{"id":588053,"date":"2026-09-02T15:08:09","date_gmt":"2026-09-02T15:08:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/588053\/"},"modified":"2026-09-02T15:08:09","modified_gmt":"2026-09-02T15:08:09","slug":"tony-levin-recalls-tension-in-the-air-making-double-fantasy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/588053\/","title":{"rendered":"Tony Levin Recalls ‘Tension in the Air’ Making ‘Double Fantasy’"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tony Levin<\/a> has detailed his experience recording Double Fantasy<\/a> with John Lennon<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Levin has enjoyed a long and highly-respected career as one of rock\u2019s most in-demand bassists. His resume includes extensive stints with King Crimson<\/a> and Peter Gabriel<\/a>, as well as session work with Paul Simon<\/a>, Stevie Nicks<\/a>, Pink Floyd<\/a>, David Bowie<\/a> and many more.<\/p>\n

In 1980, producer Jack Douglas<\/a> recommended Levin to Lennon. During a recent appearance on the Vinyl Guide<\/a> podcast, the bassist recalled Lennon\u2019s first words to him: \u201cThey tell me you’re good. Just don’t play too many notes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Double Fantasy was envisioned as Lennon\u2019s return to music following a five year hiatus. Levin admitted he was \u201cignorant\u201d about the circumstances surrounding the LP, but noted there was a unique energy in the studio.<\/p>\n

READ MORE: John Lennon’s ‘Double Fantasy’ Songs Ranked Worst to Best<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cThere was some tension in the air,\u201d Levin explained. \u201cGood tension, not at all a negative tension. Because [Lennon] would be playing this piece and suddenly he’d say, \u2018Stop! Stop fooling around,\u2019 like it wasn’t his idea. \u2018Stop fooling around. Let’s do the take.\u2019 And one, two, he’d count it off and that would be the take.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI could tell he was really enjoying jamming and playing,\u201d Levin noted. \u201cIn between takes, he’d start playing, let’s say, Buddy Holly<\/a> pieces and really having a ball with it. But later I realized that he hadn’t been doing that in a long time, so he did it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Recording Yoko Ono’s ‘Double Fantasy’ Material Was a ‘Different Kind of Experience’<\/p>\n

Double Fantasy was a collaborative album between Lennon and his wife, Yoko Ono<\/a>. As Levin remembered, the sessions would alternate back and forth between John tracks and the Yoko tunes, each requiring very different approaches.<\/p>\n

READ MORE: Ranking All 72 John Lennon Solo Songs<\/a>\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cWe would alternate songs with Yoko’s, which were very, not only different musically, but she didn’t play an instrument, so she couldn’t direct you in how to play it,\u201d he recalled. \u201cSo it was a different kind of experience, trying to come up with the groove or even the, not groove, but the basis of how to play her pieces.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd then John comes over and plays guitar for you and sings a song,\u201d Levin continued. \u201cAnd it’s there and it’s like, you know, 10,000 bass players could have played the right part on that song. And I was lucky to be the one who’s there in the room.\u201d<\/p>\n

Interestingly, Lennon stepped back when his material wasn\u2019t being recorded, allowing Ono to create her art without his influence.<\/p>\n

\u201cJohn didn’t give any input on it,\u201d Levin noted. \u201cHe was like the tea boy. He would say, \u2018Der, you want some tea?\u2019 Stay in the control room. Very respectful and very impressive that they had that relationship.\u201d<\/p>\n

Double Fantasy was released on Nov. 17, 1980. Tragically, Lennon would be shot dead<\/a> outside of his New York home less than a month later.<\/p>\n

The Best Song From Every John Lennon Album<\/p>\n

One of the 20th century’s most significant artists had a solo catalog that can be as maddening as it is enlightening.<\/p>\n

Gallery Credit: Michael Gallucci<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Tony Levin has detailed his experience recording Double Fantasy with John Lennon. Levin has enjoyed a long and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":588054,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[430,156,111,43,139,69],"class_list":["post-588053","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-celebrities","tag-celebrities","tag-entertainment","tag-new-zealand","tag-news","tag-newzealand","tag-nz"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/588053","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=588053"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/588053\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/588054"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=588053"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=588053"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=588053"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}