Everything about John Lennon Plastic Ono Band totally explained
John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band is
John Lennon's first official solo album, released in 1970 after having issued three experimental albums with
Yoko Ono and
Live Peace In Toronto 1969, a live performance in
Toronto credited to
The Plastic Ono Band. The album was recorded simultaneously with Yoko Ono's debut avant garde solo album
Yoko Ono/Plastic Ono Band at Ascot Sound Studios and Abbey Road Studios using the same musicians and production team, and featured nearly identical cover artwork.
John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band is generally considered one of Lennon's finest solo albums and a landmark recording.
History
The "Plastic Ono Band" in the album's title refers to the conceptual band Lennon and Ono had formed in 1969 of various supporting musicians they'd use on their various solo albums.
After
The Beatles' break-up in April 1970, both Lennon and Ono undertook
Primal therapy with the guidance of
Arthur Janov for four months in
Los Angeles. Forced to confront the traumas of his childhood (abandonment, isolation and death), Lennon finally let his submerged anger and hurt rise to the surface and dealt with it through his art. Similarly, Ono's concurrently-recorded album,
Yoko Ono/Plastic Ono Band was a form of catharsis for her.
Returning to
England that September, Lennon and Ono called upon
Phil Spector, who had produced Lennon's hit "
Instant Karma!" earlier that year, to co-produce both their albums with them at
Abbey Road Studios.
Ringo Starr played drums, while
Klaus Voormann, an old pal of
The Beatles from
Germany – and a member of
Manfred Mann – played bass.
Billy Preston, who had already worked with The Beatles, supplied piano for the searing confessional "God". Lennon himself performed all guitar duties, playing most of the piano as well. Voorman reported to
Rolling Stone that only one or two takes were performed on most of the songs.
Because of the raw emotion so central to
John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band, the music itself was kept very basic and direct in arrangement, giving it a stark feel. The only instrument that was allowed to soar with wild abandon is Lennon's primal and harrowing screaming, notably on "Mother" and "Well Well Well".
Throughout the album, Lennon touches upon many issues: the abandonment of his parents in "Mother"; the castigation of class issues in "Working Class Hero" (one of the first pop songs to feature the word "fuck"); a reminder that despite his rage and pain, Lennon still embraces "Love"; and "God", a renouncement of external saviors, including, famously, the Beatles. Here Lennon states that he believes only in himself, and his wife Yoko.
In 2000, Yoko Ono supervised a remixing of
John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band for its remastered CD reissue, including two bonus tracks: Lennon's 1971 hit "Power To The People" and "Do The Oz", which had appeared on the 1998 box set
John Lennon Anthology.
Album artwork
The album's cover is almost identical to Ono's companion piece
Yoko Ono/Plastic Ono Band -- the difference being that on Ono's cover, Mrs. Lennon lies on Mr. Lennon's body. Interestingly, the photo was snapped with a consumer-grade Instamatic camera by actor Daniel Richter (as listed in the album's credits) who worked as an assistant for the Lennons at the time. The initial compact disc issue of the album listed the title and artist, while the 2000 remastered version restores the original artwork. In addition, the original LP didn't feature a track listing on the back. Instead, the back cover showed what appears to be a school photo of Lennon in his youth (circa 1946).
Critical reception
John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band was received with high critical praise upon release. In early 1971, the album reached #8 in the UK and went to #6 in the US, going gold.
In 2000
Q magazine placed John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band
at number 62 in its list of the 100 Greatest British Albums Ever. In 1987, it was ranked #4 on Rolling Stone's list of the 100 best albums of the period 1967-1987, and in 2003, it was placed at #22 in their list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. In 2003, Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab celebrated the legacy of this groundbreaking album with audiophile quality 24 karat Gold CD and 180 gram 1/2 speed mastered GAIN 2 Ultra Analog vinyl reissues.
In 2006, the album was placed by
Pitchfork Media at number 60 of its Top 100 Albums of the 1970s list.
In 2006, the album was chosen by
TIME Magazine as one of the 100 best albums of all time.
(External Link
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Miscellanea
Phil Spector, a co-producer on this album, played piano on "
Love."
"
Well Well Well" was featured in Martin Scorsese's 2006 film
The Departed.
"Look At Me" dates from
The Beatles period, and is built on a fingerstyle guitar pattern very similar to the one Lennon used in "
Dear Prudence", "
Happiness Is a Warm Gun" and "
Julia". Lennon learned this guitar technique from
Donovan while the two were in
Rishikesh.
"Look At Me" was featured in the movie
The Royal Tenenbaums, but doesn't appear on the film's soundtrack album.
Track listing
All songs written, composed and arranged by
John Lennon, except where noted.
"Mother" – 5:34
"Hold On" – 1:52
"I Found Out" – 3:37
"Working Class Hero" – 3:48
"Isolation" – 2:51
"Remember" – 4:33
"Love" – 3:21
"Well Well Well" – 5:59
"Look at Me" – 2:53
"God" – 4:09
"My Mummy's Dead" – 0:49
"Power to the People" – 3:22 [Appearson 2000 reissue]
"Do the Oz" – 3:07 [Appearson 2000 reissue] (John Lennon/Yoko Ono)
Personnel
John Lennon: lead, rhythm and acoustic guitars, piano, keyboards, lead and harmony vocals.
Klaus Voormann: bass.
Ringo Starr: drums.
Billy Preston: piano on "God".
Phil Spector: piano on "Love".
Alan White: drums and percussion (on CD version's bonus tracks only).
Yoko Ono: "wind" (in addition to feedback and vocals on the CD version's bonus tracks).
Mal Evans: "tea and sympathy".
Produced by John Lennon, Yoko Ono and Phil Spector.
Further Information
Get more info on 'John Lennon Plastic Ono Band'.
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