John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band

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John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band
Studio album by John Lennon
Released 11 December 1970 (1970-12-11)
Recorded 26 September – 23 October 1970, Abbey Road Studios & Ascot Sound Studios
Genre Rock
Length 39:45
Label Apple/EMI
Producer John Lennon, Yoko Ono & Phil Spector
John Lennon chronology
John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band
(1970)		 Imagine
(1971)
Singles from John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band
  1. "Mother"
    Released: 28 December 1970 (1970-12-28)

John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band is the debut solo album by English rock musician John Lennon. It was released in 1970 after Lennon 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, documenting with honesty and artistic integrity his emotional and mental state at that point in his career. In 2003, Rolling Stone ranked it #22 on their The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list.[1]

Contents

[edit] Production

John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band was recorded at Abbey Road Studios during September and October 1970 using Lennon, Klaus Voormann and Ringo Starr as the core musicians, with Phil Spector and Billy Preston each playing piano on a track.[2] "Plastic Ono Band" refers to the conceptual band Lennon and Ono had formed in 1969 of various supporting musicians they would use on their various solo albums.

Lennon asked Spector, who had produced Lennon's hit "Instant Karma!" earlier that year, to co-produce the album. Spector played piano on "Love",[3] but Lennon and Ono produced the album largely on their own, as Spector was unavailable during most of the recording sessions.

"Look at Me" dates from The Beatles period, and is built on a finger-picking 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.[4] The album was released in Japan under the title ジョンの魂 (John no Tamashii?), which translates as "John's Soul".

[edit] Themes

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. Janov's therapy technique emphasized emotionally reliving repressed childhood traumas rather than analytical discussion. Lennon's experience in primal therapy strongly influenced both the lyrical content of the album, pushing Lennon towards themes of child-parent relationships and psychological suffering, and the simple but intense style of the album's music.[5]

Throughout the album, Lennon touches upon many personal issues: his abandonment by his parents in "Mother"; the castigation of class issues in "Working Class Hero"; a reminder that despite his rage and pain, Lennon still embraces "Love"; and "God", a renouncement of external saviours. Here Lennon states that he believes only in himself, and his wife Yoko.[6]

[edit] Album artwork

Lennon's album cover is almost identical to Ono's companion piece; the subtle difference being that on Ono's cover, she is lying on Lennon's body. The photo was snapped with a consumer-grade Instamatic camera by actor Dan Richter who also 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 did not feature a track listing on the back. Instead, the back cover showed a school photo of Lennon in his youth (circa 1946).

[edit] Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic 5/5 stars[7]
Robert Christgau (A)[8]
MusicHound 5/5 stars[9]

John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band was received with high critical praise upon release. Critic Greil Marcus remarked, "John's singing in the last verse of 'God' may be the finest in all of rock."[10] In early 1971, the album reached number eight on the UK and went to number six in the US, spending eighteen weeks in the Top 100.[10] The album was particularly successful in the Netherlands, knocking George Harrison's blockbuster All Things Must Pass from the top of the chart and remained in the number-one spot for 7 consecutive weeks.[11]

[edit] Legacy

John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band is generally considered one of Lennon's finest solo albums, documenting with honesty and artistic integrity his emotional and mental state at that point in his career.[12] In 2000 Q placed John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band at number sixty-two in its list of the 100 Greatest British Albums Ever.[13] In 1987, it was ranked number four on Rolling Stone's list of the 100 best albums of the period 1967–1987,[14] and in 2003, it was placed at number twenty-two in their list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.[15]

In 2006, the album was placed by Pitchfork Media at number sixty of its Top 100 Albums of the 1970s list.[16] In 2006, the album was chosen by Time as one of the 100 best albums of all time.[17]

[edit] Track listing

All songs written by John Lennon except where noted.

