Today, on what would have been John Lennon's 80th birthday, a collection of some of the most vital and best loved songs from his solo career have been released in celebration of his remarkable life. Titled, GIMME SOME TRUTH. THE ULTIMATE MIXES, the project has been executive produced by Yoko Ono Lennon and produced by Sean Ono Lennon. These thirty-six songs, handpicked by Yoko and Sean, have all been completely remixed from scratch and mastered at Abbey Road by Alex Wharton, resulting in a warmer, direct sonic experience that breathes new life into the songs.
Since John Lennon's passing 40 years ago, his solo music has often been immortalised on various compilations and boxed sets, however Gimme Some Truth is unique in that its songs have been chosen by Ono and the couple's son, Sean Lennon. The collection contains a number of deep cuts from Lennon's catalogue that might have been overshadowed by the hits, such as the cutting Steel and Glass, the very soulful Bless You, the tender ballad Out of the Blue, the celebratory Dear Yoko, and the upbeat I'm Stepping Out, one of several tracks released posthumously in 1984. Accompanying the deluxe edition of the set is a lavish illustrated book featuring song lyrics, a detailed track-by-track commentary by Lennon and Ono, along with reminisces by Paul McCartney, Elton John, George Harrison, Jack Douglas and other collaborators.
Mixed and engineered by multi GRAMMY award-winning engineer Paul Hicks, who also helmed the mixes for 2018's universally acclaimed Imagine – The Ultimate Collection series, with assistance by engineer Sam Gannon who also worked on that release, the songs were completely remixed from scratch.
Hicks explained: "After weeks of painstaking preparation, the final mixes and effects were completed using only vintage analogue equipment and effects at Henson Recording Studios in Los Angeles (formerly A&M Studios, where John had recorded some of the Rock ‘n’ Roll album), and then mastered in analogue at Abbey Road Studios in order to ensure the most beautiful and authentic sound quality possible.”
John Lennon pop-up TV channel to mark 80th birthday
Universal Music has also announced that it will mark what would have been John Lennon’s 80th birthday by launching a TV channel dedicated to him. The pop-up station will be available to UK television owners for one week, starting today, 9 October.
In a first for the major label, the Lennon80 TV channel will pull together a collection of archive interviews, documentaries and performances, as well as new programmes pulled together especially for this. Programmes include the classic Bed Peace documentary, Lennon’s rediscovered and restored 1971 Parkinson interview, his 1975 Old Grey Whistle Test special, and more.
Viewers will be able to tune in to Lennon80 on Sky channel 371 and Virgin 346 across the UK, and on Freeview channel 83 in some parts of the country.
