The John Lennon Collection | ||||
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Compilation album by | ||||
Released | 1 November 1982 (UK) 8 November 1982 (US) | |||
Recorded | June 1969 – October 1980 | |||
Genre | Rock | |||
Length | 69:29 | |||
Label | Parlophone (UK) Geffen (US) | |||
Producer | John Lennon, Yoko Ono, Phil Spector, Jack Douglas | |||
John Lennon chronology | ||||
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Singles from The John Lennon Collection | ||||
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The John Lennon Collection is a 1982 posthumous compilation album of music from John Lennon's solo career.
The album was originally scheduled for release in late 1981, but was held back a year due to legalities since 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 United Kingdom, [nb 1] and on 8 November by Geffen in the United States. [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 to 1975, as well as all but one of his compositions (track 3 - "Cleanup Time") 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." The 1975 hit single "Stand by Me" and "Love", a popular track from the John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band album, were added. 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" only released on the cassette edition. [1]
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 vinyl release, "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)" and "Stand by Me" (these were 'bonus cassette-only tracks' in the US), thereby making the track-listing now identical in both countries.
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
MusicHound | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
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, [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 new picture sleeve, in the US. [nb 6] [6]
The front and back cover photographs for The John Lennon Collection were taken by famed photographer Annie Leibovitz on 8 December 1980; Lennon was murdered later that evening by Mark David Chapman at Lennon's residence The Dakota. [7] [8]
All tracks are written by John Lennon, except where noted
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
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1. | "Give Peace a Chance" | Originally credited to Lennon–McCartney, the credit was revised in the 1990s to cite only Lennon as its composer | 4:52 |
2. | "Instant Karma!" | 3:20 | |
3. | "Power to the People" | 3:16 | |
4. | "Whatever Gets You thru the Night" (Featuring Elton John on harmony vocal & piano) | 3:17 | |
5. | "#9 Dream" | 4:46 | |
6. | "Mind Games" | 4:12 | |
7. | "Love" (Released as a single unique to this collection. Originally released in 1970 on John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band) | 3:22 | |
8. | "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)" (Originally excluded from the US vinyl version, included on cassette and 1989 re-issue) | Lennon/Yoko Ono | 3:33 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
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9. | "Imagine" | Originally credited to Lennon, the credit was revised in the 2010s to cite Ono as co-composer | 3:02 |
10. | "Jealous Guy" | 4:14 | |
11. | "Stand by Me" (Originally excluded from the US vinyl version of this compilation, included on cassette and 1989 re-issue) | Jerry Leiber/Mike Stoller/Ben E. King | 3:25 |
12. | "(Just Like) Starting Over" | 3:55 | |
13. | "Woman" | 3:25 | |
14. | "I'm Losing You" | 3:57 | |
15. | "Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy)" | 4:01 | |
16. | "Watching the Wheels" | 3:31 | |
17. | "Dear Yoko" | 2:33 | |
Total length: | 69:29 |
No. | Title | Length |
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18. | "Move Over Ms. L" (Originally released in 1975 as "Stand by Me"'s B-Side) | 2:56 |
19. | "Cold Turkey" | 5:01 |
Total length: | 77:26 |
Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
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Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
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Argentina (CAPIF) [22] | Gold | 30,000^ |
Austria (IFPI Austria) [23] | Gold | 25,000* |
Australia (ARIA) [24] | 4× Platinum | 280,000^ |
Canada (Music Canada) [25] | Platinum | 100,000^ |
France (SNEP) [26] | Platinum | 300,000* |
Japan (Oricon Charts) | — | 205,000 [14] |
New Zealand (RMNZ) [27] | Platinum | 15,000^ |
Norway (IFPI Norway) [28] | Gold | 25,000* |
Spain (PROMUSICAE) [29] | Platinum | 100,000^ |
United Kingdom (BPI) [30] | 3× Platinum | 900,000^ |
United States (RIAA) [31] | 3× Platinum | 3,000,000^ |
* Sales figures based on certification alone. |
Please Please Me is the debut studio album by the English rock band the Beatles. Produced by George Martin, it was released in the UK on EMI's Parlophone label on 22 March 1963. The album is 14 songs in length, and contains a mixture of cover songs and original material written by the partnership of band members John Lennon and Paul McCartney.
