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By 1980, Lennon had spent half a decade out of the spotlight raising his kidβa choice that itself felt radical in rock circles. Double Fantasy documents his attempt to re-enter the studio as a married man with something to prove, alternating his streamlined pop songs with Ono’s more abstract contributions. The result sits uncomfortably between comeback record and artistic statement, neither fully convincing. History remembers the album mostly as a footnote to tragedy, which is precisely why it deserves hearing on its own merits: a document of two artists at odds with their own mythology.