Acoustic

John Lennon: Acoustic

Acoustic, released in 2005, highlights arguably John Lennon's greatest attribute, his voice, and frequently his worst, his erratic gutar work. It shouldn't be judged as an UNPLUGGED album, it was never intended for release...but fans may be interested in this approach to part of the Lennon archives.  

The album is actually in two parts, three LIVE tracks and a number of demos, a number of which had already been released on Anthology. Nevertheless, Acoustic has remained surprisingly popular:

LIVE:

Imagine originally from Imagine , John Sinclair  & The Luck Of The Irish originally from Some Time In New York City. With so few Lennon LIVE tracks available, there's no point being critical, just enjoy them.

Demos: 

Cold Turkey...probably the demo that Lennon played to The Beatles for release as a single...which they rejected. It's cold, stark...and very believable.

Then six tracks from John Lennon Plastic Ono Band...which sometimes sound quite different when played on acoustic guitar, rather than piano

• Working Class Hero
• Love
• Well, Well, Well
• Look At Me
• God
• My Mummy's Dead

One track from Some Time In New York City

• Woman Is The Nigger Of The World

One track from Walls & Bridges:

• What You Got

And four tracks from The Dakota:

• Real Love see: The Beatles Anthology
• It's Real (instrumental)
• Watching The Wheels see: Double Fantasy
• Dear Yoko see: Double Fantasy

John Lennon: Acoustic

"...This music is rather personal, like looking in someones underwear drawer. John didn't expect to air this stuff, but Yoko was finally convinced of it's historical...not commercial value....The music is sincere, raw, spirited, unplugged, heartfelt, moving (and) interesting...Definitely worth one's time to listen, too, and reflect upon..." Amazon reviewer G C Garrison therocklibrarian

"...O.K. these are demos and John Lennon would never have released 'em had he lived. Some of these tracks sound like they were recorded under 12 feet of water & some...are incomplete and unfinished as well but I sure am glad somebody out there let us hear them...it's, raw John, but like most of his work, it's timeless and worth a listen..." Amazon reviewer Philip S. Wolf

For more info, see:

• Wikipedia: John Lennon Acoustic