Lennon Anthology Timeline

Anthology Background (and preface to the chronology):Many fans may not realize that EMI-U.K. intended to release a box set of John Lennon's outtakes  in 1974, with Mark Lewisohn's involvement. This box set would have varied significantly from the "Lennon Anthology" that Capitol Records in the U.S., released in November of 1998. When I was preparing this web site, I approached the fine folks at "rec.music.beatles" for specific details about this. The following info (in blue text) was generously sent to me in an E-mail, within 24 hours after my request:

"When Lennon's contract with EMI, expired on January 26, 1976, there existed 477 reels of studio outtakes of his solo recordings (up to 1976). Since EMI paid for Lennon's recording sessions, they had the rights to ownership of his tapes. EMI already had the 8 track tapes for "John Lennon / Plastic Ono Band " since it was recorded at Abbey Road Studio. After Lennon relocated to New York on August 13, 1971, his other recordings (which included mixes and multitracks) were stored in the U.S. (including "Imagine" which was recorded at Tittenhurst, England.)

EMI had been concerned that these tapes would deteriorate if they were not looked after properly They finally acquired these recordings in the late 1980's, at which time, the tapes were shipped back to the U.K. (in cardboard boxes!) Digital safety copies were made in the States prior to the tapes being sent to the U.K.. (Imagine if the originals had been lost without safety copies being made!)  When the tapes arrived, a lot of the boxes had John's hand written notes and even some lyrics.

Yoko & EMI agreed to produce a box set comprised of some of these unreleased tracks plus some home demos, etc. (which Yoko had just made available to Westwood One to air on their "Lost Lennon Tapes" radio series). Mark Lewisohn spent about six month's between 1990 and 1993 cataloguing the tapes (in a similar vein to what he had done with the Beatles material). Every Lennon take had a vocal (which he would re-record if the take proved worthy) and so every take was a possible candidate for inclusion. Mark Lewisohn drew up a list of the "interesting" takes.

Test CDs were struck and sent to Yoko for approval. However, as things sometimes do, nothing became of these discs.¹ Some of the tracks on the EMI version that didn't make it onto the Capital version of the Anthology include : "Just Because" (the full take, with John greeting Paul, George & Ringo after saying goodnight to the listeners).² An alternative version of "Cold Turkey" considered to be such a strong track that apparently there was even talk of it being a single to showcase the album), a demo of "Gimme Some Truth" recorded at Tittenhurst Park, a two-track mono tape of "Luck of The Irish" recorded in November, 1971 which ended with J&Y whispering "Rolling Stone is a rip-off." [ala "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)"]. This was supposedly because John  was cheesed off that RS had issued the "Working Class Hero" interview in book format without consulting him. Also included were many more tracks from the Phil Spector "Rock 'n' Roll" sessions (which were recorded on 16 track-tape).

(These comments were reposted with minor revisions. Many thanks to "Bearman" for this information)

¹ Mark Lewisohn's absence from the Anthology project after 1994 had to do with a subsequent falling out with Yoko. In preparation for his book, "A Day in the Life", (published in 1995) Mark Hertsgaard gained access to Beatles' session tapes through Mark Lewisohn. Lewisohn had been granted permission by EMI to allow Hertsgaard into the studio. However, Yoko and George Harrison took exception to this and placed the blame entirely on Lewisohn. The fact that EMI had granted permission was completely overlooked and EMI conveniently allowed Lewisohn to be the fall guy. Besides this, Yoko was also displeased with a BBC special and book that Lewisohn was working on with Kevin Howlett. In spite of these incidents, the fact remains that at some point after 1994, it became important to Yoko to revise the concept for the Anthology.
(These comments were compiled from information posted to "rec.music.beatles" by Allan Kozinn.)

²Instead, the released Anthology has a parody of "Yesterday" which seems like John is taking the mickey out of Paul (taken in context, it was actually not a dig at Paul) and according to the liner notes, a dig at George (for the "Rishi Kesh" song) which was intended for the musical Lennon was working on in 1980 and hence auto-biographical."

