The new multi-disc collection Power To The People celebrates John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s inspiring early 1970s era of socio-political activism. A long-awaited treasure for fans, it delivers high-quality recordings of their live performances from that period, alongside new “ultimate mixes” from the 1972 Some Time In New York City album, plus a wealth of outtakes, demos, and home recordings.
At the heart of this collection is the near complete iconic 1972 “One To One” benefit concert from Madison Square Garden, the last full concert John Lennon would ever perform. A treasure.
Portions of the show surfaced over the years through bootlegs and the 1985 single-LP highlights release John Lennon Live In New York. Personally, I was never a fan of how the producers tried to modernize the sound on that version—especially the drums.
Fortunately, producer Sean Lennon and his Ultimate Mixes team have restored the concert to its natural state, sounding better than ever on CD and in high-resolution stereo, 5.1 surround, and Dolby Atmos on Blu-ray. The surround mixes aren’t deeply immersive; which is to be expected for a 1972 live recording with most of the soundstage up front and venue ambience filling the space around you. It’s fine, it rocks, just keep expectations in check.
Power To The People delivers many great performances of Lennon classics including songs The Beatles themselves never even played live such as “Come Together.” Beyond his classic “Imagine” and tunes from his stunning solo debut Plastic Ono Band you’ll also get many key tracks the album Some Time in New York City. The set of course includes fine remixes of most of that studio LP as well audio documentaries tracing evolution this music across alternate takes and demos.
It is great to finally hear top quality recordings of John & Yoko’s acoustic benefit performances for John Sinclair and Attica State Prison as well as a heartfelt performance on the influential annual Jerry Lewis Muscular Dystrophy Telethon!
The “Home Jam” recordings are especially fascinating, finding a solo Lennon running through many rock ‘n roll oldies (including several by Buddy Holly!), a pre-echo of music he would record for 1975’s Rock & Roll album. I was surprised to hear folk protest singer Phil Ochs visiting with Lennon, performing some of his ’60s classics (Lennon noodles on slide guitar in the background).
The set also features John and Yoko’s 1971 Fillmore East performances with Frank Zappa, presented in a more balanced remix closer to the mix Zappa issued on 1992’s Playground Psychotics 2CD release. There’s a lot to dig into here—Power To The People is packed with treasures.
The packaging for Power To The People is outstanding. The cover features a lovely motion activated lenticular image of John and Yoko, repurposed from images used on the original Some Time In New York City record labels. The package includes reproductions of period stickers and memorabilia, concert tickets stubs, a backstage pass and neat fold-out promotional poster.
If you are a fan who has always wanted to own this music in its best quality this set is near perfection.
Where to buy: $224.98 at Amazon | $239.98 at John Lennon’s Official Website
Mark Smotroff is a deep music enthusiast / collector who has also worked in entertainment oriented marketing communications for decades supporting the likes of DTS, Sega and many others. He reviews vinyl for Analog Planet and has written for Audiophile Review, Sound+Vision, Mix, EQ, etc. You can learn more about him a LinkedIn.
Related Reading:
- Frank Zappa’s 1978 Halloween Show ‘The Big One’ Released In Full: New 5CD Super Deluxe Box Set
- Frank Zappa’s One Size Fits All 50th Anniversary Box Set Brings Dolby Atmos Remix And Rare Archival Recordings To Life
- Prog Rock Supergroup Beat Honors 1980s King Crimson On ‘Neon Heat Disease: Live In Los Angeles’ Blu-Ray/CD
Magnus Hägermyr
November 9, 2025 at 7:31 pm
The box can also be looked at as a very ambitious soundtrack to the movie “One To One” – a must se documentary about John & Yoko’s life in New York during that time (saw it at the cinema this summer).
And yes I am a fan who wants this in it’s best quality so I probably buy the collection even if I also have much of the material from previous editions.
Thanks for info and review.