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To the extent that i do or have ever "idolized" anyone, john lennon is certainly in my personal pantheon, absolutely. unquestionably one of the greatest composers, performers, visionaries of twentieth century music, his solo career was unfortunately inconsistent. we can take a critical approach to lennon's solo work without being iconoclastic or knocking him off his aphoristic pedestal. here i go....Two reviews: here's the SHORT REVIEW first:three stars to the box; four for the music as a whole, though five star music abounds within.the box set may not be worth the money.it's a fancy package, but the book adds nothing to the "lennon legacy", as it were, and the brief statements from yoko, julian, and sean are obvious and unilluminating.the lithograph that comes with the box is nice, but it and the other printed matter aren't worth the additional expense of the box over the individual discs.and now let's turn our attention to the discs, since they are what really matter.the remastering definitely provides improved sound quality: good! does the average lennon fan need "some time in new york city", "rock and roll", or "milk and honey"? probably not. the worthwhile tracks on those discs are available on the "gimme some truth" compilation. of the two discs unique to the box set: one contains a handful of non-lp singles that are on "gimme some truth". the other contains outtakes that are unlikely to be of interest to all but the more (if not most) hardcore lennon fans. get them from a friend who has the box set or buy them as bootlegs or download them from somewhere online--they themselves don't merit the price of the boxset.beyond that, most fans of lennon will likely be well-served with the single disc editions of "plastic ono band", "imagine", "mind games", and "walls and bridges", which present a lot of overlap with "gimme some truth".i was one of apparently many who thought the "stripped down" version of "double fantasy" was in the box set. it isn't. (my response, which seems to be quite disagreeable to its audience, to the disc is offered in a separate review.)unless a lennon fan is a real fan of his albums--and i can understand why many who appreciate lennon's music wouldn't be great fans of his often inconsistent albums--i think "gimme some truth" definitely provides a good overview of the music. i don't like the sequencing: in this era of ripping and burning, i'd resequence the songs to have a sort of lennon album highlights collection.the box set did encourage me to begin listening to my lennon bootlegs again, and i enjoy the demo sessions and rough mixes of his albums a whole lot more than the commercial products with their horns, glossy production, and muddy mixes. that's why i'm looking forward to the "stripped down" "double fantasy". i wish EMI would release a box set of each of his "stripped down" albums. they are much better!BEFORE THE LONG REVIEW, if anyone is still reading, one Amazon reviewer asked me why i was disappointed with the box set since the sonic qualities of the music are undeniably better than ever before, even the original vinyl releases. my response: That's a good and fair question, and one i still struggle with each time i look at it or take discs from it or listen to lennon. to respond to the question, i have to split my response to the box set in two: first, with regard to sonics, there is absolutely NOTHING disappointing about it. as you indicate, lennon seemed always to master his albums as though each was a single destined for AM radio airplay. finally, we can hear these albums as though they were recorded and mastered as albums.but--big but--do we need a huge, fancy, celebratory, and quite costly box set to appreciate the improved sonics? i do not think such a box set is necessary: each album can stand (or fall) on its own merits (or lack thereof). the sentiments of that last sentence are, i think, where my disappointment with the box set begins. john lennon, beatle, and john lennon, solo artist, are two fairly distinct personae. as a beatle, i think lennon could do no wrong. as a solo artist, he produced an unfortunately inconsistent body of work. to the extent that his solo career is to be presented in a box set, that box set will not be one that could possibly measure up to, for argument's sake, the "bob in mono" box: those first eight albums are each important and groundbreaking. same for the beatles box sets, mono and stereo. however much i like lennon, and it is a tremendous amount, the same cannot be said of his solo catalogue. if there's any truth to what i'm saying, then it leads right to the question of what is the purpose of this box set? if i did not know lennon's career well and was introduced to the depth of it in this collection, i think i'd walk away very confused about what is the big deal: certainly, i'd say to myself, "what the hell is this "some time in new york city" thing?" at best i'd find it an interesting artifact in lennon's career, but not something that would get lots of play on my stereo/ipod. if the purpose of the box set is to provide this sort of insight and overview, then it misses the mark by omitting the zapple releases and "live peace in toronto". of course, there is little commercial viability in those records, so, yes, it's kind of obvious why they were omitted. the textual matter in the box set simply leaves me flat: it reveals little to long term fans of lennon; little to neophytes. nice photos, etc., but all that stuff could be in cd booklets.in terms of box sets, to look at lennon's music critically, i think the "lennon anthology" box provides a much more insightful, revelatory perspective on lennon's career because of its selectivity. i think "gimme some truth"--despite the forced and awkward sequencing--provides a much better perspective on the significance and importance of the commercial product (and i use neither word on its own or both in conjunction as pejorative to any extent whatsoever) of lennon's solo career.finally, i just don't see the big box set as anything other than an expensive and sort of self-congratulatory collection of lennon's commercial solo recordings. sonically, we do get to hear lennon better than ever before; no question. but that opportunity is not contingent upon the box set itself. i