John Lennon,Ono Yoko/John & Yoko Special Interview 1971

When John Lennon’s masterpieces “John’s Soul” and “Imagine” were released in Japan, a gift EP containing interviews with John and Yoko was created for each. These are currently in circulation as rare items, and both are sold for close to 100,000 yen. I’m sure there are many enthusiasts who watched those EPs with their fingers in their mouths at used record stores. This mega rare EP has only been made into a CD in Japan once. It was included 20 years ago as a bonus in a box set containing three titles of John’s video software, including “LIVE IN NEW YORK CITY”. However, the master tapes of these interview EPs do not exist, and although they are in the form of original CDs, there is no doubt that they were very groundbreaking CD releases, and each EP is nostalgic now. The fact that it was included in a CD single also made it more collectable. Now, 20 years have passed since its release, and this bonus CD itself has become a rare item. That in itself is good, but this special bonus is now being traded at a high price even among enthusiasts, and is being sold for an average of 30,000 yen on overseas Discogs sites. As a result, the second-hand market is flooded with incomplete copies of the box without the bonus CD, and above all, the fact that there is no special bonus, and the software is in an outdated format, means that it is being sold at a low price. In 2019, not only the main EP but even this bonus CD has become mega-rare, so many people have probably never heard the interview. What will be released is a super convenient item that combines those rare single CDs into one. No matter how rare it is, the format of two single CDs is difficult to handle. Moreover, it is difficult to obtain. You can enjoy it easily and quickly with just one disc. The interview made at the time of the release of “John’s Soul” was recorded at the Imperial Hotel during his visit to Japan in 1971, and of course there were Japanese staff, but the interview was conducted by Yoko, and the overall is easier to listen to than the New York version. Among them, it is interesting that John explains the album’s sound using the Japanese word “shibui” (=shibui), which refers to “John’s soul.” And at the time of this recording, John had a guitar in his hand, played “Sun King” in the background while Yoko was talking, and at the end, the two of them briefly played “Give Peace A Chance”, which is also attractive. On the other hand, the New York edition recorded when “Imagine” was released is an interview recorded at the St. Regis Hotel. This is run by a Japanese staff member, but the fact that he has multiple Japanese speakers called Yoko backfires and the two end up fighting each other, which is a real flaw. The ease of understanding due to the heavy use of words is exceptional. What is surprising here is that George came to visit with Bob Dylan the day before the interview recording. What’s more, I was surprised to hear that they heard Yoko’s album “FLY” and were impressed by it. And the best part is the scene where John does a Kabuki impersonation at the end. It’s amazing how similar they look. John was in a good mood and then said some Japanese words to me, one of which was the name of a Japanese camera company. Because of this, the ending of the 1998 CD version is cut off right after the Kabuki impersonation ends. Even in the original EP, the staff laughed bitterly and said, “That (company name) is bad,” so it seems like the cuts were made due to so-called adult circumstances. John & Yoko Special Interview 1971 1. Tokyo edition: January 25th at the Imperial Hotel 2. New York edition: September 2nd at the St. Regis Hotel