The John Lennon Collection
| The John Lennon Collection | ||||
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| Compilation album by John Lennon | ||||
| Released | 1 November 1982 (UK) 8 November 1982 (US) |
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| Recorded | June 1969 – October 1980 | |||
| Genre | Rock | |||
| Length | 69:29 | |||
| Label |
Parlophone (UK) Geffen Records (US) |
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| Producer | John Lennon, Yoko Ono, Phil Spector, Jack Douglas | |||
| John Lennon chronology | ||||
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| Singles from The John Lennon Collection | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
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| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   |
| MusicHound |  |
The John Lennon Collection is a retrospective compilation album of music from John Lennon's solo career.
The album was originally scheduled for release in late 1981, but was held back a year due to sort out the legalities owing to the fact that half the songs on the album were licensed to EMI and the other half, songs from Double Fantasy, were licensed to Geffen. It was eventually released on 1 November 1982 by Parlophone in the United Kingdom, and on 8 November by Geffen in the United States. It was the first Lennon album to be issued following his death in 1980. The album includes most of Lennon's hit singles and other tracks from his solo albums recorded with EMI from 1970–75, as well as all but one of his tracks from his final album Double Fantasy, which was initially distributed by Geffen Records in America and EMI/Parlophone in the United Kingdom.
The EMI selections on the album are similar to those on Shaved Fish, Lennon's 1975 compilation album, but without the singles "Cold Turkey", "Mother" and "Woman Is the Nigger of the World." These were substituted with the 1975 hit single "Stand by Me" and "Love", a popular track from the John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band album. The other half consisted of many of the tracks from Double Fantasy. In the US, the album was issued with a slightly different track listing, with "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)" and "Stand by Me" excluded.
In 1989, after EMI acquired the rights to the Double Fantasy material, The John Lennon Collection was remastered and reissued worldwide with two bonus tracks for its CD release, "Move Over Ms. L" and "Cold Turkey" (the former being the only officially released Lennon track previously unavailable on any UK album, the latter the only UK hit single originally excluded from the compilation). "Move Over Ms. L" was the more notable inclusion – originally intended for Walls and Bridges but cut at the last minute; it was released as the B-side to "Stand by Me". The CD was released in the UK on 23 October 1989. "Less Christmassy than it sounds, ['Cold Turkey'] is now restored on CD," wrote Mat Snow in Q, "and is guaranteed to poop any party of sentimental Lennonism – presumably why it's kept till last; 1970's Plastic Ono Band album apart, it remains his most discomfortingly intense work."
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