The Pope Smokes Dope

The Pope Smokes Dope
Studio album by
David Peel & The Lower East Side
ReleasedApril 17, 1972
Recorded1972
StudioRecord Plant Studios, New York City
GenreFolk rock
Length42:01 (vinyl edition)
56:04 (CD edition)
LabelApple
ProducerJohn Lennon, Yoko Ono
David Peel chronology
The American Revolution
(1970) 		The Pope Smokes Dope
(1972) 		Santa Claus Rooftop Junkie
(1974)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[1]
Christgau's Record GuideE[2]

The Pope Smokes Dope is the third album by David Peel and the Lower East Side, released on April 17, 1972 through Apple Records.[3]

History

Peel, along with John Lennon and Yoko Ono, performed Peel's "The Ballad of New York", on The David Frost Show, with Lennon playing tea-chest bass.[4][5][6][7][8][9] The trio, joined by The Lower East Side Band, played several songs by Lennon and Ono.[9] This episode was recorded on December 16, 1971 and broadcast on January 13, 1972.[9][10]

The album was released on April 17, 1972.[11][12][13][14][15][16]

The CD was released in 2005 by Orange Records International.

Track listing

All tracks are written by David Peel

Side one
No.TitleLength
1."I'm a Runaway"3:39
2."Everybody's Smoking Marijuana"4:06
3."F Is Not a Dirty Word"3:12
4."The Hippie from New York City"3:01
5."McDonald's Farm"3:13
6."The Ballad of New York City/John Lennon • Yoko Ono[17]"3:19
Side two
No.TitleLength
1."The Ballad of Bob Dylan"4:12
2."The Chicago Conspiracy"3:47
3."The Hip Generation"1:50
4."I'm Gonna Start Another Riot"2:37
5."The Birth Control Blues"4:48
6."The Pope Smokes Dope"2:15
Bonus tracks on CD edition
  2. "Amerika" (Edit) – 4:15
    • with Yoko Ono
  3. "How Did You Meet David Peel?" – 2:07
    • interview with John Lennon
  4. "Everybody's Smokin'" (Remix) – 7:41

Chart positions

Charts (1972) Peak
position
US Billboard 200[18] 191

Personnel

  • Bagtwo (Jeffery Levy) – design, artwork
  • Roy Cicala – engineering
  • Jack Douglas – engineering
  • Bill Ferrara – photography
  • Robert L. Heimall – art direction
  • Allan Steckler – production supervision
  • John Lennon – production, voice (tracks 6 & 12), backing vocals (12)
  • Yoko Ono – production, percussions (track 1), voice (6)
  • David Peel – vocals, guitar
  • Eddie Mottau – guitar
  • Chris Osborne – guitar
  • Charlie Wolff – guitar
  • Eddie Ryan – drums
  • The Lower East Side Friends – chorus
  • Tom Doyle – guitar, backing vocals
  • Bruce Bierman – backing vocals
  • John Robertson – guitar
  • Billy Minelli – bass
  • Frank Lanci – drums
  • Lenny Mars – harp (tracks 4 & 7), flutes (1,4,6 & 8), piano (7), percussions (1, 8 & 10), banjo (1, 4 & 7), mandolin (7 & 10)

References

  1. ^ Eder, Bruce. "The Pope Smokes Dope". Allmusic. Retrieved October 31, 2012.
  2. ^ Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: P". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 089919026X. Retrieved March 10, 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.
  3. ^ "John Lennon". invaluable.com.
  4. ^ "Episode #4.84". 13 January 1972 – via www.imdb.com.
  5. ^ PS109VanBurenHigh (11 May 2013). "David Peel THE BALLAD OF NEW YORK CITY / JOHN LENNON – YOKO ONO" – via YouTube.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  6. ^ "John Lennon's Most Memorable — and Notorious — NYC Moments". 17 December 2015.
  7. ^ Spiardi, Dana (1 May 2017). "David Peel: The Dope-Smokin' Pope of the New York City Hippies".
  8. ^ "Peel the Lower East Side and Enjoy Pre-Punk Punk". 4 October 2011.
  9. ^ a b c Miles, Barry; Badman, Keith, eds. (2001). The Beatles Diary After the Break-Up: 1970–2001 (reprint ed.). London: Music Sales Group. ISBN 9780711983076.
  10. ^ Grimes, William (9 April 2017). "David Peel, Downtown Singer and Marijuana Evangelist, Dies at 74". The New York Times – via NYTimes.com.
  11. ^ "The Pope Smokes Dope – Busy Beaver Button Museum". www.buttonmuseum.org.
  12. ^ "David Peel & the Lower East Side ~ 1972 ~ The Pope Smokes Dope – Oldish Psych and Prog". oldishpsychprog.ucoz.com.
  13. ^ "HoZac Records » David Peel". hozacrecords.com.
  14. ^ "East Village icon David Peel in critical condition after heart attack". BrooklynVegan. 2 April 2017.
  15. ^ Zschau, Rebeat Digital – Guenter Loibl, Rico. "The Pope Smokes Dope". Rebeat-Artist-Camp.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  16. ^ Paul DeRienzo (23 May 2009). "David Peel on John Lennon and the FBI" – via YouTube.
  17. ^ "John Lennon The Ballad Of New York City US 7" vinyl single (7 inch record) (552232)". eil.com.
  18. ^ "The Pope Smokes Dope – Awards". Allmusic. Retrieved October 31, 2012.