1988 - 1992 - The broadcast of the "Lost Lennon Tapes" radio series by Westwood One. The 221 hour series draws on Lennon's private archives and showcases some of his unreleased material. The "Lost Lennon Tapes" series serves to create a public demand for an Anthology type release and is the source for many bootleg recordings.

October 30, 1990 - On what would have been the year of John Lennon's 50th birthday (and approaching the 10th anniversary of his death), EMI-Capitol releases the "Lennon" 4 CD box set. This set is a compilation of most of Lennon's solo work and is released without fanfare. Around this time, Mark Lewisohn, (who also worked on the "Lennon" compilation) drafts a track listing for a box set of Lennon's outtakes for a projected 1994 release.

1991 - 1996 -  This time period covers the preparation and execution of the "Beatles Anthology" project. Two John Lennon demos ("Free as a Bird" and "Real Love") are used as the basis for the "Beatles Anthology" "reunion" singles. Other Beatles related items include the 1993 reissue of the Beatles' "1962-1966" and "1967-1970" best-of compilations on compact disc and 1994's popular "Live at the BBC" double CD. Logically, these projects temporarily defer the public's (and EMI-Capitol's) attention away from the John Lennon Anthology.

1994 - As the world is about to experience a wave of renewed Beatlemania, producer Rob Stevens  was building a master database of all existing Lennon recordings and hunting down 20 - 30 hours of additional master tapes that were not accounted for in 1988. Stevens' database eventually grows to more than 2,500 pages. During the summer, Stevens works on the Lennon Anthology in anticipation of a fall 1994 release which is subsequently postponed.
(see following May 24, 1995 "Good Day Sunshine" interview)

1994 - A forerunner to the Lennon Anthology was detailed in the May 1994 issue of "CD-ROM World" (page 41). Compton's NewMedia was planning to release a CD-ROM titled "Imagine: John Lennon" in the fall of 1994. This disc (for Windows and Mac) promised to be a "virtual gallery" of Lennon's life containing "home videos, music and art never before released." A similar blurb appeared in "Rolling Stone" magazine, however as it turned out, the CD-ROM was "never released!"

May 24, 1995 - An interview was conducted with Rob Stevens for publication in "Good Day Sunshine". The Lennon Anthology was discussed (under the working title of "Lost Lennon Tapes".) During the course of the interview, Stevens volunteers that he may compile two different sets of unreleased Lennon material. This interview was significant as it appeared prior to the release of the "Beatles Anthology". Based on Stevens' comments at this time, it is apparent that the more biographical approach that was used for the "Beatles Anthology" was originally absent from the Lennon project. In fact, the success of the Beatles in 1995-1996 may have been responsible for redirecting the marketing and outcome of the Lennon Anthology.

March 7, 1997 - "EMI-Capitol Music To Form EMI Capitol Entertainment Properties: New Strategic Marketing Company Will Develop Catalogue Products: Serve as Executive Marketing Entity for The Beatles" EMI-Capitol forms a new company to "develop music based properties and market the Group's prized catalogue." "On behalf of Capitol Records, the company will serve as the exclusive, worldwide marketing entity for the multi-Grammy award winning Beatles, the best selling group of all time. The company will oversee all existing Beatles catalogue and any new initiatives involving the group's repertoire."  In addition to the Beatles catalogue, this press release states Capitol's intent to come up with "new and innovative" ways to market many of their top acts, including the catalogue items of John Lennon and Paul McCartney. (italics mine)

1997 - 1998 - EMI-Capitol's marketing strategy at this time places the emphasis on solo Beatle projects. In 1997, Paul McCartney releases "Flaming Pie" and "Standing Stone". Anticipation starts to build once again for a set of unreleased John Lennon material. On October 27, 1997, EMI-Capitol releases "Legend: The Very Best of John Lennon" yet another best of compilation.

Fall, 1997 - By this time, the process of compiling the Lennon Anthology becomes more serious. Rob Stevens had distilled the archived Lennon material to about 100 hours. At this stage, Yoko Ono becomes tentatively involved. Together, Stevens and Ono work the material down to about 50 hours, at which point, Yoko becomes very heavily involved. The tapes are eventually whittled down to just under 5 hours for inclusion in the Anthology.

