01	Give Peace A Chance						04:54
	02	Instant Karma!						03:22
	03	Power To The People						03:18
	04	Whatever Gets You Thru The Night						03:20
	05	#9 Dream						04:48
	06	Mind Games						04:14
	07	Love						03:24
	08	Happy Xmas (War Is Over)						03:35
	09	Imagine						03:05
	10	Jealous Guy						04:17
	11	Stand By Me						03:27
	12	(Just Like) Starting Over						03:57
	13	Woman						03:28
	14	I'm Losing You						04:00
	15	Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy)						04:03
	16	Watching The Wheels						03:33
	17	Dear Yoko						02:35
	18	Move Over Ms. L						02:58
	19	Cold Turkey						05:01

Out of all the Beatles, John Lennon had the most interesting - and frustrating - solo career. Lennon was capable of inspired, brutally honest confessional songwriting and melodic songcraft; he also had a tendency to rest on his laurels, churning out straight-ahead rock & roll without much care. But the extremes, both in his music and his life, were what made him fascinating. Where Paul McCartney was content to be a rock star, Lennon dabbled in everything from revolutionary politics to the television talk-show circuit during the early '70s. After releasing a pair of acclaimed albums, John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band and Imagine, in the early '70s, Lennon sunk into an infamous "lost weekend" where his musical output was decidedly uneven and his public behavior was often embarassing. Halfway through the decade, he sobered up and retired from performing to become a house-husband and father. In 1980, he launched a comeback with his wife Yoko Ono, releasing the duet album Double Fantasy that fall. Just as his career was on an upswing, Lennon was tragically assassinated outside of his New York apartement building in December of 1980. He left behind an enormous legacy, not only as a musician, but as a writer, actor and activist.
Considering the magnitude of his achievements with the Beatles, Lennon's solo career is relatively overlooked. Even during the height of Beatlemania, Lennon began exploring outside of the group. In 1964, he published a collection of his writings called In His Own Write, which was followed in 1965 by A Spaniard in the Works, and in 1966, he appeared in Dick Lester's comedy How I Won the War. He didn't pursue a musical career outside of the group until 1968, when he recorded the experimental noise collage Unfinished Music, No. 1: Two Virgins with his new lover, avant-garde artist Yoko Ono. Two Virgins caused considerable controversy, both because of its content and its cover art, which featured a nude photograph of Lennon and Ono. The couple married in Gibraltar in March 20, 1969. For their honeymoon, the pair staged the first of many political demonstrations with their "Bed-In for Peace" at the Amsterdam Hilton. Several months later, the avant garde records Unfinished Music, No. 2: Life with the Lions and The Wedding Album were released, as was the single "Give Peace a Chance," which was recorded during the Bed-In. During September of 1969, Lennon returned to live performances with a concert at a Toronto rock & roll festival. He was supported by the Plastic Ono Band, which featured Ono, guitarist Eric Clapton, bassist Klaus Voormann and drummer Alan White. The following month, Lennon and the Plastic Ono Band released "Cold Turkey," which was about his battle with heroin addiction. When the single failed to make the Top Ten in Britain and America, Lennon sent his MBE back to the Queen, protesting Britain's involvement in Biafra, America's involvement in Vietnam and the poor chart performence of "Cold Turkey."

