Celebrating
its 50th anniversary today is John Lennon’s second proper solo album,
Imagine, which was released on September 9th, 1971. Along with his
previous release, Plastic Ono Band, Imagine has come to be considered
the peak of his solo career. Where the previous album had gone for a
stripped down simplicity, Imagine embraced a richer, more layered sound.
The album was co-produced by Phil Spector and featured numerous
contributions from former Beatles comrade, George Harrison.
The
album was recorded at various times throughout the spring & summer
of 1971 with sessions beginning in the UK in May at Lennon’s Tittenhurst
Park estate before moving on to Abbey Road and then The Record Plant in
NYC for final recording and production. The entire process of
producing the album was extensively documented on film with the
objective being to produce a documentary on the album, but that film
project was eventually abandoned, though footage from the sessions would
survive and surface in various other documentaries over the years, most
notably the 2018 film, John & Yoko: Above Us Only Sky.
While
Imagine is often put in second place within Lennon’s solo catalogue
behind Plastic Ono Band, it’s still bursting with iconic musical
moments, not the least of which is the album’s title track, which has
gone on to become Lennon’s signature theme. It’s a little less
confessional than its predecessor and maybe a little heavy handed on
some of its social and political messaging, but Lennon somehow manages
to channel enough sincerity to avoid utter pomposity and pretense,
though he skirts those edges rather closely at times. Part of his
success at avoiding the worst of those sins rests on the times it was
created. I don’t think anyone would dare try to write songs like this
now, likely because we consider ourselves so much more jaded and cynical
than a celebrity of his stature could get away with on the heels of the
“peace and love” movement of the 1960s.
Since it’s release, the
album has undergone a number of remastering and remixing variations,
some more successful than others, but the power of the album has
remained and it has continued to exemplify John Lennon’s essence
throughout its half century of existence. It certainly deserves to be
positioned, if not at the top, then very much just a shade below that
high water mark of his career.
