‘Steel and Glass’ – John Lennon
John Lennon never suffered fools gladly when he got to the studio. He may not have been the most technically proficient guitarist in the world, but if he knew what he didn’t like, it would be noted, be it with the session players hired for the gig or the sound of his voice in his headphones. But after ripping his writing partner a new one on ‘How Do You Sleep’, Lennon seemed to be using some of his riffs for different reasons later down the line.
Most of his problems with Paul McCartney were water under the bridge by the mid-1970s, but when Walls and Bridges came out, ‘Steel and Glass’ was the first time he took aim at his former manager, Allen Klein. Since he was the guy who should have been responsible for The Beatles’ demise, Lennon tosses in a few sly jabs at his old business partner, only this time using the ‘How Do You Sleep’ riff to attack his manager.
Although one shouldn’t condone a riff that was designed to hurt someone, it does feel a little invigorating for Lennon to use that idea again, given the fact that Klein was there when he was writing ‘How Do You Sleep’ and had a hand in throwing in a couple of jabs at Macca as the tune was being written. So by using it in this context, Lennon is throwing shots at Klein with the exact same weapon Klein used to shoot down McCartney.