John Lennon Anthology

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John Lennon Anthology
AnthologyJohnLennoncover.jpg
Box set by
Released2 November 1998 (1998-11-02)
RecordedJune 1969 – November 1980
Genre Rock
Length267:51
Label Capitol/EMI
Producer Yoko Ono and Rob Stevens
CompilerYoko Ono
John Lennon chronology
Lennon Legend: The Very Best of John Lennon
(1997)
John Lennon Anthology
(1998)
Instant Karma: All-Time Greatest Hits
(2002)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [1]
Paste Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [2]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [3]
Wall of Sound 72/100 [4]

John Lennon Anthology is a four-CD box set of home demos, studio outtakes and other previously unreleased material recorded by John Lennon over the course of his solo career from "Give Peace a Chance" in 1969 up until the 1980 sessions for Double Fantasy and Milk and Honey .

Contents

The anthology was divided by its compiler and co-producer, Yoko Ono, into four discs representing four eras in Lennon's solo career: "Ascot", "New York City", "The Lost Weekend" and "Dakota". [5]

John Lennon Anthology reached number 62 in the United Kingdom and number 99 in the United States, where it went gold. [6]

A one-disc distillation of the highlights of the box set was released as Wonsaponatime . Many of the tracks were edited down from their versions on John Lennon Anthology. Wonsaponatime failed to reach the US charts but peaked at number 76 in the UK. [6]

Track listing

All songs were written by John Lennon, except where noted.

