John & Yoko: Above Us Only Sky

Well (well well), Lennon is my favourite rock star and "Imagine" is one of my all-time favourite albums so this documentary centring on his recording of that very record was always going to be right down my strasse. Actually taking in his career and activities from a couple of years before, when he first hooked up with Yoko Ono and they formed the Plastic Ono Band, it's a fascinating insight into the man that "Time" magazine voted as one of the men of the decade just past when this was shot.

This was therefore the period when Lennon, soon to up sticks permanently to New York after just a couple of years at the sprawling country grounds of Tittenhurst Park where most of this film was made, was living a gadfly existence as outside of his recording duties we see him out on the road promoting Yoko's book "Grapefruit", following through on his political activism by attending protest marches as well as making himself generally available for interviews with both the music and the popular press, the latter keen to lampoon his peacenik happenings.

The film employs the usual technique of talking head commentaries, some from over-adulatory outsiders and the more interesting ones from those who were either in Lennon's band at the time, like drummer Alan White and bassist Klaus Voormann or were part of his staff. Whilst the film gives almost equal attention to Yoko, there's no question in my mind as to who the real deal is here. Whether expounding his utopian vision for peace on earth, discussing revolutionary politics with Tariq Ali, leading his band through his new songs or most candidly, taking in an obviously damaged Beatles fan who just turns up at his door (and look where that openness to his public led him), he comes across, at least to me, as a sharp, witty, playful guy, one you'd enjoy spending time with. Yes I'm aware of his self-confessed human flaws but even grown up son Julian speaks well of his old man here and that's good enough for me.

The music is absolutely terrific too with snippets of every track from the album heard in one incarnation or another although personally I wish there was more of it shown.

This in summary then is a fine fly-on-the-wall documentary showing a musical giant at his very considerable best.