The John Lennon Collection

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The John Lennon Collection
Greatest hits album by John Lennon
Released 1 November 1982 (1982-11-01)
Recorded June 1969 – October 1980
Genre Rock
Length 69:29
Label Parlophone (UK)
Geffen Records (US)
Producer John Lennon, Yoko Ono, Phil Spector, Jack Douglas
John Lennon chronology
Double Fantasy
(1980)		 The John Lennon Collection
(1982)		 Milk and Honey
(1984)
Singles from The John Lennon Collection
  1. "Love"
    Released: 15 November 1982 (UK)
  2. "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)"
    Released: November 1982 (US)

The John Lennon Collection is a retrospective compilation album of music from John Lennon's solo career.

Contents

Release and selection [edit]

The album was originally scheduled for release in late 1981, but was held back a year due to sort out the legalities owing to the fact that half the songs on the album were licensed to EMI and the other half, songs from Double Fantasy, were licensed to Geffen.[1] It was eventually released on 1 November 1982 by Parlophone in the UK,[nb 1] and a week later on the 8th, by Geffen in the US.[nb 2][1] It was the first Lennon album to be issued following his death in 1980. The album includes most of Lennon's hit singles and other tracks from his solo albums recorded with EMI from 1970–75, as well as all but one of his tracks from his final album Double Fantasy, which was initially distributed by Geffen Records in America and EMI/Parlophone in the United Kingdom.[1]

The EMI selections on the album are similar to those on Shaved Fish, Lennon's 1975 compilation album, but without the singles "Cold Turkey", "Mother" and "Woman Is the Nigger of the World." These were substituted with the 1975 hit single "Stand by Me" and "Love", a popular track from the John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band album. The other half consisted of many of the tracks from Double Fantasy. In the US, the album was issued with a slightly different track listing,[nb 3] with "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)" and "Stand by Me" excluded.[1]

Reissue [edit]

In 1989, after EMI acquired the rights to the Double Fantasy material, The John Lennon Collection was remastered and reissued worldwide with two bonus tracks for its CD release,[nb 4] "Move Over Ms. L" and "Cold Turkey" (the former being the only officially released Lennon track previously unavailable on any UK album, the latter the only UK hit single originally excluded from the compilation). "Move Over Ms. L" was the more notable inclusion – originally intended for Walls and Bridges but cut at the last minute; it was released as the B-side to "Stand by Me".[2] The CD was released in the UK on 23 October 1989.[1] "Less Christmassy than it sounds, ['Cold Turkey'] is now restored on CD," wrote Mat Snow in Q, "and is guaranteed to poop any party of sentimental Lennonism – presumably why it's kept till last; 1970's Plastic Ono Band album apart, it remains his most discomfortingly intense work."[3]

In the US, the 1989 CD re-issue of The John Lennon Collection not only included the two bonus tracks but also the two songs originally excluded from the US release, "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)" and "Stand by Me" (these were also thought of as 'bonus tracks' in the US), thereby making the track-listing now identical in both countries.

Reception [edit]

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic 4.5/5 stars[4]

As Lennon's first posthumous release, The John Lennon Collection did extremely well, reaching number 1 in the UK[1] and peaking at number 33 in the US where it would eventually reach triple platinum. The album sold 300,000 copies in the first week, and 1 million by its third week in the UK.[1] In the UK, "Love" was excerpted as a single in the UK,[nb 5] (featuring a version of the song without the slow fade-ins) and managed to reach number 41. "Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy)" was released as the B-side to "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)", which was released by Geffen, in a brand-new picture sleeve, in the US.[nb 6][5]

Cover [edit]

The front and back covers for The John Lennon Collection were taken by famed photographer Annie Leibovitz on 8 December 1980, the day Lennon was murdered.

Track listing [edit]

All songs by John Lennon, except where noted.

