Top 5 favorite John Lennon solo songs

[GirlsAloudFan]

...GO!

No Beatles aloud allowed.

 

[corianderstem]

1. Instant Karma (miles ahead of everything else on this list)



2. #9 Dream
3. Mother
4. Steel and Glass
5. either Jealous Guy or Oh My Love

I only heard Steel and Glass within the last few years - I was surprised I'd never heard it. I had picked up one of those Starbucks collections that usually do a decent job of making a compilation that includes more than just the songs everyone already knows. It was on there. It was good.

I'd probably be fine never hearing Imagine again. I don't feel I can even rate it; I'm just so sick of it.

 

[the tourist]

1. Happy X-Mas (War Is Over)
2. Instant Karma
3. (Just Like) Starting Over
4. Oh My Love
5. #9 Dream

It was hard to leave out Intuition, Tight A$, Well Well Well, Imagine, and Working Class Hero.

 

[GirlsAloudFan]

Thanks for posting, guys!

Maybe 5 isn't enough?

People can feel free to make longer lists from this moment forth.

I'm still working on mine. It has some similarities to the two that have already been so graciously shared.

 

[corianderstem]

Blerg, I forgot Working Class Hero and Happy Xmas (War Is Over).

Happy Xmas should probably replace either 4 or 5 on my list. Oh well.

 

[Saracene]

1. Working Class Hero
2. Love
3. Mother
4. Imagine
5. Instant Karma

 

[LemonMelon]

Isolation
#9 Dream
Love
Jealous Guy
Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy)

I find a lot of his solo hits pretty bland, but I do love some of his work. John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band in particular would be fuckmazing had he bothered to write some engaging melodies, rather than just focus on the lyrics.

 

[phanan]

Only 5 is very tough, but here's a random sampling.

1. Watching The Wheels
2. God
3. Instant Karma!
4. Love
5. How Do You Sleep?

I'd probably have Imagine right after. Obviously overplayed and overused, but that shouldn't be used against it.

 

[Jive Turkey]

1. Watching the Wheels (something about this song reminds me of being a kid)
2. Woman
3. Just Like Starting Over
4. Mind Games
5. Jealous Guy
6. #9 Dream

 

[Moonlit_Angel]

1. (Tie) Watching The Wheels/Imagine The first song's always been one of those I love hearing when it gets played somewhere. Something about the music in it and the way it's sung makes me smile, it's such a great song and it's always been one of my absolute favorites of his. And the latter song-one of the very few in this world that perfectly encapsulates my worldview. Overplayed? Sure, as others have stated. But I personally never tire of hearing it, it's still a classic.
2. Jealous Guy That piano is so gorgeous. And the lyrics are just...wow. Beautiful, heartfelt, emotional song.
3. (Just Like) Starting Over Such an upbeat, bouncy, happy song, and I love how kinda "doo-wop"-ish it feels at times. I'm glad that, at least, he left this world with a positive outlook.
4. Woman Plain and simple, a song that I think every woman would want to have sung to/about them.
5. Mind Games I like the music in this one, too. Sorta "Whiter Shade Of Pale"-esque, in a way.

Yeah. That looks about right (I seem to go more for the lighter side of John's music ). Lots of other great songs mentioned, though, too-"Working-Class Hero", "Instant Karma", and "How Do You Sleep?" (OUCH. Talk about a smackdown. But the music in the chorus is incredibly cool) are a few other particular favorites of mine, too.

Angela

 

[Canadiens1131]

1. Working Class Hero.
2. INVALID FIELD
3. INVALID FIELD
4. INVALID FIELD
5. INVALID FIELD

 

[lazarus]

1. God
2. Imagine
3. Remember
4. Nobody Loves You (When You're Down And Out)
5. Oh Yoko!

And since GAF wisely has allowed longer lists:

6. Watching the Wheels
7. Mind Games
8. Nobody Told Me
9. Working Class Hero
10. Instant Karma

 

[Moonlit_Angel]

I can't believe I forgot "Nobody Told Me". May have to put that in place of or tie it with "Mind Games". I love that one, too.

Angela

 

[Imperor]

1. Oh Yoko!

And the rest.

 

[iron yuppie]

1. Working Class Hero
2. Instant Karma!
3. God
4. Love
5. Nobody Loves You (When You're Down & Out)

 

[lazarus]

5. Nobody Loves You (When You're Down & Out)

Glad I'm not alone.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TjGcJc7lPYA

 

[the tourist]

John Lennon is just really good. There are a lot of really good songs on these lists. It's really hard to pare it down, because it feels like we're overlooking things. At least I think so. Like many of the songs on lists that I didn't have in my 5 (or mention the difficulty of leaving out thereafter) I thought could easily have been on some given day. Watching The Wheels, or Love, or Remember, or Nobody Loves You (When You're Down And Out), etc. Great, great songs.

 

[cobl04]

of the three i know:

Instant Karma!
How Do You Sleep
Imagine

 

[the tourist]

Friggin' Cobbler.

 

[intedomine]

Haven't delved deep into his catalogue but

#9 Dream
Imagine
Mind Games
Jealous Guy
Love
Woman
Instant Karma (This Ishant Sharma's gonna get you!)

...are always immensely satisfying

 

[U2girl]

1. Imagine
2. Jealous Guy
3. Woman
4. #9 Dream
5. Beautiful boy

 

[cobl04]

Ishant Sharma's gonna get you!

 

[LMP]

1. Oh Yoko!
2. Mind Games
3. Working Class Hero
4. Mother
5. Isolation
---
6. Instant Karma!
7. God
8. Imagine
9. #9 Dream
10. Bring on the Lucie (Freda Peeple)

 

[Carek1230]

1. Imagine
2. Mother
3. Beautiful Boy
4. Woman
5. Instant Karma

 

[tiny dancer]

1. Nobody Told Me
2. Woman
3.Working Class Hero
4.Just Like Starting Over
5. Jealous Guy

 

[dudeman]

1. Mind Games
2. Watching the Wheels
3. Oh Yoko
4. Instant Karma
5. Beautiful Boy

 

[65980]

5 is clearly not enough!!

Well, John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band is one of my top 5 LPs ever, and it's a hard one to break into single tracks (disagree with the dude earlier who said it doesn't have good melodies -- I think it does!). Imagine is also great. The 1972 to 1974 stuff was later dismissed by Lennon himself as "dogshit", but there are some good tracks mixed in with the overproduced, saxophone-soloed crap. After that, there's only one last completed album (which was shared between John and Yoko equally). In other words, there isn't a lot of stuff to choose from.

OK, if I have to do five...

1. Imagine
2. Instant Karma!
3. Beautiful Boy
4. Happy Xmas (War is Over)
5. Woman

But again, the JL/Plastic Ono Band album is better than anything, taken as a whole. I think it's better than any Beatles' album, pound-for-pound.

 

[MrPryck2U]

1- Nobody Told Me
2- Watching The Wheels
3- (Just Like) Starting Over
4- Working Class Hero
5- Instant Karma!

 

[JCOSTER]

Beautiful Boy (my favorite)
Instant Karma
Imagine
Give Peace a Chance

 

[senrab]

1. Instant Karma!
2. God
3. Mother
4. (Just Like) Starting Over
5. Oh My Love