Side one
  1. "Mother" – 5:34
  2. "Hold On" – 1:52
  3. "I Found Out" – 3:37
  4. "Working Class Hero" – 3:48
  5. "Isolation" – 2:51
Side two
  1. "Remember" – 4:33
  2. "Love" – 3:21
  3. "Well Well Well" – 5:59
  4. "Look at Me" – 2:53
  5. "God" – 4:09
  6. "My Mummy's Dead" – 0:49
2000 reissue bonus tracks
  1. "Power to the People" – 3:22
  2. "Do the Oz" – 3:07 (Lennon/Ono)

[edit] Personnel

[edit] Releases

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. In 2003, Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab reissued the album in 24-karat Gold CD audio and 180 gram half-speed mastered GAIN 2 Ultra Analog in vinyl reissues. In 2010, a digital remaster of Lennon's entire discography was released, utilizing original mixes and artwork.

[edit] Charts

[edit] Chart positions

Chart (1970/71) Position
Australian Kent Music Report Chart[19] 3
Canadian RPM Albums Chart[20] 2
Dutch Mega Albums Chart[11] 1
Italian Albums Chart[21] 8
Japanese Oricon LP Chart[22] 5
Norwegian VG-lista Albums Chart[23] 4
UK Albums Chart [24] 8
U.S. Billboard 200 [25] 6
West German Media Control Albums Chart [26] 39

[edit] Year-end charts

Chart (1971) Position
Australian Albums Chart[19] 22
Italian Albums Chart[21] 36
U.S. Billboard Year-End[27] 84

