John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band

It's simultaneously boring, pretentious and arrogant. Yeah, it's John Lennon's solo career

On John Lennon's first solo album, we see him coming fully into the material that was first hinted at on the White Album. He embraces more soul and jazz touches that lends the music a grittier tone standing in contrast to some of the more vulnerable moments. Some of Lennon's best songs can be found here including 'Mother,' 'Love,' and 'Working Class Hero.' I had heard most of this album, but even the non-singles fit well into the flow of the album. This would be a career high for any other artist.

This is John Lennon's debut solo album after the break-up of the Beatles. At the time, he had been going through some primal scream therapy with his psychiatrist to help work through some childhood trauma. You can really hear it through the lyrics on this record (especially the song Well Well Well where he is almost sacrificing his vocal chords for his screams). The themes of this record include childhood abandonment (Mother), and psychological pain. The song God is almost a farewell letter to the John Lennon everyone knew from the Beatles, and hello to a new John Lennon. This album was mostly performed in a 3 piece band format, featuring Lennon on guitar and vocals, Ringo Starr on drums, and Klaus Voormann on bass (this is apparently the artist who drew the cover art for the Beatles record, Revolver). The song Love features Phil Spector on piano. Phil also had a hand in producing the record along with John and Yoko. Upon seeing the title of the record, I was scared that it was going to feature the awful moaning of Yoko Ono, but thankfully, it did not. Apparently John and Yoko both released a record in 1970 named Plastic Ono Band; how cute. I'd rather listen to pigeons fuck than listen to Yoko Ono. I also had a preconceived notion that I would hate this record because it was John Lennon (the only Lennon solo songs I knew are Happy Xmas (War is Over) and Imagine, and I don't care for either one) but this was so much more than that. There was a lot going on with this record, and I really enjoyed it. Overall, I was very surprised with today's album. It is beautiful. Lennon laid his heart out on tape, and it really comes through. I will definately listen again. Favourite songs: Well Well Well, I Found Out, Hold On, Mother, Working Class Hero Least favourite songs: Isolation, Remember, Love 4/5

I always found John Lennons later Beatle output too whimsical but this album is raw, personal and direct.

Unfinished. Super self indulgent. If I wanted to listen to John in therapy, I'd prefer to be getting paid vs the other way around.

The best part of the song God is where he lists in things he doesn't believe in like cinnamon and yogurt. My man, I assure they all exist and don't care if you believe in them.

Very relatable record. Perhaps not in its precise sentiments as John is asking us to dig into his own personal drama, but the process itself is cathartic. He tears down his walls, screams into the void, lets go of everything, and accepts starting from scratch. Much of it is demanding, even the minimalist yet pulsing instrumentation, but it is a valuable experience. It's very much John's "therapy album" but I think it's a damn good argument for therapy. Some people might not have cared when he went left field in the 70s and people probably still don't care because he's an undesirable figure in the current climate. But the message has only gotten better with time. On one of my favorite cuts of the album, "God", he speaks of religion and all social structures as tools with "which we measure our pain" and that's what this album is about. Moments like "Mother" may be painful but confronting the pain head on is the only way to heal. This album is merely the beginning as it would take John up until his death to discard the bitterness that once defined him.

The best solo work by John. It’s raw, stark, and honest to a fault. The production matches the mood of the songs. It’s really a masterpiece, regardless how you feel about John Lennon as a husband, father, and human being. John was an imperfect human being, but he was always trying to become a better person, and this album captures that effort perfectly. 5 stars.

Feeling generous giving this album a 2 star review. It felt like it was a project and not a piece of art. You can feel outside influences coming into the lyrics. Understanding that Lennon probably wanted to make a grand statement exiting the Beatles... This fell short of connecting to an audience that he could have reached on a higher scale. To me this album was written to send a message of independence from the Beatles, and establish himself as a voice on his own, but fell short of being songs you could relate to and play on repeat.

