On Thursday (Aug. 23), Geffen/UMe announced the six-disc box set John Lennon: Imagine: The Ultimate Collection, set for release on Oct. 5 — days before what would have been his 78th birthday.
The remixed and remastered 140-track collection — fully authorized by Yoko Ono, who oversaw the production and creative direction of the project — will spread across four CDs and two Blu-ray discs. The set will feature rare, unheard demos, outtakes, isolated tracks, films and more from the making of the 1971 album Imagine.
According to press release announcing the box set, “This is the first time that this iconic album has been explored and presented so completely. It’s a long-overdue and fitting tribute to one of the most important songs, albums and creative collaborations of the 20th century. John & Yoko’s message is as universal and pertinent today as it was when the album was created and arguably needed more now than ever. This new edition takes listeners on an incredibly personal journey through the entire songwriting and recording process — from the very first writing and demo sessions at John’s home studio at Tittenhurst Park through to the final co-production with Phil Spector — providing a remarkable testament of the lives of John Lennon and Yoko Ono in their own words.
In addition to the box set, the 1971 John and Yoko-directed film Imagine and the 2000 documentary Gimme Some Truth: The Making of John Lennon’s Imagine will be re-released in October in remastered HD. The book Imagine John Yoko, meanwhile, will be released on Lennon’s birthday, Oct. 9, and was personally compiled by Yoko Ono.