[edit] Certifications

Region Certification
United States (RIAA)[28] Gold

[edit] References

  1. ^ "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time". Rolling Stone. http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/6598100/22_plastic_ono_band. Retrieved 6 April 2009. 
  2. ^ a b c d e f Norman, Philip (2009). John Lennon: The Life. HarperCollins UK. ISBN 9780007344086. http://books.google.com/?id=f5SiS3qlhDIC&pg=PT934&dq=John+Lennon/Plastic+Ono+Band+recording#v=onepage&q&f=false. Retrieved 2 December 2011. 
  3. ^ Cadogan, Patrick (19 August 2008). "The Making of John Lennon's "Love"". Abbeyrd's Beatle Page. http://abbeyrd.best.vwh.net/lennonlove.html. Retrieved 23 August 2008. 
  4. ^ Interview with Donovan (2004)
  5. ^ Kane, Larry (2005). Lennon Revealed. Philadelphia: Running Press. pp. 224. ISBN 0-7624-2364-1. 
  6. ^ Cadogan, Patrick (2008). The Revolutionary Artist: John Lennon's Radical Years. Morrisville, North Carolina: Lulu. pp. 131. ISBN 978-1-4357-1863-0. 
  7. ^ Allmusic review
  8. ^ Robert Christgau review
  9. ^ Gary Graff & Daniel Durcholz, MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide, Visible Ink Press (Farmington Hills, MI, 1999), p. 667.
  10. ^ a b Blaney, John (2005). John Lennon: Listen To This Book. Guildford, Great Britain: Biddles Ltd.. pp. 56. ISBN 0-9544528-1-X. 
  11. ^ a b "dutchcharts.nl John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band" (in Dutch). Hung Medien, dutchcharts.nl. MegaCharts. http://dutchcharts.nl/showitem.asp?interpret=John+Lennon+%2F+Plastic+Ono+Band&titel=John+Lennon+%2F+Plastic+Ono+Band&cat=a. Retrieved 2011-09-12. 
  12. ^ Ben Urish, Kenneth G. Bielen (2007). The words and music of John Lennon. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 17. ISBN 9780275991807. http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=LJ9Y0YgSE1oC&pg=PA17#v=onepage&q&f=false. Retrieved 2 December 2011. 
  13. ^ Q Magazine Staff (2000-06). "The 100 Greatest British Albums Ever". Q. http://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/qlists.html#100%20Greatest%20British%20Albums. Retrieved 23 August 2008. 
  14. ^ Rolling Stone Magazine Staff (1987-08). "Rolling Stone's 100 Greatest Albums from the Last Twenty Years (1967-1987)". Rolling Stone. http://rateyourmusic.com/list/steinib/rolling_stone_s_best_albums_between_1967_1987__twentieth_anniversary_special_issue__aug__1987_/. Retrieved 23 August 2008. 
  15. ^ Rolling Stone Magazine Staff (18 November 2003). "The RS 500 Greatest Albums of All Time". Rolling Stone. http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/5938174/the_rs_500_greatest_albums_of_all_time. Retrieved 23 August 2008. 
  16. ^ Pitchfork Staff (23 June 2004). "Top 100 Albums of the 1970s". Pitchfork. http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/feature/36725-top-100-albums-of-the-1970s. Retrieved 23 August 2008. 
  17. ^ Tyrangiel, Josh and Alan Light (13 November 2006). "The All-TIME 100 Albums". TIME. http://www.time.com/time/2006/100albums/index.html. Retrieved 23 August 2008. 
  18. ^ Blaney, John (2005). John Lennon: Listen to This Book. John Blaney. p. 61. ISBN 9780954452810. http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=ZuCZR7MiDA0C&pg=PA61#v=onepage&q&f=false. Retrieved 2 December 2011. 
  19. ^ a b Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, NSW: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0646119176. 
  20. ^ "Top Albums/CDs - Volume 14, No. 22, January 16, 1971". RPM. http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/028020-119.01-e.php?&file_num=nlc008388.3736&type=1&interval=20&PHPSESSID=c6btf3r8hs459qqt5ln3o3dcv5. Retrieved 2011-09-30. 
  21. ^ a b "Hit Parade Italia - Gli album più venduti del 1971" (in Italian). hitparadeitalia.it. http://www.hitparadeitalia.it/hp_yenda/lpe1971.htm. Retrieved 2011-10-03. 
  22. ^ a-ビートルズ "- Yamachan Land (Archives of the Japanese record charts) - Albums Chart Daijiten - The Beatles" (in Japanese). 2007-12-30. http://www7a.biglobe.ne.jp/~yamag/album/al_beatles.html a-ビートルズ. Retrieved 2011-09-14. 
  23. ^ "norwegiancharts.com - Norwegian harts portal". VG-lista. http://norwegiancharts.com/weekchart.asp?year=1971&date=197108&cat=a. Retrieved 2011-09-17. NOTE: Reference mistakenly indicates "Some Time in New York City" was placed at number-four on the chart, but it was not recorded as of 1971
  24. ^ "Chart Stats - John Lennon And Plastic Ono Band". UK Albums Chart. http://www.chartstats.com/release.php?release=37057. Retrieved 2011-10-03. 
  25. ^ "allmusic ((( Plastic Ono Band > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums )))". allmusic.com. http://www.allmusic.com/album/r11529/charts-awards. Retrieved 2011-10-03. 
  26. ^ "Album Search: John Lennon" (in German). Media Control. http://www.charts.de/search.asp?search=john+Lennon&x=0&y=0&cat=a&country=de. Retrieved 2011-10-03. 
  27. ^ Nielsen Business Media, Inc (1971-12-25). 1971 Year-end Albums - The Billboard Pop Albums. http://books.google.com/?id=SQ8EAAAAMBAJ&pg=RA1-PA15&lpg=RA1-PA15&dq=billboard+1971+84+plastic+ono+band#v=onepage&q&f=false. Retrieved 2011-10-03. 
  28. ^ "American album certifications – John Lennon – Plastic Ono Band". Recording Industry Association of America. http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?artist=%22Plastic+Ono+Band%22.  If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH

[edit] External links

Preceded by
All Things Must Pass by George Harrison		 Dutch Mega Chart number-one album
13 February – 27 March 1971		 Succeeded by
Waldo de los Ríos by Sinfonias
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