John Lennon - Imagine (MFSL 180g LP) 24-bit/96 kHz Vinyl Rip
Posted By : Dr. Robert | Date : 21 Feb 2010 05:04:38 |
Vinyl rip in 24-bit/96kHz | FLAC (5% Recovery) | m3u, no cue or log (vinyl) | Full LP Artwork
917 MB (24/96) | Genre: Rock | 1971
Mobile Fidelity Sound Labs - MFSL 1-277 (2003) ~ Half-Speed Mastered 180g Audiophile Vinyl

Imagine is John Lennon's second solo album and is considered the most popular of his solo works. Recorded and released in 1971, the album tended toward songs that were gentler, more commercial and less avant-garde than the ones he released on his more critically acclaimed previous album, John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band. The difference, he said, was that Imagine was "chocolate-coated for public consumption", in reference to the string sections prevalent throughout the album.

Recording and structure

Although the basic tracks for the album were initially recorded in his home studio (Ascot Sound Studios in Tittenhurst Park), many of the instruments were re-recorded at the Record Plant in New York City, where strings and saxophone by King Curtis were also added. As on his last album, Phil Spector joined Lennon and Yoko Ono as co-producer on Imagine. Extensive footage of the sessions, showing the evolution of some of the songs, was compiled on a video documentary entitled Gimme Some Truth: The Making of John Lennon's Imagine.

The title track "Imagine" became Lennon's signature tune and was written as a plea for world peace. "Jealous Guy" has also had enduring popularity and was originally composed as "Child of Nature" during the songwriting sessions in India in 1968 that led to The Beatles' double-album The Beatles. "Oh My Love" and the song "How?" were influenced by his experience with primal therapy: "How?" contains the questions he was facing while going through the changes produced in him during the ongoing process of primal therapy, while "Oh My Love" was written to communicate the joy and growth Lennon was experiencing as a result of the therapy.

Lennon also indulged his love of rock and roll with "Crippled Inside" and "It's So Hard." "Gimme Some Truth", originally heard in the Let It Be sessions, appears on the album with a new bridge. The politically-themed "I Don't Wanna Be a Soldier" closes the first half of Imagine in a cacophonous manner.

George Harrison guested on a few of Imagine's tracks, most infamously "How Do You Sleep?", Lennon's response to what he considered veiled remarks about him on Paul McCartney's then-current album Ram. Early editions of the LP included a postcard featuring a photo of Lennon holding a pig in mockery of McCartney's similar pose with a sheep of the cover of Ram. Although Lennon softened his stance in the mid-70s and claimed he wrote the song about himself, he revealed in 1980, "I used my resentment against Paul... to create a song... not a terrible vicious horrible vendetta... I used my resentment and withdrawing from Paul and The Beatles, and the relationship with Paul, to write 'How Do You Sleep'. I don't really go 'round with those thoughts in my head all the time".

The last track on the album is the upbeat and catchy "Oh Yoko!", an ode to his wife complete with a Bob Dylan-style harmonica solo. EMI pushed for this track to be the single, but Lennon thought it was too "pop".

Reception

Upon release in September and October 1971, Imagine was warmly regarded by critics and promptly went to #1 worldwide and became an enduring seller, with the title track reaching #3 in the U.S. and #1 in the UK following Lennon's death. In 2000, Yoko Ono supervised the remixing of Imagine for its remastered reissue. In 2003, Imagine was placed at #76 in Rolling Stone's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time and reissued by Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab on gold CD and on 180 gram half-speed mastered vinyl. It was also originally released in quadrophonic. In 2007, the Record Plant piano on which Lennon re-recorded the album was sold at auction.

Track Listing
All songs by John Lennon, except where noted.

1. "Imagine" – 3:01
2. "Crippled Inside" – 3:47
3. "Jealous Guy" – 4:14
4. "It's So Hard" – 2:25
5. "I Don't Wanna Be a Soldier Mama I Don't Wanna Die" – 6:05
6. "Gimme Some Truth" – 3:16
7. "Oh My Love" (John Lennon, Yoko Ono) – 2:44
8. "How Do You Sleep?" – 5:36
9. "How?" – 3:43
10. "Oh Yoko!" – 4:20


Released: 9 September 1971 (US), 8 October 1971 (UK)
Recorded: 23 June 1971 – 5 July 1971 at Ascot Sound Studios; July 1971 at Record Plant, New York
Genre: Rock, rock and roll, soft rock, country rock
Length: 39:29
Label: Apple, EMI
Producer: John Lennon, Yoko Ono, Phil Spector

Professional reviews
* Allmusic 5/5 stars link
* Rolling Stone 4/5 stars link
* Robert Christgau (A) link

Vinyl Ripping Log
Nitty Gritty RCM 1.5
Technics SL-1200MK2 Turntable with KAB Fluid Damping and KAB record grip
Ortofon 2M Black cartridge
Pro-Ject Tube Box SE II Preamp
Tascam US-144 external USB 2.0 Audiointerface
Monster Cable interconnects
Bias Peak LE 6 recording software
iZotope RX Advanced 1.21 for Redbook conversion
xACT 1.71 for Redbook SBE correction

RCM>TT - Ortofon 2M Blk - Tube Box preamp - ADC - Mac Pro Dual Xeon - Peak LE @ 24/96 - analyze (no clipping, no DC Bias offset, each side maximized to -0.3 dB) -
split into individual Tracks - Click Repair 3.02 used in Manual Mode, 30 Rev, Pitch Protection, X2 - FLAC encoded Level 8 with XLD Version 20100218 (116.4)


All de-clicking software used in full manual mode to preserve musical transients.
No music was harmed in the making of this vinyl rip.

No silence been removed, please burn gapless to match original track layout.