John Lennon Remixed Collection Coming in October

“I’m sick and tired of hearing things from uptight, short-sighted, narrow-minded hypocritics,” John Lennon sang on his 1971 single “Gimme Some Truth.” In a time of fake news and false narratives, Capitol/UMe will release the real deal, a collection titled Gimme Some Truth. The Ultimate Mixes. The 36-track collection will be available on Oct. 9, 2020, which would have been the legendary musician’s 80th birthday. Gimme Some Truth. will also be released as a 19-track CD or 2 LP, a 36-track 2CD or 4 LP.

“In everything he did, John Lennon spoke his truth and questioned the truth,” reads the press statement. “An incomparable and uncompromising artist who strove for honesty and directness in his music, he laid bare his heart, mind and soul in his songs, seeing them as snapshots of his current emotions, thoughts and world view. Believing the one quality demanded of himself as an artist was to be completely honest, he did not disguise what he had to say or conform his messages to be more in line with what he felt others thought they should be. Love, heartbreak, peace, politics, truth, lies, the media, racism, feminism, religion, mental well-being, marriage, fatherhood – he sang about it all, and one just needs to listen to the songs of John Lennon to know how he felt, what he cherished, what he believed in, and what he stood for.”

Gimme Some Truth will be available in a variety of formats. “He believed in being truthful and that the power of the people will change the world,” Ono writes in the preface of the book included in the 124-page book included in the Deluxe Edition. Designed and edited by Simon Hilton, the book tells the story of all thirty-six songs in Lennon and Ono’s words and the musicians who worked alongside them.

The songs on Gimme Some Truth. were handpicked by executive producer by Yoko Ono Lennon and producer by Sean Ono Lennon. They were remixed from scratch, radically upgrading their sonic quality and presenting them as a never-before-heard Ultimate Listening Experience. The mixing was done by Paul Hicks, who was also in charge of mixing the 2018 Imagine – The Ultimate Collection series, which were also completely remixed from scratch. The analog masters were done by Alex Wharton at Abbey Road Studios.

“Yoko is very keen that in making The Ultimate Mixes series we achieve three things: remain faithful and respectful to the originals, ensure that the sound is generally sonically clearer overall, and increase the clarity of John’s vocals,” Paul Hicks details in the Deluxe Edition book. “The combination of remixing from all the original first-generation multitrack sources and finishing in analogue has brought a whole new level of magic, warmth and clarity to the sound, along with a more detailed dynamic range and sound stage, and we really hope you enjoy the results.”

The Deluxe Edition and 4LP formats will include a bumper sticker, a two-sided poster of Lennon printed in black and white with silver and gold metallics, and two postcards, one of which is a replica of Lennon’s letter to the Queen of England in 1969 when he returned his MBE in “protest against Britain’s involvement in the Nigerian-Biafra thing, against our support of America in Vietnam and Cold Turkey slipping down the charts.”

“John was a brilliant man with a great sense of humor and understanding,” Ono says in the book. The album cover photo was taken on the day John returned his MBE.

Sequenced in chronological order by album they were released on, the collection bridges the arc of Lennon’s post-Beatles career. It brings together songs from John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band (1970), Imagine (1971), Some Time In New York City (1972), Mind Games (1973), Walls and Bridges (1974), Rock ‘n’ Roll (1975), Double Fantasy (1980) and 1984’s posthumous Milk and Honey.

The collection is bookended with Lennon’s early non-album singles, kicking off “Instant Karma! (We All Shine On),” and his heroin withdrawal masterpiece “Cold Turkey,” and culminating with “Happy Xmas (War Is Over)” and the anti-war protest anthem “Give Peace A Chance.” The collection will also include live versions “Come Together,” and “Whatever Gets You Thru The Night,” which he performs with Elton John.

Gimme Some Truth. The Ultimate Mixes. Deluxe Edition. track list:

CD1

1. Instant Karma! (We All Shine On)

2. Cold Turkey

3. Working Class Hero

4. Isolation

5. Love

6. God

7. Power To The People

8. Imagine

9. Jealous Guy

10. Gimme Some Truth

11. Oh My Love

12. How Do You Sleep?

13. Oh Yoko!

14. Angela

15. Come Together (live)

16. Mind Games

17. Out The Blue

18. I Know (I Know)

CD2

1. Whatever Gets You Thru The Night

2. Bless You

3. #9 Dream

4. Steel and Glass

5. Stand By Me

6. Angel Baby

7. (Just Like) Starting Over

8. I’m Losing You

9. Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy)

10. Watching The Wheels

11. Woman

12. Dear Yoko

13. Every Man Has A Woman Who Loves Him

14. Nobody Told Me

15. I’m Stepping Out

16. Grow Old With Me

17. Happy Xmas (War Is Over)

18. Give Peace A Chance

Gimme Some Truth. The Ultimate Mixes will be available on Oct. 9.