Before the release of "Cold Turkey," Lennon had told the Beatles that he planned to leave the group, but he agreed not to publicly announce his intentions until after Allen Klein's negotiations with EMI on behalf of the Beatles were resolved. Lennon and Ono continued with their campaign for peace, spreading billboards with the slogan "War Is Over! (If You Want It)" in 12 separate cities. In February of 1970, he wrote, recorded and released the single "Instant Karma" within the span of the week. The single became a major hit, reaching the Top Ten in both the U.K. and the U.S. Two months after "Instant Karma," Paul McCartney announced that the Beatles were splitting up, provoking the anger of Lennon. Much of this anger was vented on his first full-fledged solo album, John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band, a scathingly honest confessional work inspired by his and Ono's primal scream therapy. Lennon supported the album with an extensive interview with Rolling Stone, where he debunked many of the myths surrounding the Beatles. Early in 1971, he released another protest single, "Power to the People," before moving to New York. That fall, he released Imagine, which featured the Top Ten title track. By the time Imagine became a hit album, Lennon and Ono had returned to political activism, publically supporting American radicals like Abbie Hoffman, Jerry Rubin and John Sinclair. Their increased political involvement resulted in the double-album Sometime in New York City, which was released in the summer of 1972. Recorded with the New York hippie band Elephant's Memory, Sometime in New York City consisted entirely of political songs, many of which were criticized for their simplicity. Consequently, the album sold poorly and tarnished Lennon's reputation.

Sometime in New York City was the beginning of a three-year downward spiral for Lennon. Shortly before the album's release, he began his long, involved battle with US Immigration, who refused to give him a green card due to a conviction for marijuna possession in 1968. In 1973, he was ordered to leave America by Immigration, and he launched a full-scale battle against the department, frequently attacking them in public. Mind Games was released in late 1973 to mixed reviews; its title track became a moderate hit. The following year, he and Ono separated, and he moved out to Los Angeles, beginning his year-and-a-half long "lost weekend." During 1974 and 1975, Lennon lived a life of debauchery in Los Angeles, partying hard with such celebrities as Elton John, Harry Nilsson, Keith Moon, David Bowie and Ringo Starr. Walls and Bridges appeared in November of 1974, and it became a hit due to the inclusion of "Whatever Gets You Through the Night," a song he wrote with Elton John. At the end of the year, John helped reunite Lennon and Ono, convincing the ex-Beatle to appear during one of his concerts; it would be Lennon's last performance.

Rock & Roll, a collection of rock oldies recorded during the lost weekend, was released in the spring of 1975. A few months before its official release, a bootleg of the album called Roots was released by Morris Levy, who Lennon later sued successfully. Lennon's immigration battle neared its completion on October 7, 1975, when the US court of appeals overturned his deportation order; in the summer of 1976, he was finally granted his green card. After he appeared on David Bowie's Young Americans, co-writing the hit song "Fame," Lennon quietly retired from music, choosing to become a house-husband following the October birth of his son, Sean Lennon.

During the summer of 1980, Lennon returned to recording, signing a new contract with Geffen Records. Comprised equally of material by Lennon and Ono, Double Fantasy was released in November to positive reviews. As the album and its accompanying single, "(Just Like) Starting Over," were climbing the charts, Lennon was assassinated on December 8 by Mark David Chapman. Lennon's death inspired deep grief from the entire world; on December 14, millions of fans around the world participated in a ten-minute silent vigil for Lennon at 2 p.m. EST. Double Fantasy and "(Just Like) Starting Over" both became number one hits in the wake of his death. In the years after his death, several albums of unreleased recordings appeared, the first of which was 1984's Milk and Honey; perhaps the most substantial was the 1998 four-disc box set Anthology, issued in conjunction with a single-disc sampler titled Wonsaponatime. - Stephen Thomas Erlewine



1989; Capitol; CDP 591516

John Lennon Anthology - 2 Nov 1998

Ascot (disc 1)
1) Working Class Hero
2) God
3) I Found Out
4) Hold On
5) Isolation
6) Love
7) Mother
8) Remember
9) Imagine
10) "Fortunately"
11) Baby Please Don't Go
12) Oh My Love
13) Jealous Guy
14) Maggie Mae
15) How Do You Sleep?
16) God Save Oz
17) Do The Oz
18) I Don't Want To Be A Soldier
19) Give Peace A Chance
20) Look At Me
21) Long Lost John

NYC (disc 2)

