Much of the music here is informed by the 50's influences of Lennon's youth more so than at any time (with the exception of the first couple Beatles albums) in his career. What's most refreshing about this album is that Lennon is clearly HAPPY.

That's precisely what makes this album so much fun: Lennon is having the time of his life recreating the music that he loved so much.

I've never been a Yoko fan, but she does a very good job of creating commerical rock 'n' roll. Her stuff in the past has ranged from interesting to inaccessible (think Captain Beefheart on his worst day), but here she manages to create some pop classics equal to Lennon's. All you need to do is here Elvis Costello's cover of Walking on Thin Ice or Lennon's own cover of Every Man has a Woman Who Loves Him to begin to appreciate how she molded her artier side to pop music conventions.

This isn't Lennon's best album but the sheer happiness and joy apparent in his voice and performance raise even the marginal material up to his standards. This was his first attempt to create meaningful, happy music in his life. He certainly would have progressed and changed just as he did with his more angst driven music both during and after the Beatles. A fine album that, while it doesn't measure up to POB or Imagine, on occasion matches those album's best moments.