Having written a troubled childhood and The Beatles out of his system on the dark but gripping 1970 ‘John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band’ album, the thirty-year-old man at the centre of this maelstrom could head into the following year and toward his second solo LP with something of a blank canvas on which to offer a view of the world at the early stages of a new decade.
As an entity ‘Plastic Ono Band‘ had been musically stark, lyrically intense (frighteningly so at times) and stood as a cathartic response primarily to his years of being a Beatle, no writer in the medium having ever before licked their emotional wounds in such a profound manner.
Then again there had never been a songwriter in the rock field with the affecting resonance of John Lennon.
Like Dylan he was prone to contradiction. His claim ‘Plastic Ono Band‘ had been ‘too real for people, that’s why nobody bought it,’ was a typically sharp quote, although at best an exaggeration, the album going top ten on both sides of the Atlantic. But the inference was clear – Lennon believed lyrical honesty the best policy even if the message was bleak.
While there was still weighty subject matter to inform his next batch of songs – the ongoing Vietnam war, hypercritical governments, a self-serving media – Lennon also found issues closer to home, (marriage to second wife, Japanese conceptual artist Yoko Ono, his frayed relationship with former Beatle songwriting partner Paul McCartney and a personal vision of human utopia), on which to focus.
But if his words were still loaded with purpose and intent, then tenderness and hope also began to feature – departure from the terse sound of ‘Plastic Ono Band‘ also evident across the ten tracks intended for his next release, making them a far more accessible listen.
The music on his previous album had been largely created by Lennon (guitar/keyboards), Klaus Voorman (bass) and ex-Beatle compadre Ringo (drums), but moving on to material boasting far greater melodicism, he opts for a more the merrier approach. Assistance is provided by revered keyboard master Nicky Hopkins, members of the band Badfinger, who like Lennon were artists on the roster of Apple Records, Mike Pinder of The Moody Blues along with noted drummers Alan White, Jim Keltner and Jim Gordon.
When sessions moved from his home studio in England to New York, saxaphone virtuoso King Curtis brought decoration to a couple of tracks, although sadly he would not live to hear his efforts reach the public domain, being stabbed to death during an argument with drug dealers a month before the record appeared. But the most noteworthy contributions come in the form of outstanding guitar work from former Fab George Harrison, whose fluent playing gives his ex-bandmate an impressive platform on which to build.
In denouncing a wide range of ideologies and idols (including The Beatles) in the song ‘God‘ that closes ‘Plastic Ono Band‘ Lennon declares ‘The dream is over.’ Yet with the song that gives his next collection its title, he replies to himself with ‘Long live the dream’ – such is the longing for peace and global togetherness expressed in the title track of ‘IMAGINE‘ (September 1971).
Accompanying himself with gentle piano chords (bass and drums the only other instruments used on the song), Lennon opens the record with an optimistic ode to a utopia where war, hardship and cruelty have disappeared in the face of kindness and understanding:
‘Imagine there’s no countries/It isn’t hard to do/Nothing to kill or die for/And no religion too/Imagine all the people/Living life in peace.’
Through couplets beautiful in their poetic simplicity, Lennon does not profess to having the answers but is simply saying imagine how different (and better) the world might be if the human race had love and togetherness as its calling (‘You may say I’m a dreamer/But I’m not the only one/I hope someday you’ll join us/And the world will be as one‘).
These sentiments are expressed over an understated string arrangement that reintroduces the guile of Phil Spector, his talents as an imaginative producer barely perceptible on ‘Plastic Ono Band.’
The lyrics have been described as ‘a utopian manifesto for a progressive society,’ an assessment hard to disagree with, although in a revealing comment made only days before his tragic death in December 1980, Lennon admitted, ‘The ‘”Imagine” track should be credited as a Lennon-Ono song. The lyric and concept came from Yoko.’
Some claim ‘Imagine‘ is an appeal for unity and equality. If so, does Lennon have that occasionally acid tongue in his cheek when singing the line, ‘Imagine no possessions,’ given the song was written and recorded in a mansion owned by John and Yoko named Tittenhurst Park set in 72 acres of Berkshire countryside?
Which is not to undermine the majesty of the most acclaimed piece to be found in his post-Beatles career, although sadly, in terms of where the planet currently stands, ‘Working Class Hero’ from his previous album, remains the most brilliantly drawn song on the human condition written by John Lennon in his solo years.
Lennon switches attention from the universal to the personal on ‘Crippled Inside.’ Built upon a jaunty melody, its country rock inflections are reminiscent of those heard on ‘Sticky Fingers‘ the most recent Rolling Stones LP. Propelled by the rollicking piano of Hopkins while Harrison simultaneously excels on dobro, the music is gloriously at odds with the downbeat nature of the lyric – the juxtaposition heard to brilliant effect when he sings:
‘You can wear a mask and paint your face/You can call yourself the human race/You can wear a collar and a tie/One thing you can’t hide/Is when you’re crippled inside.’
