"A Genius of the Spirit"

The following is a selective description of his work which I've come to know and appreciate: 

The CD's: Since I grew up during John' solo career, I had purchased (and repurchased) all of his releases on vinyl. I approached the move to CD by acquiring the 4 CD box set "Lennon" that was released in 1990. Although this set is not a complete gathering of his solo work, it is quite comprehensive and is of significant value if you don't own any other John Lennon CDs.

Although the "Lennon" set is an effective shortcut, it has certain omissions. A true Lennon fan won't be able to resist filling in the gaps. Of  the "Plastic Ono Band" albums, the ones that were most slighted by the "Lennon" set are "Mind Games" and "Rock 'n' Roll". Truly anal fans will also eventually purchase "Imagine" and "Walls and Bridges". I took my time with the individual catalogue CDs, hoping all the while that they would be remastered before I purchased them.

Worthwhile posthumous releases include "Live in New York City" and "Menlove Avenue" (a collection of "Walls and Bridges" / "Mind Games" demos). Casual fans would do well to pick up "Legend: The Very Best of John Lennon" - the latest entry in a growing list of single disc Lennon compilations. 

In November 1998, Lennon's representation on CD was greatly enhanced by the release of the "John Lennon Anthology". The 4 CD Anthology is a treasure trove of unreleased material, presented in "state of the art" sound (especially when compared to the original "Plastic Ono Band" CDs).

Please Note: In early 2000, the "Imagine" album was reissued in excellent quality. Reissued on what would have been Lennon's 60th birthday, his first solo album. "Plastic Ono Band" and "Double Fantasy" have been granted similar treatment. The improvements on "Plastic Ono Band" are particularly noteworthy. In the fall of 2001,  “Milk and Honey” is reissued and is consistent with the other reissues in terms of improved sound quality and artwork. The reissue of "Mind Games" was released in the UK and Canada in October of 2002. It was issued on November 5th, 2002 in the US. In late summer of 2003, Mobile Fidelity Sound Labs reissued "Imagine", using Yoko's year 2000 mix but with even better sound quality. MFSL follows suit with "Plastic Ono Band" and "Mind Games". Update: The reissue series continues on November 2nd, 2004 with John Lennon's "Rock 'n' Roll" album. On the same day in the US and Canada, the "Acoustic" CD featuring acoustic demos and out takes was also issued. 

On Home Video: Aside from the Beatles, Lennon is fairly well represented on video. Without question, *the* starting point in capturing the essence of Lennon on home video is "Imagine: John Lennon". This 1988 theatrical documentary by David Wolper and Andrew Solt was compiled using more than 240 hours of footage. This video is very well paced and bears up extremely well to repeat viewing. It's quite obvious that this was a "made for theater" work done by professionals who care about their craft. "John Lennon: Live in New York City" is a good example of how the solo Lennon presented himself before an audience - in full activist mode - quite distinct from from his former stage persona as a Beatle. "Imagine" (not to be confused with the 1988 film) is a Lennon - Ono film project that was made in conjunction with the "Imagine" album. Essentially video clips were made for each track on "Imagine" (plus Yoko's "Mrs. Lennon" and "Don't Count the Waves"). "The John Lennon Collection" gathered Lennon's other promotion clips (many of the earlier clips were composed using the "Imagine" footage). Highlights of this video include live versions of "Instant Karma" (Top of the Pops), "Slippin' and Slidin'" and "Stand By Me" (Old Grey Whistle Test). A live version of "Imagine" (from the Lew Grade TV special in 1975) was to be Lennon's last live performance. Another poignant aspect of this video is seeing the promotional footage that was intended for "Double Fantasy". Six of the video clips were produced by Yoko after Lennon's death including "Whatever Gets You Through the Night" which features animated footage of John's drawings. This tactic was later revisited in 1998 for "I'm Losing You" (which has yet to be released on home video).

In early 2000, Lennon has a worthy entry in the DVD market with "Gimme Some Truth: the making of the "Imagine" album". Some of the footage is derivative of the previous "Imagine" video and the 1988 "Imagine: John Lennon" film, however there is enough new footage to make this an interesting, worthwhile documentary. Update: (10/08/03) On November 18th, 2003, a video "best of" collection, "Legend: The Very Best of John Lennon" was released on DVD. It is intended to complement the CD of the same name.