December, 1997  -  These two pieces (which may be referring to the same item) generated a bit of a stir in late 1997 - early 1998. The Swedish issue of  "A Spaniard in the Works" (with accompanying CD) had a very limited run before being pulled off the market about a week after it's initial printing. Although some dealers were taking advance orders, none of the copies actually made it to the U.S. At first, this was believed to be an officially sanctioned release by the Lennon estate - even a "market teaser" for the Anthology.

From 12/12/97 New York Post: "Lennon set to top charts again"

LONDON - Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! John Lennon is expected to skyrocket up the charts early next year with four brand-new songs. The slain Beatle's tunes were just recently discovered. They include one he wrote and recorded just days before he was slain.

Lennon's widow, Yoko Ono, has approved the recordings for release in two months. That means Lennon could reach No. 1 on Billboard's "Hot 100" chart some 17 years after he was gunned down by a crazed fan. "Anything by John that has never been heard before is bound to sell millions of copies," said Nick Masters, a recording analyst in London.

"It sounds a bit ghoulish, but John's popularity keeps getting bigger. The new record will be one of the highlights of the decade in rock music."

The four new songs include "Dear John," a ballad written and recorded shortly before he was shot dead in front of the Dakota apartment building on Central Park West on Dec. 8, 1980. It contains the lyrics: "Dear John, don't be so hard on yourself. The race is over. You won."

The tunes feature Lennon singing and playing his guitar or piano. They were recorded in his home at the Dakota and are not at studio quality. They are being worked on in a digital recording studio to make them sound better for radio play.

They will not be tinkered with like two other Lennon pieces, which were "sweetened" for release last year in a move that outraged Beatles fans. Those songs - "Free As A Bird" and "Real Love" - featured on the Beatles Anthology, beefed up old Lennon vocals with new instrumentals and singing by the surviving Beatles.

They were touted as the first new Beatles songs in 25 years - but some fans accused the surviving Fab 3 of selling out. Several rock critics said John was probably spinning in his grave over the gimmick.

The new Lennon songs will be included on the as-yet-untitled record featuring other versions of classic Lennon songs and interviews John conducted not long before he died. The songs were found when Lennon archivists working for Yoko stumbled across them in John's music files at the Dakota.

Included with the book is a unique CD with highly interesting recorded material from John Lennon's
last years. Lennon speaks about his role as a man and as a star, and sings "My Life", "Dear John", "Lord, Take This Makeup Off Me", "Make Love, Not War", and "Here We Go Again".

Notes on the CD
By Peter Nash and Peter Glas

1. John sings "My Life". Recorded in John and Yoko's home in the Dakota building in New York late 1979. Was later combined with the song "Don't Be Crazy" and reworked into "(Just Like) Starting Over".  Time: 2:30

2. Interview. John talks about how he met Yoko and about their relationship.  Time: 1:44

3. John sings "Dear John". Home recording from the Dakota apartment, November 1980. Possibly the last song John ever wrote, only a few weeks before his death in December 1980.  Time: 4:10

4. Interview. John talks about the Cosmic Joke Number 9; the paradoxy of responsibility and the idea of leadership as a false God.  Time: 1:30

5. John sings his Bob Dylan-parody "Lord, Take This Makeup Off Me". Home recording from the mid or late seventies.  Time: 2:18

6. Interview. John talks about how important it is for eberyone to produce their own dreams and go their own ways. Don't follow leaders.  Time: 1:13

7. John sings "Make Love, Not War". Recorded at John and Yoko's country estate Tittenhurst Park in England, late 1970. This song later developed into the song "Mind Games".  Time: 3:13

8. Interview. John talks about the rock star life. He is not interested in all that any longer, he now interested in the family and in making music.  Time: 1:45

9. John sings "Here We Go Again" Demo recording made before the sessions for the album "Rock'n'Roll" in October 1973. The finished version of the songs was released on the "Menlove Avenue" album in 1986. Time: 2:57

10. Interview. John talks about pacifists that got shot, Gandhi, Martin Luther King. Yoko talks about the beauty of life.  Time: 0:57

11. Interview. Yoko talks about her feeling that John's spirit is still here. Time: 0:46

The speech tracks derives from the interviews which John and Yoko gave to the reporter David Sheff in the autumn of 1980, except for track 11 which derives from an interview that Yoko gave to Elliot Mintz in 1981.

