An expanded eight-disc version of John Lennon‘s debut solo studio album, 1970’s John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band, will be released on April 6.
John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band — The Ultimate Collection, which you can pre-order now, features 159 tracks spread across six CDs and two Blu-ray audio discs, including 87 previously unreleased recordings.
The collection features multiple mixes of the original album’s tunes and the three hit singles Lennon released prior to the record — “Give Peace a Chance,” “Cold Turkey” and “Instant Karma! (We All Shine On)” — plus a bevy of demos, rehearsal takes, outtakes, jams, studio chatter and more.
The box set also features a segment dubbed “The Evolution Documentary” that demonstrates how each of the album’s songs developed from its demo stage to its completed version.
One of the Blu-rays features an expanded version of the companion Yoko Ono/Plastic Ono Band album, boasting the entire jam that yielded the experimental record.
Released in December 1970, John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band was a collection of raw, confessional tunes that found the rock legend reflecting on The Beatles‘ recent breakup, the loss of his mother, his love for wife Yoko Ono and other personal topics. John recorded the album mainly with just accompaniment from drummer Ringo Starr, and bassist Klaus Voormann.
The album reached #6 on the Billboard 200 and although it featured no hit singles, it included such enduring songs as “Mother,” “Working Class Hero,” “Love” and “God.”
The deluxe reissue will come with a 132-page book, a “War Is Over! (If You Want It)” poster, and two postcards.
In advance of The Ultimate Collection, a new mix of “Mother” has been released as a digital download and via streaming services.
Visit JohnLennon.com for more details about the reissue.
By Matt Friedlander
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