© Madeline Bocaro 2025

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Having attended John and Yoko’s One To One concert in August 1972 at the age of fourteen, this lavish deluxe box set containing the full concerts (matinee and evening) is a highly welcome gift 50+ years later! I recall the sound being super loud, cavernous and grand. Now, here it is – in all its glory! We didn’t know that this would be John’s last full live show.

See my story about the concert!

https://madelinex.com/2017/08/30/john-yoko-live/

Also in the deluxe box set are 123 tracks from the Lennons’ NYC era, with a remaster of the Some Time in New York City album. 90 have never been heard before. All of the music features the Plastic Ono Elephant’s Memory Band.

The lenticular cover with John’s face morphing into Yoko’s and perfectly merging in the middle is worth the price of admission! It’s their Mona Lisa! The middle photo resembles their son Sean.

The five photos are from the Dissolving Heads series, by photographer Iain MacMillan (known for his Abbey Road session with the Beatles). This series was first used on the cover of the catalogue / poster for Yoko’s exhibition This Is Not Here at Everson Art Museum in October 1971. It was also used on their 1971 US single ‘Happy Christmas (War is Over).’ The five images appeared in sequence on the record label. They appear again on the single ‘Woman is the Nigger of the World’ released in 1972. The album Some Time in New York City was the last release to feature the dissolving heads.

The Statue of Liberty said, ‘Come.’ And they did!

The Lennons’ time in “bad-ass” New York City was the bridge between John’s Imagine and Mind Games albums. The songs on Some Time in New York City greatly differed from both. As teenagers upon hearing this, we were not ready for, nor familiar with the radical politics and world problems presented in the lyrics, shortly after John’s mostly gentle and melodic songs from the peaceful Imagine album. Now we can see how important these messages were, and how relevant they still are.

‘Some Time In’ is removed from the album title and ‘New York City’ is now the opening song, due to the omission of ‘Woman is the Nigger of the World.’ This was undoubtedly a painful decision. Avoiding ensuing arguments regarding the song (although John did seek, and was granted approval by black leaders and artists of the time) The Lennon Estate can now focus on continually creating ultra-high caliber box sets for our enjoyment! Luckily, it can still be heard elsewhere (the lyrics remain here), but unfortunately the title still rings true 50+ years later.

The Ultimate Mixes

Most fans have a special relationship with music. Most of us are not technically aware. We accept and revere the magic of what’s happening on the record – all the accidents and mistakes coming out of whatever sound system we had – usually a radio. As a teenager during this period in the Lennons’ lives, I enjoyed the music just as it was – buried in the tape echo of Phil Spector, and gloriously f*ucked up. This murky ambience is ingrained in my memories of that time. I thought it was supposed to be the in the style of busking on the street.

Sean Ono Lennon and his team have cleaned it up immensely, which is quite jarring at first. The crisp remastering highlights John’s vocals and thunderous bottom end. It makes me wonder how much time and effort has been spent de-Spectorizing the music of the Beatles (Let It Be), George Harrison (All Things Must Pass) and much of John’s solo work.

Elephant’s Memory really shine as musicians. Bassist Gary Van Scyoc told Mojo:

“Lennon wanted the sound to be stripped back, almost dirty… “He hated all the final sweetening things that [engineers and producers] used to put on. He just wanted it to be very, very raw because of the subject matter.”

However, if John were to hear this mix today, I think he would be blown away. While some are complaining about the things that have been mixed away, we should be thankful for all the new revelations here.

The track ‘New York City’ rocks harder now, although the overpowering sax of Stan Bronstein is toned down and removed in places.

The late, great saxophonist Stan Bronstein would later play on Yoko’s album Approximately Infinite Universe (1973). He also played on albums by The Clash and by The New York Dolls.

On ‘Sisters O’ Sisters,’ Yoko’s vocal sounds warmer. However, the sublime strings have been completely eliminated – until the final minute. (See my comments about this in the Elements Mixes section). Still, the song sounds relevant today in every way.

‘Born in a Prison’ sounds wonderful in this ultimate mix. John spoke about Yoko’s innocent vocal in Rock magazine, (August 14, 1972) saying,

“She sounds like a fifteen-year-old kid. It’s a beautiful track… It’s a pop song. It’s really beautiful And I want her to cover (Rosie and the Originals’) ‘Angel Baby’…”

It’s amazing how much the start of this (on the evolution documentary) sounds like that song! Some of those takes are incredible.

The ultimate mixes of ‘’Sunday Bloody Sunday’ (now with a more powerful outro) and ‘John Sinclair’ are both extended by two minutes.

The flute is omitted from the folky ‘Luck of the Irish.’ This was a wise move.

