John Lennon measured his pain for all of us to see with the most singular statement of his artistry and humanity. Alternately tender and terrifying, the album challenges our preconceptions as much as it challenges every sense of what popular music is all about. The stripped down simplicity of the sound increases the sense of intimacy and the cathartic intensity of his expression is downright disturbing. He and Yoko had undertaken primal scream therapy with with Arthur Janov and both of them channelled their repressed childhood traumas into their music. They both released their own Plastic Ono Band album on the same day with similar album covers ("In Yoko's, she's leaning back on me; in mine, I'm leaning on her.") and similarly therapeutic expressions of emotional angst, although Yoko's version was even more avant-garde and caterwauling. Both are harrowing confessionals that give us a glimpse into the personal anguish of the most public and outspoken of celebrity couples. In perhaps his darkest moment of despair he lashes out at everything and denounces all beliefs to the extreme. "I don't believe in Beatles... I just believe in me." There is rage, resignation, remorse, and rebirth in this haunting, exhausting, but ultimately rewarding listening experience.
"Working Class Hero"
"When they've tortured and scared you for twenty odd years, then they expect you to pick a career; when you can't really function, you're so full of fear."
"Hold On"
"When you're warm...really warm, then you'll get things done like they've never been done"
"Well Well Well"
"We sat and talked of revolution..."
Plastic Ono Band full album:
All songs written by John Lennon
Side one
"Mother" – 0:01
"Hold On" – 5:30
"I Found Out" – 7:24
"Working Class Hero" – 11:01
"Isolation" – 14:52
Side two
"Remember" – 17:45
"Love" – 22:27
"Well Well Well" – 25:45
"Look at Me" – 31:45
"God" – 34:39
"My Mummy's Dead" – 38:50
Yoko Ono - Plastic Ono Band
full album:
All songs written by Yoko Ono.
00:00 Why
05:37 Why Not
15:32 Greenfield Morning I Pushed An Empty Baby Carriage All Over the City
21:12 Touch Me
25:01 AOS
32:09 Paper Shoes
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