Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		0.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		0.0
Overall		3.5

John Lennon: Imagine Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman February 25, 2014

John Lennon was frequently seen as the provocateur of The Beatles, but there was a certain degree of evolution in his thought, as evidenced by the transition from “We’re more popular than Jesus” to “Imagine there’s no religion”. Yes, of course I’m joking, but there’s no denying that Lennon—perhaps the most overtly abrasive of the erstwhile Fab Four—had mellowed, if only slightly, by the time he released his second solo album after the breakup of the most important rock band of its era (and some would argue of all time). Lennon’s first “solo” outing was the critically acclaimed though musically thorny John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band. Imagine saw Lennon at least slightly moderating his tone and his tonal palette, though signs of the contrarian John were still much in evidence in such songs as “How Do You Sleep?”, long considered a none too subtle slam at Paul McCartney.

Lennon seemed perturbed at this point in his career that McCartney was getting a lot of props for creating chart ready hits, while Lennon was seemingly consigned to more esoteric fare. But songs like “Imagine”—which, after all, basically is a three chord song—and “Oh My Love” showed that Lennon had lost none of his pop sensibilities. Imagine (the album) remains a somewhat dense, lyrically introspective, piece that features some lovely filigreed instrumental work and alternately raucous and soothing Lennon vocals. The album is also stylistically quite varied, venturing into rockabilly and straight ahead rock ‘n’ roll, as if Lennon were out to prove he wasn’t a one note Johnny (so to speak). For all of its ultimate cultural significance, Imagine wasn’t as critically beloved in its day as Lennon’s first solo outing. But it gave Lennon his first solo Number 1 album on the Billboard charts, which must have counted for something.

John Lennon: Imagine Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Aside from a static menu featuring a picture of Lennon at a beautiful white grand piano, there's no real video content on this audio Blu-ray disc.

John Lennon: Imagine Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Once again Universal has seen fit to adorn this audio Blu-ray with three arguably repetitive audio options, a PCM 2.0 (24/96) track streaming at a constant 4.6 Mbps, a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 (24/96) track which averages in the high 3's, and a Dolby TrueHD 2.0 (24/96) track that is anchored around 3.0 Mbps. I personally preferred the PCM track, which to my ears presented a slightly though noticeably more robust upper mid- and high range. All three tracks have a somewhat more fulsome low end than previous audio releases. The pronounced reverb on such songs as "I Don't Wanna Be a Soldier, Mama, I Don't Wanna Die" seems even more prevalent in this lossless format, just slightly burying John's voice some of the time. Little flourishes like the dobro George Harrison plays on "Crippled Inside" resonate with a new clarity here and sound fantastic.

John Lennon: Imagine Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Once again the "vast storage space" (as described by Universal itself) of the Blu-ray disc is not utilized for any bonus content.

John Lennon: Imagine Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Imagine has become what is arguably the best remembered of Lennon's solo oeuvre, and it continues to hold up to this day. It has its share of bombast, to be sure, but there's also a surprisingly calm, assured presence running through these songs that is touching, if bittersweet, to modern day ears. This new audio Blu-ray sounds great for the most part and comes Recommended.