Imagine

Really good. I mean I am a Beatles fan but this has better tracks than a few Beatles albums. John is clearly flexing here but he has the chops to pull it off. Also the McCartney diss track is sick.

Grundsätzlich toll. Aber ruhigi balladene stönd am john lennon ganz klar besser als luti "rockigi" songs. Somit chammmer aber säge dass mindestens 30 prozent vo dem album absolut top sind, de rest ganz oke.

Nacheme wunderbare Wuchenend im Casa Neduzen mitere beachtliche Dichti a elektronische Kläng und viel Wumms isch es mir doch bizli schwiriger gefallen mich wider ganz dem ruhige hiizgeh wie bim Lennon, de jüngst. Es het paar Tracks gha wo biz spannender und rockiger gsi sind, meistens hani aber ned so chöne ufpasse wills doch ehner ruhig im hindergrund gloffe isch.

Fritig isch e freudetag, aber neuerdings au biz sad, will 2 täg keis album chund. Fritig 10am, T-mon & N-duz wached und startet leicht arbeitend in Tag & de Johnny grüesst eus via album. Hypa. Superschöni stimm und kläng, füehrt au oft dezue zum chli dreamy z werde, aber glichzitig au passagene wo biz d bei lüpfed. Imagine there's no heaven … Imagine there's no countries … Imagine no possessions Wie schön chönd lyrics si? John: yes Klare Fall vo Quattro formaggi

zerstmal es shoutout ad schnorregige, gotta be one of leves favs! ganz schwer das zbewerte, scho paar gueti bangers druffe gha aber au paar random sache chansmer scho vorstelle das da au no bessers vo dem johannes lemone cho chönti, drum gits für mich es 3 han halt würklich kei ahnig vo chäfer und zitrone

sehr schön gsi endli mal es ganzes john lennon album z'lose! vill meh hani hüt leider nöd z'büte, de hungover sunntigsnoah mag gad nöd meh schriebe, scusi allersiits <3

Fav song: Imagine Personally I feel like without Paul and George, John gets waaaaaay too lost in the sauce. I'm probably never ever going to listen to 'Oh Yoko' again for as long as I live. That being said, I really love Imagine as a song (even if John can't follow his own principles, I still love the message and the sombre feelings) and Gimme Some Truth was pretty cool too.

Two evergreen songs like Imagine and Jealous Guy and a few averages. I think 3 stars is a decent score.

01) Imagine - 10,0 02) Crippled Inside - 8,5 03) Jealous Guy - 10,0 04) It's So Hard - 8,5 05) I Don't Wanna Be a Soldier - 8,0 06) Gimme Some Truth - 8,0 07) Oh My Love - 8,5 08) How Do You Sleep? - 9,0 09) How? - 8,5 10) Oh Yoko! - 8,0 TOTAL: 8,70 (87/100) Current ranking: 52/361

It's aight. Will I listen to again: 10%

While the production is unique to the point the songs start sounding to similar, the songwriting lifts it up.

ewbeh

This album didn't really do anything for me. It's good music. But not my style and I won't come back to it.

Kind of dreary affair all around

It started off at 4, then in the middle it went to 3, and then I just waited for it to be over tbh

I always liked John Lennon better with the Beatles than his solo work. That being said he did have some good solo hits, and Imagine is the hands-down best of them. That song alone has sponsored so many questions about his Communist, Anti-American leanings vs the desire to live in a world free of war and all those things that have caused it. Looking at it in context tot he post-Vietnam era the context makes so much sense. I remember when my grandmother passed my aunts insisted this song being played at her funeral, which was ironic because she loved country music, didn’t like hippies and was a devout Catholic. The priest in the church had an issue with it too, which made it that much funnier. In this album, Lennon is all over the place musically, but it is a reflection of his America, which is respectable. He saw a corrupted world, and among it a vision of hope.

Imagine alone makes this a 5-star album but there is so much more: Jealous Guy, Gimme Some Truth, How Do You Sleep? and Oh Yoko. Crippled Inside really grabbed me this time. Underrated song that spoke to me differently than on previous listens. Also, How Do You Sleep? is a dis track at Paul McCartney. Go listen again. I'll wait... Damn! John goes hard on Paul. That is a blistering track. I know there were some regrets from John for putting out that track. But that track is still a great song. Last random thought, I watched a documentary about John Lennon and he wished he had given writing credit to Yoko for Imagine as she was integral in the lyrics of that song. I thought that was so cool and admirable of him to admit later on. He was still a growing person and it is too bad to have lost a revolutionary like him at such a young age. I would love to hear what he would say about the world today.

It's okay.

was gonna go 4 but the back half got a lot weaker for me

I love John Lennon so it pains to me say that I never really liked this album. It of course gave us the amazing title track, which is arguably one best composition of his entire career. It's a beautiful song that's been used to evoke feelings of calm and memories. It was possibly the most famous song on the post-9/11 'do not play' list for American radio stations which worried that the anti-religion message wouldn't sit well with people. Despite that, people urged it to be played anyway, for it's powerful anti-war message and the 'brotherhood of man'. The song has lived so far beyond what the Beatles had achieved, which is no easy feat. It combines a beautiful melody with a plea for peace, while still being challenging and shocking. Now imagine (pun intended) that that song was taken off the album. Imagine it was released by an artist you'd never heard of. Would it be on this list? Would you have ever heard of it? It's frankly a pretty weak album overall. Comparatively, Lennon's debut solo album is varied, experimental, energetic, and freeing. 'Imagine' (the album) is surprisingly slow with only a few highlights. It lacks the hooks and risk taking that Lennon was so well known for. 'Oh Yoko!' is the next best song and holds up well. 'Crippled Inside' is also pretty good. The rest doesn't excite me much. Yes there's some of the powerful political messages that he was famous for, but that's washed out a bit by confessions of jealousy and pettiness towards Paul McCartney. I acknowledge that McCartney did his part in this very public feud but at least 'Ram' is a great album. The album obviously sold very well and gets a 4 from me. But honestly, that title track is doing a lot of heavy lifting. It just deserved to be on a better album.

Gotta love how George Harrison played on some songs on this album including the diss track towards Paul. This album is a little savage and shows John not holding back like he did with The Beatles. Great album but suffers from being overproduced and having some weaker songs.

It's Beatlesy at the end if the day, so certainly not bad but also not as good as most beatles albums

imagine would be an okay song if it was written by literally anyone else also why did this white man think he could make blues??????????? stay in your lane the fuck. when someone's finally able to bring him back to life ill be first in line to punch him in the face "I'm sick and tired of hearing things / From uptight, short-sighted, narrow-minded hypocritics" exactly my thoughts while listening to ur album john thank you

Never was a huge fan of the song Imagine, a little schmaltzy for my taste. Most of the album I felt was a bit subdued, I enjoyed a couple of songs like I Don't Wanna Be A Soldier and Crippled Inside, but otherwise nothing special.

Some good songs, some less good. I can't help thinking about the fact that he was physically abusive towards Cynthia when listening to the song "Jealous Guy". That song feels tainted to me. But there were some cool riffs on this album and obviously the title track can't be overlooked.

Meh, this was ok. A couple good songs but the rest just had me wishing I was listening to The Beatles.

Not my favorite beatle

Mh, not sure about this one. Imagine was hugely overplayed, and the rest is lacking the songwriting of e.g. Plastic Ono Band.

The first half of this album makes my heart flip sideways with nostalgia. But then we hit songs like "How Do you Sleep" and "Oh Yoko" and I'm like yeahhh there: this is why John will never be more than my third favorite Beatle.

One great song, some other good ones, balancing things out to a solid 4

Imagine is great. Jealous Man is horribly cringe. The rest is ok. I am tempted to give two stars, but Imagine is good enough to bump it up.

Very good

Some really good songs and some average songs, just enough for 4 stars or B-.

Even using my imagination won't help me like this album.