Clarity, space, and measured rawness make this one of the best sounding record I’ve heard recently. Where he howls and the guitars fuzz up, the stage is cleared: their punch is unadorned, no fuss and busyness in the way, which surprises me given the presence of Spector. I am indebted to my partner on this trek for introducing me to this record a little while ago - it has stewed over the intervening months, and returning to it, the greatness is even more obvious. Simon, as you said, the final repetitions of Mother are astonishing. I expected to be annoyed by a record so clearly derived from therapy, but there’s a stark, clear-eyed directness to Lennon that weaves past the pitfalls of triteness and insularity. God is pain’s metre, Lennon has stopped believing in what he maybe once did, but now he has his life with Ono - simple progression, but the force is in the declaration. Refreshing.to hear “the dream is over” as triumphant cry. All the songs have stick: again, clarity, simplicity and elegance are principles followed. Cheers, Cookie!

Discordant and self-absorbed.

Lennon’s first solo album and it makes you realise just how incredible the Beatles were. John on his own has no filter - primal screams do not music make. And his ‘profound’ lack originality or meaning. Some music here is good after a few bars and Ringo’s drumming is pretty awesome. But it’s a no. Wings were better than Lennon solo.

Yes, this is John Lennon (I think by law I'm supposed to genuflect or something). Yes, he's such an icon.... and while there are a few decent songs on here, this is one of the most overrated albums of its time. Some of it is unlistenable. I'm glad primal scream was "working" for him back then (was it? I mean, he was a bit of a mess)... but subjecting listeners to his histrionic caterwauling is a bit much. The end of "Mother" is like listening to a tone-deaf cat being mutilated.

Raw is the only way to describe this album. It’s unreal how much emotion he can convey with his voice and the stripped back instrumentals. The album cover matches perfectly as well. This album works so well at describing the essence of John. Rating: 4.7

COOKIE!

Probably the most emotionally vulnerable album made by an A-list artist.

Well, this was quite a surprise for a 15yo Beatles obsessive digging in my parent's record collection! Introduced me to the "difficult solo album" and instilled an inexhaustible desire to experience weird obscurities from favorite musicians. This is the best post-Beatles solo album, packed with stark and excellent songwriting. Cookie! A masterpiece. PS as I know every note of this backwards, I took a side quest chasing the "Yoko Ono/POB" isomer. It was... not terrible? Could be enjoyable for those into experimental music, but who find early Faust too accessible

Emotional, confessional and utterly raw. But surprisingly not unlisteneable. Great melodies great SONGS! My favorite Beatles solo album! 5 stars

This was excellent, what a great album. Working Class Hero is fantastic. I remember it blowing my mind as a teenager, so good.

I LIKE THIS ALBUM ACTUALLY

Stunning album. The original introspective deep dive into one's personality set to killer music album? Genius.

Perhaps one of the most raw, achingly vulnerable explorations of one person’s pain ever put to tape. It could be argued Lennon never quite reached these musical heights in his solo career again.

Music is a clear 5 star overall obviously, but I am not so keen on the lyrics (cf. Mother or the last "song", which should be skipped). So, whereas the 5 stars for the Imagine album were easy to give ..giving 5 stars to this albums feels more difficult to justify, but still.. 5 stars.

Lovely album

3.5-4

I don’t think I need to tell you what a John Lennon album sounds like, other than that this one is stripped back in terms of instrumentation (a nice change of pace from the Beatles overblown latter day studio productions) and that he says “fuck” a couple times.

On this album, John Smellon goes monkey mode. Just full on primal vine-swinging Donkey Kong Barrel Blast™ monkey mode. Guest starring the Cookie Monster. "I was the Walrus, but now I'm John" - Factually untrue, the Official Lore clearly states that the Walrus was Paul. His best post-Beatles album, but that's not a very high bar, innit. Extra marks for no "Imagine" at least. Also obligatory: https://i.imgur.com/XoPXrdJ.jpeg What a silly guy, I bet his domestic life was completely uncontroversial.

This is honestly barely ok... it's cliche and trite in 2023 most of the time, and some of it is repeats from another Lennon album we've already had. Overall just a non-event that probably wouldn't even get a look-in with independent labels today. 2/5.

