Editorial Reviews
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Lennon Legend
John Lennon's solo work has been anthologized so many times that it's hard to believe there wasn't a definitive compilation before this one. And, depending on your particular take, you might not find Lennon Legend quite hitting the mark. However, since it does contain the brilliantly scathing "Working Class Hero," doesn't ignore the woefully underrated Rock 'n' Roll album, and catches the hopeful renewal that came toward the end of his foreshortened life, it's probably about as close as anyone's going to come. His great songs shine, meditations like "Imagine" and his rockers had form and content, as in "Whatever Gets You Through the Night." He was an icon, and this does him justice. --Chris Nickson

The John Lennon Collection
Reviewer: Clayton (cnelson@stargate.net) from Pittsburgh, PA
If you don't already have some of John Lennon's music in your collection...then this is the one to pick up. Classic sing-a-long songs like "Instant Karma!","Mind Games","Imagine" and "Watching The Wheels" will keep you humming this album forever. You'll be inspired by his love songs i.e. "Starting Over" and "Woman". A personal favorite of mine is "#9 Dream", which shows his ability to write captivating music while expressing his thoughts.

Imagine
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

Come Together - A Night for John...
A disparate group of performers gathers to celebrate the life and music of John Lennon in this 90-minute concert, recorded in 2001 at New York's Radio City Music Hall and originally broadcast on the WB Television Network. Considering both the setting and the fact that it came just three weeks after the events of September 11, it's not surprising that the show has a somewhat somber tone, but that makes Lennon's message of universal peace somehow all the more relevant. As for the songs, the majority come from Lennon's Beatle days, including "In My Life" (Dave Matthews), "Strawberry Fields Forever" (Cyndi Lauper), and "Dear Prudence" (Alanis Morissette); but it's the material from his solo years that yields the most passionate performances, especially by Shelby Lynne ("Mother") and Lou Reed ("Jealous Guy"). Host Kevin Spacey does a surprisingly effective turn on "Mind Games," and the inclusion of Lennon's son Sean is both appropriate and touching. Nice. --Sam Graham

John & Yoko's Year of Peace
Amazing that a nearly hour-long film about a Beatle that contains almost no music could still be worthwhile, but that's the case with John & Yoko's Year of Peace. The year in question is 1969, when the newly married couple staged the notorious "bed-in" at a Toronto hotel to promote their somewhat naive but sincere campaign for world peace; they then moved on to Montreal, where "Give Peace a Chance" was recorded in another hotel room, before returning to Toronto, where Lennon (accompanied by Eric Clapton and others) became the first Beatle to perform in concert without his mates. There's no film of that event here, but there is a great deal of other Lennon footage, revealing him to be utterly honest, unpretentious, gentle, and approachable. Ono and others who were there recall the events in interesting interviews conducted around the time of this 2000 documentary, but it's the scenes from '69 that make this an invaluable document. --Sam Graham --This text refers to the VHS Tape edition.