John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band to get super deluxe reissue

John Lennon’s first solo album, John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band, is to be reissued in a range of formats on 16 April 2021.

The super deluxe box set will include 159 tracks across six CDs and two Blu-ray discs, amounting to more than eleven hours of audio.

The edition will also include a “War Is Over” poster, two postcards, and a 132-page hardback book with lyrics, rare photos, and extensive notes on the recording and release.

The album was remixed from the original multitrack tapes at Abbey Road Studios by Paul Hicks, supervised by Yoko Ono. These “Ultimate Mixes” will include new stereo, 5.1 surround sound, and Dolby Atmos mixes.

Previously-unreleased stereo outtakes of each song are presented as “rough listening mixes”, in the style that the musicians and producer Phil Spector would have heard during playback at Abbey Road.

There are also “Evolution Mixes”, designed to show the development of each song from demo to final work. These were edited from the original eight-track multitracks, live recordings, and demo cassettes.

There are also home and studio demo recordings and jams, including rock ‘n’ roll classics and Beatles songs (‘Get Back’, ‘I’ve Got A Feeling’), plus 110 minutes of the live sessions that resulted in the companion album Yoko Ono/Plastic Ono Band.

John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band was Lennon’s first solo album, but his fifth without The Beatles. It followed the experimental releases Two Virgins, Life With The Lions, and Wedding Album, and the live set Live Peace In Toronto 1969.

The album was written and recorded after Lennon and Ono underwent Primal Scream Therapy, and it found Lennon stripping away layers of defence and artifice to present a raw, direct and heartfelt collection of songs. It remains one of the most remarkable releases by a major artist.

In addition to the super deluxe box set, John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band will be reissued as a two-LP vinyl set, and double and single CD editions. All but the single CD come with the “War Is Over” poster.

CD1: THE ULTIMATE MIXES (53 mins)

• Mother
• Hold On
• I Found Out
• Working Class Hero
• Isolation
• Remember
• Love
• Well Well Well
• Look At Me
• God
• My Mummy’s Dead
• Give Peace A Chance
• Cold Turkey
• Instant Karma! (We All Shine On)

CD2: THE ULTIMATE MIXES/THE OUT-TAKES (49 mins)

• Mother/Take 61*
• Hold On/Take 2*
• I Found Out/Take 1*
• Working Class Hero/Take 1*
• Isolation/Take 23*
• Remember/Rehearsal 1*
• Love/Take 6*
• Well Well Well/Take 2*
• Look At Me/Take 2*
• God/Take 27*
• My Mummy’s Dead/Take 2*
• Give Peace A Chance/Take 2**
• Cold Turkey/Take 1**
• Instant Karma! (We All Shine On)/Take 5**

CD3: THE ELEMENTS MIXES (60 mins)

• Mother
• Hold On
• I Found Out
• Working Class Hero
• Isolation
• Remember
• Love
• Well Well Well
• Look At Me
• God
• My Mummy’s Dead
• Give Peace A Chance
• Cold Turkey
• Instant Karma! (We All Shine On)

CD4: THE RAW STUDIO MIXES (74 mins)

• Mother/Take 64
• Hold On/Take 32
• I Found Out/Take 3 Extended
• Working Class Hero/Take 9
• Isolation/Take 29
• Remember/Take 13
• Love/Take 37
• Well Well Well/Take 4 Extended
• Look At Me/Take 9
• God/Take 42
• My Mummy’s Dead/Take 1
• Give Peace A Chance/Take 4 Extended
• Cold Turkey/Take 2
• Instant Karma! (We All Shine On)/Take 10
• Mother/Take 91
• I Found Out/Take 7
• God/Take 1

CD5: THE EVOLUTION DOCUMENTARY (72 mins)

• Mother
• Hold On
• I Found Out
• Working Class Hero
• Isolation
• Remember
• Love
• Well Well Well
• Look At Me
• God
• My Mummy’s Dead

CD6: THE JAMS & THE DEMOS (71 mins)

• Johnny B. Goode (Jam)
• Ain’t That A Shame (Jam)
• Hold On (1) (Jam)
• Hold On (2) (Jam)
• Glad All Over (Jam)
• Be Faithful To Me (Jam)
• Send Me Some Lovin’ (Jam)
• Get Back (Jam)
• Lost John (1) (Jam)
• Goodnight Irene (Jam)
• You’ll Never Walk Alone (Parody) (Jam)
• I Don’t Want To A Soldier Mama I Don’t Wanna Die (1) (Jam)
• It’ll Be Me (Jam)
• Honey Don’t (Jam)
• Elvis Parody (Don’t Be Cruel/Hound Dog/When I’m Over You) (Jam)
• Matchbox (Jam)
• I’ve Got A Feeling (Jam)
• Mystery Train (Jam)
• You’re So Square (Jam)
• I Don’t Want To Be A Soldier Mama I Don’t Wanna Die (2) (Jam)
• Lost John (2) (Jam)
• Don’t Worry Kyoko (Mummy’s Only Looking For A Hand In The Snow) (Jam)
• Mother (Home Demo)
• Hold On (Studio Demo)
• I Found Out (Home Demo)
• Working Class Hero (Studio Demo)
• Isolation (Studio Demo)
• Remember (Studio Demo)
• Love (Home Demo)
• Well Well Well (Home Demo)
• Look At Me (Home Demo)
• God (Home Demo)
• My Mummy’s Dead (Home Demo)

Blu-ray 1

All tracks in Stereo 24/192, Dolby Atmos and 5.1 Surround Sound

• The Ultimate Mixes Album And Singles
• The Ultimate Mixes Outtakes
• The Elements Mixes Album And Singles
• The Demos Album And Singles

Blu-ray 2

All tracks in Stereo 24/192, Dolby Atmos and 5.1 Surround Sound

• The Raw Studio Mixes Album And Singles
• The Raw Studio Mixes Outtakes
• The Evolution Mixes Album And Singles
• The Jams Live And Improvised
• Yoko Ono/Plastic Ono Band The Live Sessions:
  • Why
  • Why Not
  • Greenfield Morning I Pushed An Empty Baby Carriage All Over The City
  • Touch Me
  • Paper Shoes
  • Life
  • Omae No Okaa We
  • I Lost Myself Somewhere In The Sky
  • Remember Love
  • Don’t Worry Kyoko (Mummy’s Only Looking For A Hand In The Snow)
  • Who Has Seen The Wind?

* Also on the double vinyl and two-CD set
** Also on the two-CD set