John Lennon is my favourite artist. Now this isn’t the best of his solo albums but it’s definitely very high up. This album is a classic. Stand out tracks Imagine Crippled Inside JEALOUS GUY it’s So Hard How Do You Sleep HOW? Oh YOKO (The 3 other tracks are also really good just ones mentioned above are the ones I like the most) This is basically as good as it gets. Not sure I can go the full 5 because I like a couple Lennon albums more , but this is definitely A strong 4.5/5 (Side note I recently went to New York City and one of my goals was to go to Central Park and see the Strawberry Fields (memorial) What I did not know was the Dakota Building was very close to it. I told myself I’d never want to see the place where he was murdered.However on our bike tour that was one of the stops and our guide says to this day people still stand outside his old apartment building. Anyways when he handed me the pamphlet of what we see on the tour and it showed old newspaper clippings on the day he died, it was all too much and I broke down in tears. It’s been over 40 years since Johns been gone and I wasn’t even alive when he died. Yet for someone I never knew , Let alone was around when they left this world to have this great of an effect on me Must mean something. I leave this now with these famous lines “All You Need Is Love, Love Is All You Need”

Preface: I'm a big Beatles fan. I swear. That said, I've never really liked much of John's solo work, save a few tracks. And of those tracks, "Imagine" is not one of them. There's nothing musically compelling about the track for me, and lyrically, it's just a void. My issue isn't even about the hypocrisy of a rich man imploring the listener to imagine no possessions. It's that it postures as being profound, as revolutionary, when it's neither. It's just a bunch of vague gesturing. "Bad things bad, good things good." Thanks, John. I'm actually kind of glad that that stupid video during the pandemic shone a light on how empty the song is. (Jeez, it's like I'm hating the song more as I write about it!) Anyway, the title track aside, I hadn't heard anything from the album. I didn't have high expectations, but I came with an open mind. Somehow, it was even worse than I thought. This was a slog, pure and simple. Of course I have my biases. Blues rock isn't really my thing, but I think I can still appreciate it when it's done well. But "I Don't Wanna Be a Soldier" was SUFFERING. Ironically, by around the 4-minute mark, I think I wanted to fly, cry AND die. Jealous Guy is... something. It's like when you rightly criticize someone for something and they get on their knees and say "Oh, yes, I'm SUCH a terrible person, I don't deserve love, I should just go crawl in a hole and DIE." Jesus Christ. Gimme Some Truth. Did you know that... politicians lie? John knows, and he's tired of it! Look out! I will admit, "How Do You Sleep?" is a novelty. Paul not like us. A couple of good zingers. But here's the thing. It's on Imagine. IMAGINE. The fact that he included such an over-the-top mean-spirited song on IMAGINE is hilarious. It provides the perfect contrast and exposes the hippy-dippy, wishy-washy, well-wishing nonsense exactly for what it is. I was fully prepared to give this a 3, maybe a 2, until I realized over the course of writing this how much I actually hate this album. I'm actually shocked. It's terrible. Fav track: Oh My Love

Legendary, but very possibly overrated title track. Not a great album opener, either. Rest of album, Lennon tried to be Bob Dylan (except Lennon is a better vocalist) and failed. “Oh My Love” and “How?” are dimly lit bright spots buried on side two. “Imagine” thinking this is a good record.

I expected to like this more and yet I was waiting for it to end.

Was worried I might have to grudgingly admit this slapped until jealous guy started. I am willing to admit that my view of Lennon is colored by current events and because I just finished For All Mankind where they retcon his assassination to fail and I spent a good couple minutes imagining how insufferable he would have continued being. But I am not willing to admit that much of this album was any good

None of the rest of the songs on the album lived up to the title track. This was boring and honestly pretty disappointing.

woof

cringe

This would be an easy five for me if not for Imagine. Every other song is unique, does so much with the instrumentation, he’s innovative, it’s cool, it’s different, but then there is the unforgivable smugness of this fucker.

Johnny ate

6/10 - A little boring and imagine is overplayed. I sort of enjoyed Oh Yoko!

Jawn Lennon

Was soll ich schreiben? Ich habe es einfach nur genossen. Danke, John Lennon.

Probably John's poppiest and most accessible solo record.

Personally, I think every Beatle should have written a diss track about one of the other Beatles. I want to hear Ringo's diss.

A nice album. Some songs aren't my favorite but overall I think I enjoyed it.

After the title track, which is an undeniable classic, I found this album a weird mashup of non-Beatles songs. Maybe that was the point, but Lennon doesn’t so barrelhouse or blues or anything else so well. Interest g to watch icons find (lose?) their way after jumping off their pinnacles.

Definitely a classic album. Have to admit that I’ve never been passionate about Lennon’s solo stuff although admittedly there is a lot of great stuff. I’ve always found the music lacked a lightness or something. I was surprised by how biting he was about McCartney on ‘how do you sleep?’ so soon after the Beatles broke up.

I have some negative impressions about him and that affected my enjoyment somewhat. Clearly some good tracks on here, but not something i will actively go back to soon

Took a break from domestic abuse to write the most iconic piano intro of all time. Spent the rest of the time recording mediocre blues and Beatles B-sides.

Some good

Actually very fun. Why the hate (other than the obvious reasons). Imagine (the song) is the thesis statement for the 60s. The bitter songs are funny and honest. Yeah he's a bad guy I know.

One of the most famous songs of all time, says it all, and it's a good album!

I always thought John Lennon was a bully and that song pointed at Paul McCartney was stupid

He can write songs

Don't really rate it. Seems like ideas left off of Abbey Road mostly

Ooh hey that album by John Lennon's not so bad, let me just listen to the last song...... hmm he should have been shot earlier actually.

Bangers and some filler, but the bangers are the size of "Imagine". However, this not my favorite Lennon album from his solo career.

I’ve never really got into any of the Post-Beatles Beatles’ albums. I thought I would have investigated John Lennon’s stuff, but no. The last time an album of his came up on 1001, I was pleasantly surprised. This time, it was more in line with my assumptions. “Imagine” the song, is great, of course. It’s just a little overplayed for me to totally enjoy. And there’s a couple of other tracks I like. But there’s something about the overall sound that doesn’t gel with me. I don’t know why the production of John Lennon’s voice was done this way after the Beatles but it meant I never liked it as much. And I lot of the songs structure seems more basic, less tuneful and more reliant on old 50s rock n roll cliches than in Beatles times. Anyway, the other couple of songs that stood out to me were “Jealous Guy” - a great song but I don’t like this version because of the sound. The strings also put me off - and “Oh Yoko!” Which seemed like a cute ditty. I should probably try and listen again or to more post-Beatles stuff to see if it grows on me.

This was whiney and self-serving. John did really need the other Beatles.

i didnt enjoy it that much wasnt very catchy

Started pretty good but was ready for it to end by about halfway

honestly pretty dull. imagine is overplayed but good and everything else was just kinda boring. was done with the album with like 12 minutes to go

Beautiful songs. How could I not enjoy listening to John Lennon.

Pretty good. Doesnt reach the hights of some of the classic beatles albums, but works well as something additional to listen to once in a while. Best song: imagine / jealous guy Worst song: Its so hard

I enjoyed some of the songs very much, but others were fillers. Yes, he was a person full of contradictions, but the messages and impact of his music stands regardless.

I grew up around a lot of this music since the Beatles are clearly my dad's favorite artists. I don't think I'd listened to this album in full though. There was always a "they were better together" mentality. But it’s true. This is a good album overall I think, but it highlights where the rest of the group really provided and great push pull to make better albums.

i hate john, imagine all the people? imagine if he didnt beat his wife

Not the best solo album from a former Beatle. But pretty close! You really can hear all the things that John brought to that band without any other influence. And for a brief moment it’s magic. 5/5

5/5

Couple of belters, the rest of the album not as good but still enjoyable.

what a whiny twat 4/10

Ein Klassiker

Sucks to live in the post- COVID celebrity 'imagined cover, since the song just makes me cringe every time I hear it. That's said, this album isn't a favorite. 3/5

Ich weiß nicht, ich bin fasziniert und begeistert und im nächsten Moment auch bisschen gelangweilt. Gebe jetzt 5 Sterne, damit es in meiner bib bleibt. Muss ich mir in Ruhe noch mal anhöre.

Imagine is a good song. The rest dragged on a bit.

Never been a huge Beatles fan. Yes, I get hate for it. John Lennon on the other hand, I can listen to with ease. Great voice and a stellar record.

Imagine if the rest of the album was like the first song. Then it would be a good album, but as it is, it's just average.

Take away the fact that this is John Lennon, the album is kinda meh outside the two songs I knew. It's Lennon dabbling in other genres and being kinda mid at it; Paul and George did better solo stuff. 2* Highlights: imagine, jealous guy

Still creeped out by the idea of John turning Yoko on after the last track.

This is a classic. Every song shows Lennon's brillance

Who cares man. Shut up.