1) New York City
2) Attica State (live)
3) Imagine (live)
4) Bring On The Lucie (Freda Peeple)
5) Woman Is The Nigger of The World
6) Geraldo Rivera - One to One Concert
7) Woman Is The Nigger of The World (live)
8) It's So Hard (live)
9) Come Together (live)
10) Happy Xmas
11) Luck of the Irish (live)
12) John Sinclair (live)
13) The David Frost Show
14) Mind Games (I Promise)
15) Mind Games (Make Love, Not War)
16) One Day At A Time
17) I Know
18) I'm The Greatest
19) Goodnight Vienna
20) Jerry Lewis Telethon
21) "A Kiss Is Just A Kiss"
22) Real Love
23) You Are Here
The Lost Weekend (disc3)

1) What You Got
2) Nobody Loves You When You're Down And Out
3) Whatever Gets You Thru the Night (home)
4) Whatever Gets You Thru the Night (studio)
5) Yesterday (parody)
6) Be Bop A Lula
7) Rip It Up/Ready Teddy
8) Scared
9) Steel And Glass
10) Surprise, Surprise (Sweet Bird of Paradox)
11) Bless You
12) Going Down On Love
13) Move Over Ms. L
14) Ain't She Sweet
15) Slippin' And Slidin'
16) Peggy Sue
17) Bring It On Home To Me/Send Me Some Lovin'
18) Phil and John 1
19) Phil and John 2
20) Phil and John 3
21) "When In Doubt, Fuck It"
22) Be My Baby
23) Stranger's Room
24) Old Dirt Road

Dakota (disc 4)

1) I'm Losing You
2) Sean's "Little Help"
3) Serve Yourself
4) My Life
5) Nobody Told Me
6) Life Begins At 40
7) I Don't Wanna Face It
8) Woman
9) Dear Yoko
10) Watching the Wheels
11) I'm Stepping Out
12) Borrowed Time
13) The Rishi Kesh Song
14) Sean's "Loud"
15) Beautiful Boy
16) Mr. Hyde's Gone (Don't Be Afraid)
17) Only You
18) Grow Old With Me
19) Dear John
20) The Great Wok
21) Mucho Mungo
22) Satire 1
23) Satire 2
24) Satire 3
25) Sean's "In The Sky"
26) It's Real



Wonsaponatime - 2 Nov 1998

1) I'm Losing You
2) Working Class Hero
3) God
4) How Do You Sleep?
5) Imagine
6) Baby Please Don't Go
7) Oh My Love
8) God Save Oz
9) I Found Out
10) Woman Is The Nigger Of The World
11) A Kiss Is Just A Kiss
12) Be Bop A Lula
13) Rip It Up/Ready Teddy
14) What You Got
15) Nobody Loves You When You're Down And Out
16) I Don't Wanna Face It
17) Real Love
18) Only You
19) Grow Old With Me
20) Sean's In The Sky
21) Serve Yourself


Lennon Legend - 27 Oct 1997

1) Imagine
2) Instant Karma!
3) Mother
4) Jealous Guy
5) Power To The People
6) Cold Turkey
7) Love
8) Mind Games
9) Whatever Gets You Through The Night
10) #9 Dream
11) Stand By Me
12) (Just Like) Starting Over
13) Woman
14) Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy)
15) Watching The Wheels
16) Nobody Told Me
17) Borrowed Time
18) Working Class Hero
19) Happy Xmas (War Is Over)
20) Give Peace A Chance

Lennon Box Set - 30 Oct 1990

Disc 1
1) Give Peace A Chance
2) Blue Suede Shoes
3) Money (That's What I Want)
4) Dizzy Miss Lizzy
5) Yer Blues
6) Cold Turkey
7) Instant Karma!
8) Mother
9) Hold On
10) I Found Out
11) Working Class Hero
12) Isolation
13) Remember
14) Love
15) Well, Well, Well
16) Look At Me
17) God
18) My Mummy's Dead
19) Power To The People
20) Well (Baby Please Don't Go)