Meh

The first couple of tracks were laughably bad. It sounds like an album of beatles b-sides

I was in high school when George Harrison passed and remember all my friends in bands saying something along the lines of “The Beatles are dying in the order of their talent.” Having since listened to John Lennon’s solo career since then, I can confirm he would have lived forever if that was the case. One star.

I'm not sure what I was expecting, but really didn't find anything worth this list. 3/10

Talk about a guy resting on his laurels. If he had put this out under another name, and had somebody else sing, this album wouldn't have sold 50 copies. And I really can't stand 99% of the things that Yoko gets anywhere near. I love the Beatles, but I never realized how much John was held up by the other three. He is the third most talented guy in the Beatles: and after listening to this album, that's being generous. This album was a pointless mess.

rough day. dont wanna write anything happy new years though

I remember in my early twenties buying this CD on a whim from a discount bin in a small store. I had taken my car to the shop there after a sleepless night, and was killing time waiting to get the car back. I put it on on the drive home and in my sleep-deprived state couldn't parse what was coming out of the speakers, but it sure made me feel something. It does to this day.

I would very much say that this took me by surprise. I was expecting to hate it because I can't stand the songs Imagine and War is Over. Those are the only two solo John Lennon songs I knew. I think both are kind of insufferable. I'm glad to say that I loved most of this album. I made it almost all the way through thinking that I was going to not hate any of it but then "God" played. Yup, also insufferable. I get it dude... I get it! You only believe in you and Yoko and that's all that matters to you. We got it. You didn't have to list every single thing you don't believe in, and I felt like targeting his time with The Beatles was also just kind of in poor taste. That all said I am trying to not let my disdain for one song wreck my whole view of the album. That still leaves me with a little trouble deciding how to rate this. I was already kind of learning towards a 4 star before I hit that song...and that song might be enough to drag it down to a 3. I feel the need to be generous though because it did surprise me with how much I liked most of the rest of the album.

"Yoko Ono ruined the Beatles!!!" yeah and my mother ruined supper last night. What do you want? This is Lennon slowing things down. He is kicking rock and roll to the curb so you can appreciate his songwriting a bit more, but brings it back in for a song or two. Working Class Hero channels Bob Dylan. Well Well Well borrows from the electric rock and roll of Chuck Berry. Lennon wants you to understand his influences and his pain. His primal screams give proto-punk a foundation to build on along with the fuzzed-out guitars. It's pretty good. If Imagine is Lennon's political album, this is his therapy album; a way for him to parse through his feelings.

It's not better than the Beatles. It's alright and there's some good songs like Working Class Hero.

Really wish I was alive in the 70s so I could be a John Lennon hater in real time :/ Oh well, guess I’ll have to settle for snarky reviews on a strangers website dedicated to another strangers book about his favorite albums

Having listened to all their first solo albums, it's clear that George Harrison thrived after the Beatles. Lennon, by contrast, was a mess and that's reflected in his music here. Only the track Love has any appeal to me, and would fit better on his far superior second solo album. I feel sympathy for anyone who had to deal with Lennon at this time - except Yoko Ono of course.

This is provocative ...as I have had to reexamine my relationships with my brothers at the same time as listening to this after so many years. There is a book out now called monsters about whether you can separate the art from the individual. In my contemplations, John Lennon and my brothers might be gifted but they are exploitive and abusive as well. They only do that which serves them - no generosity of spirit - and they love you only if there is a service you perform for them. Bruce did reach out to help me when it did not serve him to do so, that is an exception to the rule with them. If he reaches out, I will speak to him.

Thought I would like this, then I didn't, none of the tracks really gripped me, maybe Working Class Hero at a stretch. Overall, not for me.

The harshest criticism of this album is also its highest praise: This is not a Beatles album. Even Sgt. Pepper could not bring out such diverse and honest ideas.

Still fresh and raw after 55 years. True classic album!

