The Dick Cavett Show: John and Yoko Collection (2005)

2 Discs DVD

Dick Cavett was a talk show host in the 1970's and 80's; he talked with some of the biggest names in the entertainment world. Two of those people were John Lennon and Yoko Ono for a special appearance shortly after The Beatles officially broke up. This 2-disc set takes a look at their initial visit on September 11, 1971 and on May 12, 1972. The 1971 visit was split into two shows; the original airing, and then additional footage from that show which aired a few weeks later.

I had never seen the original broadcasts of these shows so watching these episodes was really cool for me.

Yoko and John came out holding hands; Yoko was wearing this orange get-up. I'm not really sure if it was a dress or a long shirt; to describe it would be injustice - you'll just have to see it to believe it. It just looks like an orange velvet bag.

The interview started immediately as they sat down and just as fast as they took their chairs, the tension between the two of them toward Dick was thick. You have got to see how much Dick is sweating during the first 10-15 minutes (and John lets everyone know that he's extremely nervous).

One of the features during their talk is this really weird video produced by Yoko of a fly crawling up some woman's leg; it's just about the weirdest things I've ever seen. In the background, you can hear fly noises - it's worth checking out. Another film is shown, this one from John, but just as weird; it's of a building being constructed - nothing going on except for some background noise.

There is one instance during their talk where Dick talks about the rumors surrounding Yoko being called 'The Dragon Lady who broke up The Beatles.' John quickly cuts him off and says something to the effect of 'if she's responsible for that, then you need to give her credit for all the wonderful music I've made since we broke up and all the nice music George has made and Paul and Ringo have made.' It was really cool to see him defend her honor that way.

Unfortunately, on their first appearance, they were not prepared to sing live. However, they did have a video of John singing 'Imagine' which is one of my favorite songs of all time. Just hearing his voice and watching him sing made me want to go back to the 70's (if I had been alive) and hear him sing it.

On the second disc, there is a full recent interview with Dick Cavett talking about the two shows with John and Yoko. He had mentioned how nervous all three of them were because this was John's first time on television after the now infamous break-up. He also talked about how they had to be censored when John and Yoko finally performed on the second show. It was a very good tell-all interview, one everyone will enjoy!

The second episode starts out with a guest appearance by Shirley MacLaine; her interview is on that disc, which is really neat to see what she looked like 30 years ago.

The real treat on the second disc is hearing John sing live. He sang the song 'Woman is the N*gger of the World' with Yoko. Prior to the segment, they show the disclaimer that Dick was forced to air because of the 'n-word' being in the title of the song they were going to sing. Even John mentioned it when they came back from the commercial break. He talked about the lyrics in the song and they didn't mean what it sounded like. What was also very interesting was listening to John talk about the lyrics to Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds; he put down the rumors that it's about the drug LSD saying that it was just something his son said, so he decided to write a song based on the title.

But, it was so nice to hear John sing; I thought about what it would have been like had he not been shot and killed. Ok, so I'm a huge Beatles fan, but just hearing his voice is worth getting this disc set.

As a Beatles fan, this was an amazing treat to see John and Yoko brave enough to come on and talk about themselves so soon after the break up of the band (even if she really was responsible). And just hearing them sing was enough for me to say it's a blind buy.