Disc 2

1) Imagine
2) Crippled Inside
3) Jealous Guy
4) It's So Hard
5) Give Me Some Truth
6) Oh My Love
7) How Do You Sleep?
8) How?
9) Oh Yoko
10) Happy Xmas (War Is Over)
11) Woman Is The Nigger Of The World
12) New York City
13) John Sinclair
14) Come Together
15) Hound Dog
16) Mind Games
17) Aisumasen (I'm Sorry)
18) One Day (At A Time)
19) Intuition
20) Out The Blue
Disc 3

1) Whatever Gets You Thru The Night
2) Going Down On Love
3) Old Dirt Road
4) Bless You
5) Scared
6) #9 Dream
7) Surprise, Surprise (Sweet Bird Of Paradox)
8) Steel And Glass
9) Nobody Loves You (When You're Down And Out)
10) Stand By Me
11) Ain't That A Shame
12) Do You Want To Dance
13) Sweet Little Sixteen
14) Slippin' And Slidin'
15) Angel Baby
16) Just Because
17) Whatever Gets You Thru The Night (Live Version)
18) Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds
19) I Saw Her Standing There

Disc 4

1) (Just Like) Starting Over
2) Cleanup Time
3) I'm Losing You
4) Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy)
5) Watching The Wheels
6) Woman
7) Dear Yoko
8) I'm Stepping Out
9) I Don't Wanna Face It
10) Nobody Told Me
11) Borrowed Time (Forgive Me)
12) My Little Flower Princess
13) Every Man Has A Woman Who Loves Him
14) Grow Old With Me



Imagine Motion Picture - 10 Oct 1988

1) Real Love
2) Twist And Shout
3) HELP!
4) In My Life
5) Strawberry Fields Forever
6) A Day In The Life
7) Revolution
8) The Ballad Of John & Yoko
9) Julia
10) Don't Let Me Down
11) Give Peace A Chance
12) How?
13) Imagine (rehearsal)
14) God
15) Mother
16) Stand By Me
17) Jealous Guy
18) Woman
19) Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy)
20) (Just Like) Starting Over
21) Imagine


Menlove Avenue - 3 Nov 1986

1) Here We Go Again
2) Rock And Roll People
3) Angel Baby
4) Since My Baby Left Me
5) To Know Her Is To Love Her
6) Steel And Glass
7) Scared
8) Old Dirt Road
9) Nobody Loves You
10) Bless You


Live In New York City - 24 Feb 1986

1) New York City
2) It's So Hard
3) Woman Is The Nigger Of The World
4) Well, Well, Well
5) Instant Karma
6) Mother
7) Come Together
8) Imagine
9) Cold Turkey
10) Hound Dog
11) Give Peace A Chance


Milk & Honey - 23 Jan 1984

1) I'm Stepping Out
2) Sleepless Night
3) I Don't Wanna Face It
4) Don't Be Scared
5) Nobody Told Me
6) O' Sanity
7) Borrowed Time
8) Your Hands
9) (Forgive Me) My Little Flower Princess
10) Let Me Count The Ways
11) Grow Old With Me
12) You're The One


John Lennon Collection - 1 Nov 1982

1) Give Peace A Chance
2) Instant Karma
3) Power To The People
4) Whatever Gets You Through The Night
5) #9 Dream
6) Mind Games
7) Love
8) Happy Xmas (War Is Over)
9) Imagine
10) Jealous Guy
11) Stand By Me
12) (Just Like) Starting Over
13) Woman
14) I'm Losing You
15) Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy)
16) Watching The Wheels
17) Dear Yoko
18) Move Over Ms. L.
19) Cold Turkey