suppose i'd've liked the box set better if it either: cost about $30 less and was a handsome box containing just the discs; or if it were a lavish production that allowed me to gain some new perspective on or insight into lennon's career, life, musicianship, etc. but the box set just occupies some nebulous position between the two, and looks to my eyes like some tawdry bit of ornamentry for a music collection.and here's the LONG REVIEW.Three stars to the box; four for the music as a whole, though five star music abounds within.There is little to add to the Martlett and Klein reviews: what i feel inclined to add is my disappointment that presentation of package trumps production of music. Lennon turned me on to music and to a whole new plane of mental existence. He was my childhood hero, and i never tire of his music and his words however humble or bombastic they were depending on the day, the size of the tumorous chip on his shoulder, or the phase of his career. The package is beautiful. But similar emphasis on the presentation of his musical legacy, which--except for the album booklets that are available without the box set--is missing. The box set seems to take the music for granted and feels lazy.Similar to the Beatles' box sets of 2009, but to a much greater extent, i wonder who is the audience for this product. I guess i'm one: against my better judgment i bought it, but only after being persuaded that the sound quality merits the purchase of the remasters. The box set is an attractive concatenation of paper and cardboard, but it itself is not worth the price of admission. Consider how exciting the package of "The Wedding Album" was, or the original "Live Peace" with its calendar, or even the original cover of "Walls and Bridges". Even "Imagine" and "Some Time in New York City" had their very cool inserts. Aside from the well-presented lithograph, nothing in the box besides about 60 % of the music merits the purchase of the package.While the digi-packs and booklets are worthy accompaniments to the music, the fancy little book and ancillary matter in the box are trite, especially given all the material published about Lennon since his solo career began and since his murder in 1980. I cannot imagine many purchasing it will be new to Lennon: novices will probably buy individual discs based upon the myriad reviews of them and the buyers' favorite tracks. Most people, i assume, will buy the four disc compilation, and they will likely be best served by it. Many will buy the "successful" Lennon albums. I wouldn't be surprised to find that the "Double Fantasy Stripped Down" is the biggest seller of all. (So why not include it in the box set?!? We all know why! The answer is too obvious and insulting to waste time putting into words! And yes, i'll be buying it too.) The book feels hastily put together, unsurprisingly congratulatory, too Ono-oriented, too dull! Some overview of Lennon's solo career that could put it in perspective thirty years on, some thoughtful, insightful statement about Lennon's work, its successes and failures, where it came from, whom it has influenced, its relevance today, would be a pleasure for all to read, be they new to Lennon or those who remember anticipating the releases of his new albums way back when. So, i'm back to my question about who the audience for this product is supposed to be.Despite the painful self-indulgence of the Zapple recordings and "The Wedding Album" and "Live Peace in Toronto", these recordings are not so irrelevant that they deserve to be omitted from this collection. Do they merit repeated listening? Probably not. Are they essential recordings? No. But neither is disc two of "Some Time in NYC", or almost half the content of at least of five of the discs in this set. Better questions would consider their relevance as artifacts and and their influence on music and "pop art" ever since: tremendous! Do they provide insight for those interested in the person John Lennon? Absolutely! Do they contain moments of brilliance? Listen to "Radio Play" on "Unfinished Music, No. 2: Life With the Lions" for another moment of "genius" along the lines of "Revolution 9". But with the sort of revision in which this box set and reissue program engage, many listeners may never get that opportunity. And if insight into Lennon's career is important, there are many, many more "bootleg" recordings that could have been included: alternate takes, demos, songs Lennon gave away, sketches from the hours of "Dakota demos", etc.Definitely Lennon's catalogue, perhaps more than any other analogue-era musician, needed remastering. Lennon was self-destructive in so many ways, and his choice of producers on every commercial solo recording (save for "Plastic Ono Band", which by virtue of Lennon's arrangements avoided the infernal and antithetical sensibility of Phil Spector) was a manifestation of that self-destructive tendency or at least the self-destructive consequences of his equally massive insecurities. And how Lennon ever accepted the final mastering of most of his 70's output astounds me--noise reduction and compression that anticipated the MP3 era by decades! Lennon's albums are well-served by the improved sound quality of these remasters. But i don't need the whole box set to enjoy that--just the discs. So again, to whom is this box set being targeted?This box set being targeted at any sucker--there's one, like me, born every minute--willing to shell out the bucks. I'll flatter myself and claim that my ardent devotion led me to it. But to quote Lennon out of context, i'll offer this advice in closing: "Children, don't do what i have done"![ADDENDUM: I listened to the box set three times yesterday (I had it playing all day at work), and was so frustrated by the lack of revelation it offers that I began listening to Lennon bootlegs last night and this morning, especially the Vigotone sets featuring "stripped down" versions of "Imagine", "Mind Games", and "Walls & Bridges", the last of which is actually an outstanding collection of songs when stripped of overdubs and studio "jiggery pokery". So here's an idea for a box set that would be worth the price: a whole series of remastered, stripped down Lennon albums. Such a collection would introduce a new John Lennon, one whose music would re-establish him with the public.]