Shaved Fish |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-album-reviews/shaved-fish-92296 |publisher=Penske Media Corporation |magazine=Rolling Stone |date=18 December 1975 |access-date=17 December 2021}} Charles Shaar Murray of the NME called Shaved Fish "as nifty a Greatest Hits album as you could expect from anybody who hasn't already put one out" and deemed the performances "stunning throughout". However, he felt the track selection was "a little off whack", particularly the inclusion of "Mother", which he found to be "such an integral part of the initial Plastic Ono Band album that I feel it's manifestly unfair to both artist and public to include it on an album of this nature."{{cite magazine |last1=Murray |first1=Charles Shaar |author-link1=Charles Shaar Murray |date=October 2003 |orig-date=1 November 1975 |editor-last=Sutherland |editor-first=Steve |title=John Lennon: 'Shaved Fish' |magazine=John Lennon |series=NME Originals |location=London |publisher=IPC IGNITE! |volume=1 |issue=10 |page=126}}

A Creem magazine reader's poll in 1975 included the album among the top five "Best Reissues" of 1975, placing fourth, behind two Rolling Stones compilations, Made in the Shade and Metamorphosis, and Bob Dylan's The Basement Tapes.{{cite web| title=CREEM Magazine 1975 Reader Poll Results | url=http://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/creem_lists.htm#1975 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070110130743/http://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/creem_lists.htm#1975 | url-status=usurped | archive-date=10 January 2007 | publisher=rocklistmusic.co.uk | work=Creem | access-date=2009-11-20}}

The album was released in the UK on 24 October 1975, peaking at number 8.{{#tag:ref|UK Apple PCS 7173|group="nb"}}{{cite book|last=Blaney|first=John|title=John Lennon: Listen to This Book|year=2005|publisher=Paper Jukebox|location=[S.l.]|isbn=978-0-9544528-1-0|edition=illustrated|page=171}} Released from the album on the same day in the UK was the single "Imagine", backed with "Working Class Hero", charting at number 6. The single was also Lennon's last for Apple Records.

The album later re-charted in the UK on 17 January 1981, at number 11.

All songs by John Lennon, except where noted.

{{certification Table Top|caption=Certifications for Shaved Fish}}

{{certification Table Entry|title=Shaved Fish|artist=John Lennon|type=album|relyear=1975|certyear=1976|region=United Kingdom|award=Gold|access-date=27 December 2022|id=5813-2886-2}}

{{certification Table Entry|title=Shaved Fish|artist=John Lennon|type=album|relyear=1975|certyear=1991|region=United States|award=Platinum|access-date=27 December 2022}}

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Footnotes

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Citations

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Bibliography

• {{cite book|last=Wiener |first=Allen |title= The Beatles: The Ultimate Recording Guide |year=1994 |publisher=Bob Adams, Inc. |location=Holbrook, MA |isbn=1-55850-414-1|edition=Third Revised }}

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Category:1975 greatest hits albums

Category:Albums produced by Phil Spector

Category:John Lennon compilation albums

Category:Apple Records compilation albums

Category:Plastic Ono Band albums