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John Lennon
Imagine
(Capitol)
It was the spring of 1971, and John Lennon was still struggling to free himself from the eight-legged behemoth known as the Beatles. Lawyers were tossing subpoenas back and forth faster than you can say "You Never Give Me Your Money," while the grieving public still crossed its fingers that the split wouldn't be permanent. Each of the former Beatles had released solo albums, but only George Harrison's All Things Must Pass had earned the customary acclaim expected of a one-time Beatle.
Lennon's own Plastic Ono Band album (generally considered the masterpiece of his solo career) was too raw and uncompromising for mass success, and its unlikely single, "Mother," creeped to a mere No. 43 on the Billboard charts. As if Plastic Ono's brutal catharsis wasn't enough, the landmark "Lennon Remembers" interview appeared shortly thereafter in Rolling Stone, belligerently signaling Lennon's philosophical break with the Beatles (and, implicitly, the accompanying '60s culture).
Further aggravating matters, he and wife Yoko Ono soon launched a harrowing fight for custody of Kyoko Cox, Ono's daughter by her first marriage -- a fight that they eventually lost. Amidst all this turmoil, the Beatles won an ironic, posthumous Oscar for the Let It Be score; it was a bittersweet honor which couldn't have been much cause for celebration.
No wonder Lennon needed a breath of fresh air and chose to base his next album around a utopian anthem of uncommon beauty. In May, 1971, the Imagine sessions began at the Lennons' estate, Tittenhurst Park (located near Ascot, England). Tapping the legendary -- and legendarily difficult -- Phil Spector to produce, Lennon assembled a familiar group of musicians including bassist Klaus Voorman, drummers Alan White and Jim Keltner, keyboardist Nicky Hopkins, Badfinger guitarists Joey Molland and Tom Evans, saxophonist King Curtis, and one George Harrison on Dobro and slide guitar. Reversing the primal roughness of Plastic Ono Band, Lennon gave Spector free reign to work his trademark, symphonic magic. "Now I understand what you have to do -- put your political message across with a little honey," said Lennon at the time.
The resulting album soared to No. 1 on the charts, while the title song landed at No. 3. Lennon cynically described Imagine as "sugar-coated" for mainstream consumption, but its spartan idealism and rippling piano created an instant classic. However, beneath the deceptive soothe of the strings (dubbed "the Flux Fiddlers") and lush ambiance, other compositions were more troubled. Two paeans to Ono, "Oh, Yoko!" and "Oh My Love," were the only tunes as idyllic as the single, while "Gimme Some Truth" and "How Do You Sleep?" (the latter, a withering attack on Paul McCartney) were simply vicious.
Further tracks exposed a nest of personal doubts and insecurities, from the gorgeously tortured "Jealous Guy" to the self-evident "Crippled Inside" and "It's So Hard." The album wasn't perfect: "I Don't Wanna Be a Soldier Mama" was overlong and shapeless, while "How?" was dangerously close to the same "muzak" that Lennon had criticized in rival McCartney's catalog. Nevertheless, Imagine eventually sold over two million copies in the states and remained Lennon's top-selling album before being overtaken by the tragedy-marked Double Fantasy in the '80s.
Lennon never stayed in one place for long. Soon after Imagine, he entered his most politically radical phase, posing in military fatigues and ferociously diving into causes like the White Panther Party, the I.R.A., and British mining strikes. The subsequent protest album, Sometime in New York City, was his greatest critical and commercial failure. Lennon never released another disc as strong as Imagine, though his powerful contributions to Double Fantasy were nearly enough to cover for Ono's limited talents. Did he have another landmark album left in him? We can only wonder... and mourn.
Eric Broome
CDNOW Contributing Writer
你就可以再度听到它。
John Lennon
Imagine
(Capitol)
It was the spring of 1971, and John Lennon was still struggling to free himself from the eight-legged behemoth known as the Beatles. Lawyers were tossing subpoenas back and forth faster than you can say "You Never Give Me Your Money," while the grieving public still crossed its fingers that the split wouldn't be permanent. Each of the former Beatles had released solo albums, but only George Harrison's All Things Must Pass had earned the customary acclaim expected of a one-time Beatle.
Lennon's own Plastic Ono Band album (generally considered the masterpiece of his solo career) was too raw and uncompromising for mass success, and its unlikely single, "Mother," creeped to a mere No. 43 on the Billboard charts. As if Plastic Ono's brutal catharsis wasn't enough, the landmark "Lennon Remembers" interview appeared shortly thereafter in Rolling Stone, belligerently signaling Lennon's philosophical break with the Beatles (and, implicitly, the accompanying '60s culture).
Further aggravating matters, he and wife Yoko Ono soon launched a harrowing fight for custody of Kyoko Cox, Ono's daughter by her first marriage -- a fight that they eventually lost. Amidst all this turmoil, the Beatles won an ironic, posthumous Oscar for the Let It Be score; it was a bittersweet honor which couldn't have been much cause for celebration.
No wonder Lennon needed a breath of fresh air and chose to base his next album around a utopian anthem of uncommon beauty. In May, 1971, the Imagine sessions began at the Lennons' estate, Tittenhurst Park (located near Ascot, England). Tapping the legendary -- and legendarily difficult -- Phil Spector to produce, Lennon assembled a familiar group of musicians including bassist Klaus Voorman, drummers Alan White and Jim Keltner, keyboardist Nicky Hopkins, Badfinger guitarists Joey Molland and Tom Evans, saxophonist King Curtis, and one George Harrison on Dobro and slide guitar. Reversing the primal roughness of Plastic Ono Band, Lennon gave Spector free reign to work his trademark, symphonic magic. "Now I understand what you have to do -- put your political message across with a little honey," said Lennon at the time.
The resulting album soared to No. 1 on the charts, while the title song landed at No. 3. Lennon cynically described Imagine as "sugar-coated" for mainstream consumption, but its spartan idealism and rippling piano created an instant classic. However, beneath the deceptive soothe of the strings (dubbed "the Flux Fiddlers") and lush ambiance, other compositions were more troubled. Two paeans to Ono, "Oh, Yoko!" and "Oh My Love," were the only tunes as idyllic as the single, while "Gimme Some Truth" and "How Do You Sleep?" (the latter, a withering attack on Paul McCartney) were simply vicious.
Further tracks exposed a nest of personal doubts and insecurities, from the gorgeously tortured "Jealous Guy" to the self-evident "Crippled Inside" and "It's So Hard." The album wasn't perfect: "I Don't Wanna Be a Soldier Mama" was overlong and shapeless, while "How?" was dangerously close to the same "muzak" that Lennon had criticized in rival McCartney's catalog. Nevertheless, Imagine eventually sold over two million copies in the states and remained Lennon's top-selling album before being overtaken by the tragedy-marked Double Fantasy in the '80s.
Lennon never stayed in one place for long. Soon after Imagine, he entered his most politically radical phase, posing in military fatigues and ferociously diving into causes like the White Panther Party, the I.R.A., and British mining strikes. The subsequent protest album, Sometime in New York City, was his greatest critical and commercial failure. Lennon never released another disc as strong as Imagine, though his powerful contributions to Double Fantasy were nearly enough to cover for Ono's limited talents. Did he have another landmark album left in him? We can only wonder... and mourn.
Eric Broome
CDNOW Contributing Writer