| 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] "Cleanup Time" was later collected for the first time on the 1990 box set Lennon .
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 | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [4] |
| MusicHound |  [5] |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 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
|
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| 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. | ||
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). The opening title track is widely considered to be his signature song.
Mind Games is the third 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 fifth and final solo studio album by English musician John Lennon. Released in February 1975, it is an album of rock and roll songs from the late 1950s and early 1960s as covered by Lennon. Recording the album was troubled 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.
Walls and Bridges is the fourth solo studio album by English musician John Lennon. It was issued by Apple Records on 26 September 1974 in the United States and on 4 October in the United Kingdom. Written, recorded and released during his 18-month separation from Yoko Ono, the album captured Lennon in the midst of his "Lost Weekend". Walls and Bridges was an American number-one album on both the Billboard and Record World charts and included two hit singles, "Whatever Gets You thru the Night" and "#9 Dream". The first of these was Lennon's first number-one hit in the United States as a solo artist, and his only solo chart-topping single in either the US or Britain during his lifetime.
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.
Unfinished Music No. 2: Life with the Lions is the second of three collaborative experimental albums of avant-garde music by John Lennon and Yoko Ono, released in May 1969 on Zapple, a sub label of Apple. It was a successor to 1968's highly controversial Unfinished Music No. 1: Two Virgins, and was followed by the Wedding Album. The album peaked in the United States at number 174, 50 places lower than the previous album. The album, whose title is a play on words of the BBC Radio show Life with The Lyons, was recorded at Queen Charlotte's Hospital in London and live at Cambridge University, in November 1968 and March 1969, respectively. The Cambridge performance, to which Ono had been invited and to which she brought Lennon, was Lennon and Ono's second as a couple. A few of the album's tracks were previewed by the public, thanks to Aspen magazine. The album was remastered in 1997.
Anthology 1 is a compilation album of music by the Beatles, released on 20 November 1995 by Apple Records as part of The Beatles Anthology series. It features rarities, outtakes and live performances from the period 1958–64, including songs with original bass player Stuart Sutcliffe and drummer Pete Best. It is the first in a trilogy of albums with Anthology 2 and Anthology 3, all of which tie in with the televised special The Beatles Anthology. It contains "Free as a Bird", the first new Beatles song in 25 years, which was released as a single two weeks after Anthology 1.
"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 released 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.
Wings over America is a triple live album by the British–American rock band Wings, released in December 1976. The album was recorded during the American leg of the band's 1975–76 Wings Over the World tour. It peaked at number 8 on the UK Albums Chart and reached number 1 on the US Billboard Top LPs & Tape chart.
John Lennon was a British singer-songwriter and peace activist, best known as the co-founder of the Beatles. After three experimental albums with Yoko Ono, using tape loops, interviews, musique concrète, and other avant-garde performance techniques, Lennon's solo career properly began with the 1969 single "Give Peace a Chance". Lennon then released two more singles, "Cold Turkey" (1969) and "Instant Karma!" (1970), and a live album, Live Peace in Toronto (1969), before the official break-up of the Beatles.
Milk and Honey is the sixth and final collaborative album by John Lennon and Yoko Ono, released in January 1984, three years after Lennon’s murder. It is Lennon's eighth and final album, and the first posthumous release of new Lennon music, having been recorded in the last months of his life during and following the sessions for his 1980 album Double Fantasy. It was assembled by Yoko Ono in association with the Geffen label.
Best of Bowie is a greatest hits album by English recording artist David Bowie. Released in October 2002, four months after the critical and commercial success of the Heathen album, the songs range from his second album, David Bowie (1969) to Heathen (2002). A DVD, also titled Best of Bowie, was also released.
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.
Stage is the second live album by the English musician David Bowie, recorded on the Isolar II Tour, and released through RCA Records in 1978. Stage has been reissued numerous times, each with expanded track listings.
"Woman" is a song written and performed by English singer John Lennon from his 1980 album Double Fantasy. The track was chosen by Lennon to be the second single released from the Double Fantasy album, and it was the first Lennon single issued after his murder on 8 December 1980. The B-side of the single is Yoko Ono's song "Beautiful Boys".
"Every Man Has a Woman Who Loves Him" is a song by Yoko Ono from the album Double Fantasy with John Lennon. Other versions were released, including one released as a single where Ono's voice was removed, leaving what had been Lennon's backing vocal as the primary vocal.
Live at the BBC is a 1994 compilation album featuring performances by the Beatles that were originally broadcast on various BBC Light Programme radio shows from 1963 to 1965. The mono album, available in multiple formats but most commonly as a two-CD set, consists of 56 songs and 13 tracks of dialogue; 30 of the songs had never been issued previously by the Beatles. It was the first official release by the Beatles of previously unreleased performances since The Beatles at the Hollywood Bowl in 1977 and the first containing previously unreleased songs since their final studio album, Let It Be, in 1970.
Tina! is a greatest hits album by American singer Tina Turner, released in North America on September 30, 2008, by Capitol Records and in Germany on October 17, 2008. The album was later expanded to a three-disc set titled The Platinum Collection, released in Europe on February 23, 2009, by Parlophone to coincide with the European leg of Turner's tour.
