Guitarist Bill Frisell remakes songs written by John Lennon, both from Lennon’s days in The Beatles and his solo career. Eschewing the temptation to treat the tunes as husks for improvisation, Frisell’s nimble quintet, with Jenny Scheinman's sweetly twined violin and Greg Leisz's steel guitar, recasts these indelible melodies with crafty arrangements. They bring out a meditative ethereality in “Across the Universe” and a honky-tonk sparkle in “Please Please Me.” Above all, the record privileges the lyrical beauty of Lennon’s writing.