John Lennon & Yoko Ono, "Double Fantasy"

It's hard to listen to this album without being reminded of John's murder just weeks after its release. His death casts a pall over what was intended to be a redemptive and heartfelt joint statement of passion and love.

On this, the second album on which John shares credit with Yoko, the couple present a series of songs that, for the most part, tell the story of their marriage, and it wasn't always good times. Their 18-month separation in the early 1970s - which John later labeled his "lost weekend" - ended with the birth of John and Yoko's son Sean in 1975, and with John putting his music career on hold to stay home with his wife and their newborn child.

Recorded five years later, "Double Fantasy" heralded a return to the studio for John, and the first opportunity for the singer to address the highs and lows of the past several years in song. Never one to shy away from self-examination in song, John's excellent and somewhat confessional "I'm Losing You" chronicles the pain of a man struggling to regain his lover's trust. It is Yoko, however, who most starkly bares her emotions over the pain of their separation, in songs like "Kiss Kiss Kiss":

Kiss kiss kiss kiss me love
I'm bleeding inside
It's a long, long story to tell
And I can only show you my hell

In "Give Me Something," she pleads with her partner to pay attention to her, and not turn away. She reminds him that her heart is his, if only he will have it. And in "I'm Moving On," she is overcome with a bitterness in the face of her lover's falseness.

You didn't have to tell a white lie
You knew you scored me for life
Don't stick your fingers in my pie
You know I'll see through your jive

But just as the tone of John and Yoko's marriage took an upbeat turn after the end of the "lost weekend," so does "Double Fantasy" at this point. John dedicates a tender, loving lullaby to Sean entitled "Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy)." While the oft-quoted line "Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans" comes across as ironic in hindsight, nothing can diminish the expression of genuine love the father creates for his son. In a parallel on an album of parallels, Yoko devotes her song "Beautiful Boys" to both John and Sean.

The remaining tracks on "Double Fantasy" reflect mature statements on love and home life through the prism of marriage and stability, and while the sound of the album overall is firmly ensconced in the "adult contemporary" category, replete with tasteful musical arrangements and perhaps too many accompanists, it's nowhere near as tame an album as that description might imply. Although she keeps her trademark vocal histrionics to a minimum here, Yoko's contributions are still more on the avant garde end of the pop music spectrum.

Unquestionably, the singles released from "Double Fantasy" are top-flight tunes and deserving of their place in John's musical legacy. "(Just Like) Starting Over" finds him happy in life and love, as he encourages his lover to join him on a romantic getaway, and on the enduring "Watching the Wheels," John responds to critics who questioned his decision to retire to spend time with his family. Even "Woman" overcomes its needless third-verse key change and emerges as one of the barest expressions of devotion ever put to music.

Hearing "Double Fantasy" now, more than 30 years after John's death, is a positive and at times cathartic experience, but ultimately bittersweet. In light of the fact that I have now outlived one of my greatest idols, to listen to his final living musical statement - itself an accomplishment despite initial negative reviews from contemporary critics -  is humbling, yes; but ultimately uplifting.