John LennonJohn Lennon / Plastic Ono Band

Why he called it "plastic", I have no idea, unless it was to signal the nihilism that pervades this mind-blower. In my opinion, this album is one of the greatest albums ever made by an individual male vocal artist, right up there with Dylan's classic holy trinity of "Bringing It All Back Home", "Highway 61" and "Blonde on Blonde". But Lennon's work holds the trump card of blunt honesty.As his Beatles career progressed, Lennon began to move away from decorative, sanitized pop expression, and toward exposing a more "real" self. However, he tended to veil it in imagery which turned out to be so clever and powerful that it resulted in some of the most brilliant pop poetry ever written, personal but perceptive too of what was happening in ever-changing 60's society. I cite as examples "Norwegian Wood", "Nowhere Man", "Strawberry Fields", "Lucy in the Sky", "A Day in the Life", "I Am the Walrus", "Happiness Is a Warm Gun", "Come Together", "Across The Universe" and "I Dig a Pony".Releasing "Plastic Ono Band", with Yoko as his muse and his enabler, he was liberated from the shackles and trappings of Beatledom, and he showed his feelings as nakedly as the couple had shown their physiques on the cover of "Two Virgins". The torrent of hurt, fear, anger, bitterness, contempt, and rejection of his past was harrowing yet thrilling when I first heard it, like a rush. In "Mother", he not only laments very loudly that his parents had abandoned him, but also that he was now abandoning US: "Children...I just gotta tell you goodbye, goodbye." After this trauma, John's first rule of survival in this godawful world is in the second track, "Hold On". He sings, "When you're by yourself/And there's no one else/You just have yourself/And you tell yourself to hold on." Illusions are shattered in "I Found Out", to the accompaniment of some very primitive, grating rock: "There ain't no Jesus gonna come from the sky/Now that I found out, I know I can cry." The somber, sarcastic folk song "Working Class Hero" is a classic, right on the mark. My favorite track, "Remember", hits us with pounding drums, pounding bass and pounding piano, to make us recall the hypocrisy and fairy-tale foolishness of things we endure growing up in bourgeois society: "Remember how the hero was never hung/Always got away...how the man always, always let you down...Remember ma and pa, just wishing for movie stardom/Always playing a part?" In the midst of all this fear and loathing, Lennon takes the time to describe "Love", and more importantly, places the words in a delicate melody which floats, rises and falls with all the beauty of any Beatles ballad. In "Well Well Well", we hear of a typical day in the life of John Ono-Lennon, ex-Beatle, activist, comrade of Yoko, accompanied by raw, rough rock and including the famous "primal screams". "God" is the finality of all finalities. With bluesy piano backing, Lennon declares that he doesn't believe in God, Dylan (Zimmerman), Tarot, I-Ching, Buddha, Kennedy, nothing and nobody except himself and Yoko. In a climactic moment in pop history, he sings, "I don't believe in BEATLES...And so, dear friends, you'll just have to carry on. The dream is over."As bonus tracks, we get "Power to the People", which I have always liked since my own pseudo-radical days, and "Do the OZ". I would describe the latter, a duet with Yoko by the way, as an avant-garde rock parody of dance songs like "The Hokey Pokey". But as silly as it seems, it also mirrors the new, wild impulsiveness in John's heart and the absurdity he finds in the world.Taken as a whole, this outpouring transcends pop music. In its own way, this is art, just as the writings of Shakespeare, Coleridge, and T.S. Eliot are art. Lennon found a way to be lyrically real, musically authentic (raw, no frills, to match the emotions), and entertaining all at the same time, and that is an accomplishment most pop or rock stars would sell their souls for. In addition, the entire CD package is a class act. The sound is magnificent, the cover is gorgeous, the wonderful photos inside are new to me, and the lyrics provided are from John's own notes. For any fan of John Lennon, this is a treasure and a must-have.

Plastic Ono Band is one of the best and most influential albums ever. One of the few non-commercial work to not only endure and gain acclaim but even earn notable popularity, it is essential for serious listeners.Few albums have more brazenly defied expectations. The Beatles had just broken up, and the album not only seemed infinitely far from anything they had ever done or stood for but even seemed anti-Beatles. Lennon in fact famously dismisses them in the climactic "God," declaring, "The dream is over." All this was shocking, but Plastic would be of little more than historical interest if it were not excellent in itself. Thankfully it is; Lennon clearly had great confidence in the work, letting it speak for itself rather than relying on the biggest of brand names. Remarkably, it stands up better than even some Beatles music, a good amount of which now indelibly seems part of an era. In strong contrast, this is timeless, relying on universal themes and simple but forceful words, music, and vocals that are just as relevant as ever and surely always will be. It is certainly quite far from Beatles-esque; the guitar/bass/piano/drums arrangements are bare and simple, and the production is almost as basic as possible. The latter - ostensibly by Phil Spector but mostly by Lennon - is very important, letting the songs breathe whereas a typical Spector sound would have buried the strong emotional core that makes them work. All this is not to say Plastic is boring. Lennon's melodies are still very strong, and the playing is excellent; the album is in its way the logical extension of the paring down begun on The White Album. The music is not flashy or complex but suits the songs perfectly, letting us focus on the all-important words and voice. The former are not Lennon's most poetically impressive or quotable but are admirable conciseness and highly evocative; a wealth of suggestion lies behind lines that initially seem simple or even throwaway. Lennon's voice also gives them a significance they could never have on paper. He builds significantly on his Beatles reputation, proving beyond doubt that he is one of the finest singers for anyone alive to emotion and phrasing while also showing noteworthy range and versatility. He screams at points and whispers at others, hitting seemingly every point between and always managing to move us greatly. This indeed is Plastic's key; Lennon's ability to bring tears is near-unequaled, especially considering the sparse words. The skill has rarely been more appropriate or better used; Plastic is thoroughly emotional and intensely personal. Borne out of primal therapy and Lennon's highly charged, often conflicted feelings about The Beatles, fame, an uneasy childhood, love, marriage, his wife, and other heavy issues, Plastic virtually invented and still epitomizes the confessional singer/songwriter genre and is a definite punk precursor. It is certainly not easy listening; the funeral bells that begin it are a perfect introduction. Few albums are more somber or depressing, and many songs are so personal that listening often seems voyeuristic. Plastic overflows with rage, despair, regret, remorse, and other loaded emotions. Yet, in the end, it is hopeful and life-affirming, a paean to individualism, perseverance, and determination - in short, a masterpiece that, like all truly personal work, is at bottom universal and immortal. This may seem paradoxical but makes perfect sense when we see that it deals with fundamental human feelings and thoughts; by bravely looking deep into himself, Lennon speaks to all.All told, Plastic is one of the very few Beatles solo albums on par with the band's best work, which is probably all that need be said.