Wonsaponatime
IfThe John Lennon Anthologyis the musical equivalent of a scholarly four-part biography that looks terrific on the bookshelf and is enjoyable to page through now and then,Wonsaponatimeis the condensed popular-press bio that one can actually settle down with and digest. Consisting of 21 solo Lennon tracks cut between 1969 and 1980,Wonsaponatime, like the bulkyAnthology, offers a selection of home, live, and studio recordings that have been buried for decades. Each part of the ex-Beatle's solo career is represented, from his probingPlastic Ono Bandphase (truly the highlights here), through his misbegotten counterculture-icon-in-the-making state, into his more-focused, less-inspired mid-'70s recordings, and closing with his final-days comeback sessions. It's not all the Lennon an aficionado could ask for, but it's enough for casual fans.--Steven Stolder