John Lennon: Imagine (2LP) [CAPITOL]

Why you'll love it

This 2LP set pairs Paul Hicks's new Ultimate Mixes from the original multitracks with an LP of twelve demos, takes and a 1969 Bahamas recording. The album topped both the UK Albums Chart and the Billboard 200.

This edition

• 2LP set
• New Ultimate Mixes by Paul Hicks
• Bonus LP of demos, outtakes and live
• Remastered by Ron McMaster at Capitol
• Stereo mix

About the album

Most people know the title song before they know the album, which is a bit like knowing the front door before the house. Behind it, Lennon recorded Imagine in 1971 at his Ascot Sound Studios at home, at EMI and at the Record Plant in New York, co-producing with Yoko Ono and Phil Spector, and dressed his songs in strings and piano after the stark first solo record.

The players are a fine bunch: George Harrison on guitar, Nicky Hopkins on keys, Klaus Voormann on bass, Alan White and Jim Keltner on drums. "Jealous Guy" is one of his loveliest melodies, "Crippled Inside" has a jaunty honky-tonk bounce, "Oh My Love" is gentle and "Gimme Some Truth" bites. The second LP opens the doors: an early "Imagine" demo, take 1 of the title song, and a raw "It's So Hard" alongside alternate takes of nearly every track.

Yoko Ono oversaw and authorized the whole Ultimate Collection project in 2018, nearly fifty years after the sessions. It's the record many people buy first when they start their Lennon shelf, and the demos make a fine argument for buying it again.

Also at Kops: more John Lennon on vinyl · browse Rock

Tracklist

Listen

On Apple / Capitol, a reissue of the 1971 album.