85. John Lennon, "Plastic Ono Band"

 


Finally out from under Paul McCartney's thumb, John Lennon and muse/band destroyer Yoko Ono repaired to Abbey Road in late 1970 to begin work on a pair of twin solo albums.  Lennon had a bunch of ideas he couldn't use in the Beatles and assembled them into this pastiche of half-finished songs, wild sounds, and vocal experimentation.

I defy you to find a written review of this album that doesn't include the phrase "primal scream" or "primal therapy," because this album was created in the wake of Lennon's primal therapy with Arthur Janow, which obviously left a huge impact on Lennon, because this album literally sounds like therapy.  From the first song, "Mother":

Mother, you had me but I never had you
I wanted you, you didn't want me
So I, I just got to tell you
Goodbye, goodbye
Father, you left me but I never left you
I needed you, you didn't need me

That'll be $225, please.  The latter days and breakup of the Beatles obviously left huge psychic scars as well.  There are references scattered throughout the album, like in "God":

The dream is over
What can I say?
The dream is over
Yesterday
I was the dream weaver, but now I'm reborn
I was the Walrus, but now I'm John
And so dear friends, you'll just have to carry on
The dream is over

The album is more interesting as a document of a man's emotional state at a very specific point in time than as a musical work, at least to me.  To my mind, very little of it is memorable musically.  A lot of it sounds half-finished, like Lennon was overcome with emotion and rushed to record a song before it was done.  But I know I'm in the minority here; people fucking love this album.

There's a tantalizing hint at what could be in a song like "Remember," a fully formed whole, with a driving piano part and a nice, soaring chorus.  Maybe not coincidentally, it's probably the most Beatles-y song on the album.  And also maybe tellingly, it ends abruptly in an explosion-esque sound.

My favorite thing about it is probably the cover, which looks like a Maxfield Parrish painting.

Is this album in my personal Top 500? Look, I got my hands full with my own therapy, I don't need this guy's too.

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