Here he uses a rockabilly shuffle in encouraging people to place more importance on expressing emotion than their outward appearance, but on ‘Jealous Guy‘ Lennon takes himself to task for selfish and possessive behaviour toward his wife. Beginning life as a track entitled ‘Child of Nature‘ that was recorded but not used on The Beatles ‘White Album‘ (1968), Lennon returned to the melody over which he writes a heartfelt apology for his actions – the song thus developing into a moving confessional ballad:
‘I was feeling insecure/You might not love me anymore/I was shivering inside/I was shivering inside/Oh I didn’t mean to hurt you/I’m sorry that I made you cry/Oh my I didn’t want to hurt you/I’m just a jealous guy.’
Delivered in a vulnerable voice, his imperfect whistling during the bridge is skillfully offset by lush background strings, Lennon receiving fine accompaniment in the excellence of Hopkins on piano. Saxophonist Curtis then moves to the fore on ‘It’s So Hard‘ the tempo increasing to the extent it becomes almost an epilogue to ‘Power to the People‘ a song which had given Lennon a hit single earlier in the year.
Bemoaning the frustrations of daily life, over his own electric guitar playing and wailing saxaphone, Lennon makes pithy observations of a common nature before lamenting his personal lot, ‘You gotta live/You gotta love/You gotta be somebody/You gotta shove/But it’s so hard, it’s really hard/Sometimes I feel like going down.’ The only solace in this chugging blues-rock workout is found in close proximity to Yoko, which is described in somewhat ambiguous terms:
‘But when it’s good/It’s really good/And when I hold you in my arms baby/Sometimes I feel like going down.’
Curtis is duly retained for side one closer ‘I Don’t Wanna Be a Solider‘ an earthy, anti-war protest piece which is played out over six minutes to become the longest track on the record. The succinct lyrics make no bones about his aversion to conflict between nations, Lennon planting his sympathies firmly with those ordered to do the fighting:
‘Well, I don’t wanna be a rich man mama, I don’t wanna cry/Well, I don’t wanna be a poor man mama/I don’t wanna fly/Well, I don’t wanna be a lawyer mama, I don’t wanna lie/Well, I don’t wanna be a soldier mama/I don’t wanna die.’
Featuring a memorable slide guitar performance from Harrison, the uneasy atmosphere is further enhanced by strident piano work and unrelenting percussion, the Stones/Creedence overtones making the Vietnam connotations unmissable.
Using a similar song structure to when he asked for peace to be given a chance two years before, Lennon opens side two by demanding ‘Gimme Some Truth.’ Through four verses, each one delivered with a surly, rapid fire vocal, he denounces politicians and bureaucrats for their condescending ways and manipulation of facts:
‘I’ve had enough of watching scenes/Of schizophrenic, ego-centric, paranoiac, prima-donnas/All I want is the truth now/Just gimme some truth.’
But if the words are notable for their anger and dissatisfaction, the track itself is memorable for an electric guitar solo of breathtaking prowess from Harrison, who plays with astonishing verve without being flashy or indulgent – George proving once again that when it came to serving a composition, he was an absolute master.
Co-written with Yoko, ‘Oh My Love‘ is a tender love song comprised of a gently lilting folk melody and lyrics that examine the depth of feeling Lennon has for his partner, ‘Oh my love for the first time in my life/My mind is wide open/Oh my lover for the first time in my life/My mind can feel.’ Harrison and Hopkins contribute tastefully to a melody that rests softly on the ear in McCartneyesque fashion – which is somewhat ironic as he is bitterly evoked in the acerbic ‘How Do You Sleep?‘
Twelve months on from dissolution of The Beatles, acrimony was rife between Lennon and McCartney following a series of legal clashes in relation to their now wound-up songwriting partnership – and what John took as being slighted by Paul in ‘Too Many People‘, a track included on the album ‘Ram‘ made by McCartney earlier in the year.
His riposte is bitter and brutal – the whole thing not only sad, but dispiriting, Lennon using an excellent track, full of stylish playing from Harrison, Voorman, Hopkins and drummer Alan White, as the foundation for his bad mouthing of McCartney:
‘You live with straights who tell you “you was king”/Jump when your mamma tell you anything/The only thing you done was yesterday/And since you’ve gone you’re just another day/How do you sleep?’
With swirling strings adding to the dramatic effect had the song, with its aggressive language and intense sound, been aimed at a political figure it would have undoubtedly hit the mark. But with Paul as the target, it comes across as unnecessarily spiteful no matter how affronted Lennon felt. Apparently egged on by Harrison, Yoko Ono, Spector and manager Allen Klein, who for various reasons all had issues with McCartney, there was no shortage of scorn when it came to his former bandmate:
‘A pretty face may last a year or two/But pretty soon they’ll see what you can do/The sound you make is muzak to my ears/You must have learned something all those years/How do you sleep?’
