GIMME SOME TRUTH. (Deluxe Box Set)

John Lennon would have turned 80 years old on October 9th, 2020, had his life not been cut violently and cruelly short when he was just 40. Witty, tenacious, flawed but also self-aware and constantly seeking to improve himself and the world around him. He was my Dad’s hero and that admiration rubbed off onto me at an early age; I was only five years old when he died (like Sean), but I remember the tears and shock of my family and, indeed, the whole world all too well. He was a man of poetry, nonsense verse, drawings with unique character and, of course, one of the greatest songwriters of the 20th Century and, because of his premature death, an icon, often talked about these days as some kind of all-knowing guru or deity, something, I’m sure, he would have at least laughed at, if not hated. Not content with the profound and meaningful things he did say, people often mis-attribute anything vaguely wise to Lennon these days, thanks to easily shareable social media memes.You can see why someone like Liam Gallagher wants to be Lennon. Someone ready with a clever quip, someone who dared to think differently, somebody who wasn’t prepared to live life by anybody else’s rules, only his own. Anyone who wants to stick two fingers up to the establishment would find it easy to relate to Lennon’s character and the fact that he never chose the easier roads to walk down. For me, as much as I admire John’s devotion to the peace and love mantra and how much he cared about fairness and justice, for me it is the music that shines brightly above everything else in his world. He was a complete songwriter, where very rarely did you get a song where the lyrics and the music weren’t both exceptional. His major strength was undoubtedly his words, but my word could he write a fantastic musical composition to accompany them too.I still remember the first time I heard Strawberry Fields Forever, I Am The Walrus and A Day In The Life. They were momentous and life-changing. Revolution subverted my young mind and Rain turned me on to the whole psychedelic genre. Mind Games preached the power of love, Imagine - as clichéd as some people may find it these days - dared us all to think outside the box. In today’s secular U.K. it may not be such a challenging statement to ask people to “Imagine there’s no Heaven”, but in the early seventies things were a lot different.Much of John’s power came from expressing his fragility and weaknesses. Jealous Guy, for example, as well as Mother and, one of my personal favourites, How?. I could carry on listing wonderful, life-affirming Lennon songs (I mean, Instant Karma! anyone?) all morning, but I think I’ve made my point... and I haven’t even mentioned the glorious early Beatles numbers such as She Loves You and I Want To Hold Your Hand, co-written with his old mate Macca, or the Double Fantasy album he and Yoko released just before he died which had announced his return to the very top tier of the music world.Released to coincide with what would have been John Lennon's 80th birthday on October 9th, 2020, Gimmie Some Truth is a compilation of many of John's greatest post-Beatles tracks. Curated by Sean Ono Lennon (although Yoko is executive producer) and each track completely remixed from the master tapes, this thirty-six track, two CD collection is billed as the “definitive” best of. So is it? Yes and no.. but mainly yes. On the whole, it sounds absolutely wonderful. The production from the Mind Games album, for example, is famously thin and the version of the beautifully soaring title track here has much more power and substance than the original release. I've heard some criticism of the remixes amongst the Lennon community with one perceptive voice noting that the bass-rich sound of Instant Karma! highlights the less than perfect bass playing by Klaus Voorman, maybe something that was left lower in the mix originally because of the that. Personally, I'm not as critical as that (although if that's the case then it's amusing that Lennon, like his old mate George, was also a Wilbury (as in “we'll bury (Wilbury) it in the mix”).Because of his closeness and access to the Lennon archives, it makes Sean both the best and potentially worst person to take control of this project. Although I'm sure that he has, objectively, tried to make the best possible compilation to protect and promote his late father's legacy, I believe Sean's family connection (and strong loyalty to his mother) is a possible handicap when selecting tracks and knowing exactly what fans are going to want to hear, given that a two CD limit was obviously decided on. For example, do fans really believe John's version of Yoko's Every Man Has A Woman Who Loves Him is worthy of inclusion in a definitive Lennon collection? Also as nice as Oh Yoko! And Dear Yoko are, I can't defend their inclusion when songs such as Mother, How? and Woman Is the N----- Of The World have been omitted (although, in 2020, I get why the last track didn't make the cut). I also question the inclusion of tracks such as Angela and Angel Baby, when the beautiful demo version of Real Love surely has much more of an emotional pull and Lennon's fantastic co-write with Harry Nilsson, Old Dirt Road, has been left off yet a completely unnecessary live version of Come Together made the cut. As a long-time fan, these are slightly baffling decisions. However, what I would like to give massive credit for is recognising the value of easily overlooked Lennon album tracks such as Out The Blue, I Know (I Know), Bless You, Steel And Glass and I'm Losing You. I know it's all down to a question of personal taste, but I think the inclusion of these tracks is absolutely spot on and they deserve a much wider audience that they have had so far.Despite my reservations about the track selection and the frustrating lack of information about each track in the booklet (recording and personnel information would have been very much appreciated), this is a well-presented collection, the vast majority of the music is absolutely incredible and the job Sean, an excellent musician in his own right, has done remixing the tracks from the original tapes both shines a spotlight on and breathes new life into them so they will be appreciated by, hopefully, generations to come. Yes, I have minor criticisms about what could and should have been on something billed as a definitive collection, but the fact remains that from the moment you press play to the very last piece of music, you are fully immersed in the work of a musical and lyrical genius and, when you put it like that, it makes my reservations seem very minor indeed.Track listing:CD1: 1. Instant Karma! (We All Shine On) 2. Cold Turkey 3. Working Class Hero 4. Isolation 5. Love 6. God 7. Power To The People 8. Imagine 9. Jealous Guy 10. Gimmie Some Truth 11. Oh My Love 12. How Do You Sleep? 13. Oh Yoko! 14. Angela 15. Come Together (live) 16. Mind Games 17. Out The Blue 18. I Know (I Know)CD2: 19. Whatever Gets You Thru The Night 20. Bless You 21. #9 Dream 22. Steel And Glass 23. Stand By Me 24. Angel Baby 25. (Just Like) Starting Over 26. I'm Losing You 27. Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy) 28. Watching The Wheels 29. Woman 30. Dear Yoko 31. Every Man Has A Woman Who Loves Him 32. Nobody Told Me 33. I'm Stepping Out 34. Grow Old With Me 35. Happy Xmas (War Is Over) 36. Give Peace A Chance