Although I still enjoy the transcendent chaos of the original, Yoko’s ‘We’re All Water’ is liberated from its murkiness. The cymbals are subdued – along with the sax, but Bronstein shines through anyway. I’d love to hear Yoko do a freak-out screaming / skronking session with Stan’s sax, like she did with Ivy Gitlis’ violin during the Stones’ Rock N’ Roll Circus. This song is the closest she comes to that.

The Evolution Documentaries – structural snapshots of each song taking shape.

‘New York City’ evolves in a 6-minutes series of clips. There is a Detroit rock feel on this entire album (even when they are singing about NYC!). This is probably because guitarist Wayne (Tex) Gabriel grew up there, and played with Mitch Ryder’s band Detroit.

Described as the American Rolling Stones, Detroit had a hit with Lou Reed’s song ‘Rock & Roll.’ Reed liked it so much that he asked member Steve Hunter to join his band, leading to a live Reed version of the song with an all-time classic Hunter solo!

The evolution of ‘Sisters O Sisters’ goes from acoustic (with different phrasing) to an almost country style twangy guitar version with the reggae element emerging. It finally eases into the lovely feminist anthem it became, as the strings enter the picture!

There are several evolutions of ‘Attic State’ which sound amazing – faster and much more bottom heavy. At one point it swings a lot more with louder drums, similar to the Beatles song ‘For You Blue.’ The album version is much thinner than this. Yoko sings a bit behind the beat, so that John is echoing her a bit. This was a cool effect, kept on the album version.

There is amusing chatter from Yoko (when asked for a microphone check) about her song ‘Born in a Prison.’ “I’m going to be singing either in Lisa Minelli style or Yoko Ono style.” She starts in a much lower key, but ends up an octave higher. The sustained string arrangements are much more prominent on these takes. They sound wonderful with the sax. On one take, she says, “Let’s all meet when we’re free!”

On ‘Sunday Bloody Sunday’ John suggests that the band play more like (Yoko’s song) ‘Mind Train’ (Fly 1971), and they dive right into that funky beat! A beautiful chaos ensues!

We hear ‘The Luck of the Irish’ evolve from a slower tempo (similar to John’s 1970 song ‘God’). In the studio, when Yoko can’t hear her voice in the headphones, she emits a few expletives. Her playful complaint, “Male chauvinist pig engineer!” and John’s response, “Right on sister!” were lifted from this session and fittingly placed at the beginning of the album track ‘Sisters O Sisters.’

We can hear the song ‘Angela’ evolving after Davis was already released from prison.

Yoko’s ‘We’re All Water’ didn’t really need to evolve. It was pretty much full-formed from the beginning!

 

The Elements Mixes

I especially adore the (“invisible”) strings-only ‘Sisters O Sisters!’ In one of her little manifestos, Yoko wrote, “All my life I have been walking through an enchanted forest with wonderment in my heart.” This is exactly how I felt walking amongst trees in the park while listening to this entrancing serenade!

Ron Frangipane’s brilliant string arrangements are incredible. They are almost completely buried in the original mix! I always get emotional when I hear this song. I think it’s due to the subliminal strings bubbling underneath. Here they are glowing!

Frangipane’s arrangement on ‘Born in a Prison’ isolated here for the first time is magical! We also hear strings-only versions of ‘The Luck of the Irish’ and ‘Angela.’

(Ron Frangipane was an accomplished producer who played keyboards on, and arranged the bubblegum hit song ‘Sugar Sugar’ by The Archies. He also arranged the strings on ‘Happy Xmas (War Is Over’) and on several tracks on Yoko’s 1973 album Approximately Infinite Universe).

 

The Concerts

Apparently, John’s voice has been pitch-corrected (which he most likely would have loved). Having attended the afternoon show and being intimately familiar with the audio in person (and on subsequent releases) this does not bother me at all. It’s amusing to see guys podcasting from their man-caves surrounded by audio graphs, comparing where the pitch changes occur on the original recordings.

Three discs contain the complete One to One concerts (matinee and evening shows) and a “best of” compilation. The concerts here are mysteriously missing (besides the other omitted female lib song) Yoko’s song ‘Sisters O Sisters.’ Sean and his team have worked a miracle – considering the inconsistencies and disorganization of the original live recording process. This is a great document of the electricity of the performances!

It’s great to hear the powerful ending to ‘Born in a Prison’ at the afternoon concert again, as Yoko chillingly screams, “Let Me Out” twice, responding to the sax, followed by, “I’ll see you outside the prison, mates!”

During both of John’s performances of ‘Mother’ he shreds his voice! The crowd erupts at the start of ‘Come Together’ (the only Beatles song performed).