In Print:  Since Lennon had a rather turbulent existence, I find that I favour books that examine the man's music and art rather than his life and personality. In light of this, I highly recommend John Robertson's "The Art and Music Of John Lennon". This book is very concise, well written and rich in detail. It attempts to take a more "scholarly" look at Lennon's whole career, including his art and literary work. This valuable book is probably the closer thing we're going to see to a Lennon "Recording Sessions" book in the foreseeable future.

"We All Shine On" by Paul De Noyer examines the inspiration behind Lennon's song writing. This book does for the solo John Lennon what Steve Turner's "A Hard Day's Write" does for the Beatles' song catalogue. "We All Shine On" has some errors but it does succeed in putting Lennon's songs into the context of the times in which they were written and provides many interesting, sometimes ironic "behind the scene" details. For those of Lennon's generation (who have a first hand recollection of his solo career), this book is a fond stroll down memory lane. For subsequent generation(s), it gives Lennon's music a much needed historical perspective.

Because of Lennon's complex personality, biographical attempts remain a literary challenge. I have yet to read *the* biography that cover all of Lennon's life, including some of the more unflattering aspects. Most authors play it safe with hero worship. The well known exception to this is Albert Goldman's "Lives of John Lennon" which is an blatant attempt at character assassination (that is, if his style were not so extreme, that even a novice would have to question his credibility). Ray Coleman's "Lennon" is very comprehensive and thorough. I get the impression that it is the most accurate with the aspects of Lennon's life that the author chooses to cover. Unlike Goldman, Coleman is highly empathetic of Lennon and because of this, he probably downplays some negative components of Lennon's life. However, for my tastes, a little "whitewashing" is certainly forgivable (even endearing, considering the fact that I'm a Lennon "fan" too). Therefore, Coleman's book is the sole biography that I can recommend - in fact, it's a personal favourite on my bookshelf.

For "coffee table" books, "John Lennon: His Life and Legend" by Richard Buskin is well worth pursuing. "Imagine: John Lennon" is a companion piece to the 1988 theatrical documentary, rich with photographs accompanied with Lennon's quotations from various sources.

For a unique approach, Jon Wiener's "Come Together: John Lennon in His Time" examines the meaning of Lennon's song writing within a political framework. It also includes the controversy surrounding Lennon's "FBI Files". One of the most chilling and difficult books I've ever read is "Let Me Take You Down" by Jack Jones. It deals very directly with the events leading up to Lennon's murder as well as the background and psychology of his killer. Not for the weak of stomach.

For anyone wanting to dig deeper, seek out the many interviews that Lennon participated in. Many of these books are out of print but are available at libraries or used book shops. The two interviews that "bookend" Lennon's solo career are: 1971's Rolling Stone interview with Jann Wenner ("Lennon Remembers") and David Sheff's 1980 interview ("Playboy Interview: with John Lennon and Yoko Ono"). All of Lennon's Rolling Stone interviews (and articles up to 1982) are included in "The Ballad of John and Yoko"; Lennon's 1980 Newsweek interview with Barbara Graustark is contained in "Strawberry Fields Forever: John Lennon Remembered".

For Lennon's non musical literary works, examine "In His Own Write"; "A Spaniard in the Works" and "Skywriting By Word of Mouth". "Skywriting" has a frustratingly brief autobiographical section that was composed for the Broadway musical stage play that Lennon was working on ("The Ballad of John and Yoko"). It gives an example of what could have been...if only...

Bagism Sam Choukri's new John Lennon Web Page.
instant karma! A John Lennon fan publication.
A2's Guide to the Lost Lennon Tapes  is an excellent resource for identifying the gaps in your "Lost Lennon" collection.
The Non-Musical Writings of John Ono Lennon highlights an often overlooked aspect of Lennon's work: his literary contributions.
DOUBLE FANTASY VIDEO mystery PAGE investigates the whereabouts of the missing video footage that was filmed during the August 19, 1980 "Double Fantasy" session with Cheap Trick.
Gimme Some Truth:  Jon Wiener, author of "Come Together: John Lennon In His Time," has written a book detailing his years of doing battle with the FBI to gain access to their files on John Lennon using the Freedom of Information Act. The FBI doesn't like this book.
Other Links: John Lennon: An Annotated Discography ; John Lennon: Acoustic Masterpieces .
Absolute Elsewhere is an extensive multimedia website exploring the life and times of John Lennon and The Beatles through original articles, photos and exclusive interviews.