9/10 straight off the bat, I loved the raw production of this album. There's an honesty and intimacy in the song writing that took me by surprise, like it's very stripped back to deliver something deeply personal. The bass and drums particularly shine throughout, giving the songs a grounded, emotional weight. Great album. Songs added to playlist: - Mother - I found out - well well well - God

I really liked this. So raw, so self reflective.

9/10.

John Lennon's best non-Beatles output. Beautiful and raw songs that are straight to the point. I love this record so much.

Raw musicianship, and nice lyrics.

First listen, wonderful, being taken somewhere new is what this is all about.

ppl who have talked to me ab the beatles or read my entry for Imagine many many many albums back may detect a hint of, uh, Wanting To Be Slightly More Contrarian About John Lennon Than I Actually Am Lol??? and tbh i think part of that instinct is falling into my own personal version of the taste politics that once championed him while thrashing paul mccartney, and the overall worth of that angle is Not Much. still, one of the clearest differences between the two is that paul is a real Musician's Musician, extremely into music for its own sake. john, certainly in his solo career, has obviously strong musical instincts but is more interested in curating them around a specific End that is different than some pure formal expression. obviously the results are mixed (given some of his Protest Efforts) but if the stars lined up exactly right for him just once, i guess it had to be here...a little record of emotionally irresolvable therapy, where the gut-level appeal of Rock N Roll is shaved down to its barest minimum and deployed as hypnosis. it is well and truly difficult not to feel Something, certainly with my psychological background...the efforts to cut through all the noise and all the baggage and achieve some kind of clarity that never comes. it was worth a shot ig. its no ram tho!!! pls tell me ram is on this list!!!!

Fantastic album. Much loved for many years and one of the few of these 1001 albums that we have owned since it was released!

- Maybe I'm getting a little liberal doling out 5's here but this is another great one ....... -

Great album you’re the best

Classic

Lovely

Very good, it slipped below my radar.

4.79

Now that I showed you what I been through Don't take nobody's word what you can do There ain't no Jesus gonna come from the sky Now that I found out I know I can cry Some of you sitting there with your cock in your hand Don't get you nowhere, don't make you a man I heard something about my Ma and my Pa They didn't want me so they made me a star I found out Theres so much emotion in this album it leaks and gets into your psyche and makes you think about what it means to be a human. 5/5

Top Shelf, surprised I never listened to this one before

Always a bit nervous when I come across Lennon solo work. It could have sublime songs, it could sound like he threw it together in a morning and didn't quite finish it. This is more towards the first and a pretty complete piece of work.

4.5

I can listen to this!

For an album that has some dark material it still can make me joyful. Our loss to what may have been.

Always a classic

The most raw of an album created by a Beatle! Not the best, All Things Must Pass or RAM, may have that title, but it is the most honest and heartbreaking album of a Beatle. Lennon's voice is at its peak, his songwriting is so amazing! Well Well Well, there is a case for it to be the first grunge song ever made. God, is amazing! And Mother is possibly the best song written by a Beatle outside the Beatles! The album is a masterpiece and is Lennon at his absolute best!

From the tolling of the distored church bell at the start to the frankly harrowing nursery rhyme at the end this is a full on, let everything out for his sanity half finshed primal scream therapy session. Lennon strikes out on his own and decries everything from his past life - including his little know band previous to going solo. Lennon's supposed "me against the world" schtick seems weakend though when he has to crowbar Yoko into everything. The man was a mass of contradictions and this album at least gives us a little (if bleak) peak into how the sausage was made. Sometimes though, you may not want to know that. Best Tracks: Mother; Working Class Hero; God

Another record I keep returning to that feels weighty and deeply pained.

lennon sos un gorreado de mierda pero q bien cantabas y componías hijo de puta

so many memories connected to this album its impossible for it to be anything less than a 5

I look at this album cover every day because I have it framed in my bedroom. It's such a peaceful scene. I find it very calming. It's also a great album! John Lennon's lyrics feature raw emotional confessions and cynical observations about the world. There are a lot of spare piano-driven songs that highlight his pained vocals ("Mother" and "Isolation") but also some fantastic, blistering hard rock ("I Found Out" and "Well Well Well"). I also really like the touch of soul on "Hold On" and the folk anthem "Working Class Hero." "God" is stunning track too. It's a stark takedown of our idols (including Paul and the Beatles) that builds and builds before ending with a sweet message ("I just believe in me.") "Well Well Well" is my favorite song here though. Just incredible. Those screams in the second half of the song?! Amazing. I wish John Lennon lived long enough to form a hardcore band.

