More than that, however, the feeling of this record is so diffuse that it probably does present an accurate overview of Lennon's confused career since leaving the Beatles. The best tracks are obsessed, driven by a special idea about the usefulness of rock & roll, as on "Instant Karma!," "Cold Turkey," "Imagine" and even "Mother." Although "Give Peace a Chance" is the best example extant of Lennon's talent for random lyric writing, neither it, "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)" nor "Power to the People" has held up. Unlike Dylan's best topical songs ("George Jackson," say), or even the Beatles' "Revolution," Lennon's polemics were entirely too ad hoc to last beyond the era in which they were made. Nevertheless, there is a cohesion of style present in these which dwindles in the later parts of the record: "Mind Games," "Whatever Gets You thru the Night" and "#9 Dream" are all without the purpose of his best work. This is convincing evidence, then, not only of John Lennon's genius but of his continuing career difficulty. Hopefully, as the cover drawing for "Power to the People" suggests, the green card he'll be receiving from Immigration will resolve that crisis happily.

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DAVE MARSH

(Posted: Dec 18, 1975)