Customer Reviews

Plastic Ono Band (Omr)

5 star:		(170)
4 star:		(28)
3 star:		(18)
2 star:		(10)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

It's easy to see John Lennon around the time of "Plastic Ono Band" (1970) as an angry, thirty year old lashing out like an adolescent at those whom he believed had let him down, but his creative energy was at such an intense point that the resulting work transformed that anger into something surprisingly mature; Paul's breakup album ("McCartney") is equal parts pretty, well-constructed pop and boring filler, while George's ("All Things Must Pass") is a clearinghouse for an excellent barrel-full of sometimes very spiritual songs he was unable to air while still a member of The Beatles. John's breakup album, though, is by turns tormented, bitter, iconoclastic and tender, but overall unrelentingly confessional, probably the closest thing in rock music to Sylvia Plath's "Ariel" poems: sharp, brutal and personal, yet profoundly universal on the whole.

To be fair, some of this can be melodramatic stuff. The funeral bells tolling at the beginning of "Mother" are a heavy-handed opening, but the songs on this album arguably warrant that kind of introduction: this isn't going to be an easy ride, and you should know what you're getting yourself into. Borne of primal therapy, a number of these compositions address elemental human issues ("Mother," "Love," "Isolation," "God") in such a simple, straightforward manner that it's easy to see something of ourselves in Lennon's observations. "Love" may, in fact, be the last word on that particular subject, stripping away the complexities that emotion arouses to reveal the essence of the little engine that governs us all. And, while it may seem a very 1960s notion, "Love" may also be the keynote song here: its presence and its lack inform every other piece of music on the album, from the sense of abandonment in "Mother" to the cultural rebuke of "Working Class Hero," a deadpan folk song (in the most literal sense of that term) that frankly sums up the absurdity of trying to adhere to constantly shifting social values. "I Found Out" covers similar ground as it taps an inner reserve summed up thusly: "No one can harm you, feel your own pain." Finally, whether or not you care when he sings "I don't believe in Beatles" at the climax of "God," it's an unparalleled moment in the history of popular music, one that only Lennon could have managed convincingly, while the wobbly, unaccompanied line "I just believe in me" that follows it reveals a vulnerable hopefulness that is really, genuinely affecting.

All of the above paints a bleak picture of this recording, and those listeners who revel in relentless self-flagellation will find much here to their liking. The difference, however, between "Plastic Ono Band" and, say, the nihilism of punk and grunge that followed years later, is that despite the pain laid out in these songs, there is also hope and the acknowledgment that each of us has the strength to carry on. In a world where we have in the past couple of decades been inundated with pop psychology and where it has become commonplace to dismiss a person for having "issues," it is refreshing to realize that the language and music on "Plastic Ono Band" continue to resonate and have not dated a bit. Credit Phil Spector's uncharacteristically restrained production, which leaves the songs as naked as the emotions they describe, and Lennon's heartfelt singing and soon-to-vanish clear-headed writing for making this music age-resistant. A rewarding album worth returning to often.

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.

I remember the release of this album. I was 11 at the time. I remember the "establishment" being stunned senseless by it. There was scorn at its unmusicality, moral outrage at its foul language, shocked recoil at its emotional intensity. And I remember the youth of the day (the older kids I looked up to) getting behind its rampaging intensity like a battering ram to say "Yeah ... we feel like this too!". When I first heard it I ran away as fast as I could. It was too wierd. To me it was the work of an insane madman - and the DO NOT TOUCH mental tag has remained for 34 years.

Until now.

For what reason I am not quite sure, but I am revisting The Beatles. It began with a what-the-heck listening to All Things Must Pass, which I had never heard, and was pulled up short by it's excellence. Now I am on an 'odyssey' to re-encounter music from the 'Fab Four' as I approach my autumn years. With Lennon, I began with Mind Games and found myself captivated by a man grappling intensely with major questions of philosophy, personal meaning, and social ethics - and extraodinarily, doing it in a genre of music he helped create. On the strength of favourable reviews here on Amazon, I decided I would tackle Plastic Ono Band. I purchased the CD and, listening to it now with ADULT ears, what I hear astounds me!

Lennon is pushing music's capacity to carry emotion to its ABSOLUTE limits. He has stripped it bare of lush production values (orchestras, choirs, brass sections) and instead uses the most basic of elements - drums, bass, guitar, voice and reverb. With just these he INSISTS we concentrate on what he's saying, and DEMANDS we get the emotion and passion he is feeling. As I listen, I realise this is the recording of a very rare sort. In 1970 there was no other man alive who had the personal listening attention of so many young people worlwide than Lennon. The intimacy he felt with his listening public is palpable on the album - how else could you possibly explain the risk he takes in screaming the way he does, taking production risks like leaving in count-ins, not bothering with fade-outs, not disguising edits, etc. and then releasing it. It would be one thing to discover this material postumously. It's entirely another for him to have published it for his audience, to have them receive it as his next offering for them. It can't be that he didn't care what he gave them - it can only be that he cared ENORMOUSLY, and he wanted them to hear THIS. Raw. Unvarnished. Honest. Real. Truth as he was experiencing it in order for them to experience their own truth. He was showing them how to do it ... to FEEL their pain, to own their own lives, to stop being 'peasants' and 'worshippers' and become thinkers who take responsibility for themselves, their lives and the world around them.

