John Lennon Ultimate

John Lennon’s birthday today, October 9, is marked by the release of a new deluxe and expanded version of Imagine (The Ultimate Collection). The set is now available to stream and download, and features the entire full-length collection of tracks, some of which have previously only been available on Blu-Ray, in Hi-Res Stereo and Spatial Audio/Dolby Atmos. Yoko Ono Lennon and Sean Ono Lennon have sent a note to Lennon’s legions of fans worldwide to explain that each set of mixes from the compilation – Ultimate, Elements, Evolution, Raw Studio and Out-Takes – has been released as a separate album. This allows his songs to be enjoyed in the way that was originally intended, curated by Yoko Ono Lennon, rather than release all 78 tracks from the themed retrospective in one vast playlist.

From the haunting, funereal bells and emotional wails of opening track “Mother,” it was immediate – John Lennon’s first solo studio album was unlike anything he had made before. Recorded in 1970, shortly after the demise of The Beatles, John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band saw John stripping away the artifice and ornamentation for a visceral artistic exorcism that was confessional, raw, painfully honest, and revelatory. Inspired by the primal scream psychotherapy he and wife Yoko Ono had been practicing with Dr. Arthur Janov, John, joined by the minimalist Plastic Ono Band – Ringo Starr on drums and Klaus Voormann on bass, and producer Phil Spector – confronted his demons, professed his love for his wife, railed against false idols and declared the dream was over on his most personal album. Today it stands as the towering achievement of his solo career – the moment the biggest rock star in the world bared his soul for all to hear – as real as it was revolutionary.

Completely remixed from original multitracks, overseen by producer Yoko Ono Lennon, featuring Ringo Starr, Klaus Voormann, George Harrison, Eric Clapton, Billy Preston & Phil Spector. Ultimate Mixes, Outtakes, Elements, Raw Studio, Evolution, Demos, Jams & Yoko Live Sessions…

On October 5, Universal Music celebrates the apex of John Lennon’s solo career with a six-disc box set, Imagine – The Ultimate Collection. This historical, remixed and remastered 140-track collection is fully authorised by Yoko Ono Lennon who oversaw the production and creative direction. Spread across four CDs and two Blu-ray discs, this truly unique expanded edition offers a variety of listening experiences that are at once immersive and intimate, ranging from the brand new Ultimate Mixes of the iconic album, which reveal whole new levels of sonic depth, definition and clarity to these timeless songs, to the Raw Studio Mixes that allow listeners to hear Lennon and the Plastic Ono Band’s original, unadorned performances, to enveloping 5.1 surround sound mixes, and a Quadrasonic Album Mix, presenting the original four speaker mix remastered in Quadrasonic sound for the first time in nearly fifty years.

Released on John Lennon's 80th birthday, Gimme Some Truth: The Ultimate Mixes is designed as a deluxe celebration of Lennon's solo catalog….

Released on John Lennon's 80th birthday, Gimme Some Truth: The Ultimate Mixes is designed as a deluxe celebration of Lennon's solo catalog. Housed in a slipcover and bearing a handsome 124-page hardcover book with some nice song-by-song liner notes culled from Lennon interviews, Gimme Some Truth covers rather familiar territory in terms of songs – there are 36 here, starting with "Instant Karma! (We All Shine On)" and running through the posthumous hit "Nobody Told Me," hitting nearly all the familiar points along the way (Some Time in New York City, which was bypassed on 2010's Power to the People: The Hits, is represented here by "Angela," a deep cut making its debut on a hits compilation).

Written, recorded and released January 1970, in a span of just ten days, Instant Karma! was to become one of John Lennon’s most popular singles, reaching #5 in the UK and #2 in the US. Featuring George Harrison alongside bassist Klaus Voormann, drummer Alan White and keyboardist Billy Preston, it marked the first time any Beatle collaborated with legendary producer Phil Spector, who later that year worked on the band’s final album (Let It Be) and solo albums from John and George. Newly mixed audio.