Lennon would go close to repeating the chord structures from this notorious track on ‘Steel and Glass‘ from his 1974 ‘Walls and Bridges’ album – by which time his rift with McCartney was, thankfully, showing signs of healing.
Almost in contradiction to the previous song, Lennon sounds confused and hesitant on ‘How?‘ – feeling nothing but uncertainty when closely examining his existence:
‘How can I go forward when I don’t know which way I’m facing? How can I go forward when I don’t know which way to turn? How can I go forward into something I’m not sure of?’
While the questioning lyrics would not have been out of place on ‘Plastic Ono Band‘ the orchestration eases it into the realms of pop balladry, a number of mainstream 70s rock acts basing their sound on material such as this – which harks back to Paul’s ‘The Long and Winding Road’ while managing to remain contemporary at the same time.
With sprightly piano added to a mesh of acoustic and electric guitars that enrich the folk-rock sensibilities, closing track ‘Oh Yoko!’ stands as a loving ode to his wife, ‘In the middle of a dream/In the middle of a dream I call your name/Oh Yoko, oh Yoko, my love will turn you on/My love will turn you on.’ Late on, Lennon throws some shrill harmonica into the mix as this upbeat, engaging piece brings an intriguing and on occasion uncompromising record to a close.
Appearing with a soft-focus photo of Lennon among the clouds on the cover, ‘Imagine‘ quickly rose to number one on album charts across the world, the title track also hitting top spot when released as a single in the US (as a 45 it would not be released in the UK until November 1975 when it effortlessly made the top five on being lifted from the Lennon compilation ‘Shaved Fish‘).
As for the critics the record was greeted with near unanimous approval. The New Musical Express described it as ‘superb‘ in the course of a rapturous review, Melody Maker bestowed ‘album of the year‘ status while in his renowned A-D rating system noted New York rock scribe Robert Christgau weighed in with an A, a mark he did not give out lightly.
Rolling Stone magazine were slightly less enthusiastic, contending ‘Plastic Ono Band’ was a superior effort and despite ‘Imagine‘ containing ‘a substantial portion of good music‘ there was a possibility his (Lennon) ‘posturings will soon seem not merely dull, but irrelevant‘.
At the time it must have sounded a strange observation, particularly as with two excellent solo albums to his name Lennon appeared to know exactly where he was going – a keen sense of direction opening up an avenue where, based on his latest album, he could make music that was challenging but also commercially successful.
But the concerns raised by Rolling Stone were soon found to carry gravitas. The follow-up to ‘Imagine‘, a sprawling double-set entitled ‘Sometime in New York City‘ (1972) was top heavy in overt politicism and glib sloganeering, which in turn led to a spate of hostile reviews. Subsequent releases ‘Mind Games‘ (1973) and ‘Walls and Bridges‘ (1974) went some way to repairing the damage as Lennon sought a return to the assured accessibility of ‘Imagine‘ although neither contained the vitality, resolve and realism found in the finest work of this remarkable artist.
While history has come to regard ‘Imagine‘ as not quite reaching the heights of its predecessor (in truth very few LPs compare favorably with ‘Plastic Ono Band‘), the title track will forever remain his most distinctive composition – the final word on such a seminal piece best left to a Lennon, who can justifiably speak from an ‘I know, I was there,’ standpoint.
As an eight-year-old boy, son Julian was present at the Tittenhurst Park session that produced the definitive version. Many years later his recollections and thoughts on the song were included in the 2018 documentary ‘Above Us Only Sky‘ that chronicled the circumstances in which the album was recorded:
”Imagine’ does not shove its message down people throats. It’s not religious, not political. It’s about humanity and the life we all want. That’s why the song is so important today because the world is still in a bad way. Why is it impossible to move forward with those dreams and make them reality?’
Ten days before the album was released John Lennon and Yoko Ono flew from London to New York where they quickly became supportive of radical left-wing groups, their political activism bringing them into conflict with the Nixon administration who set in motion plans to deport the couple. Denied permanent residency in the United States there ensued a four-year legal battle with the immigration authorities that was finally resolved in 1976 when Lennon was granted a Green Card by the Supreme Court, giving him right of entry to the U.S.
By which time Lennon was taking a hiatus from making albums, Ono having given him a son, Sean, born on the 35th birthday of his father on October 9, 1975. Reconciled with his wife at the start of that year following an 18-month separation, they made New York home – their departure from England on 31st August 1971 becoming the last time John Lennon would ever be present in his homeland.
JOHN LENNON – IMAGINE (Released September 9, 1971):
Imagine/Crippled Inside/Jealous Guy/It’s So Hard/I Don’t Want To Be A Solider/Gimme Some Truth/Oh My Love/How Do You Sleep?/How?/Oh Yoko!
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