John Lennon (solo artist)

Great
Total votes: 5 (19%)
Mixed bag
Total votes: 13 (50%)
Crap
Total votes: 8 (31%)
Total votes: 26

John Lennon (solo artist)

1
Tis the season to reevaluate the entire Beatles catalog, fa la la la laaaa.

If you're finding their resurgence into popular culture tiresome, I understand. I tend to pour over their legacy every few years anyway.

I've always struggled with the John solo stuff to the point of only engaging with the highlights. Perhaps because he may be my favorite Beatle and wading through a mixed bag feels like a lot of work.

I've been trying to explore. It's a strange listen. There's the growth of a recording aesthetic I dislike: the clinical, dead room thing (but it's all analog!). There's almost audible cocaine on some of them. I hear connection to Nilsson, Bowie and an almost Billy Joel similarity in the song writer nods back to 50's rock.

He dumps much of the psychedelic walrus stuff and digs deep into some risk taking confessional material.

I just don't know what to think of everything after Imagine.

Re: John Lennon (solo artist)

4
PLASTIC ONO BAND is the best post-Beatles release, just above ALL THINGS MUST PASS, and probably my third favorite Beatles related release (after REVOLVER and THE BEATLES).

I don't need to hear "Imagine" ever again but the rest of that record is great.

"Cold Turkey" and "Instant Karma" are great fucking singles.

I don't really know much of the other stuff except the hits, though I'll say his vocal on "Stand By Me" is fantastic.

NOT CRAP for those 20-ish songs alone.
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Re: John Lennon (solo artist)

6
Not Crap. Can think of far less fruitful, more awkward solo careers. Yoko has had her merits too, from what I recall.

And for a mega-popular, emotive single, "Instant Karma" boasts some unusual drumming. It just sounds cool. Just listened to it again on the stereo. Love it.

That song about his mom on Plastic Ono is sad, but even Lou Reed (who apparently disliked The Beatles and their lyrics) was a fan.
ZzzZzzZzzz . . .

Re: John Lennon (solo artist)

7
DaveA wrote: Sat Dec 11, 2021 4:52 pm Not Crap. Can think of far less fruitful, more awkward solo careers. Yoko has had her merits too, from what I recall.

And for a mega-popular, emotive single, "Instant Karma" boasts some unusual drumming. It just sounds cool. Just listened to it again on the stereo. Love it.

That song about his mom on Plastic Ono is sad, but even Lou Reed (who apparently disliked The Beatles and their lyrics) was a fan.
Hahahaha.

These are some of the least enthusiastic reasons for voting not crap I have ever read, and frankly, your post feels like a complete dodge.

"I can think of worse"
"His wife was OK."
"The drums on one track are cool."
"So and so like that one song."
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Re: John Lennon (solo artist)

8
Granted, that's just a cursory set of comments made before dinner, done on my phone no less, i.e. nothing to be mistaken for in-depth analysis. Which isn't to say I could provide that, certainly not on the level of, say, someone writing for Mojo or Rolling Stone, where this music is almost the stuff of religious myth.

You or anyone else can read those or any other comments I've made here or elsewhere however you like--it's a free country, mang--but the above wasn't intended as faint praise.

As far as people who've left popular bands and then forged (or attempted to forge) solo careers, I do honestly believe one could do much worse than listen to Lennon's work.
ZzzZzzZzzz . . .

Re: John Lennon (solo artist)

9
"Mixed bag", that's a tough bar to clear. Anyone who takes risks tends to be a mixed bag.

But John Lennon made Plastic Ono Band and nobody's willing to say that's enough for a not crap? The hell with that. I say it's great. There's stuff I don't like but I am rejecting mixed bag as a category because the great is all that matters.

Re: John Lennon (solo artist)

10
Krev wrote: Sat Dec 11, 2021 3:49 pm I hate how "Imagine" is automatically used any time some marketer wants to convey hope and change.
Ha, I know - I’ve even heard it on news segments being playing during right wing politicians rallies. The whole “imagine there is no heaven/country/possessions” lines may be lost on them.

His solo material is certainly hit or miss, though he has a few gems, esp on Plastic Ono. ‘Oh my love’ is gorgeous - I wish more Elliot Smith sounded like that.

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