An amazing limited box set release of John Lennon's Imagine – issued as a special 40th Anniversary package, and even cooler than the original release back in the 70s! The white box has a great cover image of John at the piano, with Yoko sitting nearby – and contains 2LPs, on 180 gram white vinyl – plus a poster and postcards as well! The core album is Imagine, of course – the most consistent of John's post-Beatles albums, and just about as essential as they come. Co-produced by Phil Spector, yet it's often not as grandly orchestrated as a Wall Of Sound effort, and well tailored to Lennon's songs – which include "Give Me Some Truth", "Oh My Love", "How Do You Sleep", "Imagine", "Crippled Inside", "Jealous Guy" and "I Don't Wanna Be A Soldier". The second LP features Imagine Sessions material – early versions of "Baby Please Don't Go", "Imagine", "How Do You Sleep", "Jealous Love", "Oh My Love", and "I Don't Wanna Be A Soldier". LP, Vinyl record album

A posthumous album, put together by Yoko Ono – featuring unreleased John Lennon material, including some produced by Phil Spector! Titles include "Here We Go Again", "Rock & Roll People", "Angel Baby", "Steel & Glass", "Scared", "Old Dirt Road", and "Bless You". Cassette

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An amazing experimental set from the team of John Lennon & Yoko Ono – a record that might look hippy dippy on the cover, given its famous nude image of the pair – but which really unleashes a very experimental sound throughout – one that's more in keeping with Yoko's ties to the Fluxus movement than anything that John did before! In other words, if you dig the song "Revolution #9" on The White Album, you'll find a lot to love here – and all these many years later, the whole thing maybe is even better than before, away from the gooey love story behind it! LP, Vinyl record album

The earliest incarnation of the Plastic Ono band, and more or less a one off, with an all-star line up that included Eric Clapton and Klaus Voorman alongside Lennon and Ono. One side of the rootsy rock that was the old school Beatles stock in trade, and one side of Yoko Ono doing her thing on the mic. Titles include "Blue Suede Shoes", "Money", "Dizzy Miss Lizzy", "Yer Blues", "Cold Turkey", "Give Peace A Chance", "Don't Worry Kyoko" and "John, John". LP, Vinyl record album

Yoko shows her Fluxus roots on this album of trippy experimental stuff. Side one is a live piece called "Cambridge 1969", which is performed by John and Yoko, with the help of avant jazzmen John Tchicai and John Stevens. Lots of noisy guitar on that one. Side 2 features a number of spare tracks recorded on a cassette at Queen Charlotte Hospital, in 1968. Cuts include "No Bed For Beatle John" (as pictured on the cover), "Baby's Heartbeat", and "Two Minutes Silence". LP, Vinyl record album

Deluxe box set includes 36 tracks on 2 CDs and on Blu-ray in 5.1 surround and hi-res stereo mixes – plus a 124 page hardcover book with photos, interviews, drawings, lyrics, and more. CD

A posthumous album, put together by Yoko Ono – featuring unreleased John Lennon material, including some produced by Phil Spector! Titles include "Here We Go Again", "Rock & Roll People", "Angel Baby", "Steel & Glass", "Scared", "Old Dirt Road", and "Bless You". LP, Vinyl record album

A triple 7" set of John Lennon singles featuring the original sleeve art for each – plus a 24" by 26" poster, 3 postcards and a custom plastic adaptor hub! Singles include "Mother/Why", "Imagine/It's So Hard", and "Watching The Wheels/Yes, I'm Your Angel". 7-inch, Vinyl record

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The great John Lennon album from 1973 – still in an exhilaratingly creative mode with strong Plastic Ono traces, even if the overall effect is more mainstream friendly – ultimately, an album that stands incredibly well on its own, even if its something of a bridge to John's rock and roll years to come! The songs aren't as overtly strident as the ones on Sometime In New York City, but there's plenty of passion bubbling under the surface – and the struggle to be as honest and passionate as he can be without bludgeoning us over the head with his feelings brings an underlying tension the work as whole that's pretty amazing to this day. Includes the great, always emotionally resonant title track plus "Bring On The Lucie", "Nutopian International Anthem", "Intuition", "You Are Here", "Meat City", and "I Know I Know". LP, Vinyl record album

