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After the pacifist fervors and before the pseudo-political and radical turn in New York, Lennon managed to record what would become his most representative and famous solo album of his career. In the peace of his English villa at Tittenhurst Park, properly equipped with a private recording studio, John recorded Imagine. The album, co-produced by the usual Phil Spector, also benefited from George Harrison's guitar and Klaus Vormann's bass (the same as POB).
The most important song on the album is certainly "Imagine," which, as we all know, became an epochal anthem. A great idealistic, pacifist meaning but not at all predictable, coupled with an easy and catchy melody. This is not only the gist of the song but practically of the entire album which is perhaps just an appendix to the great success.
"Crippled Inside," the song that follows the title track, is nice, a somewhat gloomy ragtime, a mocking rhythm, and some pretty good reflections. Then comes "Jealous Guy," a love ballad, (the man apologizing to the woman, the first of a long series with this theme for John) among the best on the album, with a dainty arrangement, violins, touching and sincere. Finally, with "It’s So Hard," the album ventures into rock, a gritty, fatalistic blues (interesting the string section added by Spector). We return to pacifism with a confusing but original song to the point of making it enjoyable: "I Don’t Wanna Be A Soldier Mama". And then we reach a more political, anti-alienation concept with "Gimme Some Truth," with Lennon lashing out against various institutions, but the main component is the enveloping rhythm. "Oh My Love" is a love anthem of John and Yoko, delicate, silent, and hopeful, easy to listen to, with a beautiful piano arrangement. After love comes hate with "How Do You Sleep?," an angry blues, a stone hurled smack in the face of old friend Paul, with very harsh phrases, full of resentment and hostility, a low blow that Macca certainly did not deserve, nonetheless, it's a fine Arabian-style blues.
The existential doubt is not missing even in this album. "How" is one of the best tracks on Imagine, a simple rhythmic pop, catchy, not arrogant, natural, and in tune with the album. Finally, the last song: "Oh Yoko." Already from the title, we understand who we are talking about, and the track, despite the title (as some would say), appears very lively, less baroque than the others. The arrangement features a brilliant piano, a bouncy rhythm, and a catchy melody.
Much less original and raw than Plastic Ono Band, Imagine still manages to offer a bunch of enjoyable songs at a good musical and poetic level. Soft, sugary, melodic, and with an arrangement that is anything but veiled. It was the last successful album for Lennon, who after 1971 would experience lean and troubled years. An album to listen to perhaps more than once, for soft ears, it has many things to say, even if it doesn't always say them extraordinarily. A must-buy, not only for John fans. A nice album, but we can already hear the first symptoms of the hazy boredom of Lennon's future works.
Tracklist Lyrics Samples and Videos
01 Imagine (03:02)
Imagine there's no heaven
It's easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us only sky
Imagine all the people
Living for today
Imagine there's no countries,
It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace
You...you may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope some day you'll join us
And the world will be as one
Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world
You...you may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope some day you'll join us
And the world will live as one
02 Crippled Inside (03:47)
You can shine your shoes and wear a suit
You can comb your hair and look quite cute
You can hide your face behind a smile
One thing you can't hide
is when you're crippled inside
You can wear a mask and paint your face
You can call yourself the human race
You can wear a collar and a tie
One thing you can't hide
is when you're crippled inside
Well now you know that your cat had nine lives babe
Nine lives to itself
But you only got one
And a dog's life ain't fun
Mamma take a look outside.
You can go to church and sing a hymn
Judge me by the colour of my skin
You can live a lie until you die
One thing you can't hide
is when you're crippled inside.
03 Jealous Guy (04:14)
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,
I'm sorry that i made you cry,
I didn't want to hurt you,
I'm just a jealous guy.
I was feeling insecure,
You might not love me anymore,
I was shivering inside,
I was shivering inside,
I didn't mean to hurt you,
I'm sorry that i made you cry,
I didn't want to hurt you,
I'm just a jealous guy.
I didn't mean to hurt you,
I'm sorry that i made you cry,
I didn't want to hurt you,
I'm just a jealous guy.
I was tryin' to catch your eye,
Thought that you was tryin' to hide,
I was swallowing my pain,
I was swallowing my pain,
I didn't mean to hurt you,
I'm sorry that i made you cry,
I didn't want to hurt you,
I'm just a jealous guy.
I'm just a jealous guy,
I'm just a jealous guy,
I'm just a jealous guy.
04 It's So Hard (02:26)
You gotta live
You gotta love
You gotta be somebody
You gotta shove
But it's so hard, it's really hard Sometimes I feel like going down
You gotta eat
You gotta drink
You gotta feel something
You gotta worry
But it's so hard, it's really hard
Sometimes I feel like going down
But when it's good
It's really good
And when I hold you in my arms baby
Sometimes I feel like going down
You gotta run
You gotta hide
You gotta keep your woman satisfied
But it's so hard, it's really hard
Sometimes I feel like going down
06 Gimme Some Truth (03:15)
I'm sick and tired of hearing things
From uptight, short-sighted, narrow-minded hypocritics
All I want is the truth
Just gimme some truth
I've had enough of reading things
By neurotic, psychotic, pig-headed politicians
All I want is the truth
Just gimme some truth
No short-haired, yellow-bellied, son of tricky dicky
Is gonna mother hubbard soft soap me
With just a pocketful of hope
Money for dope
Money for rope
No short-haired, yellow-bellied, son of tricky dicky
Is gonna mother hubbard soft soap me
With just a pocketful of soap
Money for dope
Money for rope
I'm sick to death of seeing things
From tight-lipped, condescending, mama's little chauvinists
All I want is the truth
Just gimme some truth now
I've had enough of watching scenes
Of schizophrenic, ego-centric, paranoiac, prima-donnas
All I want is the truth now
Just gimme some truth
No short-haired, yellow-bellied, son of tricky dicky
Is gonna mother hubbard soft soap me
With just a pocketful of soap
It's money for dope
Money for rope
Ah, I'm sick and tired of hearing things
from uptight, short-sighted, narrow-minded hypocrites
All I want is the truth now
Just gimme some truth now
I've had enough of reading things
by neurotic, psychotic, pig-headed politicians
All I want is the truth now
Just gimme some truth now
All I want is the truth now
Just gimme some truth now
All I want is the truth
Just gimme some truth
All I want is the truth
Just gimme some truth
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Other reviews
By Kecco
John Lennon, a man, a story, a symbol... sit on a comfortable sofa, close your eyes, and instead of eating a togo, put on this song.
Imagine there's no Heaven... try... it's easy no hell below us above us only sky... imagine all the people living for today...
By katharsys
The pseudo-pacifist and politicized echoes of the flower children’s era were reflected in one of the artists who had made the most genuine part of the beat generation great, ruining the social and mental setup of an undoubtedly influential man.
Honor to John Lennon’s assassin. He freed us from a criminal and much other socialist and repetitive music.
By simo ghelli
"Jealous Guy" is a masterpiece ballad, conceivable only by an ex-Beatle.
The greatness of this song and of Lennon lies in this: 'being beautiful and simple for what one is.'
By paolofreddie
Imagine a world where you can make a difference, a world without borders where opportunities come in cascades.
No hatred, no anger, no sadness, no depression! You are in the universe as a world citizen.
