John Lennon’s ‘I’m Losing You’ – The Version That SHOULD Have Been On ‘Double Fantasy’ [VIDEO]

John Lennon's 'Double Fantasy' album was a true comeback, after five years off to raise his son Sean.  The album showed that John had not only retained his genius for songwriting, but also his vocal chops.  'Double Fantasy' had tender ballads like 'Beautiful Boy', and it had outright rock songs.  The best of those rockers in my opinion is 'I'm Losing You'.  It had the sneer, the power chords, the acerbic wit, and the swagger that define any good rock song.

But the version on 'Double Fantasy' is not the definitive version, at least not to me.  During the recording of the album, the band Cheap Trick was working in the same studio.  Inevitably, they met John and hit it off. After all, Cheap Trick unashamedly cite The Beatles as a primary influence, and you can hear it plainly in their music.  They joined John in studio for a jam session on 'I'm Losing You', which John and his production team were working on at the time.  The tape was rolling, and below is the result.  This version with Cheap Trick as John's backing band, blows away the glossed up version of the song that eventually appeared on the album.

And if not for objections from Yoko, ostensibly an unwillingness to share credit on the album or relinquish any control, this session remained unreleased until well into the '90s.  It finally appeared on a John Lennon 'Anthology'  box set featuring several other outtake versions of familiar Lennon tunes.  Fans have always wondered what COULD have happened if John had continued to collaborate with the guys in Cheap Trick.  Listen to the possibilities in the clever 'mash up' video below.  What do you think?: