Julian Lennon - 'Everything Changes' album review

It had been a long time coming, but Julian Lennon’s Everything Changes finally saw release last year. This month, the album got a deluxe box set, which came out on Sept. 10 to mark his mother’s birthday.

Everything Changes is an interesting title for the album, since it really sounds like a record that could have been made decades ago. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, especially if you share Julian’s taste in music. That means the music of the late ‘60s and early ‘70s, with bands like Led Zeppelin, the Rolling Stones and, of course The Beatles, in mind.

It was written and produced with Grant Ransom, so Everything Changes has a great consistent sound. Still, there are a few stand outs. The album gets off to a very strong start with the title track and keeps the momentum going for “Someday,” which features Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler. “Invisible,” “Always” and “Disconnected” are also standouts, as well as “Never Let You Go,” which sounds like a cut left off of Valotte.

The main challenge for Julian has always been the shadow of his father, the late John Lennon. While he clearly does do his best to differentiate himself as an artist, his tendency to pull pages out of the Beatles’ 1965-1966 playbook hurt him. Quoting “Baby You’re A Rich Man” on “Someday” also isn’t going to help your cause.

The deluxe edition of the album feels a little self-indulgent. For the general public, Julian is really only known for Valotte, an album that celebrates its 30-year anniversary this year. So, this isn’t a set targeted to a wide audience. In fact, you can only order it on his website.

It is a beautiful package though. It comes in a coffee-table book, with pages that feature the credits, photos and lyrics. There are three bonus discs - an acoustic version of the album (which I actually preferred); the instrumental backing tracks; and a DVD with a full-length documentary and music videos.

Just for good measure, you also get the album on vinyl, spread over two discs. Julian has also signed the certificate of authenticity himself. Each copy is individually numbered and only 1,000 were made.

Everything Changes is an enjoyable album that fans of Julian’s past work are bound to enjoy. However, I think the regular CD edition will do well for most fans.

You can also check out my interview with Julian from October 2013.

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