JOHN LENNON IMAGINE 50th ANNIVERSARY – THE ULTIMATE MIXES WHITE VINYL CONFUSION

by The Daily Beatle Department of Corrections.

White vinyl version of Imagine – the album. Same error in track list as on black and clear vinyl editions. Image by Capitol/UMe

A few days ago, the release on September 10, 2021 of John Lennon’s “IMAGINE – The Ultimate Mixes & Out-takes” (2 LPs) in a limited edition in white vinyl was officially announced. This edition has the same content as the black and clear vinyl editions, as released back in 2018.

For some reason, this new presentation has the same error in the information which was also present in the 2018 editions, regarding the track “I Don’t Wanna Be A Soldier Mama I Don’t Wanna Die (Take 25)”. It also includes the “Crippled Inside (Take 3)” error in the artwork and track list, which was not only on LPs but also on the CD configurations.

The official track list of the second LP on the WHITE VINYL EDITION 2021 is as follows:

1 Imagine (Original demo recorded at Ascot)
2 Imagine (Take 1)
3 Crippled Inside (Take 3)
4 Crippled Inside (Take 6 alternate guitar solo)
5 Jealous Guy (Take 9)
6 It’s So Hard (Take 6)
7 I Don’t Wanna Be A Soldier Mama I Don’t Wanna Die (Take 25)
8 Gimme Some Truth (Take 4)
9 Oh My Love (Take 6)
10 How Do You Sleep? (Takes 1 & 2)
11 Oh Yoko! (From Bed Peace footage – Sheraton Hotel, Bahamas 1969)

I DON’T WANNA BE A SOLDIER MAMA I DON’T WANNA DIE had two different sessions; on February 16 and May 24, 1971. The official information shows on page 52 of the book that accompanies the Deluxe Edition of IMAGINE THE ULTIMATE MIXES that in the first session only 21 takes were recorded (none were used for the final version), although on page 53 of the same book it is confirmed with the tape box of this session that 23 were done (here is the first contradiction), and are available among collectors; and from the second session only 7 takes were necessary, of which number four ended up on the official album.

On the official track list for THE ULTIMATE MIXES LPs published on many sites and online stores in 2018, by mistake it was described that “Take 25” was included instead of Take 11 (from the first session), which it in fact is.

Also the stickers of the European LPs BLACK 0602567703327 and CLEAR 0602567703334 shows the take number “25” instead of 11. However, different but correct information is included in the inner sleeves. Many fans thought that the LP contained an exclusive take not available in the CD editions. And in 2021 the same mistake is made again with a non-existent take (“25”).

Sticker from the black vinyl edition (2018) also mistakenly lists the wrong take.

CRIPPLED INSIDE was recorded on May 26, 1971. Only two takes were complete (#2 and #6), as described in the information in the book that accompanies “IMAGINE THE ULTIMATE MIXES” of 2018, and on page 40 of the Deluxe Edition we can read: “There were six takes, but only the second and the sixth were complete”. This can be confirmed with the raw tape circulating among collectors and on bootlegs records, and the actual Take 3 is only 49-seconds long before John stops it.

The clear vinyl sticker also gets it wrong.

There is a mistake present several times not only in the official editions of “IMAGINE THE ULTIMATE MIXES” on LP but also on CD (Deluxe Edition and 2CD version), since we are supposedly listening to “Take 3” in full (3:52 length), but this is actually Take 2 (which is also included separately in the Deluxe Edition on Blu Ray #2), so we have the same Take 2 repeated multiple times, but we were led to believe they were different takes. An A/B comparison was made with Take 2 and “Take 3” from the official releases using editing software, which confirmed that they both were, in fact, Take 2.

Who made the decision to misname this take and not verify the information on an official product?

IMAGINE THE ULTIMATE COLLECTION (4 CDS/2 BLU RAY DISC):

CD 2, Track 7: Crippled Inside (Take 3), is actually Take 2.

BLU RAY DISC 1 “imagine The Outtakes”, Track 3: Crippled Inside (Take 3), is actually Take 2.

BLU RAY DISC 2 “The Raw Studio Mixes Ou-takes”, Track 2: Crippled Inside (Take 2), It is the correct take and also the same “Take 3” from the other discs but without editing out the dialogues at the beginning and at the end; and we can also hear Take 1 (a false start), although this is not listed.

IMAGINE THE ULTIMATE MIXES (2 CDS)

CD 2, Track 7: Crippled Inside (Take 3), is actually Take 2.

IMAGINE THE ULTIMATE MIXES (2 LPS:BLACK/CLEAR and WHITE EDITIONS)

LP 2, SIDE 1, Track 3: Crippled Inside (Take 3), is actually Take 2.