The One To One concert films are to be released next year, along with other Lennon/Ono projects from The Lennon Estate. The gift that keeps on giving!

 

The Jams (Blu-Ray)

Studio Jam is an interesting collection of 16 unreleased rock covers made with Elephant’s Memory during the recording of Some Time in New York City.

Live Jam 1 includes live performances. This is the ‘bonus disc’ of Some Time In New York City. Side One is live at London’s Lyceum in December 1969; ‘Cold Turkey’ and ‘Don’t Worry Kyoko’ (unfortunately not the 40-minute version). The enclosed book incorrectly shows the lyrics as “Join us.” Yoko is actually calling out, “Jonas” (to her friend and colleague, filmmaker Jonas Mekas).

Side Two is their encore appearance with Frank Zappa and the Mothers at The Fillmore East in June 1971.

Live Jam 2 gives us 9 songs live at the John Sinclair Freedom Rally – Plastic Ono Band with David Peel and The Lower East in December 1971, and the Lennon’s performance of 3 songs at Jerry Lewis’ telethon in NYC.

Home Jam contains acoustic demos (oldies but goodies) made in September 1971 at the St. Regis hotel – including some with Phil Ochs, phone calls, studio chatter, and more.

Included in the beautifully designed Deluxe set package is an informative hard cover book about this entire era in the lives of John and Yoko, One To One concert tickets, stickers, a poster and other memorabilia.

Also see my review of the One To One documentary film:

https://madelinex.com/2025/03/12/one-to-one/

My writeup and photos of the IMAX Premier in NYC:

https://madelinex.com/2025/04/11/one-to-one-imax-premiere-nyc/

MY STORY about the album – Some Time in New York City:

https://madelinex.com/2019/06/12/sometime-in-new-york-city/

 

Check out my Yoko Ono biography.
In Your Mind – The Infinite Universe of Yoko Ono

The ultimate guide to the artist’s life and work.
The true story of the woman John Lennon loved.

On Amazon worldwide and…

http://bookbaby.conceptualbooks.com

SIGNED HARD COVER BOOKS exclusively at:

http://conceptualbooks.com/

Web site: http://inyourmindbook.com

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Coming Soon:

Listen… The Musical Universe of Yoko Ono

A book exclusively about Yoko’s music

with input from many musicians and collaborators!

 

© Madeline Bocaro 2025. No part of this text may be copied, photocopied, reproduced, translated or re-blogged in whole or in part. Reproduction without permission is prohibited. All text written by Madeline Bocaro is protected by United States copyright law and may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast without prior written permission.

 

madelinex.com is a non-profit blog created for educational and research purposes.

Any content that may violate copyright or free usage laws will be removed upon request.

Track List

CD 1 / Blu-ray 1 – The One To One Concert ⋆ Hybrid ‘Best Of’ Show

Power To The People (intro) †

New York City*

It’s So Hard*

Move On Fast* †

Well Well Well †

Born In A Prison* †

Instant Karma! (We All Shine On)*

Mother*

We’re All Water †

Come Together †

Imagine*

Open Your Box* †

Cold Turkey* †

Don’t Worry Kyoko* †

Hound Dog

Law And Order

Give Peace A Chance

 

* denotes afternoon show, otherwise the performance is from the evening show

 

† denotes never-before-heard, previously unreleased tracks

 

CD 2 / Blu-ray 1 – The One To One Concert ⋆ Afternoon Show

Power To The People (intro) †

New York City

It’s So Hard

Move On Fast †

Well Well Well

Born In A Prison †

Instant Karma! (We All Shine On)

Mother

We’re All Water †

Come Together

Imagine

Open Your Box †

Cold Turkey †

Don’t Worry Kyoko †

Hound Dog †

† denotes never-before-heard, previously unreleased tracks

 

CD 3 / Blu-ray 1 – The One To One Concert ⋆ Evening Show

Power To The People (intro) †

New York City †

It’s So Hard †

Move On Fast †

Well Well Well †

Instant Karma! (We All Shine On) †

Mother †

We’re All Water †

Born In A Prison †

Imagine†

Come Together

Open Your Box †

Cold Turkey

Hound Dog

Law And Order

Give Peace A Chance

 

† denotes never-before-heard, previously unreleased tracks

 

CD 4 / Blu-ray 2 – New York City (The Ultimate Mixes)

New York City (Ultimate Mix)

Sisters, O Sisters (Ultimate Mix)

Attica State (Ultimate Mix)

Born In A Prison (Ultimate Mix)

Sunday Bloody Sunday (Ultimate Mix, extended)

