John Lennon Anthology

John Lennon Anthology
Box set by John Lennon
Released	2 November 1998 (1998-11-02)
Recorded	June 1969 – November 1980
Genre	Rock
Length	4:27:51
Label	Capitol/EMI
Producer	Yoko Ono and Rob Stevens
Compiler	Yoko Ono
John Lennon chronology
Lennon Legend: The Very Best of John Lennon (1997) John Lennon Anthology / Wonsaponatime (1998) Instant Karma: All-Time Greatest Hits (2002)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
Paste	[2]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	[3]
Wall of Sound	72/100[4]

John Lennon Anthology is a four-CD box set of home demos, alternative studio outtakes and other unreleased material recorded by John Lennon over the course of his solo career from "Give Peace a Chance" in 1969 up until the 1980 sessions for Double Fantasy and Milk and Honey.

The anthology was divided by its compiler and co-producer, Yoko Ono, into four discs representing four eras in Lennon's solo career: "Ascot", "New York City", "The Lost Weekend" and "Dakota".

John Lennon Anthology reached number 62 in the United Kingdom and number 99 in the United States, where it went gold.

A one-disc distillation of the highlights of the box set was released as Wonsuponatime. Many of the tracks were edited down from their versions on John Lennon Anthology. Wonsaponatime failed to reach the US charts but peaked at number 76 in the UK.

Track listing

All songs written by John Lennon, except where noted.

Disc 1 (Ascot)

1. "Working Class Hero" – 4:19
2. "God" – 3:32
3. "I Found Out" – 3:47
4. "Hold On" – 0:43
5. "Isolation" – 3:46
6. "Love" – 2:43
7. "Mother" – 3:49
8. "Remember" – 2:44
9. "Imagine (take 1)" – 3:21
10. "'Fortunately'" – 0:19
11. "Baby Please Don't Go" (Walter Ward) – 4:04
12. "Oh My Love" (John Lennon/Yoko Ono) – 2:53
13. "Jealous Guy" – 4:10
14. "Maggie Mae" (Trad. Arr. John Lennon/Paul McCartney/George Harrison/Richard Starkey) – 0:52
15. "How Do You Sleep?" – 5:20
16. "God Save Oz" (John Lennon/Yoko Ono) – 3:27
17. "Do the Oz" (John Lennon/Yoko Ono) – 3:08
18. "I Don't Want to Be a Soldier" – 5:20
19. "Give Peace a Chance" – 1:52
20. "Look at Me" – 2:50
21. "Long Lost John" (Trad Arr. John Lennon) – 2:14

Disc 2 (New York City)

1. "New York City" – 0:55
2. "Attica State" (live) (John Lennon/Yoko Ono) – 4:25
3. "Imagine" (live) – 3:11
4. "Bring on the Lucie (Freeda Peeple)" – 4:07
5. "Woman Is the Nigger of the World" (John Lennon/Yoko Ono) – 0:39
6. "Geraldo Rivera – One to One Concert" – 0:39
7. "Woman Is the Nigger of the World" (live) (John Lennon/Yoko Ono) – 5:14
8. "It's So Hard" (live) – 3:09
9. "Come Together" (live) (John Lennon/Paul McCartney) – 4:19
10. "Happy Xmas" (John Lennon/Yoko Ono) – 3:32
11. "Luck of the Irish" (live) (John Lennon/Yoko Ono) – 3:42
12. "John Sinclair" (live) – 3:43
13. "The David Frost Show" – 0:52
14. "Mind Games (I Promise)" – 1:01
15. "Mind Games (Make Love, Not War)" – 1:14
16. "One Day (At a Time)" – 3:13
17. "I Know (I Know)" – 3:13
18. "I'm the Greatest" – 3:37
19. "Goodnight Vienna" – 2:42
20. "Jerry Lewis Telethon" – 1:59
21. "' A Kiss Is Just a Kiss '" (Herman Hupfeld) – 0:11
22. "Real Love" – 4:13
23. "You Are Here" – 4:55

Disc 3 (The Lost Weekend)

1. "What You Got" – 1:14
2. "Nobody Loves You (When You're Down and Out)" – 5:38
3. "Whatever Gets You thru the Night (home)" – 0:38
4. "Whatever Gets You thru the Night (studio)" – 3:33
5. "Yesterday (parody)" (John Lennon/Paul McCartney) – 0:33
6. "Be-Bop-A-Lula" (Gene Vincent/Tex Davis) – 2:52
7. "Rip It Up/Ready Teddy" (Robert Blackwell/John Marascalco) – 2:32
8. "Scared" – 5:02
9. "Steel and Glass" – 4:46
10. "Surprise, Surprise (Sweet Bird of Paradox)" – 2:58
11. "Bless You" – 4:15
12. "Going Down on Love" – 0:54
13. "Move Over Ms. L" – 3:10
14. "Ain't She Sweet" (Yellen/Ager) – 0:28
15. "Slippin' and Slidin'" (Richard Penniman/Bocage/Collins/Smith) – 2:28
16. "Peggy Sue" (Jerry Allison/Buddy Holly/Norman Petty) – 1:18
17. "Bring It On Home to Me/Send Me Some Lovin'" (Sam Cooke)/(John Marascalco, Leo Price) – 3:50
18. "Phil and John 1" – 2:13
19. "Phil and John 2" – 2:00
20. "Phil and John 3" – 0:54
21. "'When in Doubt, Fuck It'" – 0:09
22. "Be My Baby" (Phil Spector/Ellie Greenwich/Jeff Barry) – 4:32
23. "Stranger's Room" – 3:17
24. "Old Dirt Road" (John Lennon/Harry Nilsson) – 3:54