The first true proper solo album by John Lennon – plus an extra LPs worth of alternate takes! Recorded after a few non-Beatles records with Yoko Ono, and at the same time as Yoko's much wilder album with a similar title! This one, though, is John at his best – very personal and exposed, in similar territory to Paul McCartney on his first solo record – and the whole thing is a fantastic testament to the humanity that Lennon always brought to his music, even at a time when some might have accused him of going off the deep end with some of his more experimental music. The record's got a relatively stripped-down vibe, although isn't entirely just voice and guitar – as other elements are brought in at just the right level to expand the sound without losing the Lennon at the core. Titles include "Mother", "Hold On", "I Found Out", "Working Class Hero", "Isolation", "Remember", "Love", "Well Well Well", "Look At Me", "God", and "My Mummy's Dead". The Ultimate Collection includes new stereo and 5.1 mixes, outtakes, demos, raw studio mixes, jams, and live material – plus a really cool 132 page book with an essay, photos, lyrics, archival documents, and detailed notes on each track. CD

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Live Peace in Toronto from John & Yoko – not the sprawling art rock proto noise collective that would record a little later, but a small group featuring Eric Clapton on guitar, Klaus Voorman on bass and Alan White on drums – who surprised the audience at the Toronto Rock & Roll Revival festival! The album is most famous for the iconic "Give Peace A Chance" sing-a-long, but it includes some raucous covers, some then new Lennon originals, some wild Yoko vocals, and some and all around good natured vibes. Other titles include "Money", "Blue Suede Shoes", "Yer Blues", "Cold Turkey". Side two has the full on Yoko extreme art noise, with "Don't Worry Kyoko (Mummy's Only Looking For Her Hand In The Snow)" and "John, John (Let's Hope For Peace)". CD

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Not the out there primal scream of Plastic Ono, and more of an impeccably produced, easy to love landmark from John Lennon! The title track, beautiful as it is, is so heavily ingrained into rock & roll myth making machine that it's become too easy to overlook how great most of the songs on the album are. It must be the most consistent of John's LPs post-Beatles, and it's just about as essential as they come. Co-produced by Phil Spector, yet it's often not as grandly orchestrated as a Wall Of Sound effort, and well tailored to Lennon's songs. Includes "Give Me Some Truth", "Oh My Love", "How Do You Sleep?", "Imagine", "Crippled Inside", "Jealous Guy" and "I Don't Want To Be A Soldier". CD

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The first true proper solo album by John Lennon – recorded after a few non-Beatles records with Yoko Ono, and at the same time as Yoko's much wilder album with a similar title! This one, though, is John at his best – very personal and exposed, in similar territory to Paul McCartney on his first solo record – and the whole thing is a fantastic testament to the humanity that Lennon always brought to his music, even at a time when some might have accused him of going off the deep end with some of his more experimental music. The record's got a relatively stripped-down vibe, although isn't entirely just voice and guitar – as other elements are brought in at just the right level to expand the sound without losing the Lennon at the core. Titles include "Mother", "Hold On", "I Found Out", "Working Class Hero", "Isolation", "Remember", "Love", "Well Well Well", "Look At Me", "God", and "My Mummy's Dead". CD

John Lennon revisits the rock and roll canon after years of emotionally charged solo material – a move that was partially imposed by legal necessity, but got even more messed up from there – culminating a solid, set of pure Rock N Roll in '75! Includes sessions produced by Lennon in fall of '74, plus the 4 tracks that survived the '73 sessions with Spector. Includes "Be-Bop-A-Lula", "Stand By Me", "Rip It Up/Ready Teddy", "Ain't That A Shame", "Sweet Little Sixteen", "Slippin' And Slidin'", "Peggy Sue", "Bony Moronie", "Just Because" and more. LP, Vinyl record album

A bittersweet farewell from The Beatles – a record that definitely shows the fracturing unity of the group, with lots of near-solo moments – but a set that also makes us really wonder what they'd have done with all this genius, had they managed to hold it together! There's great hints here of the solo work to come – especially from George Harrison and John Lennon. Includes the genius cuts "I Dig A Pony", "Two Of Us", "Across The Universe", "I Me Mine", "One After 909", "For You Blue", and "Let It Be". Naked version includes an alternate mix of the original album and the bonus disc "Fly On The Wall". CD

