John Lennon is my favorite Beatle. He is not my favorite ex-Beatle. That distinction goes to George Harrison. “What’s the distinction” you might ask. It’s very simple – I like John’s Beatles songs the best. Of all that was recorded by all the ex-Beatles after the split, by and large I like George’s the best. I still like John’s stuff more than I do Paul’s or Ringo’s. For anyone who cares to know what to buy and what to avoid, look no further than this blog.
John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band [1970] – what Sgt Pepper and Revolver were for the Beatles, this one is the same for John Lennon. This, his first album after the split, is his masterpiece. It is music for adults. This album is as bare-bones as one gets without it being a home-recorded demo. John recorded this with just Ringo and Klaus Voorman. Phil Spector plays the piano on Love, Billy Preston plays the second piano on God. After having gone through months of primal scream therapy with Dr Arthur Janov, John’s feelings about everything were pretty raw. If his fans were expecting something as well-produced and lush as Abbey Road, they weren’t going to get it with John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band. The names of the songs indicate what they’re about [Mother, I Found Out, Working Class Hero, Isolation, Love, God…] John went about exorcising his demons in public. The first song Mother opens with a church bell one expects to hear at a funeral. Mother you had me but I never had you/I wanted you, you didn’t want me... Father you left me but I never left you/I needed you, you didn’t me…At the end you hear Mama don’t go/Daddy come home…[John repeats as he shreds his vocal chords]. In I Found Out, he returned to that theme of abandonment with I heard somethin’ ‘bout my ma and my pa/They didn’t want me so they made me a star! But he also debunks gurus, drugs, religion, and Paul McCartney [There ain’t no guru who can see through your eyes…I’ve seen junkies, I’ve been through it all…I’ve seen religion from Jesus to Paul…]. The BBC described I Found Out and Well Well Well as “proto-punk fury.” I’d agree with that. Working Class Hero finds John castigating English society for beating its children into middle-class conformity. As soon as you’re born they make you feel small. They hurt you at home and they hit you at school, they hate you if you’re clever and they depise a fool ‘til you’re so fucking crazy you can’t follow their rules. Not everything is anger and rage as there are moments of tenderness with Love, Hold On, and Look at Me. With God, John dismisses everything, including the Beatles [I don’t believe in Beatles! I just believe in me – Yoko and me, and that’s reality] and tells his listeners the Beatles are gone and they aren’t coming back [The dream is over…]. The album ends with My Mummy’s Dead, sung to the tune of “Three Blind Mice.” Essential.
Mother
I Found Out
Working Class Hero
Love
God
Imagine [1971] – a worthy follow-up to John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band. This one, like its predecessor, is worth having in its entirety. George Harrison plays on five of the albums songs. My two favorites from Imagine are Gimme Some Truth and How Do You Sleep. George Harrison contributes slide guitar on both. With Gimme Some Truth, John uses his studio as his soapbox. Unfortunately, its also foreshadowing for Sometime in New York City. How Do You Sleep is much more personal. Since the Beatles’ break-up, John and Paul traded barbs any way they could – interviews, album covers, and music. Paul wrote in Too Many People [from Ram] about too many people going under ground…too many people preaching practices…that was your first mistake, you took your lucky break and broke it in two, now what can be done for you? Like a bull reacting to the proverbial red flag, John responded in kind with How Do You Sleep. He writes about Sgt Pepper going to Paul’s head, being married to a nag who’s always telling him what to do [pot, meet kettle], and perhaps he was dead after all. John never mentions his victim, but you know who he’s talking about. Jealous Guy was a leftover from the White Album [Child of Nature] that John re-wrote as an apologetic love song to Yoko. Crippled Inside could have been on the previous album, but there’s more instrumentation here, including George on the dobro. Oh My Love and How? showed more of John’s insecurities in beautifully arranged ballads. Oh yeah, there’s that title song that annoys conservatives. Essential.
Gimme Some Truth
Paul McCartney – Too Many People
How Do You Sleep
Sometime in New York City [1972] – avoid this one at all costs. The only people who need this one are the completists – people like me. To the casual fan, run away from this one screaming. John and Yoko took a critical beating for this one, and rightly so. There are two, and only two songs on this album worth having. They are New York City and [Well] Baby Please Don’t Go. New York City is The Ballad of John and Yoko, Part II. It chronicles the Lennons’ arrival in NY and what they did once they got there. [Well] Baby Please Don’t Go was recorded live at the Fillmore East with Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention in June 1971. After recording these two songs, John would rock this hard only one more time. The rest of the songs are rantings of the political kind, and she sings half of them. The above-mentioned songs are available as MP3s – buy those instead.