Imagine is a good listen, albeit fairly uninspired. John Lennon seems to fall flat compared to the highs that The Beatles hit when writing together, and this project is no exception. It’s bookended by what I’d consider to be the best tracks with a few hits interspersed among the other bland or samey-sounding tracks. It’s very nice for background music but not something I’d actively sit down to fully invest my attention into.

This album is many things: deeply earnest, impeccably produced, and teeming with tasteful instrumentation. But its identity might be best formed by what it is not. It is not cynical. This album is not playful (with the exception of "Crippled Inside"). At the end of the day, it isn't very fun. That's a significant departure from what so many of us loved about John Lennon -- the goofiness, the darkness, the slight of hand that disguised from listeners exactly how hard he was working and how much he cared about his art when he was in that other band of his. That doesn't make Imagine a bad album at all. But it's a little bit more emotionally needy than what we are accustomed to from Lennon. That forces it to become an album that needs its own time and place. An extra half star is added in recognition of King Curtis' sax and George Harrison's slide guitar. 3.5/5

I dislike very much John Lennon’s solo work.

Really really good. Jealous Guy, How, How Do You Sleep, Gimmie Some Truth, all absolute classics. Even Crippled inside, which I am not a huge fan of, when it's in the context of the album, it sounds good. Really good

Легенда, что тут говорить, Imagine и ещё несколько культовых песен.

J'suis pas super impressionné en comparant les projets solos des autres Beatles (All Things Must Pass, RAM, Ringo The 4th...). I mean, c'est plaisant mais sans plus, j'ai jamais été un Lennon fan anyway

Decent enough album that picks up the quality musically as it goes on, earlier anti war, mostly repetitive lyrics and tracks give way to beautiful and upbeat tracks in the back half.

Through circumstances beyond my control I was stuck listening to this album on repeat and developed stockholm syndrome. 3 stars up from my initial 1 star assessment

Imagine that besides "Imagine" (and 2 other tunes, maybe), the rest of the Imagine album was pure shite. Buuuuuut it was a ring for a week before ICLR.

It's cute.

Really great start, but the other songs were not that exciting

good first song, the rest of it was okay

2 great songs but rest is clearly below the Beatles 'ones

Lacks a bit of a kick. Not unpleasant but a bit boring

Enjoyed listening to the album start to finish. Some really great music in the shadow of one of the best album opening songs in the history of music.

4.5/5 There are some amazing tracks here. Just imagine Imagine, Jealous Guy, Oh My Love, How Do You Sleep? and How? all on the same album. But there are definitely filler songs that just are not interesting melodically. Overall the inconsistency doesn't hurt the experience too much however. Imagine 5/5 Crippled Inside 3/5 Jealous Guy 5/5 It's So Hard 4/5 I Don't Wanna Be A Soldier Mama 2/5 (LEAST FAV) Gimme Some Truth 2.5/5 Oh My Love 5/5 How Do You Sleep? 5/5 How? 5/5 (FAV) Oh Yoko! 4.5/5

I am the walrus. 4

Let's get this out of the way early, I hate the title track. The album opens with, in my opinion, the worst "message" song in history. It's a man who has been incredibly wealthy and influential for almost a decade, in large part due to the colonialism of the UK extending his market, who called himself bigger than Jesus, calling for everyone else to ignore all that and just give good vibes, bro. If only people weren't greedy, or religious, or nationalist. And yet, he's always been greedy, and religious, and, at the most generous, became arguably the most famous artist in the world due to nationalism and colonialism. And yet he dreams that everyone can just get along and stop hoarding the wealth and power. And yet, in large part, his "philanthropic" works were primarily marketing, having less to due with actually donating any amount of his fortune and more on telling people who are already struggling that they should be ashamed for not giving more. It's also a pretty generic song musically, which I want to blame for the dredge that is charity singles that came after, but that might be too harsh. Anyway, there's nine more songs. Crippled Inside is interesting, but a pretty bland honky-tonk song. The Beatles made better, and this song is a decade behind the times, and not in a good way. In a boring way. Jealous Guy really sounds like a "sorry not sorry I beat you" song. I at least get the feeling that someone like Nate Ruess is legitimately trying to atone. This is more a, "You shouldn't do things that make me want to hurt you." So, fuck that, too. I Don't Wanna Be A Soldier Mama, I don't know what this song wants to say. It wants to say something. The most obvious message, I guess, is that being anything other than a successful artist is a misery that he truly can't actually comprehend. Hey, the next song says, "I'm sick and tired of hearing things From uptight, short-sighted, narrow-minded hypocritics" so that's basically how I feel about this album. But Harrison does put down some great guitar here. "Money for dope, money for rope" is a good line, though. Oh My Love is a serviceable little song, but it's just that. I expect this level of songwriting from a Starbucks album. It also feels out of place on an album that otherwise wants to say nothing very loudly. How Do You Sleep is interesting. In 2024, gives the feeling of a rapper trying to start shit with Eminem and then getting treated as an afterthought with a solid fuck you song that's even better than what started it, and is still a throwaway. How and Oh Yoko are both just okay songs. Again, these are perfectly serviceable deep cuts on a coffee shop album. It's impressive how bad this album is. John Lennon is supposed to be the greatest songwriter of all time, and it's just high horse bullshit followed by petty grievances and his most boring songs yet.

Meh, imagine is the only great song here

Not as good as Plastic Ono Band but still feels like easily his second best solo album. All the reasons I love this album are better on his earlier album. Jealous guy makes me almost cry no matter when I hear it. Rating: 4.7

Classic!

Classic. It’s great. Something is missing, though. None of The Beatles were ever as good without their band mates who helped them create magic. It’s close, but close only counts in horseshoes, grenades, and slow dancing.

McCartney supremacy! Okay. It’s fine. The title track is, of course, one of the worst songs of all time, but the second half of the album isn’t bad. But it’s all just missing “something.” That spark! That magic! That McCartney touch!

Wow, what an inspiring and thoughtful album. I hope there is nothing sinister lurking just below the surface of this fine gentleman

Imagine is great, the rest are okay.

No matter how one feels about John Lennon as a person, his songwriting ability and overall icon status in music history is undeniable. This solo record is a perfect demonstration of that. It's got a good mix of emotional piano-led songs and up-tempo Beatles-esque catchy tunes. While not all of his tracks are exactly my vibe, Lennon (particularly with "Imagine") showed here that he is not entirely defined by The Beatles. Notable Tracks: - Imagine - Crippled Inside - Jealous Guy - Oh Yoko! - unfortunately a very catchy tune 7/10

Two stars for jealous guy.

Disjointed, so much so that at first I thought it was some kind of compilation album. That would require this album to have more than a couple of good songs, which I didn't really feel it did. Several tonal, and genre changes throughout the album. A song about how he's different, followed not long after a diss track, then a love song to his current wife. He may love Yoko Ono, but I don't love this album.

I feel like this album are songs that just didn't make the cut for any Beatles record. It's a nice listen, nothing that was "I really want to skip this", but also just kinda boring. Nothing really stood out for me. 2/5

A real treat

Imagine an overhyped album featuring sanctimonious lyrics presented as if they were profound, alongside boring instrumentals and cliché melodies. It was easy to tune out in the background so it has that going for it at least. 2/10

Imagine is a fantastic song. The rest is meh or worse. I'd give this a 1, but Imagine bumps it to a 2.

rolled my eyes when i saw this pop up. uh,, yeah. its john lennon. i dont fucking know.

Okay, but not for me

He was better with the beatles...

ive not heard plastic ono band yet but from what i know about it this seems like an attempt to counteract that album's whole-hearted bitterness with something sweeter and more digestible. the results are predictably solid if amusingly compromised-feeling considering how much contemporary reception was propping up lennon as the Real Artist of the beatles (while trashing paul's Ram, a much more melodically and sonically exciting, and better aged, record than this imo). a whole album of post-1967 john lennon was always gonna be a bit hard for me to fully vibe with tbh...he plays rly well as part of the larger collage of personalities in the beatles, but its a little difficult for me to feel as stirred when he's out here on his own...but he's a skilled tunesmith, phil spector brings subtle but resonant colors, and john's biggest advantage had long revealed itself to be a propensity towards emotional nakedness without layers of showmanship. i like showmanship, but as much as i mock the contemporary deification of the guy, i can absolutely understand why he was so refreshing

fine but not very exciting (did not finish)

Lennon’s acerbic wit - ‘imagine there’s no heaven’ - wrestles with his anger and his vulnerability to produce some absolutely great songs.

imagine- can really only think about that video of all of those celebrities singing this at the beginning of quarantine but still a good song! activist king crippled inside- honkey tonk damn jealous guy- okay! it’s so hard- immediately better than the others because of the horns i don’t want to be a soldier mama- funky funky!! the cadence of the words is weird as hell to me. like i don’t like how he’s saying it gimme some truth- guitar is an awesome instrument i like this one the best so far oh my love- awe this is cute how do you sleep?- omg sam smith mentioned! okay this one is good af how?- i mean he’s asking hard hitting questions! oh yoko!- i didn’t love it but not dispicable ! overall: 5/10 not really my kind of music but respectable !

