He’d boldly confronted several of his deepest-seated psychological issues on his raw-boned, 1970 debut solo album, John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band. With deep shared roots but very disparate, distinctive styles, the two rock guitar icons mesh magically on tracks that encompass influences ranging from folk and blues to all-out rock. It also contains some iconic guitar moments that team Lennon with his Beatles co-guitarist George Harrison. From “Jealous Guy” to “How Do You Sleep?,” the disc reflects Lennon at his most vulnerable and his most vicious. Which is a bit of a shame, as “Imagine” is only one of several album tracks that find Lennon at the top of his game as a songwriter. Because the disc’s piano-driven title track has become a timeless international peace anthem, it tends to loom larger in the public consciousness than the rest of the disc. At turns brutally honest and achingly intimate, the record opened up new vistas of expressiveness for songwriters and creative artists in every medium.īut Imagine isn’t usually regarded as much of a guitar album. The Imagine album ranks high among Lennon’s towering musical achievements, both as a solo artist and with the Beatles.
