John Lennon – Imagine Review

An iconic album, no way around it. Imagine is perceived as the most important album in John Lennon’s career. It is far from it. Being locked in a room with piano madman Elton John led to fresher, stronger songs, but the politically tinged image of Lennon in the early years of the 1970s trumped the Saturday Night Live orchestra he had enlisted for his soft rock experience. Imagine, then, remains the most musically clear route between The Beatles and Lennon. It is certainly his most straightforward release since he debuted as a solo artist. Constant teases of what he could do on his own, be it the avant-garde screeches or the collaborations with Plastic Ono Band on the record preceding this, Lennon seemed, to an extent, not quite ready for the responsibility of solo work. This is Lennon writing with truth, or at least, what he perceived as his genuine thoughts at the time.  

Be it the politically charged and pessimistic Imagine, which delighted every soul on earth when celebrities without introspection covered the track and released it as an anthem for pandemic lockdowns, or the jab at Paul McCartney, which hears Lennon remain rattled by the suggestion his politics were performative, Imagine is an album of responses. These are the songs of a man infuriated by the success his former bandmates were having, even Ringo Starr. As it turns out, the squelching madness of Unfinished Music Vol. 1 struggled to find a wider audience. The inverse is true for Imagine, its title track so popular now it has lost most of its meaning, eroded by time, covers, and constant references to it. A cornerstone of culture, washed by the waves of time and a lack of wider reading. A beautiful song, still, but it inches ever closer to Mr. Brightside and Sweet Caroline in its unplayability. Bob Dylan did not have that problem with his political protest, and yet Lennon finds himself hollowed out here.  

Plastic Ono Band remains stronger, then, as Imagine is just the fundamentals of Working Class Hero and God. The oh-so-serious Lennon image does not work when he follows it up with the lighter strums of countrified Crippled Inside, a song which owes much to Nashville Skyline but also charts a softer route through music for Lennon. It is a delightful number, one of many consistent flashes of refreshed musical interest from the ex-Beatle. Subtlety is what wins out for Imagine, something the title track does not have, but How Do You Sleep?, and Give Me Some Truth have plenty of, despite the clear picture painted by the lyrical wit Lennon provides. Yet for all those depths, the likes of Jealous Guy and It’s So Hard remained plain. Solid work, but handwringing and instrumentally aimless. A shame too since those very same aimless instrumentals sound impressive, just patchy.  

It may be a defining moment in culture, but that does not mean it defines Lennon. He would go on to release stronger works, just not songs which were more popular than this. Imagine may stand as his document of rage in times of political strife, but it is Gimme Some Truth which should be the defining track of the album. It does not rob Lennon or the album of quality, though. Its midsection is magnificent, some of the very best pieces of work he would ever write are found here, but more are found in the releases to follow. Imagine is a special release not just because of what it achieved, but because of how it hoodwinked people into believing it is the last great Lennon album. Far from it. How Do You Sleep?, is an evocative and musically sound release, though it misses the mark despite the rage. Anger is what guides Lennon here, though he lets it slip away, puts his guard down, for dud closer Oh Yoko!. Imagine is a rummage through the bin of Lennon’s studio, and most of it is very strong, to be overshadowed in quality by Walls and Bridges.