Mother I Found Out Working Class Hero Love God

Lennon. Venga, vinilo por Working class hero.

To be at the center of the storm is to lose stock in some things, whilst gaining quite a few new perspectives in return. Not to mention having some unresolved issues at hand that essentially forms the majority of who you are. And then there's the thing where you change, wholly, from the person that the people who love you for who you were projecting as to the the person that you most certainly feel yourself to be. John Lennon in 1970 was ready to finally be himself. No longer the dream-weaver, the walrus, the Beatle, John was reborn and he had to undergo a lot of pain to do so. The result was perhaps the most unvarnished, tortured, soul-bearing music of his career and undoubtedly his most quintessential. John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band is the dismantling of the mythos that had surrounded him the last six and a half years, a musical catharsis that is just as unflinching in its honesty as it is rewarding in repeated listens. One would have no problem offering this up as the best Beatles solo album (and John's best solo outing) in large part due to the lack of pretension and overbearing political/sociological posturing that would define his far more popular works. Its rawness, nearly fifty-five years on, is what makes it enduring. When listening to this, it often feels as though there is no turning back to who one was.

Very interesting album and one you need to be prepared to listen to. It's therapy set to music, and it's just not anyone, it's a Beatle, it's John Lennon doing this. Take away the provenance would the music and songs have the same impact? Probably not and therefore the people this album connects with are those that yearn to connect to Lennon.

A pretty powerful record dealing with some very human stuff like grief and disillusionment. Lennon was a masterful songwriter and musician and able to channel that emotional energy into a collection of memorable and relatable songs.

I have listened to this album countless times. I've listened to a lot of the outtakes, different mixes, jam sessions from this recording session, too. I'm a huge John Lennon fan and find this raw, introspective, and vulnerable version of him to be some of his best work.

Havent listened to this one in years. I love the stripped down production of it. Great timeless tunes.

I needed this one today. This takes me back to a warm winter day, soon after Christmas, playing Star Wars Rogue Squadron and listening to John Lennon. The shadows were long in the late afternoon, and school was still out for a few more days. I felt the Isolation for sure, but I felt the Love as well. I don't know if it was a simpler time at all. Strong in this one, the nostalgia is.

Love everything about this record! The sound of it the lyrics all the songs. Up there with the best. Xx

Classic, nuff said.

Expressão de modo autêntico e intenso em vulnerabilidades e fragilidades são o ponto de partida da a confirmação da capacidade criativa de músicas populares.

I hadn’t listened to much of John Lennon’s solo work. When I see the word Ono, I think of Yoko. My first thought about Yoko is her screaming “art.” Not something I wanted to engage in. I’m glad the 1001 encouraged me to listen. What a beautiful way to convey his deep pain and disagreements with society. Working Class Hero is especially noteworthy.