Double Fantasy - 17 Nov 1980

1) (Just Like) Starting Over
2) Kiss Kiss Kiss
3) Cleanup Time
4) Give Me Something
5) I'm Losing You
6) I'm Moving On
7) Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy)
8) Watching The Wheels
9) Yes, I'm Your Angel
10) Woman
11) Beautiful Boys
12) Dear Yoko
13) Every Man Has A Woman Who Loves Him
14) Hard Times Are Over


Shaved Fish - 24 Oct 1975

1) Give Peace A Chance / Cold Turkey
2) Instant Karma
3) Power To The People
4) Mother
5) Woman Is The Nigger Of The World
6) Imagine
7) Whatever Gets You Through The Night
8) Mind Games
9) #9 Dream
10) Happy Xmas (War Is Over) / Give Peace A Chance (Reprise)



Rock 'N' Roll - 21 Feb 1975

1) Be-Bop-A-Lula
2) Stand By Me
3) Rip It Up / Ready Teddy
4) You Can't Catch Me
5) Ain't That A Shame
6) Do You Want To Dance
7) Sweet Little Sixteen
8) Slippin' And Slidin'
9) Peggy Sue
10) Bring It On Home To Me
11) Send Me Some Lovin'
12) Bony Morone
13) Ya Ya
14) Just Because



Walls & Bridges - 4 Oct 1974

1) Going Down On Love
2) Whatever Gets You Through The Night
3) Old Dirt Road
4) What You Got
5) Bless You
6) Scared
7) #9 Dream
8) Surprise, Surprise ( Sweet Bird Of Paradox )
9) Steel And Glass
10) Beef Jerky
11) Nobody Loves You (When You're Down And Out)
12) Ya Ya


Mind Games - 16 Nov 1973

1) Mind Games
2) Tight A$
3) Aisumasen (I'm Sorry)
4) One Day (At A Time)
5) Bring On The Lucie (Freda People)
6) Nutopian International Anthem
7) Intuition
8) Out The Blue
9) Only People
10) I Know (I Know)
11) You Are Here
12) Meat City


Sometime In NYC - 15 Sept 1972

Disc 1
1) Woman is the Nigger of the World
2) Sisters, O Sisters
3) Attica State
4) Born In A Prison
5) New York City
6) Sunday Bloody Sunday
7) The Luck Of The Irish
8) John Sinclair
9) Angela
10) We're All Water


Disc 2 ( Live Jam )

1) Cold Turkey
2) Don't Worry Kyoko
3) Well ( Baby Please Don't Go )
4) Jamrag
5) Scumbag
6) Au



Imagine - 8 Oct 1971

1) Imagine
2) Crippled Inside
3) Jealous Guy
4) Its So Hard
5) I don't wanna be a soldier mama
6) Gimme Some Truth
7) Oh My Love
8) How Do You Sleep?
9) How?
10) Oh Yoko!


JL / Plastic Ono Band - 11 Dec 1970

1) Mother
2) Hold On
3) I Found Out
4) Working Class Hero
5) Isolation
6) Remember
7) Love
8) Well Well Well
9) Look At Me
10) God
11) My Mummy's Dead


Live Peace In Toronto - 12 Dec 1969

1) Blue Suede Shoes
2) Money
3) Dizzy Miss Lizzy
4) Yer Blues
5) Cold Turkey
6) Give Peace A Chance
7) Don't Worry Kyoko (Mummy's Only Looking For Her Hand In The Snow)
8) John John (Let's Hope For Peace)


Wedding Album - 7 Nov 1969

1) John & Yoko
2) Amsterdam


Life With The Lions - 9 May 1969

1) Cambridge 1969
2) No Bed for Beatle John
3) Baby's Heartbeat
4) Two Minutes Silence
5) Radio Play


