Editing Instant Karma! (section)

==Critical reception==
On release, [[Chris Welch]] of ''[[Melody Maker]]'' declared: "Instant hit! John Lennon is singing better than ever. With a beautiful rock 'n' roll echo chamber on his mean but meaningful vocals and some superb drumming, it makes up the Plastics' best piece of boogie yet."<ref>Sutherland, p. 74.</ref> ''[[Record World]]'' listed the song first on its three "Single Picks of the Week" predictions, saying: "John Ono Lennon is now produced by Phil Spector. 'Instant Karma' ... is gonna get YOU."<ref>{{cite magazine|author=((Record World editors))|title=Picks of the Week|magazine=[[Record World]]|date=21 February 1970|page=1}}</ref> ''[[Cashbox (magazine)|Cash Box]]'' predicted the same success, saying: "'Instant Karma' has made it to New York, full reverb blaring and Lennon's guts pouring out in a most exciting and involving manner. The song tears out with a '50s shuffle style that really makes it."<ref>{{cite magazine|author=Cash Box staff|title=Cash Box Record Reviews|magazine=[[Cashbox (magazine)|Cash Box]]|date=21 February 1970|page=16}}</ref> Writing in the ''[[NME]]'' in 1975, [[Charles Shaar Murray]] wrote of the song's "volcanically desperate optimism" and rated it "a classic". Shaar Murray added, with reference to "Cold Turkey" also: "I can't remember anybody else who put out two such utter killers in a row over the same period of time."<ref>{{cite magazine|author=Shaar Murray, Charles|title=John Lennon: ''Shaved Fish''|magazine=[[NME]]|date=1 November 1975|page=24}} Available at [http://www.rocksbackpages.com/Library/Article/john-lennon-shaved-fish Rock's Backpages] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150906150538/http://www.rocksbackpages.com/Library/Article/john-lennon-shaved-fish |date=6 September 2015 }} (subscription required).</ref><ref>Sutherland, p. 126.</ref>

''[[Village Voice]]'' critic [[Robert Christgau]] described "Instant Karma!" as Lennon's "best political song,"<ref>{{cite web |last=Christgau |first=Robert |url=http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?id=684 |title=Consumer Guide: John Lennon |publisher=robertchristgau.com |access-date=14 November 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131202221521/http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?id=684 |archive-date=2 December 2013 |url-status=live }}</ref> while some other reviewers consider it to be the artist's finest post-Beatles recording.<ref>Lawrence, p. 6.</ref> In their 1975 book ''[[The Beatles: An Illustrated Record]]'', [[Roy Carr]] and [[Tony Tyler]] describe "Instant Karma!" as a "snappy little rocker" that "owes as much to the skilful production of Phil Spector as to the vitality of the overall performance," on which "[d]rummer Alan White excels."<ref name="Carr & Tyler p 86">Carr & Tyler, p. 86.</ref> Another to highlight White's drumming amid the "collective genius" of all the musicians on "Instant Karma!", author Robert Rodriguez concludes of Lennon's activities on 27 January 1970: "Not many days in the history of rock and roll proved as everlastingly fruitful."<ref name="Rodriguez 2010 p 21" /> In 1981, ''NME'' critic [[Bob Woffinden]] wrote of the single: "It was excellent. Lennon was characteristically simple and direct, but this time on a song with one of those magically catchy refrains."<ref name="Woffinden p 32">Woffinden, p. 32.</ref>

Among Lennon biographers, [[Jon Wiener]] praises Lennon's "rich, deep voice" on a recording where the sound is "irresistible".<ref>Wiener, p. 113.</ref> Philip Norman describes the song as "similar to 'Cold Turkey' in [[tempo]] but far more relaxed and humorous", adding that Spector's production gave Lennon's voice "a taut expressiveness it had not had since '[[Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)|Norwegian Wood]]'."<ref name="Norman p 635" /> While noting the significance of the session for George Harrison's career, author Simon Leng praises the recording as being "full of urgency and sheer excitement."<ref name="Leng p 70">Leng, p. 70.</ref>

''Stereogum'' contributors Timothy and Elizabeth Bracy rated it as Lennon's greatest solo song, calling it "an exhilarating gesture and proof that Lennon didn’t need anyone — even the [[Beatles]] — in order to make timeless music."<ref>{{cite web|title=The 10 Best John Lennon Songs|date=13 May 2014|last1=Bracy|first1=Timothy|last2=Bracy |first2=Elizabeth|accessdate=2023-05-03|publisher=Stereogum|url=https://www.stereogum.com/1681100/the-10-best-john-lennon-songs/lists/}}</ref>

In 1989, ''Rolling Stone'' ranked "Instant Karma!" the 79th best single of the previous 25 years.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/rstone.html |title=Rolling Stone lists |publisher=rocklistmusic.co.uk |access-date=23 March 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110718180414/http://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/rstone.html |archive-date=18 July 2011 |url-status=usurped }}</ref> In ''[[NME|NME Originals]]: Beatles – The Solo Years 1970–1980'', [[David Stubbs]] lists the song second among Lennon's "ten solo gems" (behind "Cold Turkey"), with the comment: "'Instant Karma!' epitomises the Lennon paradox, melding hippie idealism and rock'n'roll primal energy in an exhilarating mix."<ref>{{cite book|editor=Hunt, Chris|title=[[NME|NME Originals]]: Beatles – The Solo Years 1970–1980|year=2005|publisher=IPC Ignite!|location=London|page=19}}</ref> Matt Melis of [[Consequence of Sound]] placed it third on his 2009 list of "Top Ten Songs by Ex-Beatles".<ref>{{cite web|author=Melis, Matt|url=http://consequenceofsound.net/2009/04/list-em-carefully-top-ten-songs-by-ex-beatles/|publisher=[[Consequence of Sound]]|date=8 April 2009|access-date=30 March 2014|title=List 'Em Carefully: Top Ten Songs by Ex-Beatles|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160728214911/http://consequenceofsound.net/2009/04/list-em-carefully-top-ten-songs-by-ex-beatles/|archive-date=28 July 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> "Instant Karma!" has also appeared in the following critics' best-songs lists and books: [[Dave Marsh]]'s ''The 1001 Greatest Singles Ever Made'' (1989; at number 638),{{CN|date=December 2023}} ''1000 Songs that Rock Your World'' by [[Dave Thompson (author)|Dave Thompson]] (2011; number 56),{{CN|date=December 2023}} the ''NME''{{'}}s "The 100 Best Songs of the 1970s" (2012; number 77),{{CN|date=December 2023}} and ''[[Q (magazine)|Q]]'' magazine's "The 1001 Best Songs Ever" (2003; number 193).{{CN|date=December 2023}} The [[Rock and Roll Hall of Fame]] includes the track among its "500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll".<ref>Womack, pp. 469–70.</ref>