The Luck Of The Irish (Ultimate Mix)

John Sinclair (Ultimate Mix, extended)

Angela (Ultimate Mix)

We’re All Water (Ultimate Mix)

 

CD 5 / Blu-ray 2 – New York City (The Evolution Documentary)

New York City (Evolution Documentary) †

Sisters, O Sisters (Evolution Documentary) †

Attica State (Evolution Documentary) †

Born In A Prison (Evolution Documentary) †

Sunday Bloody Sunday (Evolution Documentary) †

The Luck Of The Irish (Evolution Documentary) †

John Sinclair (Evolution Documentary) †

Angela (Evolution Documentary) †

We’re All Water (Evolution Documentary) †

 

† denotes never-before-heard, previously unreleased tracks

 

CD 6 / Blu-ray 2 – New York City (Studio Jam)

Jazz Freakout †

You Can’t Sit Down †

Roll Over Beethoven †

Honey, Don’t †

Ain’t That A Shame †

My Babe †

Send Me Some Lovin’ †

Fools Like Me †

Down In The Caribbean †

Happy Birthday Yoko Ono †

That’s Right †

Don’t Be Cruel / Hound Dog †

Yoko’s Rhythm †

Whole Lotta Shakin’ / It’ll Be Me †

Yakety Yak †

Road Runner †

 

† denotes never-before-heard, previously unreleased tracks

 

CD 7 / Blu-ray 3 – Live Jam 1

John & Yoko / Plastic Ono Band and A Star-Studded Cast of Thousands. Peace and Love for Christmas, in aid of UNICEF, Live at the Lyceum Ballroom, The Strand, London, 15 December 1969

 

Cold Turkey (live)

Don’t Worry Kyoko (live)

John & Yoko / Plastic Ono Band with Frank Zappa and The Mothers, Fillmore East, New York, 6 June 1971

 

Well (Baby Please Don’t Go) (live)

Jamrag [Say Please / King Kong / Aawk] (live)

Scumbag (live)

Aü (live)

 

CD 8 / Blu-ray 3 – Live Jam 2

John & Yoko / Plastic Ono Band with David Peel and The Lower East Side Live at the John Sinclair Freedom Rally, Crisler Arena, Ann Arbor, Michigan, 10 December 1971

 

Attica State (live) †

The Luck Of The Irish (live)

Sisters, O Sisters (live) †

John Sinclair (live)

John & Yoko / Plastic Ono Band. Live at the Benefit for the families of the victims of the riot at Attica State Correctional Facility, Apollo Theater, Harlem, NYC, 17 December 1971

 

Attica State (live)

Sisters, O Sisters (live) †

Imagine (live)

John & Yoko / Plastic Ono Band. Live on the David Frost TV Show, The Little Theatre, 240 West 44th Street, NYC, 16 December 1971

 

Attica State (live) †

Sisters, O Sisters (live) †

John Sinclair (live) †

John & Yoko / Plastic Ono Elephant’s Memory Band. Live at the Jerry Lewis Muscular Dystrophy Telethon, Americana Hotel, NYC, 4 September 1972

 

Imagine (live) †

Now Or Never (live) †

Give Peace A Chance (live) †

† denotes never-before-heard, previously unreleased tracks

 

CD 9 / Blu-ray 3 – Home Jam

John Lennon. Home Recordings at the St. Regis Hotel, New York, 10 September 1971

 

Shazam †

Honey, Don’t †

Glad All Over †

Lend Me Your Comb †

Wake Up Little Susie †

New York City †

Wake Up Little Susie †

‘Hey, que pasa?’ †

You’re So Square (Baby I Don’t Care) †

Vacation Time †

Heartbeat †

Peggy Sue Got Married †

Peggy Sue †

‘Phone call from Henry Gotsello’ †

Peggy Sue †

‘Now we’d like to change the mood a little…’ †

Maybe Baby †

Mailman, Bring Me No More Blues †

Rave On! †

Twelve Bar Blues †

John Lennon. Home Recordings at the St. Regis Hotel, New York, 27 October 1971

 

I Got You †

Hi-Heel Sneakers †

Slippin’ And Slidin’ †

Gone From This Place †

John Lennon. Home Recordings at Campus Inn, Ann Arbor, Michigan, 10 December 1971

 

Send Me Some Lovin’ †

He Got The Blues †

When The Teacher †

Pill †

It’s Real

John Lennon and Phil Ochs. Home Recordings at Campus Inn, Ann Arbor, Michigan, 10 December 1971

 

I Ain’t Marching Anymore †

Joe Hill †

Chords Of Fame †

Ringing Of Revolution

 

† denotes never-before-heard, previously unreleased tracks