Showing posts with label Plastic Ono Band. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Plastic Ono Band. Show all posts

Thursday, May 7, 2009

John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band: The Album

The most important of several Beatles facts for John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band is that it was the debut solo album for Lennon (discounting three experimental albums with wife Yoko Ono) and is considered to be one of Lennon's best efforts in his solo career. Rolling Stone ranked it # 22 on its list of all-time greatest albums. The album was recorded at the same time as Yoko's Yoko Ono/Plastic Ono Band, which featured her avant garde style. The band backing Lennon was dubbed "plastic" because of various musicians called upon by Lennon and Ono since 1969 for solo work--a "conceptual band," as it was termed--as compared to the four permanent members of the Beatles.

The album is generally regarded as an outgrowth of the primal scream therapy Lennon undertook with Arthur Janov, producing cathartic feelings expressed in the LP's tracks. One example is "God," in which Lennon sings that he only believes in himself as opposed to any deity or authority/celebrity figure (Beatles, Elvis, etc.). The album was produced by Phil Spector (with production credits also assigned to Lennon and Ono) and recorded at Abbey Road Studios and Ascot Sound Studios from September 26, 1970 to October 23, 1970. It was released on December 11, 1970 on the Apple label, and was well received by critics in both the United States and Great Britain.

Musicians working on the album included Klaus Voorman (bass), Ringo Starr (drums), Alan White (percussion), Billy Preston (piano), and Phil Spector (piano). Lennon handled vocals and played guitar, piano, and electric keyboard.

Tracks include:

Mother
Hold On
I Found Out
Working Class hero
Isolation
Remember
Love
Well Well Well
Look at Me
God
My Mummy's Dead

With impetus from Yoko Ono, the album was remixed and re-issued for CD format in 2000 with two bonus tracks: "Power to the People" and "Do the Oz."

The artwork for the album was a shot of Lennon and Ono leaning against a tree. The photo was taken with an ordinary Instamatic camera.

The guitar work by Lennon on "Look at Me" is similar to that on "Julia" and "Dear Prudence" and was taught to Lennon, according to most sources, by Donovan when the two musicians were in Rishikesh, India in 1968.

For more information on Beatles albums (group and solo), go to Beatles Albums: Background and History or see the Sitemap below.

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Friday, February 27, 2009

Give Peace a Chance

"Give Peace a Chance" is associated with many interesting Beatles facts, a perfect example being that the song was the first solo single to be released while the Beatles were still together. It was a Lennon composition credited to the songwriting team of Lennon-McCartney. (The McCartney credit was later removed with the issue of Lennon's posthumous Live in New York City, an LP recorded with the his Elephant's Memory Band.)

Released on July 4 and 7, 1969 in the UK and U.S. respectively, the song was recorded on June 1, 1969 on a four-speed tape recorder at the Lennons' bed-in at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal Canada, the first bed-in having been held in Amsterdam. The song was rehearsed for several days in the hotel room, and the subsequent recording session was attended by Tommy Smothers, Petula Clark, Timothy Leary, Dick Gregory, Allen Ginsberg, Murray the K, Al Capp, Derek Taylor, and others. Lennon could not always recall the exact lyrics to the last verse and switched them frequently when performing the song.

"Give Peace a Chance" was the A Side of the single, with "Remember Love" as the B Side. The song was also issued on The John Lennon Collection, Shaved Fish, Lennon, and the soundtrack for The U.S. vs. John Lennon.

Like "Imagine," the song quickly became an anthem for peace and was used for many charitable and political events, including the demonstration in Washington, D.C. on Vietnam Memorial Day on October 16, 1969. The song was performed by a host of celebrities on that occasion, including Pete Seeger and Peter, Paul, and Mary. It has also been included in the soundtracks for countless films.

The song has been covered by hundreds of artists. Some include: Paul McCartney (live), Ringo Starr (live), John Frusciante, Lenny Kravitz, Sean Ono Lennon, Bonnie Raitt, Steven Van Zandt, Tom Petty, Cindi Lauper, Bruce Hornsby, Peter Gabriel, MC Hammer, LL Cool J, and Michael McDonald. Lennon friend Elton John used the song as the B Side to his single "The Club at the End of the Street."

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