Two Virgins - 29 Nov 1968

1) Two Vigins Side 1
2) Two Virgins Side 2


John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band
Artist John Lennon
Album Title John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band
Date of Release Dec 11, 1970 (release) inprint
AMG Rating
Genre Rock
Tones Harsh, Intense, Fiery, Passionate, Poignant, Acerbic, Visceral, Eerie, Melancholy, Cynical/Sarcastic, Rebellious, Cathartic, Angst-Ridden, Bitter, Bleak, Volatile, Angry, Hostile
Styles Album Rock, Singer/Songwriter, Rock & Roll
Time 38:19
Library View Click here to see this album in MARC format
Product Purchase Click here to buy this album
Click here to buy posters


AMG EXPERT REVIEW: The clichй about singer-songwriters is that they sing confessionals direct from their heart, but John Lennon exploded the myth behind that clichй, as well as many others, on his first official solo record, John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band. Inspired by his primal scream therapy with Dr. Walter Janov, Lennon created a harrowing set of unflinchingly personal songs, laying out all of his fears and angers for everyone to hear. It was a revolutionary record - never before had a record been so explicitly introspective, and very few records made absolutely no concession to the audience's expectations, daring the listeners to meet all the artist's demands. Which isn't to say that the record is unlistenable. Lennon's songs range from tough rock & rollers to piano-based ballads and spare folk songs, and his melodies remain strong and memorable, which actually intensifies the pain and rage of the songs. Not much about Plastic Ono Band is hidden. Lennon presents everything on the surface, and the song titles - "Mother," "I Found Out," "Working Class Hero," "Isolation," "God," "My Mummy's Dead" - illustrate what each song is about, and charts his loss of faith in his parents, country, friends, fans and idols. It's an unflinching document of bare-bones despair and pain, but for all its nihlism, it is ultimately life-affiriming; it is unique not only in Lennon's catalog, but in all of popular music. Few albums are ever as harrowing, difficult, and rewarding as John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band. - Stephen Thomas Erlewine

review 1. Mother (Lennon) - 5:37
2. Hold On (Lennon) - 1:52
3. I Found Out (Lennon) - 3:37
review 4. Working Class Hero (Lennon) - 3:50
5. Isolation (Lennon) - 2:51
6. Remember (Lennon) - 4:36
7. Love (Lennon) - 3:24
8. Well, Well, Well (Lennon) - 5:59
9. Look at Me (Lennon) - 2:55
review 10. God (Lennon) - 4:10
11. My Mummy's Dead (Lennon) - 0:59
12. Power to the People (Lennon) - 3:22
13. Do the Oz (Lennon/Ono) - 3:07



Bob "Catfish" Hodge: Boogie Man l Gonna Get Ya
Marc Benno: Ambush
Bruce Cockburn: Night Vision
Big Star: Third/Sister Lovers
Charlie & The Wide Boys: Charlie & The Wide Boys
Beck Bogert & Appice: Beck Bogert & Appice
Chick Churchill: You & Me
Candle: Candle
Various Artists: Fillmore: The Last Days
Churchill: Churchill

John Lennon - Guitar, Piano, Composer, Keyboards, Vocals, Producer, Performer, Design
Billy Preston - Piano, Keyboards
Ringo Starr - Drums
Yoko Ono - Composer, Vocals, Wind, Producer, Woodwind, Design
Alan White - Drums
Phil Spector - Piano, Producer
Peter Cobbin - Remixing
Eddie Hedges - Engineer
John Leckie - Engineer
Richard Lush - Engineer
Phil McDonald - Engineer
Phil Nicolo - Remixing
Klaus Voormann - Bass
Andy Stevens - Engineer
Eddie Veal - Engineer
Dirk Grobelny - Assistant Engineer
Steve Rooke - Mastering
Jason Stasium - Assistant Engineer
Wendy Day - Art Coordinator
Pat Connelly - Photography
P. Linard - Artwork, Design
Dan Richter - Photography, Cover Photo
Mirek Stiles - Assistant Engineer
Chris Zurxulo - Assistant Engineer

1988 CD Capitol C2-46770
1983 LP Capitol SW-3372
Apple SW-3372
1970 LP Apple 3372
1971 LP Apple 7124
1970 CD Parlophone 46770
1988 CS Capitol C4-46770
2000 CD Capitol 28740







