Photograph Smile

John Lennon's oldest son spent the seven years preceding this album traveling Europe, painting, and even working in a stage production of Mr. Holland's Opus. Expanding his horizons certainly paid off, since his fifth album, Photograph Smile, has been crafted with a self-knowledge that recognizes both his strengths and limitations. No longer defensive about sounding like his father, Lennon has finally acknowledged his artistic lineage. While not exploiting the vocal similarities to his father, he makes the most of them, turning in a riveting neo-Beatles performance in the upbeat "I Don't Want to Know"; a fierce rocker, it recalls what was best about Something New, and therefore what was best about the Beatles. Lyrically, Lennon's bittersweet renderings of love, loss, and fidelity hint at the pain he suffered as a result of his uprooted early years. He's a multi-instrumentalist, and his stylist experiments borrow from the songbooks of both Beatle John and Led Zeppelin--Zep's being the better loan. --Jaan Uhelzski