Working Class Hero: The Definitive Lennon (CD2)

Lennon’s 65th birthday events

John Lennon needs no introduction. One half of the best-known songwriting partnership of all time and one quarter of the best-loved groups, he’s an unforgettable icon and a legend. Born in Liverpool, England in 1940 and assassinated in New York City just over forty years later (December 8, 1980), Lennon rendered a vision of life that was simultaneously reflective, utopian and poignantly realistic. This October 9th would have been ex-Beatle’s 65th birthday. The world can only sit and wonder at what could have been. With so much injustice still incurring in the world there’s no doubt that he have had a lot to say and his presence more sorely missed than ever. There will be lots of Lennon related activity this year, including remastered reissues of the Walls & Bridges and Sometime In New York City albums, plus a new BBC documentary. Yoko Ono will go to Tokyo to join the Dream Power tribute concert at the Budokan, the legendary concert hall where the Beatles performed. She will then fly to London to accept a major award on behalf of John, and will attend the opening of a special exhibition, John Lennon: Unfinished Music, at the Cite de la Musique in Paris. There will also be various other events including the screening of rare Lennon/Ono films and a performance by Sonic Youth. First up though is Working Class Hero – The Definite Lennon album. Executively produced by Yoko Ono, it offers the most comprehensive collection of Lennon's hit singles and key album tracks to date – 38 songs in all, with a combined playing time of over two and one-half hours.

Working Class Hero - The Definitive Lennon collection

Lennon's solo work was light years away from his Fab Four career. As melodious as ever the music began to become darker – as tends to be the case with all tortured geniuses. Reflecting his social activism (Give Peace A Chance, Power To The People, Gimme Some Truth, Woman Is The Nigger Of The World), idealism (Imagine, which has been voted the 20th century's finest example of songwriting, Mind Games, Instant Karma!), his hedonistic "lost weekend," as he called the 18 months he spent separated from Yoko Ono in the early 1970's (Nobody Loves You When You're Down And Out, Whatever Gets You Thru The Night, the rollicking duet with Elton John that gave him his first #1 single as a solo artist), and the happiness he found in later years as a self-described "househusband," ((Just Like) Starting Over, Watching The Wheels, Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy)), Working Class Hero - The Definitive Lennon captures him in all his complexity. Also included such great songs as Jealous Guy (made most famous by Bryan Ferry and Roxy Music after John's death) the meditative Borrowed Time and the sentimental, but sadly poignant, Grow Old With Me, and the recently revived Free As A Bird. As for rarities, beyond Real Love, there is a live version of Come Together (wherein Lennon warns the crowd they may know more of the words than he does – and then proves it).

Perfect introduction for new generation of music fans

There will be a new generation of music fans who won’t be familiar with John Lennon or his music. Working Class Hero – The Definite Lennon is the perfect introduction for them. Mastered from the most up-to-date sources, the collection includes material from John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band (1970), Imagine (1971), Sometime In New York City (1972), Mind Games (1973), Walls and Bridges (1974), Rock 'N' Roll (1975), Double Fantasy (1980), Live In New York City (recorded in 1972, but not released until 1986) as well as numerous singles and tracks from Milk and Honey (1984) and Anthology (1998), the posthumous collections of Lennon's unreleased recordings. Ono commented on the album by saying "John made some great songs with beautiful music and daring words. He laid his life on the line to speak out the truth for all of us. Enjoy this incredible selection of songs of wisdom and power, and know that John is now in the heart of each of us, helping to heal ourselves and our planet. I miss him a lot. We all miss him. His songs are now our songs, our love, and our life."