New York City
[Well] Baby Please Don’t Go
Mind Games [1973] – this album was recorded as John and Yoko were separating. Mind Games is an album where John is going through the motions. It’s certainly a lot better than Sometime in New York City. It may be good, but it’s a bit of a snoozefest. John stepped back from the political agitation of Sometime in New York City and made this inoffensive contractual obligation. He did have other things on his mind at the time [separation from his wife, fighting deportation, etc]. There’s one great song on it – the title track. The one song where John rocked out as hard as he did on New York City is Meat City. It’s the last track on Mind Games. What is it about? Who knows? Who cares? It’s a mindlessly fun track. There’s a very touching song to Yoko that’s an apology for his transgressions called Aisumasen (I'm Sorry). It would’ve fit right in with John’s next album, Walls & Bridges.
Aisumasen (I'm Sorry)
Meat City
Walls & Bridges [1974] - Redemption. Walls & Bridges was made during his separation from Yoko Ono. Though not in the same league as John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band and Imagine, Walls & Bridges is superior to the two albums that came before it. John’s first #1 solo single, Whatever Gets You Through the Night, came from Walls & Bridges and showcases his partnership [albeit brief] with Elton John. Many Lennon fans like this song, but it does nothing for me. I prefer Elton John’s remake of Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds, featuring the reggae guitars of Dr Winston O’Boogie [aka John Lennon]. My favorites from Walls & Bridges are #9 Dream, Steel & Glass, Scared. John always had an affinity for the number 9, and yes, this song came from a dream. Close your eyes and this one sounds like Across the Universe. Steel & Glass is another missive from John’s poison pen, much like How Do You Sleep. The two songs even have a similar string arrangement. Only here John’s bile is directed at his former manager Allen Klein. Paul McCartney must have felt vindication when he heard this. Scared is John’s commentary about living alone. Surprise Surprise [Sweet Bird of Paradox] was written for his paramour, May Pang. Going Down on Love and Old Dirt Road [co-written with Harry Nilsson] are also very good. Nobody knew it at the time, not even John, but Walls & Bridges would be John’s last album of original material until 1980. A good addition to your collection.
#9 Dream
Steel & Glass
Scared
Rock and Roll [1975] – this was recorded immediately after Walls & Bridges was finished, and features the same musicians that made that album. I refer to this one as Moldy Oldies. Ben E. King’s Stand By Me was a hit for John. I especially like John’s versions of Be Bop a Lula and Peggy Sue. The rest of the album is for completists only.
Be Bop a Lula
Peggy Sue
Double Fantasy [1980] & Milk & Honey [1984] – both of these are subtitled “A Heart Play.” They alternate songs written and sung by John and Yoko. John’s songs are good. Two of them are great – Beautiful Boy [Darling Boy] and Watching the Wheels. As sappy as Woman is, it’s always been one I liked a lot. Milk & Honey has some good Lennon tunes on it as well. The best one is Nobody Told Me. That being said, a better version of this song exists on John’s Anthology set. It’s a first run-through of the song with the studio musicians, but despite it having Lennon’s instructions to the band while they were playing it, this version sounds a lot more fun. Another highlight is the home demo of Grow Old Along With Me, which was inspired by the poems of Robert and Elizabeth Barrett Browning. If you buy them both, use the magic of technology and edit out most of Yoko’s songs and create a single CD. Your ears and your stomach will thank you. I say “most” of Yoko’s songs because there are two exceptions. One is Every Man Has a Woman Who Loves Him. John sings this one. The other is Walking on Thin Ice. It has the dubious distinction of being the last song John Lennon ever recorded. In fact, they finished it the night he was killed.
Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy)
Watching the Wheels
Nobody Told Me
There are non-album singles too. Everyone has heard Give Peace a Chance. You’ve also heard Happy Xmas (War Is Over). In this house it just isn’t Christmas until you’ve heard it on the radio. Cold Turkey was done by John after Abbey Road was completed. He even offered it to the Beatles to record as a single. They passed, so he put it out himself. John debuted it live in Toronto in September 1969, but the arrangement changed drastically between then and when he recorded it in the studio. It is about what one suspects – withdrawal from heroin. It isn’t vey melodic, but it is very stark and harrowing. Instant Karma was put out by John in early 1970. He wrote it, recorded it, and mixed it all in one day. He even “performed” it on Top of the Pops. John’s break from the Beatles wasn’t public yet. Produced by Phil Spector, Instant Karma doesn’t sound at all like a Beatles song. This one is drenched in echo. The drums sound as if one was beating a dead fish on a slab of marble. There are lots of pianos pounding out the same tune, and John’s voice sounds otherworldly. Power to the People is more sloganeering from John. I can take it or leave it.
Instant Karma
Cold Turkey
John Lennon’s solo career was a frustrating one. There are still some moments of genius, but there are just as many moments where he mailed it in, like he was content on resting on his Beatle laurels. He earned that right, but he could’ve done much better. Paul McCartney finally found his mark with Band on the Run, and after that he was content to be a rock star. John Lennon never found that post-Beatle rock stardom, but after 1975 he had other priorities, namely the blissful domestic life he never had as a child.
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