Skipped track 1, Imagine. Overheard. I find it tedious. Some really good blues-y tracks through, but I find his voice is an odd sound, like too distant or echoey. Shout out to tracks: - 2 (Crippled Inside) - 3 (Jealous Guy) - 4 (It's So Hard) Track 5 (I Don't Want To Be A Soldier Mama) has a great blues / honky piano in the background throughout. And now that I'm going through each track again quickly, and I'm noticing the subtleties more. It's actually pretty good. Tracks 2-9. Also skipped 10 (Oh Yoko), because, Yoko.... but strong album, interesting sounds. Not a favourite album, but worth a revisit at some point.

Boring.

cool

Snoooooooooooze.

This album is proof that the Beatles were more than the sum of their parts.

I enjoyed this album more than I thought I would. I do love The Beatles. Having said that, John ranks 4th in my personal Beatles rankings. One factoid I love about Beatles solo albums (and other rock albums from this era) is that Jim Keltner and Klaus Voormann are band members in a surprisingly high percentage of them.

1. I was kind of lukewarm on the title track before it was destroyed by self-important celebs. 2. He makes fun of McCartney’s Muzak in How Do You Sleep and the next song is the stupidest sappiest song I’ve ever heard. 3. The only songs I really, really like are the love songs. Oh Yoko is pure joy, and Oh My Love is delicately beautiful. 4. The rest is fine, Jealous Guy is ridiculously overproduced, and I Don’t Wanna Be a Soldier Mamma is saved by it’s production.

This fucking guy. I know The Beatles wouldn’t have been half as good without him, but I like Paul’s contributions better. Also, every other Beatle released at least one solo album that was better than any of John’s solo stuff. This album was OK. I never liked the title track.

This is definitely a great album with some timeless classic tracks like “Jealous Guy” and “Oh My Love.” I personally love how piano-driven the album is, and the orchestral arrangements throughout really add a lot of color to the music.

Okay. I get that everyone hates John Lennon. So do I. He was a trash human. But that's no reason to give him a bad rating. These songs, while all sounding kind of the same, have really talented songwriting behind them. They're lame, but they're an improvement on Beatles lame. It's very meaningful music when you can get past the hypocrisy behind 'Imagine'.

Underwhelming. Some bland 80s pop-sounding stuff.

3.5 stars. Two stone-cold classics bookending what is a pretty good album. Give me a couple more like \"Oh Yoko!\" and it's an easy 4-4.5

It felt scattered and not cohesive at all. Almost like recycled concepts from the beetle's

This is balm to the soul.

Has some of his best compositions and most enduring solo works. Personal favs how do you sleep and gimme some truth.

HE SHOULD HAVE ENDED IT IWHT HOW!!!!! oh yoko is so dumb man like okay we get it you love her or whatever im so annoyed

9.5/10 Great work of art. There's nothing to add.

Another OK album at best, could do without

nice lennon

Gear: Fostex TH610 Artwork: 🤓📸🔳 Mix (2011 Remaster): 🎧😐🆗 Musik: 🙄🥱💩 Wertung: ☮︎/5

I remember when I was younger that John Lennon was my favourite Beatle, then I learned about how he treated his first wife and Julian and I found that unforgiveable. Then you go on to learn about his own childhood and it gives some context to some of his actions. I have always like John's solo works and I have always liked his voice, its funny that Julian sounds so much like him. Stand out tracks: - Imagine (even though I would be happy not to hear it again) - Crippled Inside - Jealous Guy - Oh My Love - How?

A great first album! I think my favorite thing about this album is how obvious Lennon's feelings about the breakup of the Beatles and of Paul are. I especially love the references to Sgt. Pepper, Yesterday, and Just Another Day on "How Do You Sleep?". Favorite song(s): How Do You Sleep?, Oh My Love Least favorite song(s): It's So Hard, I Don't Wanna Be A Soldier Mama Listened before? No

Very good album, fuck yoko ono

Such a great album. Starting an album with a Ballad is a weird way to set the tone of a record. Especially when this record is a lot more rockin and experimental. Kind of has a Sgt. Peppers vibe in some songs. I thought the final track was a bit weak. A love song to Yoko. Not just because it is a song written for her... It just lacked a lot of substance lyrically. Lennon is a fantastic lyricist, so I was a bit underwhelmed. But it still had some hooks and great music. It didn't tarnish the album for me. I thoroughly enjoyed this.

Up and down, some really great songs!

John Lennon is a genius, at least as an artist, and of that there is no doubt. His time with 'The Beatles' is something that will never be repeated by any artist, simply one of the most influential guys in the history of music. But was he as good in his solo career as he was with The Beatles? Imagine is the second studio album to be released by the Beatles' pianist, writer and vocalist. This album was a total success in terms of sales due to the expectation that he had. It would be released in 1971, one year after the band's breakup. Expectations rose even higher with the release of 'Imagine' as the pre-album single, one of the most played songs in the history of music. The album has high peaks like 'Imagine' and 'Jealous Guy', but it also has low peaks. You always end up valuing the highs more, but in this specific case I think it's the right thing to do because it's a project with a very constant structure. It doesn't have a fixed sound at any point. It has many different styles in different parts of the project. There are songs that are Singer-Songwriter or Blues songs. This shows the variety of sounds he has. Quite well written - as we are used to - but with a very good piano that is maintained throughout the whole album. Also noteworthy is the work of former band member George Harrison who also has a very good participation in the album. I didn't manage to connect 100% with this project, but I liked it all the same.

This album was better than I expected. There are three or four really good songs on it, including "Imagine".

imagine isch absolut overplayed des grauens aber s isch ebe en guete song. nöd s perfekte meisterwerk wo lüt amel s gfühl hend aber guet. crippöed inside findi chli schwach, s südstaate band ding findi nöd ideal. jealous guy isch seehr geil sowohl vode produktion als au vom songwriting her. tönt super, geili chords strings sind schön, schlagzüg super mitem echo druf glaub? aaaah phil spector. und jim keltner ade drums au geil. its so hard isch cool aber macht nöd würkli viel. i dint wanna be a soldier mama isch geeil mitem reverb. gimme some truth het mi au nöd umghaue. oh my love isch seehr schön. george harrison ford ade giti öööh. sehr schön. how do you sleep slappt ebe au wenns en mega disstrack an paul isch. "those freaks were right when they said you was dead". hobla. und de george spielt auno druf. finds chli seehr petty und teenie-hässig. nöd guet galteret. musig zwor guet aber d lyrics züched en abe. how? isch schön, sehr schöne bass. oh yoko, er het d yoko gern sehr cute. bin am schwanke zwüsched me 3 und me vieri. aber bin ebe scho en paul guy.

sorrysorry aber imagine gaht mier wege schuelsinge eig nur uf de sack und chan das drum nöd würkli objektiv beurteile hahaha crippled inside findi d rhythmik no cool und de gegesatz vo text und musig hahaha jealous guy eig na cute aber bruuuder s pfiffe it's so hard isch wieder so es chinderlied iwie okkkd strings im solo sind ns cool I dont wanna be a soldier chli anderst a ber gfalltmer nöd so hahaha wie er de paul ahfiggt jaa find leider alles chli langwilig, au wenns mengisch au schön isch

#324. Imagine if this guy remembered how to make good music after he left the Beatles. 2/5: unfortunate Song added to playlist: Imagine I've created a playlist on Spotify that consists of the best and/or my favorite song from each of the albums in this book. This list can be found here if you are interested: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7MAXDGLWlwLkFLb8veGfkA?si=FqkQQPgZTFWG0jAUJXLFZA&utm_source=copy-link

I don't know why but when it comes to the Beatles and his members´ music I have always felt this sort of distance, even without knowing much about it. This feeling, however, has been slowly been proven to be just a first wrong impresion. It's nice to say that I liked this album: my favorite songs were "jealous guy" and "how do you sleep?". Lately I have been into 70s music, so is not surprising neither.

