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Supposedly there is a boot or recording floating around somewhere with John Lennon on piano playing "Lonely Sea".  I'm not sure what the facts (if any) are on this, but does anyone know anything about it and have any information? 

I don't own it. I mean: I really don't have it... :(

Nope, you don't. Cause no-one does. Cause it doesn't exist. The myth says that during the Let It Be sessions John played "TLS" between takes on his guitar. Friend of mine, who should really get a life, sat through ALL the pertinent boots, including the Nagra reels... and the closest he could find was when JL was noodling on guitar and played a chord progression that vaguely resembled "TLS" - and about a gazillion other late 50s/early 60s ballads. No vocal, no piano, just a basic pop chord progression. He wasn't best pleased, I'll tell ya.

I heard it and I think it IS The Lonely Sea. John does Brian's high "sea".

Theres another multiple page thread on this, do a quick search. More info there.

The claim is made in the Drugs, Divorce, and a Slipping Image book.  That should tell where to look for it, whatever it is.

It's worth pointing out that the Beach Boys' music made very, very little impact in England until they blew up big in '64 or '65, and I don't think songs like "The Lonely Sea" got much attention unless maybe John happened to catch a full, original print of "Girls On The Beach"...

"The Lonely Sea" was on the "Surfin' Safari" LP which came out in the UK in 1965 and got to #17, and then on the UK version of "Best Of The Beach Boys Vol. 3" which got to #8 in 1968. So it's really not that unlikely that John knew the song.

Furthermore, John was a rock star, he travelled the world and he was on the same label as The Beach Boys in the US, so he was probably familiar with their music before most other people in the UK were.

Do you mean "Surfin USA"? Or was the tracklist changed for a UK-release ?

Sorry, yeah. I meant "Surfin' USA".

I think this is the right place to post again this great Lennon quote from Nov '65. Sounds like he immediately ran out of the house to buy all BB records after listening to "The Little Girl I Once Knew":


"This is the greatest! Turn it up, turn it right up. It's GOT to be a hit. It's the greatest record I've heard for weeks. It's fantastic. I hope it will be a hit. It's all Brian Wilson. He just uses the voices as instruments. He never tours or anything. He just sits at home thinking up fantastic arrangements our of his head. Doesn't even read music. You keep waiting for the fabulous breaks. Great arrangement. It goes on and on with all different things. I hope it's a hit so I can hear it all the time."

At the risk of  :deadhorse, I've heard the alleged performance... and the semblance to "TLS" is at best passing. It's just JL noodling on his guitar between takes, going though some late 50s/early 60s changes common to roughly every ballad ever released then. Now, if he'd sung the lyric, that would be something. But he doesn't. Sometimes, you hear what you want to hear, not what's actually there. "I buried Paul"... or "Cranberry sauce" ?

I buried Paul's cranberry sauce.............so he could take it with him to the afterlife........

I think the reason I disagree with you Andrew is because of how the guitar sounds tonally. It has a kind of reverb on it that make me think Beach Boys.

I remember when we had a thread on this awhile back, and after I listened to it, it seemed quite obvious that John was just playing a standard 50's/60's chord progression in the same key as "Lonely Sea." 

Like AGD said, if Lennon had sung a lyric along with it, we may have something.  But hearing him just play a standard I - VII - VI - V progression and inferring that he was playing a particular song that happens to share that progression seems a bit of a stretch to me.

May?  ???

Okay, we would have something.  But obviously we don't.

Don't know about Lennon and "The Lonely Sea" but John is absolutely right in regards to TLGIOK.  Absolutely tremendous record... would've been much bigger hit if not for AM radio's fear of the "dead air" parts...

Well I'm still convinced he's doing it going simply by my own ears.

Have you heard the whole Nagra reel, or just the isolated clip that's supposed to be "TLS"  ?  John noodles on guitar for quite a while, going through a whole bunch of chord changes. Hear it in isolation, and yes, mildly persuasive... hear it in context and no, not at all.

BTW, this thread is titled "Lennon singing "Lonely Sea"" - which he doesn't, I think you have to agree ?

Hmm I don't remember now. Some much of that Get Back stuff is hard to sit through. Again I think he was screwing around with it mainly because of his making a Brian like "Sea" vocal and like I mentioned above the reverb.  It isn't an easy call that's for sure but I think he may have half remembered it. If pressed I would have to say that's my opinion on it but this isn't clear cut and I can't say you are wrong either. I will have to listen again as it's been at least a year or so.

I don't know anything about Lennon doing Lonely Sea but on Neil Young's great new album (Fork in the Road), track 7 - "Off the Road" sounds  slightly familiar????

Playing/singing...whatever.  You guys knew what I meant.  :-)