John Lennon - Lennon Legend: The Very Best Of John Lennon
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CD Details
Artist: John LennonEdition: Music CD
Audio: English (Original Language)
Format: Limited Edition
Published: 1997
CD Release Date: 1998-02-24
Music Label: Capitol
Product features:
- LENNON JOHN LEGEND
- Imagine
- Instant Karma!
- Mother (Single Edit)
- Jealous Guy
- Power To The People
- Cold Turkey
- Love
- Mind Games
- Whatever Gets You Thru The Night
- No. 9 Dream
- Stand By Me
- (Just Like) Starting Over
- Woman
- Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy)
- Watching The Wheels
- Nobody Told Me
- Borrowed Time
- Working Class Hero
- Happy Xmas (War Is Over)
- Give Peace A Chance
Music reviews of Lennon Legend: The Very Best Of John Lennon
Music Review: Close to definitive compilation for a true music legend
Rating: 5 Stars
This is the first album I've bought by John Lennon, though I have bought albums by the Beatles beforehand (my favourite being "Magical mystery tour"). Purchasing a Lennon compilation was always going to be more likely than buying something by the other Beatle's solo works. That's because Lennon always seemed to have the superior solo songs, as well as having more of them. These songs are my favourites:
Woman- a beautiful love song with a warm sentiment and sweetly sung.
Beautiful boy- a dreamy, delicate and beautiful ode to his young boy Sean. Has an oriental sounding element to the song and some nice Caribbean sounding steel drums.
Happy Christmas (war is over): a song of peace and optimism. Features his wife Yoko and a children's choir. Has jingle bells and accoustic guitar.
Give peace a chance: another peacenik song for this politically and socially active singer. Has a classic singalong chant and an iconic drum pattern. Composed at the time of American involvement in the Vietnam War, which was socially divisive around the world. A great but simple song with a simple beat, claps and chant.
Nobody told me: one of his best ever songs, in my opinion-he was still making great music before he was tragically murdered by a man he had shown kindness too only moments earlier. Has Lennon's trademark sense of whimsy: "There's UFO's over New York and I ain't too suprised".
The above songs are Lennon's greatest, I think.
There are quite a few more songs that I like, though not as much...no doubt many people would like these songs more than the ones I like the best:
Mind games: distinctive keyboard sound (trippy) and a nice quality to his vocals.
#9 dream: a delicate, pretty, ethereal sounding song. Has a violin type sound and a twangy lead guitar. I like Lennon's dreamy vocals and Yoko's sensual words. Reminded me of some of fellow Beatle George Harrison's songs.
(Just like) starting over: a nice song concerning re-invigorating a long term relationship. Nice studio effects added to the song.
Watching the wheels: here we hear Lennon at his reflective best-at peace with himself, life, the world and his place in the scheme of things.
Stand by me: a great cover of Ben E King's classic. Probably the definitive version of this song.
Although it's not a favourite song of mine, you will often see his song "Imagine" top popular/critical polls for the title of the greatest song of all time. It's a spiritual for atheists. Simple, yet thought provoking and idealistic.
Around a year or so ago, Greenday released a version of "Working class hero", which included Lennon singing in the outro. This song has great lyrics-perhaps Lennon's best. With just accoustic guitar accompaniment, Lennon is vitriolic and uses a swear word, but in the context, it is more art than gratuitous.
The last song I'd single out would be "Jealous guy". Perhaps smooth Brit pop group Roxy Music has the most famous version of this song. Lennon's version still stands up well. Features piano and whistling. A documentary I recently saw ("Stuart Sutcliffe: The Lost Beatle") speculated that this song was really about Lennon reflecting on causing the death of ex Beatle Stuart Sutcliffe: "I was dreaming of the past, and my heart was beating fast. I began to lose control. I began to lose control. I didn't mean to hurt you". Lennon was reported to have violently assaulted Stuart which may have caused Stuart to die at a later time due to complications. As I say, this is speculation. It adds an interesting twist to the meaning of the lyrics, which I always took on face value as being about a troubled romantic relationship.
As for the rest of the songs, some notes I made on some of them:
Love: reminds me a bit of Pink Floyd. Piano melody reminds me of the early Beatles period.
Power to the people: has a black, gospel choir sound. Features saxophone.
Cold turkey: about giving up drugs. Has a very deep bass, with a bluesy and very raw sounding lead guitar. Lennon screeches at the end-mirroring withdrawal pains, presumably.
Whatever gets you through the night: features saxophone, clapping. Not sure, but it seems to be mixed with another song as well. Has a ragtime piano sounding outro.
Borrowed time: features scat at the end.
John Lennon is a musician you can honestly call a "legend", so the album is aptly titled. Some minor quibbles: it would have been interesting to have some of Lennon's darker material, like "How do you sleep at night", which I've never heard before, but which was a vitriolic pot-shot at fellow ex Beatle Paul McCartney. The inclusion of "Mother" is welcome...it's a vitriolic pot-shot at his mother-well, maybe more a pained lament than a vitriolic pot-shot. And lastly, I first heard "Real love" on the Beatles "Anthology" which aired on tv many years ago. Absolutely loved that song. One of the Beatles best. It was based on a Lennon solo song. I've heard two versions of that...one which really didn't do very much for me, and another version which is closer to the finished product released by the surviving members of The Beatles for "Anthology". That version is a glaring omission from this compilation. Otherwise, this is an excellent compilation.
Description of Lennon Legend: The Very Best Of John Lennon
Imagine a place where the personal, political, and emotional elements of John Lennon's music converge together seamlessly in one cohesive production. An assortment of his finest solo work, Lennon Legend: The Very Best of John Lennon is of great interest to anyone who's ever been a fan of the Beatles, the Plastic Ono Band, Yoko Ono, or simply the genius himself. Ranging from a rendition of Ben E. King's "Stand By Me" to the sounds of the Plastic Ono Band and the Harlem Community Choir on "Happy Xmas" and the classic anti-war anthem "Give Peace A Chance", the recordings assembled here stand as a testament to one of rock's most complex and influential musical talents. If you believe that Lennon's greatest period of creativity came to an end with the Beatles, you owe yourself a listen to this album.
John Lennon Photos
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More from John Lennon
 Imagine |  John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band |  The U.S. vs. John Lennon |
 Mind Games |  Working Class Hero |  Walls and Bridges |
John Lennon's solo work has been anthologized so many times that it's hard to believe there wasn't a definitive compilation before this one. And, depending on your particular take, you might not find Lennon Legend quite hitting the mark. However, since it does contain the brilliantly scathing "Working Class Hero," doesn't ignore the woefully underrated Rock 'n' Roll album, and catches the hopeful renewal that came toward the end of his foreshortened life, it's probably about as close as anyone's going to come. His great songs shine, meditations like "Imagine" and his rockers had form and content, as in "Whatever Gets You Through the Night." He was an icon, and this does him justice. --Chris Nickson
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