I speak often about musicians in a metaphoric sense regarding where they fit into the overall scheme of professional musicians. I use a wedding plan as the schema. The head table is where the bride and groom hold their court with best men and bridesmaids, the front few tables are close famiily and friends, second row good friends, third row is family that politely gets invited and friends and guests of friends and soforth. With musicians, sometimes they are prolific, such as John Lennon. Here we have a quandary. Where to put him? Well, this is kind of a trick question because unlike many musicians who are "known" for a specific band or act, and go out on their own or do side projects with others -- Which make it so they might be seated at different tables depending, John Lennon has ALWAYS been seated at the head table. Life was cruel when they took him from us.

The music is actually quite solid and I would give it 4 stars if not for... 1 - The longest track on the record is the most boring thing ever 2 - Like half of the album is John moaning about Yoko in quite a boring (also) way 3 - Bro insulted McCartney So 3 for that matter. Damn Yoko.

Second Lennon album in a weeks span. The album feels like a deep breath, the music is straightforward, with melodies that resonate. There’s a vibe similar to Paul Simon’s work—relaxed, but meaningful. It’s not trying too hard, just delivering something real and honest. The Beatles were great because they had the influence of the four members. Break them apart and you can hear each's contributions.

Was ok, I liked some tracks but honestly nothing really made a big impression

Such a good album Imagine is an all time favourite song. Beautiful 5 ⭐️

Better than I expected. After the first track for some reason it feels more like John Lennon copying people than John Lennon writing songs. Hard to explain.

middddd what the helll

I don't know why I wasn't looking forward to this one that much, but there was lots to love about this album. Jealous Guy has been a favourite for a long time. While Imagine is a bit cheesy to me these days, there's no denying it's a masterpiece. And Oh Yoko! was just so cute and charming. A fair few here I'll pop back to visit.

One of my Uncles favourite albums, I love Lennon and had listened to this a good few times before but was cool to give it the time it deserves start to end

80% Fav: Imagine, Jealous Guy, I Don't Wanna Be A Soldier Mama, How Do You Sleep At Night? Must-Hear? Sure

This is really an exceptional album. John was a complete asshole, but also a complete musical genius. This one actually belongs on the list. 5/5

This feels like a 'Hey Paul look at me I'm solo now" kind of album. There are some really great tracks, but also some meh tracks. Lennon's got such a great creative mind that shines on tracks like Crippled Inside and How Do You Sleep?, but tracks like Jealous Guy just don't hit for me.

A bit of a mixed bag. Some truly great ideas and also some other songs. Favorites were Imagine, Jealous Guy, Gimme Some Truth, and How Do You Sleep?

Gross.

Jeg må erkende, at der var nogle bundsolide numre på, selvom jeg er en inkarneret Imagine-hater (alle versioner). Oh Yoko! er højdepunktet for mig, chokerende hvor meget hele tidlig 00'er-indiegenren lånte fra det ene nummer

Svært glad for den her plade. Det er nedslået og råt på en måde Beatles aldrig rigtig var, og der er nogen virkelig catchy numre på. (Synes ærlig talt at Imagine er et af de svageste numre på den her plade, men jeg er ikke så stor Imagine fan. Den her udgave er dog marginalt bedre end Khaleds). Jealous Guy er et godt nummer uden for kontekst! Man skal bare VIRKELIG lade være med at tænke på at det er en literal wife beater der synger det, så bliver det MEGET ucharmerende MEGET hurtigt

Altså.. Imagine er en objektiv banger. men.... Den sætter også tonen for resten af pladen; Opblæst og ideologisk. Jeg værdsætter mere hvad The Beatles lavede i fællesskab, for de har tydeligvis brug for hinanden. How Can You Sleep er simpelthen det mest whack diss-track jeg nogensinde har hørt...

Simply amazing.

Whatever you think of Lennon’s personal behavior, “Imagine” is a profoundly important political anthem. The rest of the songs are good to great.

Incredible songs, two dud blues songs in the middle. Oh my love is proto for ella

Great stuff, but definitely drags on in parts. Gonna become a real harsh critic now.

Bit hit & miss. He's obviously a bit of a bellends but he has some talent. Do think he leaned into the rock/blues thing a bit too much, album sounded disjointed with how quickly he veered off from imagine before going back into the softer stuff. The unsubtle dig at Paul was actually one of the better tracks funnily enough. Alright album but zero chance it was making this list if it wasn't John Lennon.

Am I allowed to say I didn't love this album? I feel like, as groundbreaking and influential as they were, both John Lennon and Paul McCartney have been deified to a point where it feels like heresy to admit you don't love everything they've done (and it's worse for Lennon because of his murder). But I often feel like there's a quantity over quality issue with both of them. Because George had to fight so hard to get his songs on the albums, almost all of them are incredible, whereas there are a lot of Lennon-McCartney songs I personally think range from mediocre to downright bad. This album is no different. There's some good stuff here — Imagine is a classic for a reason. Crippled Inside is pretty good lyrically (the music is just okay). There's also a lot of meh stuff. I Don't Wanna Be a Soldier sounds like it's trying to be a Bob Dylan song, but it doesn't even remotely approach the level of lyrics Dylan would write. A lot of the album sounds derivative. Most of the songs are obvious musical ripoffs of the Black artists they were inspired by — Chubby Checker, et al. A lot of it sounds derivative of the Beatles too. The melody of Jealous Guy sounds like it's ripping off parts of A Day in the Life. Gimme Some Truth feels like it borrows from Strawberry Fields and Helter Skelter. Oh Love sounds a lot like Because. And while I guess it was brave to write Jealous Guy and shows he's capable of introspection and regret, I still find the whole thing of how he mistreated women and his first family pretty gross. It's ironic that he's taking pot shots against Paul in How Do You Sleep? and calling him a no-talent hack, considering how derivative and boring this album is (it also shows he is still a very jealous guy and hasn't changed much at all). The song How? kind of sums up this album for me. John had no idea who he was after The Beatles, so he threw a bunch of stuff at the wall to see what would stick. But none of what results on this album is very cohesive or original. 3/5

Nimibiisistä en ole koskaan pitänyt, mutta muuten ihan kuunneltava lätty. 2.5⭐

great album, imagine was amazing, one of the best songs of all time in my opinion, some other great songs too, jealous guy was great with some nice piano, How? was a brilliant remake of the beatles song The Long and Winding Road which was really nice to listen to.

I’ve never understood the Beatles hype. They undeniably have a few good songs, but to be treated with such reverence and considered one of the best bands ever? I don’t get it. This album is kind of like that. Imagine is undeniably a good song. The rest are fine, I guess. Nothing really sets them apart from any of the other 60s pop songs. My album yesterday was The Monkees, and if I didn’t know the names attached to each album, there’s just not a lot between them. I'll give it 2.5 stars. Imagine is a good song, How Do You Sleep is pretty good as well.

10/10 Such varied genres, a very beautiful album. Will certainly add it to the collection. MIND BLOWN that 'Jealous Guy' was a cover. Lyrically, I wouldn't have guessed it.

Awesome

Just beautiful

El mejor Lennon. Todavía resonando a Beatle. Después se acomodó demasiado. Eso sí; es una pesadilla volver a oír Imagine canción por su utilización masiva.

Definitely some shades of Beatles in here - "The Long and Winding Road" / "How?", "Honey Pie" / "Crippled Inside", a reference to Sgt. Pepper, etc. Interesting choices for a man who famously didn't want anything to do with the Beatles anymore.

My kids have gotten into The Beatles lately, so it’s been kind of fun to show them that the members had lives outside of the band. They loved this album, as do I.

Imagine is John Lennon at his sharpest — tender, bitter, playful, and unapologetically honest. While the title track often gets all the attention, the real magic of the album lies in its depth and contrast. Lennon swings from vulnerable ballads to scathing takedowns with ease, crafting a record that feels deeply personal yet universally resonant. “Crippled Inside” stands out as the highlight — a wry, rollicking tune that pairs biting lyrics with a bouncy, almost country-folk arrangement. George Harrison’s slide guitar and dobro work throughout the album is nothing short of masterful, adding texture and emotional weight in all the right places. Tracks like “Jealous Guy,” “Gimme Some Truth,” and “How Do You Sleep?” showcase Lennon’s full range — from self-reflection to pointed rage — while “I Don’t Wanna Be a Soldier” drowns you in its hypnotic, anti-war groove. Imagine*isn’t just a peaceful plea — it’s an artist laying himself bare, flaws and all. And it still sounds just as vital today. Favorite song: "Crippled Inside"

Easily the best solo career among the Beatles. Great album

Lot of haters on this 'album a day' thing. Imagine is huge! And there are some other great songs here. Not on my daily must listen to list, but come on ...

