Plot Summary

The U.S. vs. John Lennon is neither a collection of outtakes like Acoustic nor a career-spanning retrospective like the Imagine: John Lennon soundtrack or one of his many greatest-hits collections. Instead, it's an album with a theme: Lennon the idealist, Lennon the peace activist, Lennon the leftist; but also Lennon the disillusioned and Lennon the harrassed--and, of course, Lennon the newly in love with Yoko Ono. (Her spirit is palpable on every track, even those without her voice.) No surprise, then, that most of the songs date from 1969 to 1972, drawing heavily from Plastic Ono Band and Imagine. Don't look here for primal tracks like "Cold Turkey" and "Mother," smash hits like "Whatever Gets You Through the Night," or comeback songs like "Watching the Wheels"--not fitting the themes of the documentary, they are rightly left off. And the only Beatles track present is, of course, "The Ballad of John and Yoko." There isn't much new here, either--only two of the tracks are unreleased, and one is just Imagine's "How Do You Sleep?" with the vocals removed. (It's nevertheless a highlight, as it focuses attention on George Harrison's delicious guest spot on slide guitar.) But if you're OK with that, this is a fine encapsulation--featuring classics like "Imagine" and "Instant Karma!" and less well known songs like "I Found Out" and "Scared"--of the period in Lennon's life when he was struggling to stay in the U.S. while also struggling to change it.