This volume is the first in a series of Legendary Artist's Book (LAB) published by Bahåll.
Write to Bakhåll, P.O. Box 1114, 221 04 Lund, Sweden. For a free catalouge or read their home page:  www.novapress.se

June 1998 - Ringo Starr records and releases "Vertical Man" with assistance from Paul McCartney and George Harrison (among others).

June 20, 1998 - The June 20th issue of "Billboard" magazine features an ad from Capitol on page 17 with the following text: "In preparation for an upcoming release, Capitol is seeking the multitrack tapes (or information leading to their acquisition) of Ringo Starr's recordings of the following songs: "I'm the Greatest," "Only You," "Goodnight Vienna," "Cooking in the Kitchen of Love," Studio quality 2-track tapes of the John Lennon guide vocals on these tracks are also being sought." (italics mine)

July 11, 1998 - "Rolling Stone" reports that a new Lennon tribute album's release has been delayed. The album has been in the works for 4 years. The report states various reasons for the delay, including a lack of interest from contributing artists and poor sales of Hollywood Records' "Working Class Hero: A Tribute to John Lennon".

September 1, 1998 - An article appears on Billboard's web site (under "Daily Music News") with the following title: "100 Unreleased Songs On Lennon Boxed Set". The title of the set is given as "The John Lennon Anthology". The release date is quoted as "Nov. 3." Over the next 24 hours, this story begins to circulate among various music news sources on the internet.

September 3, 1998 - "CAPITOL ANNOUNCES THE JOHN LENNON ANTHOLOGY"
Capitol's press release of September 3rd officially confirms what was in the Billboard article of September 1st! This is *the* day that we've been anticipating for years! O.K.. ALL LENNON FANS CAN NOW BREATH A COLLECTIVE SIGH OF RELIEF!!!

September 11, 1998 - "YOKO ONO OFFERS COMMENTS ON THE JOHN LENNON ANTHOLOGY..." Capitol's press release details a few "highlights" from the Lennon Anthology. Yoko Ono is named as co-producer (with Rob Stevens) and is also credited as the person who selected the final tracks for the Anthology. Yoko Ono and Anthony DeCurtis are credited for the liner notes. Note: Mark Lewisohn who worked on the early '90s version of the Lennon Anthology and whom is well renowned for his expert research skills and notation of various Beatle related projects is conspicuous by his absence.

September 21, 1998 - "CAPITOL RECORDS ANNOUNCES JOHN LENNON ANTHOLOGY TRACK LISTING" Capitol provides a run down of the tracks that will appear on the Lennon Anthology. A more descriptive track listing with musician / production credits appears on the internet within the next few days. This track listing highlights George Martin's recent completion of "Grow Old With Me" (disc 4; track 18). Note: The track listing also indicates that there was a change in this project's format which distinguishes it from what Lewisohn may have originally envisioned. Similar to the "Beatles Anthology", the track run down now includes spoken bits and has a more "biography in outtakes" feel as opposed to a collection of purely musical outtakes. This biographical attempt may also explain why the Anthology provides an "alternate" mirror view of Lennon's official solo output at the expense of other unreleased material (i.e. the "Dakota demos").

September 28, 1998 - "howitis"???: A Capitol promotional disk "howitis" was recorded in New York City on 9/28/98. The CD features an interview with Yoko Ono (58 tracks - released the week of John's 58th birthday!!) and an unedited take of "I'm Losing You" which was about :45 seconds longer than the track that appears on the Lennon Anthology (with an additional bridge - John calls out for the chord "C"). The day's events were also filmed for an EPK

As for the "last minute" discovery of "Only You,": A few weeks prior to the recording of
“howitis”, a CD reference set of the "Anthology” was sent to Jody Denberg to prepare for the
production of the disc. Ironically, these reference CD-Rs included a version of "Only You" that
includes a spoken word bit by Ringo (reciting a verse over the music: "only you, can make this
world seem right, only you can make the darkness bright.") For some reason this was edited out
before the song was placed on the box set! This indicates that although the Richard
Perry/Goodnight Vienna stuff was probably some of the last material that Yoko & Rob Stevens
located; it's could not have been at the last minute (as reported in RS #801) if they had time to
edit Ringo's bit out after the CD-Rs had been circulated.