Thoroughly mid. Some vaguely groovy beginnings that go on the same until you're bored. The mixing is also too scrambly for me. I do enjoy the fact Oh Yoko is 4 mins 20 long tho

Good, very melodic music. But “Imagine” song is pretentious and patronising as shit.

Ok idk if John is my favorite Beatle... but maybe! But at least he never teamed up with Michael Jackson. But he did team up with Yoko… hmmm Good thing they had both Paul and John.

Title track and jealous guy are great the rest in meh.

Не понимаю за что его и остальных Битлов так боготворят и превозносят. Обычная музыка, ничего особенно и сверхъестественного.

I liked Imagine but not really anything else.

Some special songs here

Meh

**Album Review: "Imagine" by John Lennon** *Released:* September 9, 1971 *Producer:* John Lennon, Yoko Ono, Phil Spector *Genre:* Rock, Pop, Progressive Rock ### Introduction "Imagine" is John Lennon's second solo studio album after the breakup of The Beatles. Often heralded as his magnum opus, it reflects his artistic maturity and encapsulates his vision of peace and unity. The album juxtaposes themes of utopia and personal pain, wrapped in lush production and sincere lyricism. ### Lyrics #### **Themes and Messages** 1. **Peace and Unity**: - The title track, "Imagine," is a powerful anthem of hope and peace. Its lyrics envision a world without war, possessions, or religious divisions, promoting universal harmony. - Lyrics like "Imagine there's no heaven / It's easy if you try" challenge listeners to consider a world free from the constructs that often divide humanity. 2. **Personal Reflections**: - Tracks such as "Jealous Guy" delve into Lennon's vulnerabilities, showcasing his ability to blend personal confessions with universal emotions. - "How?" questions self-worth and existential purpose, reflecting Lennon's internal struggles. 3. **Social Commentary**: - "Gimme Some Truth" is a biting critique of political corruption and hypocrisy, displaying Lennon's frustration with societal injustices. - "Crippled Inside" addresses the theme of inner turmoil masked by outward appearances. ### Music #### **Composition and Arrangement** 1. **Diverse Musical Styles**: - The album explores a variety of musical genres, from the rock and roll vibe of "It's So Hard" to the gospel-inspired "I Don't Wanna Be A Soldier Mama I Don't Wanna Die." - This eclectic mix showcases Lennon's versatility and willingness to experiment. 2. **Instrumentation**: - The use of piano in "Imagine" is both simple and profound, underscoring the song's meditative quality. - "Jealous Guy" features delicate piano and strings, enhancing the emotional depth of the song. 3. **Vocal Delivery**: - Lennon's vocals range from the gentle, soothing delivery on "Imagine" to the raw, impassioned intensity on "Gimme Some Truth." - His voice acts as an instrument, effectively conveying the emotional landscape of each song. ### Production #### **Phil Spector's Influence** 1. **Wall of Sound**: - Spector's "Wall of Sound" technique is evident in the dense, layered arrangements of songs like "I Don't Wanna Be A Soldier Mama I Don't Wanna Die." - This approach creates a rich, immersive listening experience, though it sometimes borders on overwhelming. 2. **Simplicity and Clarity**: - In contrast, tracks like "Imagine" and "Oh My Love" are produced with a minimalist touch, allowing the lyrics and melodies to shine through. - This balance between lush production and simplicity highlights the album's dynamic range. 3. **Collaborative Effort**: - Yoko Ono's influence is subtly woven throughout the album, particularly in the avant-garde touches on tracks like "Oh Yoko!" - The collaborative nature of the production enhances the album's eclectic feel, merging different artistic visions. ### Themes #### **Utopian Vision** 1. **Idealism vs. Reality**: - The album juxtaposes utopian ideals with harsh realities. While "Imagine" dreams of a perfect world, songs like "Gimme Some Truth" confront the listener with the gritty reality of political deceit. - This contrast creates a nuanced narrative, reflecting Lennon's complex worldview. 2. **Personal and Political**: - The intertwining of personal introspection and broader social commentary gives the album a multifaceted character. - Tracks like "How?" and "Oh My Love" delve into Lennon's psyche, while "I Don't Wanna Be A Soldier Mama I Don't Wanna Die" comments on the futility of war. ### Influence #### **Cultural Impact** 1. **Enduring Legacy**: - "Imagine" has become an enduring symbol of peace and hope, often performed at significant cultural and political events. - Its influence extends beyond music, resonating with movements for social change and global unity. 2. **Influence on Artists**: - The album has inspired countless artists across genres, from rock to pop to folk. Its themes and musical innovation continue to be a touchstone for musicians and songwriters. - The introspective nature of songs like "Jealous Guy" paved the way for a more confessional style in popular music. ### Pros and Cons #### **Pros** 1. **Timeless Lyrics**: - The album's lyrics are poignant and relevant, addressing themes that resonate across generations. - Lennon's ability to articulate complex emotions and ideas in simple, relatable terms is a significant strength. 2. **Musical Diversity**: - The variety of musical styles keeps the album engaging from start to finish. - The interplay between different genres showcases Lennon's creative range and willingness to push boundaries. 3. **Emotional Depth**: - The emotional honesty of songs like "Jealous Guy" and "How?" adds a layer of authenticity and relatability. - Lennon's vulnerability invites listeners to connect with his personal journey. 4. **Production Quality**: - The collaboration with Phil Spector results in a polished, sophisticated sound. - The balance between lush arrangements and minimalist production highlights the album's dynamic range. #### **Cons** 1. **Overproduction**: - At times, Spector's "Wall of Sound" can feel excessive, overshadowing the simplicity and purity of Lennon's songwriting. - Some listeners might find the dense arrangements detract from the album's lyrical and melodic clarity. 2. **Pacing Issues**: - The album's pacing can feel uneven, with the transition between introspective ballads and more aggressive tracks sometimes jarring. - This inconsistency can disrupt the overall flow, making the listening experience less cohesive. 3. **Lyrical Repetition**: - Some tracks, such as "I Don't Wanna Be A Soldier Mama I Don't Wanna Die," suffer from repetitive lyrics, which can diminish their impact. - The reliance on simple refrains in certain songs might be seen as a lack of lyrical development. ### Conclusion "Imagine" stands as a testament to John Lennon's artistic vision and his enduring quest for peace and understanding. Its blend of poignant lyrics, diverse musical styles, and sophisticated production creates an album that is both a product of its time and timeless. While it has its flaws, the album's strengths far outweigh its weaknesses, making it a cornerstone of rock music and a lasting symbol of hope and unity. Lennon's ability to intertwine personal vulnerability with broader social commentary gives "Imagine" a unique and powerful voice. The album's influence on subsequent generations of musicians and its role in cultural and political movements underscore its significance in the annals of music history. Despite the occasional overproduction and pacing issues, "Imagine" remains a compelling and evocative work, embodying Lennon's legacy as a visionary artist and advocate for peace.

Feels like an album from a very mixed-up soul. I can't think of any reason to ever listen to this again.

while it has cohesion, well produced sounds, and the classic voice and lyrics, I just have a harder time getting into the purer singer songwriter angle this has, and there's not much dynamism in the album as a whole. It has its strengths for sure, but I don't think I'll be reaching for this album when I'm looking for something I know I like.

Imagine there’s no music. Damn deep.

preferred the songs that aren't seen as the hits on this one, felt most of the songs went on too long, was enjoying don't wanna be a soldier but it should be half as long as it is

I see why he spent so long in bed. So boring a lazy Im surprised he spent the effort to record

I've always associated Lennon with the more experimental Beatles tracks, so I am a little disappointed that most of these songs are kind of generic blues songs. They are fine, but nothing exciting or anything I would want to return to.

Excellent! Contemplative, angry, loving and cheerful. Covers a wide range of topics and emotions. Representative of John's life up to that point in time. Well worth repeated listening sessions. Highly recommended!

Couldn’t locate the entire album - only the individual song.

tbh I expected something better, it was kinda mid to me

..

No. 221/1001 Imagine 5/5 Crippled Inside 3/5 Jealous Guy 4/5 It's So Hard 3/5 I Don't Wann Be A Soldier Mama 2/5 Gimme Some Truth 3/5 Oh My Love 4/5 How Do You Sleep? 4/5 How? 3/5 Oh Yoko 4/5 Average: 3,5 I mean this is pretentious, but the songs were just too good.