God
by John Lennon
performed on John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band



"God" is the culmination of former Beatle John Lennon's debut solo album, John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band, released in December 1970. The album is a virtual trip to the psychoanalyst's couch in song and also an elaborate, embittered farewell to Lennon's life before his relationship with Yoko Ono. "God" is the logical conclusion to this journey. Lennon is no longer screaming, as he did on the album-opening "Mother," nor is singing sarcastically, as he did on "Working Class Hero." "God" is full of sadness and resignation, but it is sung calmly. The music consists of a slow, stately, repeated progression; it has a static, circular feel, rising and falling. The lyric begins with a theological abstraction: "God is a concept by which we measure our pain." After repeating this statement for effect, the singer begins a recitation of people and things he doesn't believe in, a list that includes religious figures and concepts, narrows to politicians, and finally focuses on pop music. The singer does not believe in Elvis Presley, Zimmerman ( Bob Dylan's real name), or, most tellingly, the Beatles. After a dramatic pause, he adds that he only believes in himself, that is, Ono and himself. He then informs his listeners that "the dream is over" and they will have to fend for themselves. While highly effective in the context of its time and Lennon's career, "God" is a highly idiosyncratic and personal song. Of course, the dream to which Lennon referred was one shared by a generation in the 1960s, so his declaration meant a lot to many others besides himself. At the same time, "God" and John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band on the whole has earned criticism for its self-seriousness and sanctimoniousness. As early as 1972, the National Lampoon album Radio Dinner satirized Lennon in a track called "Magical Misery Tour," said to be from an album called Yoko Is a Concept by Which We Measure Our Pain. Though "God" and John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band sounded like the work of a man who was leaving the world behind in a fit of bitterness and recrimination, it actually seems to have had a cleansing effect on its creator, who was back within nine months with the more accessible Imagine. "God" has been included on a few Lennon anthologies, but it is much too personal a work to be covered by another artist or to have much exposure beyond its original context, powerful though it is there. - William Ruhlmann



Working Class Hero
by John Lennon
performed on John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band



"Working Class Hero" is the bitterest song on John Lennon's first post- Beatles solo album John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band, and that's saying a lot, since this was an LP on which Lennon vented a variety of personal and professional dissatisfactions. "Working Class Hero" cast Lennon's criticisms of the world in which he grew up in explicitly political terms. He set the song to the same folk-blues acoustic guitar pattern Bob Dylan had used for his 1964 song "Ballad of Hollis Brown," a song about rural poverty and violence. Lennon was concerned with "peasants," not farmers, but "Working Class Hero" had an equally dire message. He recounted the ways in which "they" - parents, teachers - victimize "you" as a child, then demand that you conform to societal restrictions as an adult. Religion, sex, and television distract you from your fate, and ruthlessness is required for advancement. "If you want to be a hero, well, just follow me," the singer concludes, acknowledging that he has been talking about himself throughout the song. "Working Class Hero" is thus both a social criticism and a mea culpa, an admission that the songwriter is implicated in what he is attacking. Such a confession is typically honest for Lennon, but like "Ballad of Hollis Brown," which concludes with the forecast that the cycle of poverty will continue, "Working Class Hero" offers no hope. Powerful though it was, "Working Class Hero" was not heard much beyond its release on John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band in December 1970, probably because it was so disturbing. But in 1979, Marianne Faithfull covered it on her equally harrowing comeback album, Broken English. Richie Havens has also recorded it, and in 1998 it was finally put on a John Lennon hits collection, Lennon Legend: The Very Best of John Lennon. - William Ruhlmann


Mother
by John Lennon
performed on John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band



