John Lennon - Working Class Hero: The Definitive Lennon (2005)

There sure hasn't been a shortage of John Lennon compilations over the years, but there hasn't been a new collection since 1997's Lennon Legend and there haven't been any two-CD sets covering his entire career until 2005's Working Class Hero: The Definitive Lennon, that is. Released on October 4, 2005, this surely was intended as a tie-in to the Broadway show Lennon: The Musical, but it wound up appearing ten days after the musical concluded its disastrous run. Even if the show did tank, it provided the occasion for this strong collection. Working Class Hero may tread familiar territory not only does it have all the usual suspects, from "Instant Karma" to "(Just Like) Starting Over," it has them in a sequencing that feels familiar, even it doesn't correspond to any specific previous release but that's fine, because it provides a rather thorough overview of Lennon's best-known solo songs. In many cases, these are often his best, but there are surely some great songs missing here, particularly because the comp emphasizes material with a slight romantic bent or songs that play into the myth of St. John (meaning, mixed alongside the hits there are plenty of songs about Yoko and being a father, and rockers are given short shrift). But these are minor complaints: anybody who wants a succinct yet comprehensive compilation of most of Lennon's solo best should be satisfied with this.

Tracklist:

CD 1:

01. (Just Like) Starting Over
02. Imagine
03. Watching The Wheels
04. Jealous Guy
05. Instant Karma! (We All Shine On)
06. Stand By Me
07. Working Class Hero
08. Power To The People
09. Oh My Love
10. Oh Yoko!
11. Nobody Loves You (When You're Down And Out)
12. Nobody Told Me
13. Bless You
14. Come Together (Live)
15. New York City
16. I'm Stepping Out
17. You Are Here
18. Borrowed Time
19. Happy Xmas (War Is Over)

CD 2:

01. Woman
02. Mind Games
03. Out The Blue
04. Whatever Gets You Thru The Night
05. Love
06. Mother
07. Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy)
08. Woman Is The Nigger Of The World
09. God
10. Scared
11. #9 Dream
12. I'm Losing You
13. Isolation
14. Cold Turkey
15. Intuition
16. Gimme Some Truth
17. Give Peace A Chance
18. Real Love
19. Grow Old With Me