One of the first ladies of Christmas pop is back in fine form here – singing soulful versions of a host of "neoclassics" – contemporary Holiday tunes from the past decade or two! Darlene Love's been remembered strongly year after year for her annual Holiday performance on David Letterman – and the CD's almost a "thanks" to her newer fans from the show, as it offers up a winder range of her talents. But even over and above her previous fame, or contemporary holiday presence, the CD's quite noteworthy in its attempt to bring some fresh tunes into the Christmas canon – songs originally recorded by John Lennon, The Pretenders, XTC, James Brown, Tom Petty, and others as special Holiday singles. Titles include "2000 Miles", "Christmas Wish", "Who Took The Merry Out Of Christmas", "Please Come Home For Christmas", "Night Of Peace", "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)", "Thanks For Christmas", "Christmas Must Be Tonight", and "Santa Claus Goes Straight To The Ghetto". CD

A fantastic bit of female funk from the 70s – and a set that was recorded in Germany by a very exotic singer! The album is Asha Puthli's first – and includes some unusual interpretations of work by JJ Cale, John Lennon, Bill Withers, and George Harrison – plus a great tune of her own – set to these cool backings that have lots of spacey electric modes blended with smoother funk passages – kind of a precursor to later Munich disco modes, but with a slower, slinkier feel. Asha's voice is very weird – a bit in the "love to love you baby" mode, and with a range of sounds that moves up and down the scale almost as much as Minnie Riperton. The record's got a nice mix of jazzy arrangements, and Asha's unique high-pitched vocals work great on tracks like "Lies", "Right Down Here", "I Dig Love", "Truth", "I Am A Song", "Let Me In Your Life", and "This Is Your Life". CD

Includes selections by John Lennon, Harry Nilsson, Eddie Money, Rosanne Cash, Alternating Boxes, Roberta Flack, Elvis Costello, Trio, Spirit Choir, and Sean Ono Lennon. CD

Some of the most righteous recordings ever issued – a rich batch of soul, funk, rock, and spoken word tracks from the boldest era of African American empowerment! The set does a great job of mixing together classic cuts and overlooked nuggets – all of which bring forth the message of the times with energy that's far more direct, and far more powerful than some of the more easygoing songs of the Civil Rights era – a musical shift that follows the cultural one documented in the book of the same title! The collection and notes are done by Pat Thomas – who wrote the Listen Whitey book – and he's done a really amazing job of picking just the right selections, and finding a way to make them all resonate together beautifully – in ways that only increase the focus and strength of their message. Titles incude "Free Bobby Now" by The Lumpen, "I Ain't Black" by Kain, "Free Huey" by Stokely Carmichael, "Invitation To Black Power (parts 1 & 2)" by Sahid Quintet, "Woman Of The Ghetto (live)" by Marlena Shaw, "Who Will Survive America" by Amiri Baraka, "Winter In America (solo version)" by Gil Scott Heron, "I Hate The White Man" by Roy Harper, "Dem Niggers Ain't Playing" by The Watts Prophets, "Tim Leary" by Eldridge Cleaver, and "Angela" by John Lennon & Yoko Ono. CD

A bittersweet farewell from The Beatles – a record that definitely shows the fracturing unity of the group, with lots of near-solo moments – but a set that also makes us really wonder what they'd have done with all this genius, had they managed to hold it together! There's great hints here of the solo work to come – especially from George Harrison and John Lennon – and the Phil Spector production really helps open up a new sound for the group. Includes the genius cuts "I Dig A Pony", "Two Of Us", "Across The Universe", "I Me Mine", "One After 909", "For You Blue", and "Let It Be". CD

A bittersweet farewell from The Beatles – a record that definitely shows the fracturing unity of the group, with lots of near-solo moments – but a set that also makes us really wonder what they'd have done with all this genius, had they managed to hold it together! There's great hints here of the solo work to come – especially from George Harrison and John Lennon – and the Phil Spector production really helps open up a new sound for the group. Includes the genius cuts "I Dig A Pony", "Two Of Us", "Across The Universe", "I Me Mine", "One After 909", "For You Blue", and "Let It Be". LP, Vinyl record album

An unusual project based on music by Lennon & McCartney – with performances of Beatles tunes by The Brothers Johnson, Roy Wood, Bryan Ferry, Peter Gabriel, Tina Turner, Lynsey DePaul, David Essex, and Elton John! Kind of like the Tommy movie soundtrack, but hipper! LP, Vinyl record album

