Imagine (album)

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Imagine
Studio album by John Lennon
Released 9 September 1971 (US)
8 October 1971 (UK)
Recorded 23 June – 5 July 1971 at Ascot Sound Studios; July 1971 at Record Plant, New York
Genre Rock
Length 39:29
Label Apple, EMI
Producer John Lennon, Yoko Ono, Phil Spector
John Lennon chronology
John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band
(1970)		 Imagine
(1971)		 Some Time in New York City
(1972)
Singles from Imagine
  1. "Imagine"
    Released: 11 October 1971

Imagine is the second album by John Lennon. Recorded and released in 1971, the album tended toward songs that were gentler, more commercial and less avant-garde than those on his critically acclaimed previous album, John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band.[1] The album is considered the most popular of his works. In 2003, Rolling Stone magazine listed Imagine as the 76th greatest album in history.[2]

Contents

[edit] 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 first songs, "It's So Hard" and "I Don't Want to Be a Soldier", were recorded at EMI Studios on Abbey Road, London, during sessions for Lennon's 1971 single "Power to the People". A cover of The Olympics' 1958 song "Well (Baby Please Don't Go)", later released on John Lennon Anthology, was also recorded during this time.[3]

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?". 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 was "Oh Yoko!". EMI pushed for this track to be the single, but Lennon thought it was too "pop".[4]

[edit] Releases

1971 Billboard ad for the album.

[edit] Initial release

The album was released on 9 September 1971 in the US and a month later on 8 October in the UK. Early editions of the LP included a postcard featuring a photo of Lennon holding a pig in mockery of Paul McCartney's similar pose with a sheep on the cover of his Ram album released earlier that year.[5] It was also originally released in quadrophonic.[6]

[edit] Further Releases

In 2000, Yoko Ono supervised the remixing of Imagine for its remastered reissue. It was reissued in 2003 by Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab on gold CD and on 180 gram half-speed mastered vinyl. Another remaster was released in 2010. On 23 November 2010, Imagine became available for download for the Rock Band 3 video game, exploiting the music game's use of a keyboard.

[edit] Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic 5/5 stars[7]
Robert Christgau (A)[8]
Rolling Stone 4/5 stars[9]

Upon the album’s release, Rolling Stone reported that "it contains a substantial portion of good music" but, regarding the album’s predecessor as superior, warned of the possibility that "his posturings will soon seem not merely dull but irrelevant".[10]

The album went to #1 worldwide and became an enduring seller, with the title track reaching #3 in the U.S. (but unreleased in the UK until 1975).[11]

[edit] Aftermath

In a 1971 interview for Melody Maker, McCartney spoke positively of Imagine, considering it to be less political than Lennon's previous solo albums. (Lennon countered, in a subsequent edition of the same publication, characterising the album as " 'Working Class Hero' with sugar for conservatives".)[12]

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] In October 2010, the album re-entered the Billboard Top 200 at #88.

In 2003, Rolling Stone magazine listed Imagine as the 76th greatest album in history.[2]

The Record Plant piano on which Lennon re-recorded the album was sold at auction in 2007.[18]

[edit] Track listing

All songs written and composed by John Lennon, except where noted.

Side one
  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
Side two
  1. "Gimme Some Truth" - 3:16
  2. "Oh My Love" - 2:44 (Lennon/Ono)
  3. "How Do You Sleep?" - 5:36
  4. "How?" - 3:43
  5. "Oh Yoko!" - 4:20

[edit] Personnel

The following musicians performed on Imagine:[19]

  • Joey Molland – acoustic guitar (3, 5)
  • Tom Evans – acoustic guitar (3, 5)
  • John Tout – acoustic guitar (2), piano (not credited for piano in Disc and Music Echo)
  • Ted Turner – acoustic guitar (2)
  • Rod Linton – acoustic guitar (2, 6, 10)
  • Andy Davis – acoustic guitar (6, 10)
  • The Flux Fiddlers – strings
  • Phil Spector – backing vocals (10)
  • Michael Pinder – tambourine (5)
  • Steve Brendell – maracas (5)

Detailed credits were published in Disc and Music Echo, 2 October 1971.

[edit] Charts

[edit] Chart positions

Chart (1971) Position
Australian Kent Music Report Chart[20] 1
Canadian RPM Albums Chart[21] 2
Dutch Mega Albums Chart[22] 1
French SNEP Albums Chart[23] 5
Italian Albums Chart[24] 1
Japanese Oricon LP Chart[25] 1
Norwegian VG-lista Albums Chart[26] 1
UK Albums Chart[27] 1
US Billboard 200[28] 1
West German Media Control Albums Chart[29] 10

[edit] Year-end charts

Chart (1972) Position
Australian Albums Chart[20] 13
Italian Albums Chart[24] 6
Japanese Albums Chart[30] 13
Chart (1981) Position
UK Albums Chart[31] 73