When I 'got' this, when I realised what Lennon was attempting, I couldn't help but feel enormous respect and see him as a communicator way ahead of his time. And the wake-up call to the world he crafted as this album Platic Ono Band is just as potent and relevant today as it was 34 years ago - perhaps even moreso. It's a privelege to own and experience this astounding recording.

This review is focused on the new MFSL release, not on the album's content, which I have always given 5 stars, and have played regularly since I purchased it on lp when it first came out. I am disappointed for a few reasons.
First, why is this(and Imagine)the only recent MFSL releases that are not on SACD? All their other new releases are Hybrid/SACD, this would have been a welcome addition. Both these great albums deserved a format upgrade.
Secondly, I cannot believe they used the remix from the 2000 reissue of this cd instead of the Original Master mixes. This is the main reason I bought the disc($30), to hear an upgrade of the Original mixes. Usually MFSL sticks to the Original Masters as advertised. I compared this disc to the 2000 reissue, and there is not enough of an upgrade to warrant the expensive price.
If they had released it in SACD, or gave us the original mixes, then it would have been worthwhile. (Imagine also uses the reissue mix instead of the original).

An aside thought, although I usually like bonus tracks in general, I must say that "Power to the People", and "Do the Oz", do not fit in with Plastic Ono Band at all. The original tracks have a specific "feel" that is not present on the bonus tracks.
Although this disc sounds great, so does the reissue, which you should be able to get for alot cheaper. Insert is exactly the same as the reissue.
Overall, a big disappointment, as this disc should have, and easily could have been done better. Watch them release it on SACD or DVD-Audio within the year. I can't help but feel that they are trying to get extra purchases out of us.

I finally bought this album along about 2001. I had never owned the vinyl, never listened to it. I was familiar with "Mother", and "God" thanks to the Imagine soundtrack. "Power To The People" of course, I had heard before.

Little did I know what powerful, intense, sad and hopeful art I had been missing, for 30 years. Imagine a 41-year old, hearing these tracks for the first time, 30 years after it was released. One rarely has the opportunity to listen to a legendary piece of music for the first time, long since having reached mid-life. I still marvel at the effect this music has on me. I am listening to it now.

For making a profound connection with the listener, Plastic Ono Band rivals the best offerings of the Beatles. Sgt. Pepper and Abbey Road were overall better pieces of work, but nothing the Beatles ever did made you feel you were communicating with the artist, in the same room, as well as John does on this album.

Also, I always love hearing Ringo on the drums of a Beatle solo album. The product is all John, but there is a linkage to the Beatles sound. That is, he breaks away on this album, without repudiating the Beatles, per se. There is an aura of familiarity. It is the John we know. But he is sharing himself with us, for the first time, openly and honestly.

So - before I go over the top, if there is anybody out there that still has not heard or purchased this album: if you love the Beatles, you've got to have this in your collection. It might rank in my Top Ten most relevant, enjoyable, and even Beatles-esque solo albums.

Having re-written pop with The Beatles, Lennon provided one last significant artistic innovation in his career as performer and composer - this album.

It contains a level of directness, honesty and sheer attack never bettered. Only an artist of Lennon's uncanny gifts could so brilliantly utilise primal screams (of all things) as a device for self-expression in rock and pop. He makes Johnny Rotten sound anaemic.

We have themes of paranoia and fear ('Isolation') anger, aggression, bitterness ('Working Class Hero', 'Well, Well, Well', 'I Found Out') introspection and doubt ('Look at Me') sadness and loss ('Mother', 'My Mummy's Dead') hope ('Hold On', 'Love') and challenging personal and cultural beliefs ('God'). 'Remember' is the greatest song ever to address feelings about upbringing and its legacy and his vocal delivery is brave and unforgettable.

The album is deliberately spare, minimalist, unpolished and sometimes even crude in its playing and production. But Lennon's guitar and piano, Klaus Voorman's bass and Ringo Starr's drums support the songs tremendously.

On the whole the album is well re-mixed and re-mastered - 'God' sounds more poignant than ever and the CD has a sharper, harder sound (but Voorman's great bass work on 'Remember' is marred here).

The inclusion of the two bonus tracks, without indication on the sleeve that they're additions, is an unforgivable miscalculation. The album ends with 'My Mummy's Dead' and that's how it should be played.

This album is of such uncompromising emotional honesty it STILL sets a benchmark that leaves others pallid and floundering. It is a very very significant achievement - and, like The Beatles, underrated.