A bittersweet farewell from The Beatles – a record that definitely shows the fracturing unity of the group, with lots of near-solo moments – but a set that also makes us really wonder what they'd have done with all this genius, had they managed to hold it together! There's great hints here of the solo work to come – especially from George Harrison and John Lennon – and the Phil Spector production really helps open up a new sound for the group. Includes the genius cuts "I Dig A Pony", "Two Of Us", "Across The Universe", "I Me Mine", "One After 909", "For You Blue", and "Let It Be". CD

Includes the hits "No No Song" and "Back Off Boogaloo". With help from a who's who of guest stars – John Lennon, Harry Nilsson, Elton John, Dennis Coffey, Dr John, Billy Preston, and more! LP, Vinyl record album

Very cool stuff! This is a nifty little promo-only CD of remixes of tracks from the last Tom Ze album for Luaka Bop. The sound is amazing, and the CD includes remixes by The High Llamas, Sean Lennon (?), Amon Tobin, Sasha Frere-Jones (of Ui), and John McEntire (of Tortoise, who are Ze's backing band on his US tour this year!) CD

A bittersweet farewell from The Beatles – a record that definitely shows the fracturing unity of the group, with lots of near-solo moments – but a set that also makes us really wonder what they'd have done with all this genius, had they managed to hold it together! There's great hints here of the solo work to come – especially from George Harrison and John Lennon – and the Phil Spector production really helps open up a new sound for the group. Includes the genius cuts "I Dig A Pony", "Two Of Us", "Across The Universe", "I Me Mine", "One After 909", "For You Blue", and "Let It Be". LP, Vinyl record album

A bittersweet farewell from The Beatles – a record that definitely shows the fracturing unity of the group, with lots of near-solo moments – but a set that also makes us really wonder what they'd have done with all this genius, had they managed to hold it together! There's great hints here of the solo work to come – especially from George Harrison and John Lennon – and the Phil Spector production really helps open up a new sound for the group. Includes the genius cuts "I Dig A Pony", "Two Of Us", "Across The Universe", "I Me Mine", "One After 909", "For You Blue", and "Let It Be" – plus lots of great bonus material including outtakes, rehearsals, chatter, the "Get Back" album and Let It Be Ep, stereo and surround sound Blu-ray mixes, and and awesome 100-page book – all in a cool heavy slipcase. CD

Although we shouldn't, we've always had a soft spot for this groovy rock combo. Maybe it's their appearance in Midnight Cowboy, or their brief association with John Lennon – but we think it's mostly because they've always had a good funk sensibility, even when they're playing rock, as on this LP. This one's got the great breakbeat cut "Mongoose", plus a few other nice ones, and it's darn tough to find! LP, Vinyl record album

A great audio documentary of a really mindblowing film – one that captures the Rolling Stones at that key late 60s point when they were stepping into really sinister territory – playing in a very vivid setting, along with some of their key up-and-coming contemporaries on the scene! The whole thing builds up with the energy of a circus – the Stones are last, and there's a growing mix of performers introduced by various members of the band – really presented in a carnivalesque array, before the lead act comes in and knocks it out of the park. The set features a killer early version of "A Quick One While He's Away" by The Who – maybe one of the high points of the set – plus "Song For Jeffrey" by Jethro Tull, Whole Lotta Yoko" by Yoko Ono & The Dirty Mac (John Lennon), "Ain't That A Lot Of Love" by Taj Mahal, and "Something Better" by Marianne Faithfull. The Rolling Stones round things out with performances of "Sympathy For The Devil", "Parachute Woman", "Jumpin Jack Flash", "Salt Of The Earth", "No Expectations", and "You Can't Always Get What You Want". CD

The mighty Cuban pianist is joined by John Patitucci on bass and Jack DeJohnette on drums! Tracks include "No Name", "Peace And Quiet Time", "Giant Steps", "Ebony", "Mima", and John Lennon's "Imagine". CD

With guests Laurence Olivier, Cliff Richard, Freddie Mercury, Julian Lennon, Dionne Warwick and Burt Bacharach, Ashford & Simpson, Murray Head, Leo Sayer, Jimmy Helms, John Christie, and Stevie Wonder. LP, Vinyl record album