Imagine is the second solo studio album by English musician John Lennon, released on 9 September 1971 by Apple Records. Co-produced by Lennon, his wife Yoko Ono and Phil Spector, the album's elaborate sound contrasts the basic, small-group arrangements of his first album, John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band (1970), while the opening title track is widely considered to be his signature song.
Mind Games is the fourth solo studio album by English musician John Lennon. It was recorded at Record Plant Studios in New York in summer 1973. The album was released in the US on 29 October 1973 and in the UK on 16 November 1973. It was Lennon's first self-produced recording without help from Phil Spector. Like his previous album, the politically topical and somewhat abrasive Some Time in New York City, Mind Games received mixed reviews upon release. It reached number 13 in the UK and number 9 in the US, where it was certified gold in both territories.
Rock 'n' Roll is the sixth solo studio album by English musician John Lennon. Released in February 1975, it is an album of late 1950s and early 1960s songs as covered by Lennon. Recording the album was problematic and spanned an entire year: Phil Spector produced sessions in October 1973 at A&M Studios, and Lennon produced sessions in October 1974 at the Record Plant (East). Lennon was being sued by Morris Levy over copyright infringement of one line in his Beatles song "Come Together". As part of an agreement, Lennon had to include three Levy-owned songs on Rock 'n' Roll. Spector disappeared with the session recordings and was subsequently involved in a motor accident, leaving the album's tracks unrecoverable until the beginning of the Walls and Bridges sessions. With Walls and Bridges coming out first, featuring one Levy-owned song, Levy sued Lennon expecting to see Lennon's Rock 'n' Roll album.
Double Fantasy is the fifth studio album by John Lennon and Yoko Ono, and the final one before his death. Released in November 1980 on Geffen Records, the album marked Lennon's return to recording music full-time, following his five-year hiatus to raise his son Sean. Recording sessions took place at the Hit Factory in New York City between August and October 1980. The final album features songs from both Lennon and Ono, largely alternating between the two in its track listing. Other tracks recorded by Lennon from the sessions were compiled by Ono for release on Milk and Honey in 1984.
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Live Peace in Toronto 1969 is a live album by the Plastic Ono Band, released in December 1969 on Apple Records. Recorded at the Toronto Rock and Roll Revival festival, it was the first live album released by any member of the Beatles separately or together. John Lennon and his wife Yoko Ono received a phone call from the festival's promoters John Brower and Kenny Walker, and then assembled a band on very short notice for the festival, which was due to start the following day. The band included Eric Clapton, Klaus Voormann, and drummer Alan White. The group flew from London, and had brief unamplified rehearsals on the plane before appearing on the stage to perform several songs; one of which, "Cold Turkey", was first performed live at the festival. After returning home, Lennon mixed the album in a day.
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"Happy Xmas (War Is Over)" is a Christmas song released in 1971 as a single by John & Yoko/The Plastic Ono Band with the Harlem Community Choir. It was the seventh single release by John Lennon outside his work with the Beatles. The song reached number four in the UK, where its release was delayed until November 1972, and has occasionally re-emerged on the UK Singles Chart, most notably after Lennon's murder in December 1980, when it peaked at number two.
Lennon Legend: The Very Best of John Lennon is the third official compilation album of John Lennon's solo career, coming after 1975's Shaved Fish and 1982's The John Lennon Collection. Because neither collection spanned Lennon's releases up to and including 1984's Milk and Honey, Lennon Legend: The Very Best of John Lennon – considered the definitive Lennon retrospective – was compiled. It was released in the UK in 1997 through Parlophone and early 1998 in the US by EMI Records.
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Working Class Hero: The Definitive Lennon is a two-disc compilation of music by John Lennon, released in October 2005 on Capitol Records, catalogue CDP 0946 3 40391 2 3, in commemoration of what would have been his 65th birthday. The set contains remixed and remastered versions of his songs, overseen by widow Yoko Ono from 2000 to 2005.
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