In 2018, John Lennon’s landmark 1971 solo album, Imagine, got a major reboot with a box set (Imagine – The Ultimate Collection), the Imagine and Gimme Some Truth documentaries, and a one-night-only television special on A&E called John & Yoko: Above Us Only Sky. For those who missed, it, it subsequently ran on Netflix and is now available on Blu-ray Disc with loads of extras. For John & Yoko: Above Us Only Sky, the making of Imagine and its miles of footage is a framing device around a much bigger story that traces the origins of John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s relationship and its impact on pop culture.
Directed by Emmy Award Winner and Oscar nominee Michael Epstein, John & Yoko: Above Us Only Sky features commentary from the couple’s most intimate acquaintances and associates: John Lennon’s son Julian; photographer David Bailey; John Dunbar, the owner of the art gallery where Lennon and Ono met; Dan Richter, the pair’s personal assistant; studio designer Eddie Veale who built Ascot Sound Studios at Lennon’s home in Tittenhurst Park; plus input from bassist Klaus Voorman, drummer Alan White and drummer Jim Keltner, who all played on the Imagine album. Photographer Kieron “Spud” Murphy, who spent a few hours around Tittenhurst photographing the Imagine sessions, and secretary Diana Robertson, both share their experiences with insightful detail.
Yoko Ono also has her say. In fact, the 113-minute documentary goes to great lengths to show how much of a positive influence she had on John Lennon, even crediting her for the lyrics in “Imagine.” Among others, Lennon himself, in one of many of the film’s interview snippet, says he was heavily inspired by Ono’s book, Grapefruit. Certainly, a transformation from mop top Beatle to political activist with a yen for the avante garde and public mimicry, as noted in the documentary, came about when Lennon and Ono got together.
The extras on the Blu-ray Disc include raw studio, split-screen footage of Lennon, George Harrison, Nicky Hopkins, Klaus Voorman and Alan White tracking through “How Do You Sleep?” and “Oh My Love.” There’s a clip of Lennon and Ono in a hotel room in the Bahamas in 1969. You can see publicist Derek Taylor watching as John and Yoko run through a salty version of “Oh Yoko!” The last sequence features a drifter named Curt Claudio, a shell-shocked veteran who apparently showed up at Tittenhurst in hopes of connecting with Lennon. Not only do they meet, but the singer listens, explains himself and invites the young man in for tea. The exchange has shown up in other documentaries, but here it is, in full, bad camera work and all.
For over 50 years, John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s story has been told repeatedly from various points of view and perspectives. Somehow, given the number of years, the message the couple held and near and dear, and input from those on the sidelines, John & Yoko: Above Us Only Sky offers one of the more compelling assessments, aligning the power of “Imagine” with the metamorphosis of an artist whose influence on music, politics, and individuality transcend the myth he will one day become.
~ Shawn Perry
