Classic Albums - John Lennon / Plastic Ono Band (DVD), Eagle Rock Ent, Music & Performance

"I think it's the best thing I've ever done. I think it's realistic and it's true to the me that has been developing over the years. It's me, and nobody else." - John Lennon

John Lennon's 1970 first post-Beatles solo album is a fierce, raw, passionate, honest and beautiful work. Dedicated to Yoko Ono, it was co-produced by John & Yoko and the legendary Phil Spector. The chords were simple, the instrumentation stripped to the bone (Lennon on guitar and piano, Klaus Voormann on bass, Ringo Starr on drums) and the lyrics address the basic issues of death, isolation, anger, religion, class, fear and love. Most of the songs were written while John and Yoko were undergoing primal therapy with Dr. Arthur Janov at his center in California and these sessions were the crucial catalyst for the rawness of the writing. Consequently the album is nothing short of an open and sometimes harrowing journey through his life.

Through exclusive interviews with Yoko Ono, Ringo Starr, bassist Klaus Voorman, therapist Dr. Arthur Janov, Rolling Stone Magazine founder Jan Wenner, via the use of stills and rare audio archive and footage, and by re-visiting the original multi-track recordings and demos with Abbey Road engineers Phil McDonald and Richard Lush, the film tells the story of the creativity behind the conception and recording of these incredibly powerful songs. It's pure and simple: all you need is love, and John had finally found it. Truly a Classic Album.

By T Johnson