Producers: John Lennon, Yoko Ono, Jack Douglas.

Reissue producer: Yoko Ono.

Principally recorded at The Hit Factory, New York, New York. Includes liner notes by Yoko Ono.

Digitally remastered by George Marino (2000, Sterling Sound, New York, New York).

Personnel: John Lennon (vocals, guitar, keyboards); Yoko Ono (vocals); Earl Slick, Hugh McCracken (guitar); Matthew Cunningham (dulcimer); Randy Stein (English concertina); Howard Johnson, Grant Hungerford, John Parran, Seldon Powell, George "Young" Opalisky, Roger Rosenberg, David Tofani, Ronald Tooley (horns); George Small (keyboards); Ed Walsh (Oberheim synthesizer); Tony Levin (bass); Andy Newmark (drums); Robert Greenidge (steel drums); Arthur Jenkins, Jr. (percussion); Michelle Simpson, Cassandra Wooten, Cheryl Mason Jacks, Eric Troyer, Benny Cummings Singers, The Kings Temple Choir (background vocals).

Producers: Yoko Ono, Jack Douglas, John Lennon.

Recorded at The Hit Factory, New York, New York.

The most distinctive thing about Double Fantasy, the last album John Lennon released during his lifetime, is the very thing that keeps it from being a graceful return to form from the singer/songwriter, returning to active duty after five years of self-imposed exile. As legend has it, Lennon spent those years in domestic bliss, being a husband, raising a baby, and, of course, baking bread. Double Fantasy was designed as a window into that bliss and, to that extent, he decided to make it a joint album with Yoko Ono, to illustrate how complete their union was. For her part, Ono decided to take a stab at pop and while these are relatively tuneful for her, they nevertheless disrupt the feel and flow of Lennon's material, which has a consistent tone and theme. He's surprisingly sentimental, not just when he's expressing love for his wife ("Dear Yoko," "Woman") and child ("Beautiful Boy [Darling Boy]"), but when he's coming to terms with his quiet years ("Watching the Wheels," "Cleanup Time") and his return to creative life. These are really nice tunes, and what's special about them is their niceness -- it's a sweet acceptance of middle age, which, of course, makes his assassination all the sadder. For that alone, Double Fantasy is noteworthy, yet it's hard not to think that it's a bit of a missed opportunity -- primarily because its themes would be stronger without the Ono songs, but also because the production is just a little bit too slick and constrained, sounding very much of its time. Ultimately, these complaints fall by the wayside because Lennon's best songs here cement the last part of his legend, capturing him at peace and in love. According to some reports, that perception was a bit of a fantasy, but sometimes the fantasy means more than the reality, and that's certainly the case here. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

In one of music history's crueler twists of fate, John Lennon was just beginning to make an aesthetic/commercial comeback when he was assassinated in 1980. Earlier that year, the release of DOUBLE FANTASY (after a long layoff from recording, mostly spent raising his young son Sean) let Lennon fans know that he and Yoko were still capable of flaunting their creativity on record. Lennon had matured as a person as well as an artist over the preceding several years, after years of personal trials, and his personal renaissance was evident on DOUBLE FANTASY, with it's cheery, accessible pop tunes celebrating the simple joys of family life.

This not being a McCartney album, things never get overly sentimental, even on Lennon's odes to Sean (the shimmering ballad "Beautiful Boy") and Yoko (the '50s-influenced "[Just Like] Starting Over.") Lennon was too complex an artist to release a mindless happy-face album, and even his sunniest observations are deepened by the complexities of his compositional genius. For her part, Yoko contributes some of the finest songs of her career, like the simple but movingly poetic "Every Man Has a Woman Who Loves Him." Lennon's older, wiser worldview is best summed up by the philosophical (and engagingly bouncy) "Watching the Wheels."

In one of music history's crueler twists of fate, John Lennon was just beginning to make an aesthetic/commercial comeback when he was assassinated in 1980. Earlier that year, the release of DOUBLE FANTASY (after a long layoff from recording, mostly spent raising his young son Sean) let Lennon fans know that he and Yoko were still capable of flaunting their creativity on record. Lennon had matured as a person as well as an artist over the preceding several years, after years of personal trials, and his personal renaissance was evident on DOUBLE FANTASY, with it's cheery, accessible pop tunes celebrating the simple joys of family life.

This not being a McCartney album, things never get overly sentimental, even on Lennon's odes to Sean (the shimmering ballad "Beautiful Boy") and Yoko (the '50s-influenced "[Just Like] Starting Over.") Lennon was too complex an artist to release a mindless happy-face album, and even his sunniest observations are deepened by the complexities of his compositional genius. For her part, Yoko contributes some of the finest songs of her career, like the simple but movingly poetic "Every Man Has a Woman Who Loves Him." Lennon's older, wiser worldview is best summed up by the philosophical (and engagingly bouncy) "Watching the Wheels."