I won’t even beat around the bush here - I’m a huge John Lennon fan. So when this album popped up I already knew what I thought of it, having listened to it more times than I can count. After all the bells and whistles that came with producing Beatles records, John certainly took his own path as the band were on their way to breaking up. His experimental albums with Yoko (Unfinished Music Vol. 1 & 2, Wedding Album) were by no means chart topping hits, but it certainly showed that John wasn’t too concerned about what the public thought of his work at the time. That was true even when he released ‘John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band’. Make no mistake, this isn’t a very radio friendly LP. And upon its release (at least from what I have read), it wasn’t all that well received from critics; and its reputation only grew over the years and decades that followed. Part of it you could attribute to critics licking their lips in excitement to dissect any solo Beatles effort. While another part you could definitely attribute it to is the fact that 'Plastic Ono Band' was just so vastly different from anything he did with The Beatles. I always refer to this as Lennon’s “therapy” album. In the latter half of The Beatles time, John’s lyrics were getting a LOT more introspective in general. But with ‘Plastic Ono Band’ it feels like he completely opens the curtain to invite the listener in. This is him at his most angry. At his most sad. And in his most vulnerable state. This LP is essentially the chronicles of a man who found himself at a mental low point presenting us with his journey of self realization through some hard self reflection; and letting us hear how he views society at large. While from a music and production standpoint things are kept quite simple as a means to let the lyrics shine, I do also feel the simplicity somehow adds to the overall mood. Particularly the distorted, grungy guitar littered throughout the tracklist. But it's not without moments of clean acoustic songs and piano ballads. When you do listen to this LP - I recommend the version that has the three bonus tracks: Give Peace a Chance, Cold Turkey, and Instant Karma! (We All Shine On). These were singles that did not appear on any of his studio albums and they are well worth your time.

Great solo album, with a great raw sound to it. It’s the opposite of overproduced and the emotionality of it is just *chef’s kiss* 4.6 stars

Best solo John Lennon album in my book. I’d even say better than some (emphasis on some) Beatles albums.

I mean cmon so good and a 50% Beatles album though all Beatles solo albums just lack the magic of all four of them together. Still a solid 5!

Some of his greatest solo stuff, especially after just leaving that huge Beatles wave.

Beautiful album that reminds me of a lovely time in my life.

I don’t take any offense in the religious disowning on the sublime “God”. But no five words on any post-Beatles record hurt more than: “I don’t believe in Beatles”.

Wow. Excellent. Can def tell Kurt Cobain listened this. Prob one of best Beatles departure albums. Fantastic 👍

You know, Lennon was a real asshole. Maybe the opening track Mother explains why. It is a great song, and shows he was a real brilliant songwriter (vocals, arrangements). I don't think the whole album is as good, but I did enjoy it a fair bit. Well, Well, Well was another where he alternated between more tempered almost baritone vocals and near-screaming. Both of which he does well. I Found Out, Working Class Hero, and God all have some wicked lyrics, but the former two are more beautiful in their simple delivery - Working Class Hero feels like a Dylan or a Cash classic. Isolation is another simple delivery and it's beautiful too. Ditto Look at Me. Hold On and Love are both solid and more positive in tone but they're not my favorites. I hate every time he refers to Yoko because to me it shows his excessive infatuation with fleeting things. For a smart guy, he sure was impetuous. Still, put the man aside and this is a darn good album. It felt like a 4 but as I noticed how many songs I took the time to point out, I crept up. It's not a 5 and probably about a 4.5, but I'll round up for one of the greatest musicians and songwriters we've ever seen/heard, even if he was an ass.

Everything on this album fits together really well. I wasn't expecting it would be this good, which seems silly considering it is John Lennon. Five stars or A.

Short, but still loose; clearly linked to his band before, but still its own thing; intensely personal, but from one of the most famous musicians ever; hugely varied but fits together beautifully. So, an album of contradictions! But I love John, and Working Class Hero is one of the great anthems, and even his "poorer" songs are better than most other artists could hope to achieve!

Lennon is probably the reason I'm here today. I probably wouldn't even enjoy music if in the past I hadn't come into contact with his voice and his unique way of writing songs about his feelings in a way that no one else can. Since the Beatles, he has already explored the personal side he imprinted on his songs, but especially in his solo career, like on this album, it is very clear how personal these songs are, which gives the feeling of being extremely real and establishing a direct connection between Lennon and the listener. So it's not uncommon to hear stories from people who claim that "Lennon spoke to me." Lennon put heart and soul into his songs like no one else... Besides, of course, a certain Paul, but that's a story for another day.

COOKIE

One of my favourite solo Beatles album. Best album with a Cookie Monster reference.

Better than Imagine.

Outstanding album. Working Class Hero, Love and God are some of the most beautifully emotional and raw songs I've heard.

I love this album but a lot of the songs kind of make me want to cry so idk if I’m gonna listen to it again in public