Track Listing

1. Imagine
2. Crippled Inside
3. Jealous Guy
4. It's So Hard
5. I Don't Wanna Be a Soldier
6. Gimme Some Truth
7. Oh My Love
8. How Do You Sleep?
9. How?
10. Oh Yoko!

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2398 in Music
• Released on: 2000-04-11
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered
• Dimensions: .23 pounds

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John Lennon Photos

More from John Lennon

Imagine (Original Soundtrack)	Live in New York City	The U.S. vs. John Lennon
Mind Games	Working Class Hero	Walls and Bridges

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The enduring legacy of John Lennon's best album has overshadowed a glaring historical irony: the Beatles' original architect was also responsible for some of the Fab Four's most erratic solo albums. His recording projects all too often held hostage to polemics both personal and political, Lennon's conflicting artistic sensibilities arguably reached perfect balance just once. Coproduced with an uncharacteristically subtle touch by Phil Spector (a stark contrast to his dense aural constructions for George Harrison's All Things Must Pass from the same period), this is Lennon as whole man. Here he exhibits childlike utopian optimism (the title track), extends romantic paeans to the love of his life ("Oh Yoko!" "Oh My Love," and "Jealous Guy," the latter two begun as White Album demos) and spews bitter, petty acrimony toward his former songwriting partner ("How Do You Sleep?"). Set against such expressions, Lennon's fervent antiestablishment tirades ("I Don't Want to Be a Soldier," "Gimme Some Truth") took on some real weight and perspective, while his dollops of introspection ("How?" "Crippled Inside") have an air of resignation missing from the vitriol of his personal exorcism, Plastic Ono Band. This digitally remixed/remastered redux of the album may invoke the ire of the historically retentive, but it was accomplished under the aegis of Yoko Ono with an ear for clarity and a little more of John Lennon's complex, but always gratifying, soul. --Jerry McCulley

Customer Reviews

Re-Imagined classic with new digital mix sounds great
What is it about Lennon's Imagine that makes it his most popular work? If Plastic Ono Band showed Lennon finally grabbling with the demons of his youth, Imagine demonstrated that Lennon hadn't abandoned his songcraft. He also hadn't allowed that songcraft to overshadow the content of his songs (as on later solo albums Mind Games and Walls & Bridges). There is a maturity in the best songs from Imagine that was only hinted at previously.

If you already own Imagine is it worth buying again? It depends on how much you like the album. The depth, clarity and overall sound quality has been greatly improved. You won't hear any striking differences in the mix as Yoko Ono and engineer Peter Cobbin have remained faithful to the original mix as much as possible. I've read several reviews here about how the sound doesn't "jump out" at you like the outtakes from the Anthology boxset. There's a simple reason for this; the outtakes were no frills takes without overdubbing. Additionally, those tracks were unfamiliar to most fans (except those who had the bootleg boxset)and that unfamiliarity (along with the minor differences between the different takes)allowed one to listen to them with a fresh set of ears. Imagine has become overfamiliar to most folks just from all the radio airplay most of the songs have received over the years.

The booklet isn't a huge improvement over the original CD booklet. It does have some rare and previously unpublished photos. The lyrics were printed on both the original album sleeve and the CD reissue and they are here as well. What this album lacks is a bit more information on the recording sessions themselves. It would have been interesting to see Imagine reissued in a simliar fashion to McCartney's Band On The Run reissue from last year. While the Band On The Run reissue wasn't perfect, McCartney at least attempted to provide added value with the interview portions and live takes on the second disc. Still, one can only imagine (pardon the pun) all the criticism Yoko would have received if she had attempted to "tamper" with this classic recording even more than she did.

Is Imagine worth purchasing again? If you love the album then the answer is yes. The sound on the original CD was pretty poor (partially due to the condition of the mastertapes). This remix brings new vitality to a handful of great (and a couple of not so great) songs. Imagine wasn't Lennon's definitive statement as an artist. However its boldest and best tracks rank up there with the best material Lennon wrote both with the Beatles and as a solo artist.