A stunning little package that goes way beyond the original Fillmore East concert from 1971 – as this set features the full recordings from that show, including the legendary encore with John Lennon and Yoko Ono – plus the Rainbow Theatre concert, a whole other concert set of material from Pennsylvania, and all sorts of additional and rare tracks too! The package is massive – a great document of the non-stop creative genius that Frank Zappa had going with the group at the start of the 70s – presented here with new remastering by Eddie Kramer and Craig Parker, plus very detailed liner notes and other information too. CD

Gus Dudgeon may not be a household name in the annals of rock and roll – but he was a British studio genius whose talents touched more than a few of the more groundbreaking records of the London scene – with an especially great impact on the ever-changing sounds of the late 60s/early 70s generation! Dudgeon's story is told here in a richly detailed essay, packed with record covers and vintage images – all in support of a set list that mixes together hits and lesser-known gems, all to tell the tale of Gus' genius in the studio! Titles include "Mr Armageddon" by The Locomotive, "She's Not There" by The Zombies, "My Family" by Joan Armatrading, "Tokoloshe Man" by John Kongos, "Eye To Eye" by Audience, "Sixty Years On" by Elton John, "Boredom" by Tea & Sympathy, "Space Oddity (UK single version)" by David Bowie, "Oh How She Changed" by The Strawbs, "I'm The Urban Spaceman" by Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band, "Whatever Gets You Through The Night" by Elton John & John Lennon, "Run For Home" by Lindisfarne, "The Disappointed" by XTC, "Halfway Hotel" by Voyager, and "Fool (single edit)" by Chris Rea. CD

Cash's fourth volume of stark, sparely-arranged studio recordings for producer/set list provider Rick Rubin. As Johnny gets on in the years his always haunting voice, like Bob Dylan's, is weighted by age, but the heavily-breathed delivery only adds to the ghostly quality of the increasingly dark tunes. With this fourth set in the series we're far past being surprised by the choices of material – this time Cash conjures up spiritual takes on Depeche Mode's "Personal Jesus", Trent Reznor's "Hurt", Lennon/McCartney's "In My Life", and more traditional material like Hank Williams' "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry" and the eternally underrated Marty Robbins' "Big Iron". You can't forget that Cash's pen is still pretty sharp, too, as the really spooky imagery in the title track and others testify. The accompaniment includes the great Randy Scruggs, Beck/Tom Waits guitarist Smokey Hormel, Marty Stuart, Glen Campell, and backing vocals by Nick Cave and Fiona Apple. Another great one from the greatest! CD

Cash's fourth volume of stark, sparely-arranged studio recordings for producer/set list provider Rick Rubin. As Johnny gets on in the years his always haunting voice, like Bob Dylan's, is weighted by age, but the heavily-breathed delivery only adds to the ghostly quality of the increasingly dark tunes. With this fourth set in the series we're far past being surprised by the choices of material – this time Cash conjures up spiritual takes on Depeche Mode's "Personal Jesus", Trent Reznor's "Hurt", Lennon/McCartney's "In My Life", and more traditional material like Hank Williams' "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry" and the eternally underrated Marty Robbins' "Big Iron". You can't forget that Cash's pen is still pretty sharp, too, as the really spooky imagery in the title track and others testify. The accompaniment includes the great Randy Scruggs, Beck/Tom Waits guitarist Smokey Hormel, Marty Stuart, Glen Campell, and backing vocals by Nick Cave and Fiona Apple. Another great one from the greatest! CD

Here Comes Santa Claus – and a heck of a lot of other folks too – all served up here in a mighty nice collection of Holiday goodies from the postwar years – classic singles and LP cuts, all served up in a mix of jazz, vocal, and R&B modes! The set's a great entry in the series of Christmas-themed compilations from the Bear Family – and like the rest, it's got a mighty big track list, filled with hand-picked numbers by the folks who really know this stretch of music better than most! Titles include "Willy Claus" by Molly Bee, "Winter Wonderland" by Lennon Sisters, "It's A Marshmallow World" by Johnny Desmond, "Christmas Auld Lang Syne" by Bobby Darin, "Jingle Bells" by Frank Sinatra, "I Like A Sleighride" by Peggy Lee, "Ski Jump" by Frederic Curzon, and "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas" by Judy Garland. LP, Vinyl record album