[edit] Certifications

Region Certification
United States (RIAA)[32] 2× Platinum

[edit] References

  1. ^ Clayton, Marie (2003). John Lennon. Unseen Archives. Parragon Publishing Book. p. 383. ISBN 0752585142. 
  2. ^ a b "The RS 500 Greatest Albums of All Time". Rolling Stone. http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/5938174/the_rs_500_greatest_albums_of_all_time. Retrieved 25 February 2010. 
  3. ^ "The Beatles Bible - John Lennon: Imagine (album)". http://www.beatlesbible.com/people/john-lennon/albums/imagine/2/. Retrieved 8 October 2010. 
  4. ^ a b "Playboy Interview with John Lennon and Yoko Ono - 1980". john-lennon.com. http://www.john-lennon.com/playboyinterviewwithjohnlennonandyokoono.htm. Retrieved 15 December 2007. 
  5. ^ Clayton 2003 p. 301.
  6. ^ "QuadraphonicQuad Beatles Surround Music Releases". Quadraphonicquad.com. http://www.quadraphonicquad.com/QQ-beatles.htm. Retrieved 2011-09-09. 
  7. ^ Allmusic review
  8. ^ Robert Christgau review
  9. ^ "John Lennon:Album Guide". Rolling Stone. http://www.rollingstone.com/music/artists/john-lennon/albumguide. Retrieved 5 January 2011. 
  10. ^ Gerson, Ben. Rolling Stone. Imagine; 28 October 1971 [cited 12 November 2010].
  11. ^ "Imagine". Connollyco.com. http://www.connollyco.com/discography/john_lennon/imagine.html. Retrieved 2011-09-09. 
  12. ^ "Lennon & McCartney, Melody Maker Magazine, November 1971". The Beatles Interview Database. http://www.beatlesinterviews.org/db1971.11jp.beatles.html. Retrieved 25 February 2010. 
  13. ^ "norwegiancharts.com - Norwegian harts portal". VG-lista. http://norwegiancharts.com/weekchart.asp?year=1981&date=198108&cat=a. Retrieved 22 May 2010. 
  14. ^ "Chart Stats - Album chart for 07/02/1981". The Official Charts Company. http://www.chartstats.com/album_chart.php?week=19810207. Retrieved 22 May 2010. 
  15. ^ "swedishcharts.com John Lennon - Imagine". Sverigetopplistan. http://swedishcharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=John+Lennon&titel=Imagine&cat=a. Retrieved 22 May 2010. 
  16. ^ "John Lennon - Chart Archives on the Billboard 200". Homepage1.nifty.com. http://homepage1.nifty.com/tuty/after_beatles_john_albumchartaction_usa.htm. Retrieved 21 May 2010. 
  17. ^ 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. http://www.oricon.co.jp/music/release/d/264248/1/ ジョン・レノン-リリース-ORICON STYLE-ミュージック. Retrieved 22 May 2010. 
  18. ^ "Lennon’s Last Piano for Sale, Bo Diddley’s Better, McCartney on Home Shopping Network". Rolling Stone. 30 May 2007. http://www.rollingstone.com/rockdaily/index.php/2007/05/30/lennons-last-piano-for-sale-bo-diddleys-better-mccartney-on-home-shopping-network/. Retrieved 25 February 2010. 
  19. ^ Blaney, John (2005). John Lennon: Listen To This Book. Guildford, Great Britain: Biddles Ltd.. pp. 82–90. ISBN 0-9544528-1-X. 
  20. ^ a b Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, NSW: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0646119176. 
  21. ^ "Top Albums/CDs - Volume 16, No. 12, November 06 1971". RPM. http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/028020-119.01-e.php?&file_num=nlc008388.7541&type=1&interval=50&PHPSESSID=c6btf3r8hs459qqt5ln3o3dcv5. Retrieved 2011-10-03. 
  22. ^ "dutchcharts.nl John Lennon - Imagine" (in Dutch). Hung Medien, dutchcharts.nl. MegaCharts. http://dutchcharts.nl/showitem.asp?interpret=John+Lennon&titel=Imagine&cat=a. Retrieved 2011-09-12. 
  23. ^ "InfoDisc : Tous les Albums classés par Artiste > Choisir Un Artiste Dans la Liste" (in French). infodisc.fr. http://infodisc.fr/Album_L.php. Retrieved 2011-10-03. 
  24. ^ a b "Hit Parade Italia - Gli album più venduti del 1972" (in Italian). hitparadeitalia.it. http://www.hitparadeitalia.it/hp_yenda/lpe1972.htm. Retrieved 2011-10-03. 
  25. ^ a-ビートルズ "- Yamachan Land (Archives of the Japanese record charts) - Albums Chart Daijiten - The Beatles" (in Japanese). 2007-12-30. http://www7a.biglobe.ne.jp/~yamag/album/al_beatles.html a-ビートルズ. Retrieved 2011-09-14. 
  26. ^ "norwegiancharts.com John Lennon - Imagine". http://norwegiancharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=John+Lennon&titel=Imagine&cat=a. Retrieved 2011-09-12. 
  27. ^ "Chart Stats - John Lennon - Imagine". UK Albums Chart. http://www.chartstats.com/release.php?release=37227. Retrieved 2011-10-03. 
  28. ^ "allmusic ((( Imagine > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums )))". allmusic.com. http://www.allmusic.com/album/p4744/charts-awards. Retrieved 2011-10-03. 
  29. ^ "Album Search: John Lennon" (in German). Media Control. http://www.charts.de/search.asp?search=john+Lennon&x=0&y=0&cat=a&country=de. Retrieved 2011-10-03. 
  30. ^ 図15-2 1972～1973年度 LPランキング上位20 "Page 15/24 - 20 Top-selling LPs on the Japanese Oricon Chart 1972~73" (in Japanese). Oricon. http://individuals.iii.u-tokyo.ac.jp/~qq46122/works/shuron6.pdf 図15-2 1972～1973年度 LPランキング上位20. Retrieved 2011-10-04. 
  31. ^ "Complete UK Year-End Album Charts". http://chartheaven.9.forumer.com/a/complete-uk-yearend-album-charts_post21.html. Retrieved 2011-10-04. 
  32. ^ "American album certifications – John Lennon – Imagine". Recording Industry Association of America. http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?artist=%22Imagine%22.  If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH
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