A Classic Album that Benefits from Remastering and Remixing
One of the most enjoyable things about the re-release of remastered editions of albums, such as this, is the opportunity to revisit music you have not heard in years to see if it still holds up-this CD does. "Imagine," more than any other Lennon album, shows the almost schizophrenic nature of John's work. Songs from John the idealist and romantic (the title track and "Oh, My Love" for example) are juxtaposed next to songs by a bitter and tortured John (his scathing attack on Paul McCartney, "How Do You Sleep?" and "Gimme Some Truth"). Sometimes these elements appear in the same song-the lyrics of "Crippled Inside" are serious and personal but the backing music has an almost dance-hall feel to it.

You should note that this CD was not only "remastered" but "remixed" under the direction of Yoko Ono, John's widow. This gave me some pause as I considered that the integrity of the original music might be compromised in an attempt to update or modernize the sound of this classic album. However, there is nothing to fear. The remastering and remixing is perfect-the music and vocals are given room to breath as each musical element can be clearly heard. This especially helps songs like "I Don't Wanna Be a Soldier" which previously sounded cramped and cluttered. The music, and especially John's voice, are remarkably clear. What this new version also shows is that while John may not have been the most technically polished singer he was certainly one of rock's more emotional vocalists-he sings each song with great feeling and care. The very timbre of his voice communicates deep seeded emotions. Moreover, the inclusion of "Jealous Guy," one of the best love songs Lennon ever wrote, is worth the price of this CD alone.

The album that defined John Lennon
When the name "John Lennon" is mentioned today, an image of the proto-dreamer sitting at his piano calmly asserting his starry-eyed ideals over a serene melody immediately comes to mind. When Mr. Lennon first strayed from The Beatles, however, his character was much harder to pinpoint. While his former songwriter partner, Paul McCartney, established early-on that he intended to remain a baby-faced poprocker, Mr. Lennon threw a few curveballs before fully developing the personality that is now his mythos.

His first projects outside The Beatles were three LPs, released from 1968 to 1969, on which he collaborated with unconventional, Japanese "performance artist" and his soon-to-be wife, Yoko Ono on a series of experimental tracks, consisting of freeform instrumental noodling, sound effects and spoken or screamed voices (The first of which, the infamous Two Virgins, featured a nude photograph of the somewhat unkempt duo on its cover). Meanwhile a series of the couple's unusual, low-budget films, including a 40-minute video starring Mr. Lennon's penis, appeared at modish art exhibits and film festivals. As projects such as these surfaced and the two became inseparable, it appeared that Mr. Lennon's post-Beatles career would be incorporated into Ms. Ono's aura of avant-gardism and uncompromising weirdness. Then, in December of 1970, he released the album, John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band, which, despite its title, was his first non-Beatles project not to feature his spouse's equal creative footing. Although it was stunning display of lyrical sophistication and bare-boned emotional outpouring, the album would hardly be the typical John Lennon album, with its sheer bleakness and seething antipathy. Still, Mr. Lennon was writing structured songs and producing something cohesive, a sign that he would not forever be a rugged, tripped-out specter. His next release, Imagine, issued in September 1971, however, would forever define his solo career.

The fact that Mr. Lennon wrote the title track, an absolutely perfect mantra that summed-up his idealist values in a single morning and recorded it in only two takes demonstrated that, excluding "How Do You Sleep?," his absolutely scathing attack on Mr. McCartney, all the hostility and weirdness had been expunged from his system and his gift for beautiful, tuneful, poignant songs had resurfaced. The rest of Imagine is full of similar forthright and simply stated, yet utterly inspiring social and spiritual inquiries ("Crippled Inside," "Give Me Some Truth," "I Don't Wanna Be a Solider Mama, I Don't Wanna Die") and sweet, sensitive odes of love ("Jealous Guy," "Oh My Love"). Mr. Lennon's songwriting talent is astounding. His ability to place the most immense and poignant emotions and principles into the most enchanting and subtly beautiful songs is absolutely uncanny. Still, Imagine is not perfect. "Oh Yoko" is as annoying as being seated next to playful newlyweds on a subway and it was somewhat unnecessary that Mr. Lennon add every pun and insult he could think of to "How Do You Sleep?" for listeners to grasp his opinion of his former bandmate. The majority of Imagine's songs, however, are examples of the rarest type of pop music, the sort that effortlessly makes a listener think broadly and feel specially moved. This is what immediately comes to mind when the name "John Lennon" is spoken today, an intelligent and assertive icon of love, peace and the utopian dream.