Remastered perfectly

What can I say? I’m a major Lennon fan and I’ve read a lot of the other reviewers thoughts about this album and I would agree there’s nothing new to look forward to and I have all these tracks of this album on various other albums but never the less this is a superb album well thought out and well put together by Yoko and Sean. As far as I’m concerned his voice is as clear as a bell the best I’ve heard it anyway, the music is,the only way I could describe it “full”it has depth and you can pick out all the instruments, you could say,depending on your taste there’s a few songs missing but the only way around that is to remix everything he’s ever done all in one go. I know over the years they remixed a few of his albums but some of them are fifteen years old now and I know I’m not an expert but I would imagine in that technique has moved on. Anyway whatever it is still I think a great album to have if your an oldie like me or a youngster who wants to dip there toe into John Lennon Just to see what he was about.

Bought this for my son brillent quolity

“Deluxe” is pushing things a bit far. The two cds come in a cardboard cover and are accompanied by a booklet containing some scrappy photos of John (and Yoko) and bits of lyric sheets, ending with a page of acknowledgements in a tiny, densely-packed font. And there's a small fold-out poster. The track listing is on the back of the cover. What’s needed, in a compilation described as “deluxe”, is information about recording dates, studios, musicians, timings etc, all set in the context of Lennon’s post-Beatles work. None of that here, which is why I’m reluctantly deducting a star.No complaints about the music however: 36 tracks, sounding very good, covering John’s solo career. It’s a good mixture of the hit singles, popular album tracks, and some obscurities. Die-hard fans will undoubtedly find some striking omissions, but if you’re looking for a good overview of the man’s output, this certainly does the trick. From Lennon at his most savage and angry – Working Class Hero, How Do You Sleep, Gimme Some Truth – to beautifully lyrical – Woman, Beautiful Boy, Imagine – and tracks from the post-drugs period – Starting Over, Watching the Wheels, Nobody Told Me – just before his murder. All in all, a great collection.

Another brilliant album

I resisted this compilation for a good while, but I was wrong. I thought you couldn't get better than Working Class Hero 2cd. This shows why he's still classed as a songwriting genius, so I stand corrected! So many beautiful lyrics emotional vocals, truly great songs.

Everything was good.

Gran recopilación de su obra solista, con un sonido excepcional

Anyone who has listened to John Lennon's recordings over the years will INSTANTLY notice how much the sound quality of these "Ultimate Mixes" are truly improved. The music seems to 'float' in the air, resonating with sounds and instrumentation that was buried in previous mixes. The bass and bottom end are especially noticeable and John's voice is centered and exceptionally clear. I have listened to previous editions of these recordings for years, and still I can hear sounds that I have never noticed before.To say that these remixed songs are "Ultimate" is NOT an overstatement. I can't imagine that the sound quality could possibly be improved more than these songs are. To hear these in better sound quality you'll need a time machine and travel back to the studio on the day they were recorded.And the song selection is fantastic. While not truly a 'best of' compilation, these are songs that impacted John the most, as selected by Yoko, and while many of them are 'hit' songs, there is a lot of material that long time listeners of John's albums have come to know and love that were neither singles or hit songs, but are great tunes none-the-less.2 CD's, 36 total songs, encompassing John Lennon's entire solo career. Some songs John wrote while he was still a member of the Beatles (though not recorded by the group) and some of these tracks didn't see the light of day until well after John's untimely death and tracks from all eras of John solo career in between make up this incredible collection.Long time fans of John's will certainly enjoy the upgraded sound quality and song selection, but even those new to listening to John are certain to be captivated by the music he recorded.And lastly, a tip of the hat to "Bridge Records of Ireland", the seller of this CD. I'm not entirely sure how I managed to select a CD sold from so far away, but I salute them for their customer service, quality packaging and speedy delivery. I was notified that they had received my order, when it was shipped and it even managed to beat their estimated delivery date by more than a week, all at a very nice price. I would not hesitate to order from them again.

tres bonne sonoritee

Esse remix vale muito a pena, mas não substitui de forma alguma, na minha opinião, as gravações originais.Nesse box você percebe que as faixas estão com mais graves, sinto que isso é uma tendência da maioria dos remixes e rematers atuais, a voz do Lennon se destaca mais do que nas gravações originais e com isso você tem uma nova percepção ao ouvir as músicas.É um box (4 Lps) muito bom de se ouvir, a embalagem é bacana, a prensagem gostei bastante, muito limpa e sem ruídos de fundo. Acho uma pena não colocarem os discos em plásticos, eles vem direto nos envelopes de papel, que as vezes marcam os vinis, mas não foi o que aconteceu dessa vez.Senti falta de "Mother" nessa seleção do box, mas isso acontece com coletâneas, não tem tudo o que cada um gosta.

Bellissima raccolta