Condition: Used
John Lennon & Plastic Ono Band – John Lennon / Plastic Ono Band
Label: Apple Records
SW 3372
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album
Record: VG+ VG++
Cover: VG+ cornerwear
Country: Canada
Released:1970
Genre: Rock
Style: Art Rock
Tracklist
Mother 5:36
Hold On 1:53
I Found Out 3:37
Working Class Hero 3:50
Isolation 2:53
Remember 4:36
Love 3:24
Well Well Well 5:59
Look At Me 2:54
God 4:10
My Mummy's Dead 0:49
Not only was this John's real first solo album (apart from the experimental stuff he did with Yoko in the late Sixties), it was the first of his solo albums I got too. Those earlier albums weren't done in active competition with The Beatles, and were done mostly out of artistic exploration and having a little fun, something done on the side to keep busy between recording sessions. This album was the one that announced John's presence as a viable solo artist. I'm glad I have it on vinyl; I believe that the bonus tracks "Power to the People" and "Do the Oz" do majorly detract from this classic album, in addition to having nothing in common with the original eleven tracks.
These songs are raw, emotional, deeply personal and painful. John was letting out his pain in song, sometimes little more than Primal Screams set to music ("Well Well Well" and "Remember"). He was mad at the world and deeply depressed for so many reasons, and was finally letting loose with his inner turmoil in all of its stark naked glory, like it or not. Forget John's angry tough macho image, the guy with a huge chip on his shoulder; underneath he was just a sweet wounded little boy who missed his mommy and needed a big hug. People who knew him said that underneath his hard outer shell he was very sweet, sensitive, and tender.
The songs I connect to most on this record are "Mother" (the first time I heard it, before I had this album, I couldn't stop sobbing because of how intense, personal, and sad it was), "I Found Out" (so aggressive and raw, and an attack on organised religions), "Working Class Hero" (most radio stations only play the censored version), "Love" (so simplistic and yet so true and deep), and "God." The lattermost song never fails to give me chills, as the fifteen declarations of "I don't believe in..." keep getting stronger and more powerful. I'm sure in 1970 it was even more chilling and shocking, with lines that were more relevant back then, like "I don't believe in Beatles," "I don't believe in Kennedy," and "I don't believe in Zimmermann." The song ends on a positive note; John does believe in himself and Yoko, and realises that he can stand on his own two feet and that the world can go on without him being a Beatle. He's reached a sense of inner peace after all of the tortured screams and cries for release and healing that came before.
This kind of music doubtless wouldn't sell very many records today, but it remains as a classic record of an angry man who was nothing more than a wounded scarred little boy underneath getting his innermost feelings out, sharing with his fans and indeed the whole world very personal and private things that many people would prefer to just keep hidden.
John Lennon - Plastic Ono Band - Working Class Hero
This song speaks so much truth about life that some people don't understand
Decades later the people still don't understand this, You are nothing but the government's pawn, they own you.
John Lennon - Plastic Ono Band - God
.I think this is Lennon's most powerful song. I can't think of any other guy who spoke so openly in my life. what he is stating is he believes in himself and his love, and really..what more do you need.
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