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It happens that on the same day some people were doubtless unwrapping this album, the track featured in an
Only Fools And Horses Christmas Special. Apparently it was played in full in the original broadcast version, too.
Last time Julian Lennon cropped up on here, I managed to write the entire post without any reference to his parentage: it seemed only fair. This time around it's not really an option though, because (no pun intended!) the younger Lennon sounds like he's realised he's going to get compared to his late father as long as he pursues a musical career and just goes for broke. Indeed, that was rumoured to be George Harrison on uncredited lead guitar. You can well imagine how Harrison would have sympathised with the lyric here, a lament for man's harm to the environment and poverty and the slightly finger-wagging tone would have been unlikely to put him off either. However, a recent update to the song's Wikipedia article confirms that he was unable to contribute in person for practical reasons, but the result is an approved pastiche of his style.
'Saltwater' has a solid, "horizontal" melody of the sort the older Lennon was wont to produce in his later years, but where his sentimentality could be undercut by the right production, this suffers from a morass of slush which seems determined to beat you over the head with its own good intentions, if that's not too much of a mixed metaphor. It's far from the worst John Lennon pastiche to show up on these albums, but it's more 'Free As A Bird' than 'Jealous Guy'.
Also appearing on: Now 4
Available on: Original Hits - Nineties [Explicit]
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