Imagine (John Lennon album)
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Imagine is John Lennon's second solo album and is considered the most popular of his solo works. Recorded and released in 1971, the album tended toward songs that were gentler, more commercial and less avant-garde than the ones he released on his more critically acclaimed previous album, John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band.[1] In 2003 Rolling Stone magazine named Imagine #76 on its list of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.[2] The title track will appear in the upcoming video game Rock Band 3.
Recording and structure
Although the basic tracks for the album were initially recorded in his home studio (Ascot Sound Studios in Tittenhurst Park), many of the instruments were re-recorded at the Record Plant in New York City, where strings and saxophone by King Curtis were also added. As on his last album, Phil Spector joined Lennon and Yoko Ono as co-producer on Imagine. Extensive footage of the sessions, showing the evolution of some of the songs, was compiled on a video documentary entitled Gimme Some Truth: The Making of John Lennon's Imagine.
The title track "Imagine" became Lennon's signature song and was written as a plea for world peace. "Jealous Guy" has also had enduring popularity and was originally composed as "Child of Nature" during the songwriting sessions in India in 1968 that led to The Beatles' double-album The Beatles. "Oh My Love" and the song "How?" were influenced by his experience with primal therapy: "How?" contains the questions he was facing while going through the changes produced in him during the ongoing process of primal therapy, while "Oh My Love" was written to communicate the joy and growth Lennon was experiencing as a result of the therapy.
Lennon also indulged his love of rock and roll with "Crippled Inside" and "It's So Hard". "Gimme Some Truth", originally heard in the Let It Be sessions, appears on the album with a new bridge. The politically-themed "I Don't Want to Be a Soldier" closes the first half of Imagine in a cacophonous manner.
George Harrison guested on a few of Imagine's tracks, including "How Do You Sleep?". Early editions of the LP included a postcard featuring a photo of Lennon holding a pig in mockery of McCartney's similar pose with a sheep of the cover of Ram.[3] Although Lennon softened his stance in the mid-70s and claimed he wrote the song about himself, he revealed in 1980, "I used my resentment against Paul... to create a song... not a terrible vicious horrible vendetta... I used my resentment and withdrawing from Paul and The Beatles, and the relationship with Paul, to write 'How Do You Sleep'. I don't really go 'round with those thoughts in my head all the time".[4]
The last track on the album is the upbeat and catchy "Oh Yoko!", an ode to his wife complete with a Bob Dylan-style harmonica solo. EMI pushed for this track to be the single, but Lennon thought it was too "pop".
Reception
Upon release in September and October 1971, Imagine was warmly regarded by critics and promptly went to #1 worldwide and became an enduring seller, with the title track reaching #3 in the U.S. and #1 in the UK following Lennon's death. In an interview for Melody Maker in November 1971, McCartney stated, "I like his Imagine album but I didn't like the others. Imagine is what John is really like but there was too much political stuff on the other albums",[5] prompting Lennon's response in the form of a letter published in Melody Maker the following month, "So you think 'Imagine' ain't political? It's 'Working Class Hero' with sugar on it for conservatives like yourself!!" In 2000, Yoko Ono supervised the remixing of Imagine for its remastered reissue.
In 2003, Imagine was placed at #76 in Rolling Stone's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time[2] and reissued by Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab on gold CD and on 180 gram half-speed mastered vinyl. It was also originally released in quadrophonic.
