Gimme Some Truth: The Ultimate Mixes (Deluxe Edition)

A set of new mixes released on the occasion of what would’ve been his 80th birthday, <i>GIMME SOME TRUTH.</i> certainly isn’t the only John Lennon collection out there, but it is the best. What remains remarkable about his music is how evenly he applied his energy both to himself and to the world: He could be petty and self-obsessed (“Jealous Guy”), he could be optimistic and universal (“Imagine”), tender one minute (“Beautiful Boy”) and bitter the next (“Cold Turkey”). He was an innocent (“Oh Yoko!”), but never let innocence get in the way of a reality that was anything but (“Working Class Hero”, “Angela”). He had hopes for the people (“Happy Xmas [War Is Over]”, “Give Peace a Chance”, “Power to the People”) because—you realise—he was one himself.