I'll say it up front - Post Beatles John Lennon was the least favorite my solo Beatles artists. This album just confirms the way I felt - I don't get it.

Amazing

6.5/10 It takes extreme balls to include a diss track saying McCartney only did Yesterday & produces muzak on an album that is mostly boring with zero experimentation. Lennon does know his way around a lyric & quality melody, but seems comfortable to play in more backward-looking musical territory. He mostly seems disengaged and/pr unwilling to show any emotion - it is only How Do You Sleep? That you really feel him snarling. Over-reliance on some syrupy strings too - not in love with the production here. Best: Gimme Some Truth

I've always been on Team Paul. John Lennon hit women.

This one really takes me back to when I was a huge Beatles nut in the 70’s and 80’s. So many great songs here. Later on in life I found John to be a little hypocritical, even a bit on this album. But as a whole this was an easy listen all the way through.

Not enough bangers

Kind of a reluctant 3 I guess.. don’t particularly care for John Lennon, don’t care for the title track, the album feels really safe compared even to some of his other stuff, let alone The Beatles best stuff but yknow.. he’s a Beatle, so what I like about their music shines through. Enough solid songs on here that I didn’t dislike it even though it wasn’t super memorable.

Perhaps I could give this a fairer shake on a better day but man I hated listening to this after a pretty miserable day.

Although I would have Imagine as the fifth best post-beatles album, Jealous Guy and Oh Yoko are possibly the two most affecting songs for me in the post-beatles catalog. John was always the edge in the Lennon-McCartney pairing and his songs have a way of slicing so deep for me... Imagine is extremely corny (but I can't help but sing along) and How Do you Sleep is the like first rock music diss track from what I can tell! The issue is that none of the other songs are particularly memorable... but man does Oh Yoko! fuck my shit up every time

Loved this album when I first listened to it. Must admit I wasn’t too keen on this on repeat listen, a lot of filler, combined with some of the best post-Beatles songs, takes this album from an average to a good album. “How do you sleep” is still the most underrated song of Lennon’s back catalogue. A respectable 7/10.

A ok to good album that's weighed down by history, A few really good songs like "Jealous Guy" and "Gimmie Some Truth" and the title track is good if you're a teenager looking for greater meaning to life, but for Lennon is was absurd hypocrisy since he was bigger than jesus and richer than god. And then Gal Godot had an idea....

I’ve already listened to it

Good. But only a few tracks Id play again

A perfect summation of John Lennon’s persona; equal parts iconic and pretentious. How can you lead the album with the messaging on Imagine but then also have a diss track about your former bandmate on the same album? This record fluctuates from fantastic to grating on the ears far too often

Don't like John Lennon.

4/5

Partly heard before Saved 5/10 Top track: Imagine

OK

Så bra, har tyckt om detta album länge. Älskar: Jealous guy Oh Yoko Oh my love, så fin text :’(((<3 Hade gett 4.5 om det gick

Ganska chill roadtripvibes, skulle ge denna och förra på 3 stjärnor

meh. nix davon mitgnommen

3 out of 5, first listen. More folksy than I thought it would be and it was good for a listen, but not sure if it'd play it in regular rotation. George Harrison still might have the best solo Beatles album I've listened to (as of 7/10/2024) Might be better as I get older. Favorite song: Imagine Least favorite song: I Don't Wanna Be A Soldier Mama

Mediocre.

5 stars

Imagine 3.8 Crippled Inside 4 Jealous Guy 4.5 It's So Hard 3.8 I Don't Want to Be a Soldier 4 Gimme Some Truth 4.1 Oh My Love 3.8 How Do You Sleep? 4.2 How? 3.6 Oh Yoko! 3.2 Score: 3.9

“Imagine” is one of the most beautiful songs ever written, and if you think it’s naïve, you’re wrong and an ass. But it’s not enough to save the album. Half the songs go on for way too long and the album leaves you wanting for some of that signature Lennon non sequitur.

Imagine. Jealous Guy. Lots of blah. 65/100

Ol Lennon at it again. Dude hot boxed in some closet before taking this photo I think. Look, I'm not a huge Lennon fan, and I think I liked his other album better. Imagine is a classic, no doubt there, but I laughed pretty hard that a song called "Jealous Guy" has Yoko Ono on it, something about that is really funny to me.

Here we go, the big one from Mr. Lennon. Leaving aside that nightmare compilation of celebrities singing "Imagine" that really just embodied the insanity that COVID caused in all of us, the song is fantastic. A couple other great tracks on here, “Jealous Guy” is a cool one, Pusha T sampled a cover of that on “Dreaming of the Past.” I like hearing the love for Yoko too, cheesy but it’s genuine. Favorite tracks: Imagine, Jealous Guy, Oh My Love, How Do You Sleep, Oh Yoko. Album cover: Really wispy, washed out picture of John. Kind of ominous as it looks like a shot of someone who had been murdered. 4/5

One star off because I am just reminded of that horrible video of those celebrities singing “imagine” during covid

Imagine Oh my love Jealous guy

-this is a great album -it has a calm vibe, like lying in bed on a rainy day -the production does remind me of Let It Be at times, considering that Phil Spector produced it -this is my first Beatles solo album I ever listened to -John's writing on this album is great, but there is one song in particular that I dont like the lyrics of, "How Do You Sleep". Think of this song as a diss track, towards the person John considered a brother at one point, Paul McCartney. Considering these two were the best of friends some point in time, for John to write this song, it's a little sad. It does sound good, I'll give it that. -not all songs are perfect -I expected it to be much better than this (4 stars), considering this is John Lennon we are talking about, and I am a Beatles fan -I love John's vocal performances on this one -"Oh, My Love" is an underrated Lennon song -favorite songs: the title track (<3), Jealous Boy, Gimme Some Truth (<3), How?, Oh Yoko!, Power To The People, Well (Baby Please Don't Go) (<3), Happy Xmas (War Is Over) (<3) -least favorite song: How Do You Sleep?

Dislike

Obviously it isn’t as great as The Beatles but I do really like it and I think people go way too harsh on this album and him. He’s my favourite Beatle and my favourite songwriter

Rating: 7.5/10 Really good solo effort from Lennon, he clearly has his own sound here that does not just imitate the Beatles. Did not care for a few songs but it's mostly great.

It's both good and incredibly dull.

Everyone knows of the tour de force that is the song “Imagine”…but I…imagine (ha ha) that a lot of people aren’t aware of the album it’s a part of. Well, I was one of these people…and following a listen, I have to say I hadn’t missed out on too much. In my limited listens of solo projects of the former Fab Four, I’ve found most had at least one or two unreal songs (ie Imagine or Jealous Guy) and then mostly filler type songs, or tracks that don’t really hit the same and don’t become so memorable soon after the listen. Obviously the Beatles enthusiast should hear this album, there are some decent tracks here for sure. But it’s also hard not to listen through and wonder what this could have been had it been done as part of the Beatles. As it stands, this is worth a spin for the first few songs, but don’t be surprised if you find your interest waning by the end.

1. N/A, 2. bra, 3. meh/bra, 4. meh/bra, 5. meh, 6. meh, 7. dårlig, 8. bra, 9. meh, 10. bra Overall: 7.5/10

Okay these are the goofy notes i made 2 dayd ago: Nothing special, just sorta vibe Easy to listen to I feel like he could've put more effort into his music writing He a dickhead There was a teeny sax solo in that one overly repetitive song so thats cool I guess

Very mid Also bad person

Imagine slaps and the rest is like, chill ig Its a tad repetitive but none of it is objectively bad Like david bowie in a creative depression

This is another album that I'd always thought I should listen to or get but never got round to. Starting off with the classic title track was a good move. But the second was a real surprise with its country and western vibe, especially when you actually listen to the lyrics. On the whole it wasn't bad. Would I buy it, still undecided to be honest, but definitely worth a 3.

A bit hit and miss. But when it’s good it’s great. Jealous Guy and Imagine 👌 3 stars.

Loved this. As good as some of the best Beatles output. 'Gimme Some Truth' is a right stomper. Then you have the emotion of 'Imagine' and 'Jealous Guy'. It's great all round album, no real duff tracks.

Classic

Such beautiful piano arrangements.

Too busy at work to appreciate and also turned off by Yoko Ono song at end for some reason.

