“Power to the People” revives John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s most defiant era

Released on the heels of “One to One: John & Yoko,” the exquisite documentary directed by Kevin Macdonald and Sam Rice-Edwards, “Power to the People” makes for a worthy addition to the ongoing series of legacy releases by the Lennon estate. Under Sean Ono Lennon’s direction, these collections have proven, time and time again, to be the cream of the crop when it comes to celebrating the post-Beatles legacy.

The “Power to the People” box set affords listeners an expansive and, indeed, immersive experience when it comes to the Lennons’ August 30, 1972, “One to One” benefit concerts at New York City’s Madison Square Garden. Held on behalf of disabled students at Staten Island’s Willowbrook School, the concerts offer a vivid depiction of John and Yoko at the height of their 1970s-era social activism. In terms of pure historical value, the “One to One” event marked the only full-length concerts that Lennon undertook after The Beatles’ final show at San Francisco’s Candlestick Park in August 1966.

Produced by Sean Ono Lennon and mixed and re-engineered from the original multitrack tapes by Paul Hicks and Sam Gannon, the audio from the “One to One” concerts is a feast for the ears. The resulting mix draws listeners into the maelstrom of Madison Square Garden, with Lennon and Ono, backed by Elephant’s Memory, performing such classics as “Come Together,” “Instant Karma! (We All Shine On),” “Imagine” and “Give Peace a Chance.” In addition to the spectacular sonic renderings of the original recordings, the box set is distinguished by a book-length companion. One of the ongoing hallmarks of the Lennon estate’s legacy releases, the accompanying compendium, compiled by Simon Hilton, is simply magnificent.

Much has already been made about the omission of “Woman Is the N***** of the World” from the present collection. The song finds its origins in Irish revolutionary James Connolly’s proto-feminist assertion that “the female worker is the slave of the slave.” Released as a single from Lennon and Ono’s “Some Time in New York City” LP in April 1972, the song was a highly provocative, if not valiant, effort by Lennon and Ono to challenge contemporary thinking about gender inequities.

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Suffice it to say that the song was incendiary then and is arguably even more incendiary in today’s heightened sociopolitical climate, where words have been weaponized like never before. On the one hand, “Woman Is the N***** of the World” was a key component in Lennon and Ono’s artistic stance, as evidenced by its inclusion in both setlists during the “One to One” benefit concerts. In that sense, its omission is glaring. But on the other hand, if the song’s inclusion on the box set were to detract in any way from the larger message of “Power to the People” — that human beings can unite and enact genuine social change in the service of a better world — then leaving it on the cutting-room floor makes perfect sense. Power to the people, right on.