"Plastic Ono Band" opens with the sound of funeral church bells and ends with the line "My Mummy's Dead." Indeed it is a very grim album that shows us John Lennon's personal hell we'd never seen in his music with The Beatles. The result is his first masterpiece on his hands and probably the best debut of the Post-Beatles solo albums. A lot of artists when doing cathartic personal work usually still hide under cliches and we can't really feel any empathy for them. However "Plastic Ono Band" is the most authentic and realistic I've ever heard. As an Actor, hearing John Lennon scream at the end of "Mother" was what I wish all Actors could do in performing. Speaking of screaming, the first time I owned "Plastic Ono Band"(On vinyl for 65 cents at the Goodwill!) I played it all day with the door opened until a neighbor came by and told me to turn that "Screaming punk rubbish" off. I personally shiver and the hair on the back of my neck still goes up even to this day when I listen to songs like "Mother, "Working Class Hero," and "Well, Well, Well." I still debate with myself as to weather "Working Class Hero" is better than "Imagine" or not. It's the best folk song written since Woody Guthrie or Bob Dylan. Although I must also tell the reader that there are lights moments on this record. Songs like "Hold On" and "Love" show a Lennon struggling and seeing the light. "God" is an anthem to the modern world that wanted to find spirituality through the church but then realized it can only be found within. Anyways, the way John Lennon says "I don't believe in The Beatles" is just classic. I could go on and on about how great "Plastic Ono Band" but I'll just restate that; It is John Lennon's first masterpiece(Second was "Imagine" of course) and would make it on a list of top five favorite Beatle solo albums. Find out for yourself now.

As was the case with some other major artists (cough - DAVID BOWIE - cough), the John Lennon solo catalog has had a difficult CD history. The original Capitol/EMI releases of his Apple (i.e. pre-"Double Fantasy") albums were smothered in noise reduction. The 2000 remixes helped a few albums, but had some major flaws (such as the climax of "God", where Lennon's voice is supposed to emerge from the mix stripped of echo on the word BEATLES). The third time is the charm: original mixes transferred with the same care afforded the Beatles' remasters of 2009. So yeah, there's tape hiss on the piano opening of "Love". So what? That's how it's SUPPOSED to sound!

John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band is probably my second favorite rock album (under the Beatles' white album). This is so incredibly far removed from the two minute pop songs that John was singing a mere eight years earlier. JL/POB is pure art and pure emotion. This is probably the least commercial-sounding thing that John ever recorded, and possibly his greatest. The songs on this album are brutal, honest, open, brilliant, angry, beautiful and bitter all at the same time. This is an essential rock album, especially for Lennon and/or Beatles fans.

The remaster is very good too. It sounds great and the liner contains John's handwritten lyrics. Very cool. There are, unfortunately, no liner notes to detail the making of this work of art. A further discrepancy is the choice to include two bonus tracks on the CD while neglecting to distinguish them as bonus tracks. Please, all who are unfamiliar with this album, be aware that "Power To The People" and "Do The Oz" were NOT part of the original 1970 album. They were tacked on by the record label and were never intended to be part of this album. Please view them as such. I would have much prefered the inclusion of outtakes from the sessions or demos such as Columbia has done wonderfully with The Byrds' albums.

Even with those minor complaints this is still a must-own CD. Everyone should have this! Buy it now!!

Lennon, like most of the Beatles, had a hit or miss solo career. His best work (like this fine album) managed to focus both his rage and compassion into great material. While POB occasionally becomes shrill and histrionic, the bulk of the material here has aged very well. Lennon seems to have channeled the same creative vein that made Coltrane, Robert Johnson and Miles Davis so great--he managed to turn outrage and his deep seated feelings into great rock'n'roll.

The lyrics are extremely personal and almost confessional. While that can create songs that can sometimes be a bit embarrassing, it more than makes up for those moments by finding truth and honesty about the self. Pretentious isn't this? Well back to the show...

POB really didn't need the bonus tracks (and, in fact, both are quite weak. Power to the People at least has a powerful vocal from Lennon and great arrangement to make it work. Do the Oz was its B side as a single and deserved to be a b side). They don't add anything to the power of this fine album. I'm reminded of when McCartney added a number of b sides to his solo work. For example, on the US edition of Band on the Run Helen Wheels was added and it fit the mood of the album well. Even with his worst albums (Wild Life for example)the tone of the singles added fit the mood of the album. That isn't the case here. If Yoko hadn't issued the boxset she could have drawn from the outtakes from these sessions (there's got to be more than was issued). What about a couple of the rehearsal tracks where Lennon walks Ringo and Klaus Voorman through the material?

Anyhow, she did a much better job with the reissue of Double Fantasy where both bonus tracks fit in with the material a little better.

POB (along with Imagine which, despite the review by M, is a terrific album that mixes an equal amount of hopefullness, pathos and irony.) is among Lennon's best solo albums. Unfortunately, as a solo artist Lennon was a bit sloppy at times and the result were a series of uneven albums. With POB and Imagine the sloppiness is reined in and the bulk of the material is quite good.