"Mother" marked the harrowing beginning of a harrowing album, John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band. The LP was John Lennon's solo debut after the demise of the Beatles. It reflected the emotional upset the split occasioned, and it also was influenced by Lennon's sessions with psychiatrist Dr. Arthur Janov, who, in his book The Primal Scream, recommended screaming as a form of therapy. In "Mother," Lennon addressed his parents in confessional, autobiographical style, telling them, "I wanted you, you didn't want me," and "I needed you, you didn't need me," then bidding them both goodbye. In the third verse, he advised his children not to do what he had done in life. The song ended with the repeated plea "Mama, don't go; daddy, come home." Lennon set this somber sentiment to a slow, simple tune, with a stark piano-and-drum accompaniment. As he repeated the song's closing lines, he became more and more emotive, until he was screaming the word "go" each time. The result was cathartic for the listener, as it must have been for the singer. "Mother" was an unusual song to use at the start of an album, but it properly introduced the subject matter of John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band, in which Lennon exorcised various demons in his life. The album was released in December 1970 to critical acclaim and good sales; in the U.S., it peaked in the top five and went gold. Perhaps more surprising, "Mother" was released as a single and got into the top 20. It might not have seemed like a song likely to attract many covers, but in the late summer of 1971, Barbra Streisand, a singer who had her own parental issues, released her version of "Mother" on Barbra Joan Streisand. Issued as a single, her recording became a minor chart entry. Lennon, then, may have had some justification for asserting, as he did on August 30, 1972, before performing the song at a benefit concert at Madison Square Garden, that "Mother" was not just about his parents, but about "99 percent of parents." This live performance was videotaped and recorded, the result released in 1986 on Live in New York City. The original recording of "Mother" was included on such compilations as Shaved Fish (1975), The John Lennon Collection (1982), and Lennon Legend - The Very Best of John Lennon (1998). - William Ruhlmann



Watching the Wheels
by John Lennon
performed on Double Fantasy



As record sales have increased steadily after the introduction of the long-playing LP in the middle of the 20th century, gradually expanding the marketing period for an individual album, recording artists have released new albums less frequently. In the 1950s and early '60s, when most artists did not write their own songs, a typical major-label star would issue two or three albums a year. By the late '60s and '70s, one album a year was the norm. Starting in the late 1970s, however, with a successful album spawning several hit singles and staying in the charts for years, a big star might let two or three years pass before releasing a new album, if not more. Thus, by the century's end, the six years that lapsed between the releases of John Lennon's Walls and Bridges (1974) and Double Fantasy (1980) (with a rock 'n' roll oldies album and a hits compilation in the interim) didn't seem like that big a deal. But in the 1970s, Lennon's disappearance from the music industry was considered startling. From 1962 to 1975, a year did not go by without new music by John Lennon, either as a member of the Beatles or as a solo artist. And he didn't just stop making records in the second half of the '70s; as of January 1, 1976, he allowed his recording contract to lapse, and he made no public appearances. He appeared to have retired at the age of 34. When Lennon released Double Fantasy, the duo album with his wife Yoko Ono, in November 1980, the lead-off track on the second side of the LP was "Watching the Wheels," a pop song with a Caribbean flavor set to a walking tempo in which he explained his absence. In the lyrics, Lennon noted that people had called him crazy and lazy, but that he was far more content "no longer riding on the merry-go-round" of fame. "Watching the wheels" was his metaphor for his simple life as a "house-husband," which he described in greater detail in interviews he gave to promote the album. Lennon professed great contentment busying himself raising his five-year-old son Sean, but he also planned to become more involved in music, beginning with Double Fantasy. Of course, those plans were never realized, as Lennon was assassinated within weeks of the LP's release. "Watching the Wheels" was issued as the third single from Double Fantasy in March 1981 and, like its predecessors "(Just Like) Starting Over" and "Woman," it became a Top Ten hit. It has appeared on Lennon compilations and was used in the 2000 film Wonder Boys, but its autobiographical nature has kept it from being covered by other artists. - William Ruhlmann