I wasn't too big on Imagine the song and I gotta say I'm definitely no bigger on the rest of the album 2/5

The first two tracks are great. This is what I expect from John. I’m not a fan of the Yoko stuff. This album is great!

Good record with a couple of great songs.

Not a big Lennon fan, though I appreciate his contributions to music. This album he sounds tired or depressed through a lot of it? I find it lacks catchy or interesting melodies... Gimme Some Truth is Punk Rock though...

Pretty good for a solo Beatle album. The first three songs, especially, are very good. The rest of the album, while not at the same level, is still either enjoyable or interesting. I think full credit is merited from an artistic point of view.

Classic album. Not quite HoF.

pretty

Me gustaba más antes.

A five. five stars. On my top 10 albums list.

Imagine is an all timer but has lost its impact due to ubiquity. Jealous Guy however, still never fails to raise goosebumps. Perhaps that's the power of love songs over political messages. Kind of annoying that Ocean Colour Scene nicked bits of the hook for Day we Caught the Train and consequently I am regularly reminded of that song while trying to enjoy this one. Steering away from assessing him as a human being and focusing on enjoying the album, this is a mix of stone cold classic slow ballads, and fairly mediocre rockers. Except Gimme Some Truth. I think the first version I heard of that was a live cover by The Wonder Stuff on the b side of Caught in my Shadow. How Do You Sleep is spiteful but pretty good, not great. Think I'm going down the middle, half of this album is bang average, some worldies however.

imagine ooolll the peopol

I used to love this album. Listened to it non-stop. Now, I'm pretty tired of it. It's not bad, it's dated, it's Lennon. The snide digs at Paul and thinking the whole world revolves around him work better at 12 than they do decades later. Mixed feelings between a 3 and a 4.

Enjoyed it more than I expected I would. Imagine, is a strong song though I find it hard to take seriously. I just don’t think it’s genuine. Jealous Guy is an excellent track with a great whistling section, Lennon admitting he’s insecure is kinda surprising. I’m not a Beatles stan so I absolutely found How do You Sleep to be hilariously entertaining, referring to Paul’s solo work as Muzak must’ve cut deep. Inconsistent overall but entertaining nonetheless. 3 stars

Given the title track, you'd expect this to be an easy 5-star album. The song Imagine is one of the best, most famous, and most memorable anthems in rock history. It overshadows most of the rest of the album, which is still fairly strong but a bit scattershot. The melodies are a little undercooked and the lyrics are all over the place, but I think by pure lucky coincidence Lennon happened to hit several home runs here. Some of these tracks shouldn't work, what with the melodic/lyrical oddities and barebones instrumentation... but yet they do. Gimme Some Truth is a great example of this. All the musicians in the track, including Lennon himself, are playing/singing kind of halfheartedly... and yet it works. And the chorus is darn memorable (and darn good), despite consisting of a yelling monotone. The weakest track here - I Don't Wanna Be A Soldier Mama - isn't terrible, but it's not particularly engaging. Just the title, repeated, with a bluesy, sololess backing instrumental. That being said, blues elements are prevalent throughout the album (which I wouldn't have expected from Lennon), and they're actually pretty great. All of the tracks on side 1 (excluding the title track) feature swung acoustic guitar and twangy singing over some variant of 12-bar blues. And, for the most part, they work. (Maybe it's just the novelty of having Lennon's vocal paired with an unexpected genre.) Side 2 alternates between light anthems and lighthearted ballads, with the centrepiece being How Do You Sleep?, a very thinly veiled diss track dedicated to fellow ex-Beatle Paul McCartney. Brutal. 4/5 Key tracks: Imagine, Jealous Guy, Oh My Love, Gimme Some Truth, How Do You Sleep?

Never listened to the album before and quite enjoyed it after getting past the very much over-played Imagine

Pretty chill

Phew. Freed from the Beatles, I have very little time for any of the individual members. John particularly. This is an album with one evergreen that's been played to death... And then there is a whole bunch of incredibly mediocre songs that are variations of blues routines and Beatles-esque ballads and Beatles references. And I get that John wasn't a particularly peaceful person in his younger years, and he was openly compensating for that with all his peace and love stuff in the 70s. But my God, is this getting dreary really and cringey quickly. Having said all that. It's well-produced and I'd much rather listen to this again than to Sign O the Times by Prince. That album got 1/5, so this has to be a 2/5.

Imagine is probably the most overrated song of all time. I understand why it's so popular but today it's become so annoying, I skip it every time I hear it. Same goes for I Don't Wanna Be a Soldier Mama, but this one is not only pretentious, its just bad a song. On the positive side, I really liked Jealous Guy, Oh My Love and Oh Yoko! These are all great songs, especially Oh Yoko! which is just plain love you sometimes feel towards your wife and you just can't contain it, it just goes out. It's cute. How Do You Sleep? would be a great diss track if not for one thing - Paul is so much better than John. The rest is filler, especially those bluesy/country tunes. Overall, this doesn't really feel like a consistent piece of work and I don't really like it except for a few songs. The rest is just covered under a huge pile of hypocrisy of John Lennon as a person vs artist and I can't shake it off. 2.5/5

Wonderful album by the "smart" Beatle!

A step down from Plastic Ono Band but still has that lush Spector production and the songwriting is pretty good Favourite tracks: Crippled Inside, Jealous Guy, I Don’t Wanna Be a Soldier, Oh Yoko

Lennon and McCartney was one of the greatest songwriting teams of the past century, but neither of them was very good on his own.

Best solo Beatle album I’ve heard so far.

I like this album a bit less than Plastic Ono Band, but this still contains some raw lyrics and excellent songs. Ironically, the title track is probably the weakest link.

It’s not great. Phil Specter’s contributions do make it at least palatable, but mostly melodramatic and boring. Time and place, I suppose.

As much as I'd like to spend time dunking on Imagine, this album makes it clear where John Lennon made his sound pronounced in The Beatles.

It's John Lennon without the Beatles.

It’s okay

Fulgte ikkje så godt med, så mulig eg kunne gitt da 4. Men mistenke at eg like Beatles bedre

First few tracks are rough but finds its footing when the acoustic guitar takes a back seat to piano, drums and electric. I Don’t Wanna Be A Soldier Mama is a fascinating track with layered, diverse percussion and strong guitar riffs, but the subject matter is what is most daring here — the same line is repeated throughout the track, but the content paired with Lennon’s varied delivery makes it work by delivering a crescendo of emotional resonance. Overall, the songwriting is simplistic and often repetitive — working sometimes, not landing at others. And I’d classify the vocal performance as creative, and sufficient, but not above average by any means. Listened to: walking through Prospect Park. Favorite tracks: IDWBASM, Oh My Love, Oh Yoko! (Kinda repetitive, John, lol)

Some great songs but also some duds

This one just washed over me like a bucket of wet sick. Very similar to the Plastic Ono one that precedes is but somehow less fresh and interesting. His grandiose digs at McCartney on 'How do you sleep' are not a good look, and 'Imagine' is so hackneyed and overplayed now you just can't take it seriously (if you ever could). 'Jealous Guy' is the only one that stands out as a great pop song worthy of John's legacy.

4/5, great album, I was born in the 90's but the songs still felt nostalgic.

Fine, but the mixing is off and makes the listening experience worse.

Pretentious nonsense

John Lennons best solo work. I'm a bigger fan of Paul and George's solo work and even though I hate the idea behind "How do you sleep" it just gets stuck in my head.

Did Not Like the Album. Gets one Star for the Song Imagine...

Imagine is one of the great, hopeful songs of all time. The rest of the album is solid.

Stands up pretty well.

I get Beatlemania, Beatle fever. Whatever you may call it I have been converted. They can do no wrong musically ( I am sure they did some kinky shit in their prime). Which like honestly, I really wish we came up with the internet earlier because I really wanna know what Ringo was tweeting about in the Beatles prime. Like, you think Paul would have tweeted fly high John with a dove and broken heart emoji when John got shot?

This album was my introduction to Lennon years ago. Lennon has the most atmospheric catalog of any of the Beatles. I will die on the hill that he’s the most creative. Imagine (the album) and Plastic Ono Band (album) were the soundtracks of my breakup. Shit slaps man.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH YOKO!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This is a perfevt four. This album changed the way I view John I always thought that Paul was the brain, but it may be John!!! This album also helped me differentiate what john sounds like on beatles records, I know I know. All in all I think this is a really sold work and the genres played with here are awesome. More pls

Sum of the Beatles seems better than its parts. 2 stars. Was ready for it to end.