By any measure this album took more balls for John than any other. FBI files, Imagine finally secured his position in rock music in his own right, but what does John do? Makes a 1) double album with his wife 2) Yoko (who to put it nicely is a better muse than singer) featuring 3) Frank Zappa in a live jam, filled with 4) pre-electric Dylan type edgy protest songs working with very topical material which is 5) controversial at it's time and 6) forgotten later. Commercially the bright side is Phil Spector does well producing Yoko's songs to make it appear to have rhythm and melody. My problem is almost everything that makes this album so difficult for others to enjoy is largely why I like it. "Woman Is The Nigger Of The World" is a great song (as for white people using the n word it was a context matter in the 70's, i.e. Mel Brooks, Bob Dylan, Patti Smith, Elvis Costello, Steve Martin, Monty Python, George Carlin etc) but not a lead single material as well guess what it's not exactly radio friendly. If I was John's manager I would have asked the song "New York City" backed with "Attica State" as the lead single or at least put it out at some point to promote the album. Maybe market "Sunday Bloody Sunday" and "The Luck Of The Irish" into an Irish pride documentary or "Woman Is Nigger Of The The World" and "Sisters O Sisters" into feminist protest rallies. "John Sinclair" and "Angela" are still great tunes even if nobody seems to remember who John Sinclair or Angela Davis are anymore. Oh well, John might have (temporarily) fallen from Billboard favor but not from artistic integrity and this is why he's my hero.
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