John Lennon Solo Albums Set For Release On SHM-CD
Eight of the Beatle’s LPs are now available on the high quality format.
John Lennon’s catalog can be heard in a whole new way, as eight of his albums are set to be released on Japanese SHM-CD (Super High Material CD).
The reissues, which were previously only available in Japan, are now available for the first time worldwide. The SHM-CDs (known for having a higher listening quality than the standard CD) will be packaged in paper-sleeves featuring replicas of the original LP artwork, with a Japanese obi-strap and Japanese lyric translations.
The list of albums are the live LP Live Peace in Toronto (1969); his debut solo album Plastic Ono Band (1970); the critically acclaimed Imagine (1971); Mind Games (1973), Walls and Bridges (1974); his covers album Rock ’N’ Roll (1975); Lennon’s final album before his death, Double Fantasy (1980); and the posthumous release, Milk and Honey (1984).
Lennon stayed with the band from its inception in 1960 before kicking off his solo venture. In 1969, he started the Plastic Ono Band with his wife Yoko Ono. Throughout his career with The Beatles, as a solo artist and a writer for other artists, Lennon scored 25 number one singles on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Imagine, his second solo album, was his biggest commercial success, topping both the UK Albums Chart and US Billboard 200.
Last year, a new box set that chronicles Lennon’s and Ono’s political activism was released. Titled Power To The People (Super Deluxe Edition), it includes nine CDs and three Blu-Rays that features 90 previously unreleased or never-before-heard tracks. There’s also a 204-page hardback book, featuring an oral history about the music.
In February 2025, the team behind Lennon’s reissues won a Grammy for Best Boxed Set Or Special Limited Edition Package for their work on John Lennon’s Mind Games – The Ultimate Collection (Super Deluxe Edition).