Side one
  1. "Give Peace a Chance" – 4:52
    • Originally credited to Lennon–McCartney, the credit was revised in the 1990s to cite only Lennon as its composer.
  2. "Instant Karma!" – 3:20
  3. "Power to the People" – 3:16
  4. "Whatever Gets You thru the Night" – 3:17
  5. "#9 Dream" – 2:46 (4:46 on 1989's CD reissue)
    • Edit of 1974 full length version on Walls and Bridges.
    • The full length version was included on 1989's CD reissue of the compilation.
  6. "Mind Games" – 4:12
  7. "Love" – 3:22
  8. "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)" (Lennon/Yoko Ono) – 3:33
    • Originally excluded from US version of this compilation, included on 1989 re-issue.
Side two
  1. "Imagine" – 3:02
  2. "Jealous Guy" – 4:14
  3. "Stand by Me" (Jerry Leiber/Mike Stoller/Ben E. King) – 3:25
    • Originally excluded from US version of this compilation, included on 1989 re-issue.
  4. "(Just Like) Starting Over" – 3:55
  5. "Woman" – 3:25
  6. "I'm Losing You" – 3:57
  7. "Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy)" – 4:01
  8. "Watching the Wheels" – 3:31
  9. "Dear Yoko" – 2:33
1989 CD bonus tracks
  1. "Move Over Ms. L." – 2:56
    • Originally released in 1975 as "Stand by Me"'s B-Side..
  2. "Cold Turkey" – 5:01

Charts and certifications [edit]

Chart positions [edit]

 This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (August 2011)
Chart (1982) Peak
position
UK Albums Chart 1
Chart (1983) Peak
position
Australian Kent Music Report Albums Chart 1
Billboard 200[6] 33

Sales and certifications [edit]

Region Certification Sales/shipments
Argentina (CAPIF)[7] Gold 30,000x
Austria (IFPI Austria)[8] Gold 25,000x
France (SNEP)[9] Platinum 300,000*
Norway (IFPI Norway)[10] Gold 25,000*
United Kingdom (BPI)[11] 3× Platinum 900,000^
United States (RIAA)[12] 3× Platinum 3,000,000^

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone
xunspecified figures based on certification alone

Credits [edit]

References [edit]

Footnotes
  1. ^ UK Parlophone EMTV 37[1]
  2. ^ US Geffen GHSP 2023[1]
  3. ^ "Watching the Wheels" and "Dear Yoko" had swapped places.[1]
  4. ^ UK Parlophone CDEMTV 37[1]
  5. ^ UK Parlophone R 5958[1]
  6. ^ US Geffen 7-29855[5]
Citations
  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Blaney, John (2005). John Lennon: Listen to This Book (illustrated ed.). [S.l.]: Paper Jukebox. p. 207. ISBN 978-0-9544528-1-0. 
  2. ^ Blaney, John (2005). John Lennon: Listen to This Book (illustrated ed.). [S.l.]: Paper Jukebox. p. 143. ISBN 978-0-9544528-1-0. 
  3. ^ Q, January 1990
  4. ^ The John Lennon Collection at Allmusic
  5. ^ a b Blaney, John (2005). John Lennon: Listen to This Book (illustrated ed.). [S.l.]: Paper Jukebox. p. 96. ISBN 978-0-9544528-1-0. 
  6. ^ The John Lennon Collection at Allmusic
  7. ^ "Discos de oro y platino" (in Spanish). Cámara Argentina de Productores de Fonogramas y Videogramas. Archived from the original on 6 July 2011. Retrieved 9 November 2012. 
  8. ^ "Austrian album certifications – John Lennon – Collection" (in German). IFPI Austria.  Enter John Lennon in the field Interpret. Enter Collection in the field Titel. Select album in the field Format. Click Suchen
  9. ^ "French album certifications – John Lennon – John Lennon Collection" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. 
  10. ^ "Norwegian album certifications – John Lennon – Lennon Collection" (in Norwegian). IFPI Norway. 
  11. ^ "British album certifications – John Lennon – The John Lennon Collection". British Phonographic Industry.  Enter The John Lennon Collection in the field Search. Select Title in the field Search by. Select album in the field By Format. Click Go
  12. ^ "American album certifications – John Lennon – The John Lennon Collection". Recording Industry Association of America.  If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH
Preceded by
The Singles: The First Ten Years by ABBA		 UK Albums Chart number one album
4 December 1982 – 14 January 1983		 Succeeded by
Raiders of the Pop Charts by Various Artists
Preceded by
Love over Gold by Dire Straits		 Australian Kent Music Report number-one album
17 January – 20 February 1983		 Succeeded by
Very Best of the Carpenters
by The Carpenters
John Lennon
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