October 5, 1998 - "'HOLLYWOOD AND VINE' SITE TO PREVIEW TRACKS FROM THE "JOHN LENNON ANTHOLOGY" A MONTH BEFORE RELEASE"
Capitol announces the opening of the Anthology website on Friday, October 9th (the date of John Lennon's birthday). On this and each subsequent Friday until Nov. 3rd, a track from the Anthology will be posted on the website: "I'm Losing You" (Oct. 9th); "Oh, My Love" (Oct. 16th); "Watching the Wheels" (Oct. 23rd); "Sean's In the Sky" (Oct. 30th) Oddly, the Oct. 30th track was actually "The Rishi Kesh Song".

October 9, 1998 - The premier of Hollywood and Vine's "John Lennon Anthology" website - and what a "site" it is! This impressive effort features artwork from the box set, a full track listing, press releases, excerpts from Anthony DeCurtis' liner notes and many memorable photographs (as well as the aforementioned audio clips). Updates which were eventually added to the site include video clips; news and subsequent press releases. On the same day, VH1 premiers the video for the Anthology version of "Working Class Hero".

October 12, 1998 - Capitol distributes a seven-cut sampler of tracks featured on both the 4-CD box set and "Wonsaponatime" to triple-A and AC radio.

October 14, 1998 - "WONSAPONATIME" Single Disc Digest Culled From 4-CD Box Set "THE JOHN LENNON ANTHOLOGY" Being Simultaneously Released on November 3rd to Feature 21 Tracks" Capitol's press release for the single disc version of the Lennon Anthology (with track listing).

October 25, 1998 - An edited version of Yoko Ono's liner notes for the Lennon Anthology appears on Britain's "Electronic Telegram" website.

October 27, 1998 - Yoko and Sean are interviewed on C.T.V.'s "W5" program. John Lennon's legacy is discussed and a few tracks from the Lennon Anthology are highlighted.

October 29, 1998 - Yoko is interviewed on "Access Hollywood" about the release of the John Lennon Anthology. Tracks from the Lennon Anthology are prominently featured throughout the segment.

October 30, 1998 - Yoko Ono's interview with Amazon.com is posted the weekend before the Anthology's release.

October 30, 1998 - The internet was buzzing with speculation about the upcoming video for "I'm Losing You". The key question was whether any promotional footage of the original August 19, 1980 recording session would be used for the new video. Much of the speculation was fueled by the following excerpts from Tony Levin's web diary (Levin was one of the session musicians). A web site was devoted to this issue.

LEVIN : Portland, Oct 30 A lot of developments today. I've heard that there's to be a four CD anthology of John Lennon's work released next week by Capitol Records. It'll be titled Onceuponatime. And there is a plan afoot to shoot a video of one song, "I'm Losing You," that I played on with Rick Nielson and Bun E. Carlos. Talk about short notice, they just called me about it, and the video is being shot in L.A. next Monday - so it's a possibility that I'll fly down from San Francisco that morning, shoot the video, and fly back for soundcheck that afternoon and gig that night!