Disc 1 (Ascot)
  1. "Working Class Hero" – 4:19
  2. "God" – 3:32
  3. "I Found Out" – 3:47
    • 1970 home recording
  4. "Hold On" – 0:43
  5. "Isolation" – 3:46
  6. "Love" – 2:43
  7. "Mother" – 3:49
  8. "Remember" – 2:44
  9. "Imagine (take 1)" (John Lennon) – 3:21
    • From 8-track Imagine sessions (1971)
  10. "'Fortunately'" – 0:19
    • Excerpted from BBC documentary 24 Hours: The World of John and Yoko (1969)
  11. "Baby Please Don't Go" (Walter Ward) – 4:04
  12. "Oh My Love" (Lennon/Ono) – 2:53
  13. "Jealous Guy" – 4:10
    • Tracks 11–13 taken from 8-track Imagine sessions (1971)
  14. "Maggie Mae" (Trad. Arr. John Lennon/Paul McCartney/George Harrison/Richard Starkey) – 0:52
    • 1979 home recording
  15. "How Do You Sleep?" – 5:20
    • From 8-track Imagine sessions (1971)
  16. "God Save Oz" (Lennon/Ono) – 3:27
    • From 8-track master for Bill Elliott and the Elastic Oz Band (1971)
  17. "Do the Oz" (Lennon/Ono) – 3:08
    • From original 2-track master single mix (1971)
  18. "I Don't Want to Be a Soldier" – 5:20
    • From 8-track Imagine sessions (1971)
  19. "Give Peace a Chance" – 1:52
    • From 4-track rehearsal tapes prior to master recording (1969)
  20. "Look at Me" – 2:50
  21. "Long Lost John" (Trad Arr. John Lennon) – 2:14
Disc 2 (New York City)
  1. "New York City" – 0:55
    • Home recording (1971)
  2. "Attica State" (live) (Lennon/Ono) – 4:25
  3. "Imagine" (live) – 3:11
    • Track 2 & 3 taken from a live performance at the Apollo (1971)
  4. "Bring on the Lucie (Freeda Peeple)" – 4:07
  5. "Woman Is the Nigger of the World" (Lennon/Ono) – 0:39
    • Home recording (1971)
  6. "Geraldo Rivera – One to One Concert" – 0:39
  7. "Woman Is the Nigger of the World" (live) (Lennon/Ono) – 5:14
  8. "It's So Hard" (live) – 3:09
  9. "Come Together" (live) (John Lennon/Paul McCartney) – 4:19
    • Tracks 6–9 taken from a live performance at One to One concert (1972)
  10. "Happy Xmas" (Ono/Lennon) – 3:32
    • Rough mix (1971)
  11. "The Luck of the Irish" (live) (Lennon/Ono) – 3:42
  12. "John Sinclair" (live) – 3:43
    • Tracks 11 & 12 taken from John Sinclair benefit concert (1971)
  13. "The David Frost Show" – 0:52
    • TV audio (1971)
  14. "Mind Games (I Promise)" – 1:01
  15. "Mind Games (Make Love, Not War)" – 1:14
    • Tracks 14 & 15 taken from home recording (1970)
  16. "One Day (At a Time)" – 3:13
  17. "I Know (I Know)" – 3:13
    • Home recording (1973)
  18. "I'm the Greatest" – 3:37
    • From 16-track rehearsals. The song was later given to Ringo Starr (1973)
  19. "Goodnight Vienna" – 2:42
    • From 16-track demo. The song was later given to Ringo (1974)
  20. "Jerry Lewis Telethon" – 1:59
    • TV audio (1972)
  21. "' A Kiss Is Just a Kiss '" (Herman Hupfeld) – 0:11
    • Home vignette (1976)
  22. "Real Love" – 4:13
    • Piano demo (1979)
  23. "You Are Here" – 4:55
Disc 3 (The Lost Weekend)
  1. "What You Got" – 1:14
    • Home recording (1974)
  2. "Nobody Loves You (When You're Down and Out)" – 5:38
  3. "Whatever Gets You thru the Night (home)" – 0:38
    • Home recording (1974)
  4. "Whatever Gets You thru the Night (studio)" – 3:33
  5. "Yesterday (parody)" (John Lennon/Paul McCartney) – 0:33
  6. "Be-Bop-A-Lula" (Gene Vincent/Tex Davis) – 2:52
  7. "Rip It Up/Ready Teddy" (Robert Blackwell/John Marascalco) – 2:32
  8. "Scared" – 5:02
  9. "Steel and Glass" – 4:46
  10. "Surprise, Surprise (Sweet Bird of Paradox)" – 2:58
  11. "Bless You" – 4:15
  12. "Going Down on Love" – 0:54
  13. "Move Over Ms. L" – 3:10
  14. "Ain't She Sweet" (Yellen/Ager) – 0:28
  15. "Slippin' and Slidin'" (Richard Penniman/Bocage/Collins/Smith) – 2:28
  16. "Peggy Sue" (Jerry Allison/Buddy Holly/Norman Petty) – 1:18
  17. "Bring It On Home to Me/Send Me Some Lovin'" (Sam Cooke)/(John Marascalco, Leo Price) – 3:50
  18. "Phil and John 1" – 2:13
  19. "Phil and John 2" – 2:00
  20. "Phil and John 3" – 0:54
  21. "'When in Doubt, Fuck It'" – 0:09
  22. "Be My Baby" (Phil Spector/Ellie Greenwich/Jeff Barry) – 4:32
  23. "Stranger's Room" – 3:17
    • Home recording (1980)
  24. "Old Dirt Road" (John Lennon/Harry Nilsson) – 3:54
Disc 4 (Dakota)
  1. "I'm Losing You" – 4:06
  2. "Sean's 'Little Help'" – 0:57
    • Home recording (1979)
  3. "Serve Yourself" – 3:47
  4. "My Life" – 2:36
    • Tracks 3–4 Home recordings (1980)
  5. "Nobody Told Me" – 3:31
  6. "Life Begins at 40" – 2:23
    • Home recording (1980)
  7. "I Don't Wanna Face It" – 3:31
  8. "Woman" – 4:01
    • Home recording (1980)
  9. "Dear Yoko" – 2:33
  10. "Watching the Wheels" – 3:04
    • Home recording (1980)
  11. "I'm Stepping Out" – 4:19
  12. "Borrowed Time" – 3:57
  13. "The Rishi Kesh Song" – 2:26
    • Tracks 12 & 13 from home recordings (1980)
  14. "Sean's 'Loud'" – 0:33
    • Home recording (1979)
  15. "Beautiful Boy" – 4:11
  16. "Mr. Hyde's Gone (Don't Be Afraid)" – 2:41
    • Home recording (1980)
  17. "Only You" (Ande Rand/Buck Ram) – 3:24
    • From 16-track studio work tape from the Ringo Starr Goodnight Vienna sessions (1974)
  18. "Grow Old with Me" – 3:18
    • Home recording (1980) with orchestration by George Martin. Original demo appears on Milk and Honey.
  19. "Dear John" – 2:13
    • Home recording (1980)
  20. "The Great Wok" – 3:13
    • Home recording (1979)
  21. "Mucho Mungo" – 1:24
    • Home recording (1976)
  22. "Satire 1" – 2:20
  23. "Satire 2" – 4:34
  24. "Satire 3" – 0:45
  25. "Sean's "In the Sky" " – 1:22
  26. "It's Real" – 1:05
    • Tracks 22–26 taken from home recordings (1979)

