John Lennon has been forever 40 for 30 years now. He may be gone from this place, no thanks to a deranged fan's deadly bullet on Dec. 8, 1980, but through his musical legacy, it's like he never left.
Especially this year, for what would have been the big seven-oh tomorrow, Oct. 9, he's all over the place. It seems fans around the world want to join in the celebration.
Leading the festivities are EMI, his record label, and Yoko Ono, Lennon's widow. They got together on a massive catalog restoration project tagged the "Gimme Some Truth" campaign, titled after the bristling track from Lennon's 1971 "Imagine" album.
Using the latest audio technology, EMI and Ono remastered Lennon's eight solo albums, from 1970's "John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band" to "Milk and Honey," recorded in 1980 but unreleased until 1984.
The label also commissioned a stripped-down remix of the couple's Grammy-winning No. 1 "Double Fantasy" album from 1980 and three new compilations - the two-CD "Power to the People: The Hits," the four-CD "Gimme Some Truth," and the 11-CD "John Lennon Signature Box."
All those new releases landed in retail and virtual stores Tuesday.
"In this very special year, which would have seen my husband and life partner John reach the age of 70, I hope that this remastering/reissue program will help bring his incredible music to a whole new audience," Ono said.
"By remastering 121 tracks spanning his solo career, I hope also that those who are already familiar with John's work will find renewed inspiration from his incredible gifts as a songwriter, musician and vocalist and from his power as a commentator on the human condition," she said.
"His lyrics are as relevant today as they were when they were first written, and I can think of no more appropriate title for this campaign than those simple yet direct words, ‘Gimme Some Truth,'" Ono said.
The solo reissues are packaged in cardboard "digi-sleeve" slipcases replicating the original album art, with extra photos and new liner notes by noted British music journalist Paul Du Noyer.
The titles are:
• "John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band" (1970)
• "Imagine" (1971)
• "Some Time in New York City" (1972)
• "Mind Games" (1973)
• "Walls and Bridges" (1974)
• "Rock 'n' Roll" (1975)
• "Double Fantasy: Stripped Down" (2010) / "Double Fantasy" (1980)
• "Milk and Honey" (1984)
"Double Fantasy: Stripped Down" is the 1980 "Album of the Year" "stripped down" to basic tracks and essential instrumentation, with Lennon's vocals unenhanced by the echo and other effects he usually used.
Jack Douglas and Ono, coproducers of the original 1980 mix with Lennon, remixed and produced "Stripped Down," which comes in an expanded two-CD and digital edition that pairs the new version with the remastered original mix.
The new titles are:
• "Power to the People: The Hits" gathers 15 of Lennon's best-known songs on a single disc, as well as an "Experience Edition" with additional content. Both versions are packaged in digi-sleeves with booklets including a new liner notes essay by Du Noyer.
• "Gimme Some Truth" presents 72 of his solo recordings on four thematic CD's packaged in a slipcase with rare photos and a new essay by American rock journalist and author Anthony DeCurtis, a longtime Rolling Stone contributing editor.
The "Working Class Hero" disc focuses on Lennon's socio-political songs; "Woman" presents songs of love; "Borrowed Time" features songs about life; and "Roots" reflects Lennon's rock 'n' roll influences.
• "The John Lennon Signature Box" is a deluxe 11-CD and digital collection of the eight remastered albums, plus a disc of 13 rare and previously unreleased home recordings and an EP of Lennon's non-album singles.
The box includes a collectible limited edition John Lennon art print and a hardbound book featuring rare photos,
artwork, collages, poetry, and new liner notes by DeCurtis, plus new essays by Ono, first son Julian Lennon and second son Sean Ono Lennon.
A series of special events on both coasts led up to the albums' release and Lennon's birthday.
• Sept. 16: Julian Lennon's first photo exhibition opened at the prestigious Morrison Hotel Gallery in New York City. Mentored by renowned photographer Timothy White, Julian has shown he has a creative eye and a promising future.
The packed gallery included Julian's mother, Cynthia Lennon, Yoko Ono, and John and Yoko's son Sean. It was the first time all four attended a public event. "CBS Sunday Morning" caught the moment they reunited and aired it in a segment about the exhibit on Oct. 3.
• Sept. 25: The "American Masters" documentary "LennoNYC" made its world premiere at the New York Film Festival. Produced by PBS in association with WNET.org, the film spotlights the native Liverpudlian's years in New York, from the time he and Ono moved there in August 1971 until his death.
Filmmaker Michael Epstein created the portrait through rare footage and exclusive interviews with Ono, producer Jack Douglas, favorite session drummer Jim Keltner and more.
"LennoNYC" premieres on PBS Nov. 22, but a trailer and extra interviews are posted now at pbs.org (search Lennon).