LEVIN : "P4 Tour - Day 11 - San Francisco, Nov. 2" "The Lennon taping." "Still no computer, and again I'm in Chris's room late at night, using his. Today we taped the video in L.A. for John Lennon's "I'm Losing You" - When I arrived at the studio, Rick Nielsen (THAT'S the correct spelling of his name) and Bun E. Carlos were there, looking at my web site! We hadn't met up since we recorded the track - in August 1980. Amazingly, after 18 years, we all remembered our parts on the song. The video shoot was fun and very professional - between shots of the three of us playing (in front of white screen for John's films and drawings to be added in) and riding a bicycle for three, and holding big balloons.... between those takes I was playing around on Rick's computer - their site, CheapTrick.com, has a cute hotel room interface, where the visitor gets a room key and goes exploring. Check it out!" "The last shot I did (I had to catch a plane back to San Francisco for soundcheck) was of the three of us throwing buckets of green paint onto the wall. Don't know the reason for that particular shot - but I rushed out to the plane, made it, and spent the flight sitting there with green paint spattered on my pants and shoes! An interesting memento of the video!"

November 3, 1998 - The Lennon Anthology is released in North America. (The Anthology is also released on November 2nd in England and on November 6th in Japan). "Wonsaponatime" is released simultaneously with the 4-CD set. There are no plans for a "single" however, "I'm Losing You", (on which Lennon is backed by members of Cheap Trick) receives some airplay as an album track.

November 7, 1998 - A 9 minute promotional video featuring interviews with Yoko and footage of John and Yoko is posted on the John Lennon Anthology web site (linked under the "news" section).

November 11, 1998  - "Lennon Anthology Box Set Makes It's Debut At No. 99 With A Bullet in the Billboard Top Current Album Chart, Becoming Second Best-Selling Box Set of 1998. First Week Sales Nearly 17,000 Units. The good news in a press release from Capitol.

November 28, 1998 - a clip from the upcoming "I'm Losing You" video was premiered just before and during the closing credits of "Entertainment Tonight" (weekend edition). From what was shown, there was no indication of the original session footage.

December 1, 1998 - Yoko Ono unveils an anti war billboard in Times Square, New York identical to the one that she and John Lennon placed around the world at Christmas in 1969 ("War Is Over" "If You Want It"). Also in early December, a 1:00 A.M. curfew is placed on Central Park, which will restrict fans from an all night vigil on the 18th anniversary of John Lennon's death.

December 3, 1998 - "John Lennon's Famous Line Drawings Come to Life in Upcoming Video For "I'm Losing You" Capitol's press release announcing the release of the "I'm Losing You" video on Thursday, December 3rd on VH1. "The video was directed by Dean Karr (Dave Matthews Band, John Forte, Marilyn Manson, etc.) and produced by Arthur Gorson for Black Dog Films. The director of photography was James Hawkinson." "I'm Losing You" features Rick Nielsen on guitar and Bun E. Carlos on drums and bassist Tony Levin (from King Crimson), each of whom played on the original version of the song with Lennon in 1980. In a playful and whimsical fashion, well-known animator David Spafford has expanded upon Lennon's original drawings making them come to life as they float through and interact with the musicians' 1998 live performance". "I'm Losing You" has also been picked up by "MuchMoreMusic" in Canada.

Note: The video for "I'm Losing You"did not incorporate the video footage of August 19, 1980. This leaves many "Lennonologists" to speculate whether the footage will ever be used; is lost forever or may not currently exist.

December 8,  1998 - "The John Lennon Anthology is Certified Gold" In an ironically timed press release, the Lennon Anthology has been certified gold by the RIAA. In accordance with the 1992 RIAA revisions, this means sales of at least 125,000 box sets (each set counts as 4 CDs). According to a Capitol representative, the John Lennon Anthology has exceeded sales expectations in 38 countries worldwide. "The Anthology has received widespread critical acclaim for both its content and design, prompting Steve Morse to write in The Boston Globe: "This project is the most intimate, and arguably the most creative, boxed set in the history of the genre." Spin gives the set a "9" and states that it not only "provides sacred relics for devotees," but "ultimately reveals Lennon as a man worthy of myth."

December 19, 1998 - An interview with Yoko about the John Lennon Anthology is featured in the Saturday, December 19th edition of the "London Times".

December 20, 1998 - Steve Marinucci's "Abbeyrd's Beatle Page" posts a very detailed track listing for the Lennon Anthology. This documentation was researched and written by Chip Madinger and Mark Easter. This excellent and informative track listing greatly makes up for the deficiencies in the official liner notes that accompany the Lennon Anthology.

