Imagine

by John Lennon | Goto MP3 Songs Page

"Re-Imagined classic with new digital mix sounds great"
By Wayne Klein "If at first the idea is not absu...
(My Little Blue Window, USA) - See all my reviews

What is it about Lennon's Imagine that makes it his most popular work? If Plastic Ono Band showed Lennon finally grabbling with the demons of his youth, Imagine demonstrated that Lennon hadn't abandoned his songcraft. He also hadn't allowed that songcraft to overshadow the content of his songs (as on later solo albums Mind Games and Walls & Bridges). There is a maturity in the best songs from Imagine that was only hinted at previously.

If you already own Imagine is it worth buying again? It depends on how much you like the album. The depth, clarity and overall sound quality has been greatly improved. You won't hear any striking differences in the mix as Yoko Ono and engineer Peter Cobbin have remained faithful to the original mix as much as possible. I've read several reviews here about how the sound doesn't "jump out" at you like the outtakes from the Anthology boxset. There's a simple reason for this; the outtakes were no frills takes without overdubbing. Additionally, those tracks were unfamiliar to most fans (except those who had the bootleg boxset)and that unfamiliarity (along with the minor differences between the different takes)allowed one to listen to them with a fresh set of ears. Imagine has become overfamiliar to most folks just from all the radio airplay most of the songs have received over the years.

The booklet isn't a huge improvement over the original CD booklet. It does have some rare and previously unpublished photos. The lyrics were printed on both the original album sleeve and the CD reissue and they are here as well. What this album lacks is a bit more information on the recording sessions themselves. It would have been interesting to see Imagine reissued in a simliar fashion to McCartney's Band On The Run reissue from last year. While the Band On The Run reissue wasn't perfect, McCartney at least attempted to provide added value with the interview portions and live takes on the second disc. Still, one can only imagine (pardon the pun) all the criticism Yoko would have received if she had attempted to "tamper" with this classic recording even more than she did.

Is Imagine worth purchasing again? If you love the album then the answer is yes. The sound on the original CD was pretty poor (partially due to the condition of the mastertapes). This remix brings new vitality to a handful of great (and a couple of not so great) songs. Imagine wasn't Lennon's definitive statement as an artist. However its boldest and best tracks rank up there with the best material Lennon wrote both with the Beatles and as a solo artist.