• Sept. 30: "Nowhere Boy," a film about Lennon's early years in Liverpool starring Aaron Johnson and directed by Sam Taylor-Wood, premiered on the West Coast. During intermission at the Egyptian Theatre, Rod Davis, Len Garry and Colin Hanton of The Quarrymen, Lennon's first band, performed. The film opens in theaters today.
• Oct. 1: The surviving Quarrymen also appeared at the opening of a new Lennon photo exhibit curated by Davis and Beatles historian Martin Lewis at the Mr. Music Head Gallery in Hollywood. Featuring rare photos from Lennon's childhood, "This Boy: John Lennon in Liverpool" runs through this weekend.
• Oct. 1: "Starting Over: The Making of John Lennon and Yoko Ono's ‘Double Fantasy'" was published by Gallery/Simon & Schuster. Rock author Ken Sharp takes readers inside the Hit Factory in this riveting, fast-paced oral history of the August-September 1980 sessions built on recent interviews with coproducer Jack Douglas, Ono, and all the main players, plus archival quotes from Lennon's final interviews.
• Oct. 1 & 2: Ono, the pioneering performance artist who shows no signs of slowing down at age 77, fronted a pair of "We're All Plastic Ono Band" concerts at the Orpheum Theater in downtown Los Angeles. Sean Ono Lennon was the musical director, the backing band was Yuka Honda and Cornelius (Keigo Oyamada, Shimmy Hirotaka Shimizu and Yuko Araki), and special guests included Iggy Pop, Thurston Moore and Kim Gordon of Sonic Youth, Perry Farrell, Carrie Fisher, Harper Simon and Lady Gaga.
• Oct. 3: "An Evening with Yoko Ono" at the Grammy Museum provided an opportunity for moderator Robert Santelli, the museum's executive director, and a small theater audience to ask Ono questions about Lennon, his music, the couple's life together, and what it all means today.
• Oct. 4: The Los Angeles City Council issued a proclamation and a resolution, both honoring Lennon for his cultural contributions to the city.
• Oct. 4: The "John Lennon: Songwriter" memorabilia exhibit opened at the Grammy Museum with Ono in the house. Included are hand-written song lyrics, original drawings, rare guitars including Lennon's Telecaster, an outfit from the "Sgt. Pepper" era, his "Double Fantasy" Grammy, a pair of his signature round wire-rimmed glasses, historic film footage, and an interactive in-the-studio display. "LennoNYC" also screened in its West Coast premiere.
• Oct. 5: The "Gimme Some Truth" remasters and compilations hit the bins at retail stores and online music outlets.
• Oct. 8-10: A week of birthday celebrations at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland climaxes this weekend with dedication of a time capsule packed with Lennon's post-Beatles recordings and fan contributions plus a film reel of highlights from The Beatles' and Lennon's Rock Hall inductions.
• Oct. 9: Cynthia and Julian Lennon will unveil a peace monument in Liverpool.
• Oct. 9: In Reykjavik, Iceland, Ono will perform again with the Plastic Ono Band, light the "Imagine Peace Tower" in Lennon's honor, and bury a time capsule to be opened in 2040 on what would be his 100th birthday.
• Oct. 9: Fans will gather at noon for a birthday vigil at Lennon's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in front of the Capitol Tower at 1750 N. Vine St.
In his time, Lennon was quite the multimedia artist - illustrator, author, songwriter, singer, guitarist, piano player, filmmaker, stager of big events.
One can only imagine what he'd think about all this 70th birthday hoopla playing out at once on the radio, big and little screens - not to mention the Web, which didn't exist as we know it in 1980, or social media, which has exploded in popularity in the last couple of years.
The deeper one studies Lennon and his music, especially chronologically, the more one realizes what a complicated person he was, far more multi-dimensional than the "Beatle-turned-peacenik" tag the mainstream media slapped on him.
One could imagine Lennon would scoff that anyone would, or should, still give a flying [expletive deleted].
On the other hand, one could also see him enjoying the fact that so many people still do care, that a lot of his music stands up, and that so many young people still find his music and story compelling now.
He often talked about making music in the moment, songs that reflected what he was thinking and going through at the time. Many of the moments he froze in time are now timeless.
"I think there's going to be a lot of discussion of John, and that's a good thing," DeCurtis said on the phone from New York. "This anniversary provides an opportunity to revisit a figure who is of major importance. People talk about times like this - oh, well, they're just flogging the catalog or whatever they're doing - but I honestly think the (catalog campaign serves) a cultural purpose.
"Somebody like John Lennon is so central, not only to music, but so many aspects of what contemporary culture is," DeCurtis said. "I know my own thoughts and feelings about him have deepened and grown more complex and more powerful over the years, and I think that for most everyone who cares about him, who takes the time to gauge the films and hear the music again, it's going to happen again."