December 21, 1998 - Yoko Ono participates in a webcast on "SonicNet" to comment on her activities and speak about the John Lennon Anthology.

January - February, 1999 - The February 1999 issue of "Guitar World" magazine has an excellent  cover story entitled, "The Second Coming of John Lennon: The Resurrection of Rock's Rebel Genius." In this article, Yoko and several others who worked with Lennon provide a retrospective view of his solo career. A sidebar deals directly with the release of the Lennon Anthology. Sean Lennon also comments on his father's lasting influence.

January 9, 1999 - The John Lennon Anthology is named 1998's "Box Set Of The Year" in a year end "critics choice" poll in "Rolling Stone" magazine (RS # 804)

December 26, 1999 - Season Greetings from Yoko: This site includes a detailed interview with Yoko Ono by Jody Denburg of KGSR radio in Texas. Parts of this interview was used to prepare a promotional CD for the "John Lennon Anthology".

November 2, 2004 - Nine "John Lennon Anthology" tracks appear on John Lennon's "Acoustic" CD along with other Lennon demos and outtakes.

52 out of the 94 tracks that appear on the Anthology have not been previously released on bootleg (including song fragments and spoken bits.) Perhaps a third of the material was first heard on the Westwood One radio series, "The Lost Lennon Tapes."

According to a "person involved" in the Anthology: "Lennon was incredibly prolific as a writer, and I know there's a ton of stuff that they haven't even chosen to use yet" "They were searching for really rare and unique stuff."

There are no overdubs (except for George Martin's work on "Grow Old With Me") and most of the reverb and slapback echo effects are as they were recorded on the original tapes.

Some of the tapes in Ono's possession were still in shoe boxes. The guide vocal for "I'm the Greatest" was found in a Capitol Records vault in New Jersey. In some instances, because of missing tapes, a bootleg source had to be used (as was the case for the demo of "New York City")

The track, "Only You", was just barely able to be included in the Anthology. The tape was discovered only days before the box set's mastering deadline. (For more details on this track, refer to entry of September 28, 1998)

According to Rob Stevens, Lennon did not write an excess amount of material for his albums. Unlike some artists (i.e. Springsteen), Lennon had a firm idea of what he wanted to do before he entered the studio. If he had ten songs in his head, those ten songs would be recorded. Stevens explains his philosophy for mixing the Anthology, "We determined that we would only mix material that John had not mixed himself." "We put John's voice front and center on some recordings because, believe it or not, John did not like his own voice, so he put as many effects on it as he could."

George Martin's work on "Grow Old With Me" involved improving the original tape's quality with the aid of voice restoration technology. He scored the song for strings and flutes and composed a bass line that sounds very "McCartney-like". It's not McCartney, however. "I thought of asking Paul," says Martin, "but obviously I didn't want to interrupt him in the midst of his grief over Linda." The track was produced at the Beatles old London studio, Abbey Road.

EMI-Capitol had wanted to release the Anthology years ago but Yoko Ono resisted because of the emotional difficulty involved in working on Lennon's intimate recordings. "We've been working with Yoko for almost three years and it took her to this point to say now was the right time," says Lou Mann, general manager of Capitol. "This was a difficult thing for her to do."

Some of the home demos that Lennon was working on in his "house-husband" period were written for the intent of a Broadway musical called "The Ballad of John and Yoko". In consideration of this fact, some of these home demos may one day become part of a stage production.

While Yoko Ono states that there is enough strong material left for future releases, there won't be another package with the scope and magnitude of the Anthology. Any remaining tracks will come out in "a different way".

The response to the Anthology has been favourable and EMI-Capitol are justifiably proud of it's success. Yoko Ono realizes however, that it is difficult to please everyone and there will always be critics: "They have to excuse me" she declares, "for being the one who was there. I did my best, that's all."

As for my opinion, whether we would have been better off with the 1994 version of the Anthology or what we now have is purely a matter of speculation. In an ideal world, I would like to own both versions but in the "real" world, I am grateful for the set that I've been enjoying since November 3rd, 1998 .