In 2007, the Record Plant piano on which Lennon re-recorded the album was sold at auction.[6]
Track listing
All tracks are written by John Lennon, except "Oh My Love" co-written with Yoko Ono
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Imagine" | 3:01 |
| 2. | "Crippled Inside" | 3:47 |
| 3. | "Jealous Guy" | 4:14 |
| 4. | "It's So Hard" | 2:25 |
| 5. | "I Don't Want to Be a Soldier" | 6:05 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 6. | "Gimme Some Truth" | 3:16 |
| 7. | "Oh My Love" | 2:44 |
| 8. | "How Do You Sleep?" | 5:36 |
| 9. | "How?" | 3:43 |
| 10. | "Oh Yoko!" | 4:20 |
Personnel
The following musicians performed on Imagine:[7]
- John Lennon – vocals, acoustic and electric guitars, piano, harmonica (10), whistling (3)
- John Barham – harmonium (3), keyboards, vibraphone (9)
- Steve Brendell – upright bass (2), maracas (5)
- King Curtis – saxophone (4, 5)
- Andy Davis – acoustic guitar (6, 10)
- Tom Evans – acoustic guitar (3, 5)
- The Flux Fiddlers - strings
- Jim Gordon – drums (4)
- George Harrison – electric guitar (6, 7), slide guitar (5, 8) dobro guitar (2)
- Nicky Hopkins – piano (2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10), electric piano (8)
- Jim Keltner – drums (3, 5)
- Rod Linton – acoustic guitar (2, 6, 10)
- Joey Molland – acoustic guitar (3, 5)
- Michael Pinder – tambourine (5)
- Phil Spector – backing vocals (10)
- John Tout – acoustic guitar (2), piano (not credited for piano in Disc and Music Echo)
- Ted Turner – acoustic guitar (2)
- Klaus Voormann – bass (all tracks)
- Alan White – drums (1, 6-10) Tibetan cymbals (7), vibraphone (3)
Detailed credits were published in Disc and Music Echo, 2 October 1971.
Chart positions
| Chart | Position | Weeks |
|---|---|---|
| Australian Kent Music Report Albums Chart[8] | 1 | |
| Japanese Oricon Weekly LP Chart[9] | 34 | |
| Norwegian VG-lista Albums Chart[10] | 47 | |
| UK Albums Chart[11] | 99 | |
| U.S. Billboard 200[12] | 45 |
Like its title track, Lennon's Imagine became a posthumous hit worldwide. The album re-entered the charts during 1981, peaking at #3 in Norway[13], #5 in the United Kingdom[14], #34 in Sweden[15], and #63 in the United States[16]. In February 2000, remastered and remixed edition reached #11 on the Japanese chart.[17]
Certifications
| Country | Organization | Certification | Date | Shipments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | RIAA | 2x Multi-Platinum[18] | 26 November 1991 | 2,000,000+ |
References
- ^ Clayton, Marie (2003). John Lennon. Unseen Archives. Parragon Publishing Book. p. 383. ISBN 0752585142.
- ^ a b "The RS 500 Greatest Albums of All Time". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 25 February 2010.
- ^ Clayton 2003 p. 301.
- ^ "Playboy Interview with John Lennon and Yoko Ono - 1980". john-lennon.com. Retrieved 15 December 2007.
- ^ "Lennon & McCartney, Melody Maker Magazine, November 1971". The Beatles Interview Database. Retrieved 25 February 2010.
- ^ "Lennon's Last Piano for Sale, Bo Diddley's Better, McCartney on Home Shopping Network". Rolling Stone. 30 May 2007. Retrieved 25 February 2010.
- ^ Blaney, John (2005). John Lennon: Listen To This Book. Guildford, Great Britain: Biddles Ltd. pp. 82–90. ISBN 0-9544528-1-X.
- ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970-1992. St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0646119176.
{{cite book}}:|access-date=requires|url=(help) - ^ "John Lennon - Chart Archives on the Japanese Oricon Top 100". Homepage1.nifty.com. Retrieved 22 May 2010.
- ^ "norwegiancharts.com John Lennon - Imagine". VG-lista. Retrieved 22 May 2010.
- ^ "Chart Stats John Lennon - Imagine". The Official Charts Company. Retrieved 22 May 2010.
- ^ "allmusic ((( Imagine > Charts & Awards > Billboard Singles )))". allmusic.com. Retrieved 22 May 2010.
- ^ "norwegiancharts.com - Norwegian harts portal". VG-lista. Retrieved 22 May 2010.
- ^ "Chart Stats - Album chart for 07/02/1981". The Official Charts Company. Retrieved 22 May 2010.
- ^ "swedishcharts.com John Lennon - Imagine". Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved 22 May 2010.
- ^ "John Lennon - Chart Archives on the Billboard 200". Homepage1.nifty.com. Retrieved 21 May 2010.
- ^ ジョン・レノン-リリース-ORICON STYLE-ミュージック "Highest position and charting weeks of Imagine <Remixed and Digitally Remastered edition> by John Lennon". Oricon Style. Retrieved 22 May 2010.
{{cite web}}: Check|url=value (help) - ^ "RIAA—Gold & Platinum—Searchable Database". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 22 May 2010.
