John Lennon: The 20 Best Hidden Gems From His Albums, According to Ultimate Classic Rock

John Lennon's solo career after the breakup of the Beatles was, sadly, tragically cut short after just a few years. Barely ten years after launching his new solo era, Lennon was murdered on the street in New York by a deranged fan, recalls Ultimate Classic Rock, which has decided to revisit some of the former Beatle's lesser-known songs. In that brief span, UCR notes, Lennon managed to land two number-one singles on the Billboard Hot 100: "Whatever Gets You Thru The Night," from "Walls and Bridges," and "(Just Like) Starting Over," from "Double Fantasy," which would remain his final album. He also reached the US Top 5 with "Instant Karma," "Imagine" and "Woman," while three other singles cracked the Top 10 and a couple more came close.
These hits, UCR continues, served as pillars for a run of warmly received albums. Lennon released seven proper solo albums over the course of a decade, despite a near five-year hiatus during which he devoted himself to raising his son Sean alongside Yoko Ono. Four of those records went gold, while 1971's "Imagine" and "Double Fantasy" both became massive multi-platinum successes. Then, in 1984, came the posthumous "Milk And Honey," also certified gold.
But as this rundown of John Lennon's best "deep cuts" shows, it was also the lesser-known gems that held his artistic journey together.

Here, then, is a ranking of twenty John Lennon tracks that may have slipped past even the most casual listeners, selected by Ultimate Classic Rock (full feature here).

20. Bring on the Lucie (Freda Peeple) (Mind Games, 1973)
21. Old Dirt Road (Walls and Bridges, 1974)
22. Crippled Inside (Imagine, 1971)
23. I Know (I Know) (Mind Games, 1973)
24. Hold On (Plastic Ono Band, 1970)
25. Going Down on Love (Walls and Bridges, 1974)
26. Grow Old With Me (Milk and Honey, 1984)
27. I’m Losing You (Double Fantasy, 1980)
28. How Do You Sleep? (Imagine, 1971)
29. I Don’t Wanna Face It (Milk and Honey, 1984)
30. Look at Me (Plastic Ono Band, 1970)
31. Out the Blue (Mind Games, 1973)
32. Isolation (Plastic Ono Band, 1970)
33. God (Plastic Ono Band, 1970)
34. Oh My Love (Imagine, 1971)
35. Surprise, Surprise (Sweet Bird of Paradox) (Walls and Bridges, 1974)
36. Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy) (Double Fantasy, 1980)
37. How? (Imagine, 1971)
38. Jealous Guy (Imagine, 1971)
39. I Found Out (Plastic Ono Band, 1970)

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