Wonsaponatime

Wonsaponatime
JohnLennon-albums-wonsaponatime.jpg
Compilation album by
John Lennon
Released2 November 1998 (1998-11-02)
RecordedSeptember 1970 – late 1980
Genre Rock
Length69:45
Label Capitol/EMI
Producer Yoko Ono, Rob Stevens
John Lennon chronology
Lennon Legend: The Very Best of John Lennon
(1997)
Wonsaponatime
(1998)
Instant Karma: All-Time Greatest Hits
(2002)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [7]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [3]
Tracklisting

All songs written by Lennon, except where noted.

  1. "I'm Losing You" – 3:56
  2. "Working Class Hero" – 3:58
  3. "God" – 3:16
  4. "How Do You Sleep?" – 5:00
  5. "Imagine" (Lennon/Ono) – 3:05
  6. "Baby Please Don't Go" (Walter Ward) – 4:04
  7. "Oh My Love" ((Lennon/Ono) – 2:43
  8. "God Save Oz" (Lennon/Ono) – 3:20
  9. "I Found Out" – 3:47
  10. "Woman Is the Nigger of the World" (live) – 5:14
  11. "'A Kiss Is Just A Kiss'" (Herman Hupfeld) – 0:11
  12. "Be-Bop-A-Lula" (Gene Vincent/T. Davis) – 2:40
  13. "Rip It Up/Reddy Teddy" (Blackwell/Marascalo) – 2:26
  14. "What You Got" – 1:14
  15. "Nobody Loves You (When You're Down and Out)" – 5:02
  16. "I Don't Wanna Face It" – 3:31
  17. "Real Love" – 4:07
  18. "Only You" (Buck Ram/Ande Rand) – 3:24
  19. "Grow Old with Me" – 3:18
  20. "Sean's "In The Sky" " – 1:22 - Spoken Words
  21. "Serve Yourself" – 3:47

Certifications

Certifications for John Lennon Anthology
RegionCertification Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA) [8] Gold125,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

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References

  1. https://www.allmusic.com/album/r380182/review
  2. Kemp, Mark (23 October 2007). "John Lennon – Reissues". Paste . Retrieved 13 October 2014.
  3. 1 2 "John Lennon: Album Guide | Rolling Stone Music". Rollingstone.com. Archived from the original on 9 February 2014. Retrieved 16 August 2014.
  4. Schwager, Jeff (March 2001). "Wall of Sound Review: John Lennon Anthology". Wall of Sound. Archived from the original on 11 April 2001. Retrieved 7 June 2016.
  5. "John Lennon Anthology". The Beatles Bible. 6 August 2010. p. 1. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
  6. 1 2 "John Lennon Anthology". The Beatles Bible. 6 August 2010. p. 3. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
  7. https://www.allmusic.com/album/r380185/review
  8. "American album certifications – John Lennon – John Lennon Anthology". Recording Industry Association of America . Retrieved 27 December 2022.