Reviewed by Craig Hoffman
Gimme Some Truth is a box set containing four themed discs of remastered John Lennon songs.
The box set was released along with John Lennon Signature Box Set and Power to the People: The Hits compilation to celebrate what would have been the artist’s 80th birthday.
John Lennon was killed at the age of 40 on Dec. 8, 1980. Lennon has been posthumously honored with many awards. These include a Lifetime Achievement Grammy Award and two special BRIT Awards for Outstanding Contribution to Music. He has been inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame. Rolling Stone ranked him in the Top 5 of the magazine’s “100 Greatest Singers Of All Time” list in 2008.
Gimme Some Truth showcases nearly all the studio recordings released by John Lennon. Only seven tracks included on the original release of John Lennon solo albums are not on this collection. The songs have been remastered and enhanced. That is one of the key features and likely selling points of this new release.
Yoko Ono supervised John Lennon’s “Gimme Some Truth” campaign. The worldwide release of eight remastered studio albums and other newly-compiled titles occurred on Oct. 4, 2020. It was a passion project for her.
“John was a brilliant man with a great sense of humor and understanding,” Yoko Ono Lennon wrote in the Deluxe Edition’s book. “He believed in being truthful and that the power of the people will change the world. And it will. All of us have the responsibility to visualize a better world for ourselves and our children. The truth is what we create. It’s in our hands.”
The CDs come in a deluxe box with a limited edition John Lennon art print and a hardbound book featuring rare photos and artwork, among the fantastic goodies included inside the set.
This is great for fans who already own the vinyls. The new album is a significant upgrade in sound clarity and quality from the original recordings. The collection clearly shows Lennon's pursuit of perfection.
“I think my greatest pleasure is writing a song–words and lyrics–that will last longer than a couple of years. Songs that anybody could sing. Songs that will outlive me, probably. And that gives me my greatest pleasure. That’s where I get my kicks.”- John Lennon (from the liner notes of the Gimme Some Truth collection)
The album also features great tunes from Lennon’s efforts outside his time with the Beatles, including the “Plastic Ono Band,” among others. “The Plastic Ono Band” was a rock band formed by John Lennon and Yoko Ono in 1969 for their collaborative and solo projects.
The group produced five studio albums including Feeling The Space in 1973 That album and its feminist themes, focusing on issues affecting women in the 1970s, still resonates even in 2020.
Final Take: Gimme Some Truth offers an upgrade in aural experience for John Lennon fans. The only negative is that it’s not even longer than its two hour and 17 minute run time. Absolutely awesome! 5/5.
Craig Hoffman is a music graduate of Ohio Northern University and The University of Akron School of Music. He also serves as the Icon’s Japan correspondent.
