Smart thought: Why not use your own celebrity to become politically active so that the world becomes a better place? However, Lennon and Ono underestimated the emerging headwind. On the one hand, this came from Richard Nixon’s US government, which naturally had little use for the left-wing intellectual celebrity couple – which even brought the FBI into action and jeopardized Lennon’s residence status. But the press also tended to react negatively to openly hostile, for all sorts of reasons, from the simple “we want the Beatles back” to the general view that a singer should be spared their political views.
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Certainly not insignificant: Lennon and Ono’s agitation songs were always well-intentioned, but not always brilliantly thought out. And an art-loving audience familiar with avant-garde experiments might find Ono’s stage behavior original or moving, but for the average fan – the people the couple actually wanted to reach – it still harbored a certain potential for irritation. As a “Super Deluxe Edition”, POWER TO THE PEOPLE includes 123 tracks on nine CDs and three Blu-rays, including a remastered version of the 1972 album SOMETIME IN NEW YORK CITY, the completely remixed “One To One” benefit concerts as well as numerous demos, outtakes and home recordings, supplemented by a 204-page book.
Separately, the “One To One” shows, Lennon’s last concerts with Yoko Ono, will also be released as a 4-LP box and 2-CD set, as well as a stripped-down double LP and single CD. Historically, all of this is extremely interesting, musically at least for the most part, if you accept the rather striking protest songs graciously. What is particularly inspiring is the enthusiasm and passion with which the two advocate for justice and empowerment. To their own detriment – because the FBI stayed on.
This review first appeared in Musikexpress 11/2025.