Customer Reviews

Unfinished Music 1: Two Virgins

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(33)

 

 

"Two Virgins" lives up to its title--it sounds like it was created by someone with absolutely no musical experience at all. While I'm a big fan of Lennon's Beatles and post-Beatles solo albums (even the weakest Lennon album "Sometime in New York City" has its minor moments), I found this completely unlistenable and a waste of 30 minutes of my time.

Is "Two Virgins" misunderstood? If it is it's because it's in an incomphrensible musical langauge. The cover was the only thing this album was notable for--a nude portrait of a couple who had found love. It created controversy (EMI didn't want to distribute it). As avant-garde its too simplistic as music it's a disaster. Avoid unless you must have everything (including every fart, belch and toe nail trimming) from Lennon.

"Two Virgins" is one of the most historical and hysterical rock records ever released. It's historical because it was recorded during John Lennon's first get-together with future wife Yoko Ono. It's hysterical because of the controversial album cover as well as the music heard therein.
Basically, "Two Virgins" in its entirety is 30 minutes worth of Yoko squaking, warbling and screaming while John fiddles around with tape machines, plays notes at random on piano and guitar and also makes strange vocal noises. The recording quality is very lo-fi because the album was recorded in John's home studio in his attic.
This album probably would never be as big as it is today had it not been for its cover. The front cover shows John and Yoko completely full-frontal nude while the back cover shows them from behind. Obviously, this was more shocking than the music on the album itself.
While "Two Virgins" is by no means a musical masterpiece, it still is a peace of Beatles history that collectors should not be without.
The remastered Rykodisc CD includes one bonus track, Yoko Ono's "Remember Love" (the B-side to John Lennon's "Give Peace A Chance" single). This is a beautiful child-like song and proves that while Yoko is not a great singer, she can actually sing on key when she wants to.

"Two virgins" is not music, just a collage of sound, noises, words and something else, made by John and Yoko during a night together. If you know this, then you may listen and maybe even appreciate it. Do not judge this album as it was an ordinary music album, because it simply isn't. As a music album it would get a very low rate... but as a collage of sound, even such a strange thing can be nice.

Quite possibly the most unique thing the 2 made together, the story behind this album is that they cut the record the night before they first made love. Hmmmm...Now getting past the nudity, you hear, NOISE! Pure noise, seemingly random, no harmony. I love it, you'll probably hate it, though.

Some reactions to this record over the years as I return to it again and again:

1. How astonishing it is that Yoko can hold a note *that long.* Physiologically it is very difficult for a woman to be able to hold a note that long.

2. How interesting it is that the bird call tape loop at the beginning turns into a melody when slowed down to half speed.

3. What a catchy tune "Hushabye Hushabye" is.

4. All of the jokey interactions between John and Yoko and the oddball asides are absolutely joyous. They show that they were having the time of their lives when they made this record.

5. What interesting harmonies Lennon gets out of that old out of tune piano.

6. How is it that Yoko can mimic all those birds, mechanical drones, and saxophones and *not* fry her voice? (Anyone who says she's just screaming needs to try making those sounds for 30 minutes and see what it does to you). How did she get so much control over her voice?

7. What a goofy trombone melody they chose to loop.

8. It's over too soon. How I wish it were longer. I want to share more of John and Yoko's joy.

9. There's not a single gloomy feeling about this album -- it's pure joy, pure happiness, two people having the time of their lives. Perhaps those who don't like it have never experienced this feeling, because it's all I hear in this record.

"When two great saints meet, it is a humbling experience." - Paul McCartney

Apart from professing his undying love for Yoko Ono and shocking the world with a full-frontal album cover, it is difficult to see what John Lennon hoped to accomplish with these experimental doodles. It is even more difficult to comprehend why he would trash his artistic integrity. "Unfinished Music No. 1: Two Virgins" was rubbish in 1968 and no historical revisionism (let alone digital remastering) can salvage this aural embarrassment.

In 1968, disgruntled Beatle, John Lennon, and avant-garde performance artist, Yoko Ono, met in the further's Kenworth, England home; got stoned and drunk out of their minds; stayed-up all night recording hours of tape loops, sound effects, jumbled speech, screams and noodling with musical instruments (I would hesitate to say that any "playing" occurred); copulated and then felt the need to release the recordings as an LP, Unfinished Music #1: Two Virgins, featuring a very nude photograph of themselves on the cover. An album to drive the kids to school to, it is obviously not. But Two Virgins does, however, have an air of creepiness, ambiguity and frustration that is certainly able to penetrate the listener in the right mindset. It is fairly understandable, though, why this is not the most popular album in the world.

Two Virgins was an experimental journey into an avant-garde world of psychedelic sounds, snippets, piano pecking and John's and Yoko's screams and howls. Yoko sounds like a parrot on crack. Some people refer to Yoko as the godmother of punk. I've listened to this several times and come up with the conclusion that it was just them being them and whatever came out got recorded. The overall effect is confusing at best. For completists go out and get it, for others, beware.

well i guess its ok... i mean i understand that fact that they wanted to show their love through music but.. this is so damn ridiculous! sure its a classic but ahhhh! listening to tubas, creepy piano keys, yoko screaming, and of course john being john for a half and hour has got to drive someone other than me crazy!
I mean sure it was the late 60s but thats no reason to take your clothes off and scream for a 1/2 an hour! Thanks but no thanks!

Frosty

This is not a good experimental album. My sister and I made better stuff using a guitar, a box of nails, some wooden sticks and a couple of pots and pans when we we're about 10 years old. Play this album first and then listen to Revolution 9 on the White Album, and the latter seem like a masterpiece, both in production and ideas. You might want this because of the historic value (or maybe because of the cover?), but not for the "music". I got my copy cheap, so I'm not that dissapointed. For serious Beatles/Lennon/Ono-fans only... and they are actually nude on the cover!