Disc 4 (Dakota)

1. "I'm Losing You" – 4:06
2. "Sean's 'Little Help'" – 0:57
3. "Serve Yourself" – 3:47
4. "My Life" – 2:36
5. "Nobody Told Me" – 3:31
6. "Life Begins at 40" – 2:23
7. "I Don't Wanna Face It" – 3:31
8. "Woman" – 4:01
9. "Dear Yoko" – 2:33
10. "Watching the Wheels" – 3:04
11. "I'm Stepping Out" – 4:19
12. "Borrowed Time" – 3:57
13. "The Rishi Kesh Song" – 2:26
14. "Sean's 'Loud'" – 0:33
15. "Beautiful Boy" – 4:11
16. "Mr. Hyde's Gone (Don't Be Afraid)" – 2:41
17. "Only You" (Ande Rand/Buck Ram) – 3:24
18. "Grow Old with Me" – 3:18
19. "Dear John" – 2:13
20. "The Great Wok" – 3:13
21. "Mucho Mungo" – 1:24
22. "Satire 1" – 2:20
23. "Satire 2" – 4:34
24. "Satire 3" – 0:45
25. "Sean's "In the Sky" " – 1:22
26. "It's Real" – 1:05

Wonsaponatime

Wonsaponatime
Compilation album by John Lennon
Released	2 November 1998 (1998-11-02)
Recorded	September 1970 – late 1980
Genre	Rock
Length	69:45
Label	Capitol/EMI
Producer	Yoko Ono, Rob Stevens
John Lennon chronology
Lennon Legend: The Very Best of John Lennon (1997) John Lennon Anthology / Wonsaponatime (1998) Instant Karma: All-Time Greatest Hits (2002)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[5]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	[6]

Track listing

All songs written by Lennon, except where noted.

1. "I'm Losing You" – 3:56
2. "Working Class Hero" – 3:58
3. "God" – 3:16
4. "How Do You Sleep?" – 5:00
5. "Imagine" – 3:05
6. "Baby Please Don't Go" (Walter Ward) – 4:04
7. "Oh My Love" (John Lennon/Yoko Ono) – 2:43
8. "God Save Oz" (John Lennon/Yoko Ono) – 3:20
9. "I Found Out" – 3:47
10. "Woman Is the Nigger of the World" (live) – 5:14
11. "'A Kiss Is Just A Kiss'" (Herman Hupfeld) – 0:11
12. "Be-Bop-A-Lula" (Gene Vincent/T. Davis) – 2:40
13. "Rip It Up/Reddy Teddy" (Blackwell/Marascalo) – 2:26
14. "What You Got" – 1:14
15. "Nobody Loves You (When You're Down and Out)" – 5:02
16. "I Don't Wanna Face It" – 3:31
17. "Real Love" – 4:07
18. "Only You" (Buck Ram/Ande Rand) – 3:24
19. "Grow Old with Me" – 3:18
20. "Sean's "In The Sky" " – 1:22
21. "Serve Yourself" – 3:47

Recording notes

Disc 1

• Tracks 1, 2, 4–8, 20 & 21 taken from 8-track John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band sessions (1970)
• Track 3 & 14 taken from home recordings (1970 & 1979, respectively)
• Tracks 9, 11–13, 15 & 18 taken from 8-track Imagine sessions (1971)
• Track 10 excerpted from BBC documentary 24 Hours: The World of John and Yoko (1969)
• Track 16 taken from 8-track master for Bill Elliott and the Elastic Oz Band (1971)
• Track 17 taken from original 2-track master single mix (1971)
• Track 19 taken from 4-track rehearsal tapes prior to master recording (1969)

Disc 2

• Tracks 1 & 5 taken from home recording (1972)
• Track 2 & 3 taken from live performance at the Apollo (1971)
• Tracks 4, 16 & 23 taken from 16-track Mind Games sessions (1973)
• Tracks 6–9 taken from live performance at One to One concert (1972)
• Track 10 taken from rough mix (1971)
• Tracks 11 & 12 taken from John Sinclair benefit concert (1971)
• Track 13 taken from audio (1971)
• Tracks 14 & 15 taken from home recording (1970)
• Track 17 taken from home recording (1973)
• Track 18 taken from 16-track rehearsals. Song later given to Ringo Starr (1973)
• Track 19 taken from 16-track demo. Song later given to Ringo (1974)
• Track 20 taken from audio (1972)
• Track 21 taken from home vignette (1976)
• Track 22 taken from piano demo (1980)

Disc 3

• Tracks 1 & 3 taken from home recording (1974)
• Tracks 2, 4–5, 8–14 & 24 taken from 16-track Walls and Bridges sessions (1974)
• Tracks 6–7, 15–22 taken from 16-track Rock 'n' Roll sessions
  • Tracks 6–7, 15–17 from 1974; tracks 18–22 from 1973
• Track 23 taken from home recording (1980)

Disc 4

• Tracks 1, 5, 7, 9, 11 & 15 taken from 16-track Double Fantasy/Milk and Honey sessions (1980)
• Tracks 2, 14, 20 & 22–26 taken from home recordings (1979)
• Tracks 3–4, 6, 8, 10, 12–13, 16, 18 & 19 taken from home recordings (1980)
  • Track 18 overdubbed with orchestration by George Martin. Original demo appears on Milk and Honey.
• Track 17 taken from 16-track studio work tape from the Ringo Starr Goodnight Vienna sessions (1974)
• Track 21 taken from home recording (1976)

References