Story & Unboxing of John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band – The Ultimate Collection | Professor of Rock

Following the break-up of the greatest band ever assembled, the group's legendary co-leader faced his demons, and extricated them by creating songs that he claimed to be the best he had ever written We explore & celebrate the beginning of John Lennon's solo era, and Unbox the incredible John Lennon/ Plastic Ono Band - The Ultimate Collection (Super Deluxe Box Set) NEXT on Professor of Rock.

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Brandon Fugal

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Greg Arends, Jacob Flores, Walter O. Wright II, Tom Stokes
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John Lennon/ Plastic Ono Band was originally released in 1970, as John’s first solo album after the breakup of The Beatles.
This was JOHN’S record- with no authoring concessions, no consideration for band direction, and no pressure to produce a hit radio song. The record was a declaration of his liberation from the pressures & artistic confines that he felt in the waning years with the Fab Four, and, perhaps even more critical was John’s desperate need to exorcise the demons that he had internalized for most of his life.

The transparency and introspection is what makes the music of the Lennon/ Plastic Ono Band such a boldly uninhibited masterwork from one of the worlds’ biggest rock stars.
Realizing, and confronting his emotional issues were the first two steps in opening John’s creative expression, and he couldn’t have done that without his muse & soulmate, Yoko Ono, and the couple’s shared experiences with therapy from Dr. Arthur Janov.

Janov was an American psychotherapist who believed that repressed pain from one’s childhood could be released through a treatment he called ‘primal therapy.’ Actually Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith of Tears for Fears were also believers in this therapy and some of their best music was inspired by it. Anyway, John & Yoko went to LA to devoutly immerse themselves in Janov’s primal therapy for 4 months.

The experience enabled Lennon to channel his emotions into an album's worth of self-revelatory material with themes of child-parent abandonment, and repressed psychological suffering.
The John Lennon/ Plastic Ono Ultimate Collection is so much more than a box set. It is a historic remixed and remastered treasure chest that features 159 tracks across six CDs and two Blu-ray audio discs for more than 11 engrossing hours of music.

Plus, the package includes two postcards (“Who Are The Plastic Ono Band?” and “You Are The Plastic Ono Band”)
Also, there is a “WAR IS OVER!” poster, and a comprehensive 132-page hardback book with lyrics, rare photos, tape box images, memorabilia and extensive notes. features 159 tracks across six CDs and two Blu-ray audio discs.

Let’s examine some of the compositions that make this coffer so impressive. Starting with “Give Peace a Chance”— the first solo single released by John Lennon in 1969, while he was technically still with The Beatles. The song is credited as a Lennon/ McCartney composition, even though it was Yoko who actually co-wrote the song with John.

[ProfessorofRock]

You meet someone who has NEVER listened to The Beatles, what album do you show them?

[tmamone]

"Plastic Ono Band" and George's "All Things Must Pass" are the two best post-breakup Beatles solo records, hands down.

[MILUNGAO]

I remember especially John Lennon's latest studio album Double Fantasy: he was 40 years old at the time and prove he still had inspiration (while a lot of artists and bands must struggle when they enter in their 40's and had their best/greatest stuff behind them). So, I always wonder how he would have influenced mainstream music, what kind of gems he would have created during the 80's and some part of the 90's if he was still alive...

[lhart]

John Lennon is my favorite Beatle. In my opinion, John didn't pull any punches and let everyone know that he was just as f**k-up as the rest of us. John was the most human celebrity/genius that I've ever known about. He showed me that I can still accomplish my dreams/goals in-spite of my flaws, shortcomings and the personal sh**t I've gone through.
Thanks John! You may be physically absent, but your music keeps you alive! Peace & Love!

[burnout]

Its almost like we think alike! I was rediscovering John Lennon's solo career last week listening to everything he and Ono did! Amazing music!

[amanuesis]

If you ever recorded a song from your favorite FM station, hoping the dog didn't bark on the recording, and had to time the ending perfectly before the DJ came on at the end of the song, you're really gonna dig this channel.

[stevemoz]

I'm not sure if john really meant it when he said the songs he wrote after the beatles disassembled were his 'best'; but they were truly the most honest songs he ever written in my opinion. Songs such as 'mother' and 'god' is a good reflection of john's inner mind! One of my most favourite albums of all time.

[michaelrochester]

Petula Clark always talks during her concert about doing the song give peace a chance. And the advice to John Lennon gave her when she visited him in Montreal in 1969

[msmoniz]

The fact that the lyrics to Working Class Hero are still as relevant and timeless today as they were when written is all at once amazing and extremely depressing about the current state of our culture.

[kalinrafaes]

Watching the Wheels, Cold Turkey, Nobody Told Me, Woman are some of my fave Lennon solo songs.

[mnmade]

Being reminded of John’s early solo work like this, and knowing what Paul and George did after the Beatles (hell, even Ringo had his moments), it makes me ache knowing what they could have created together if John hadn’t been murdered. Imagine being able to look back at your favorite 80’s & 90’s songs like we all do now, but also having memories of Beatles songs from those times too? What a gift that would be. We were robbed of that music.

IfJohn hadn’t died I believe that they’d have eventually reunited, occasionally at least, and they’d have remained relevant. The Stones continued on, but their last hit came in 1981. They’ve essentially been a touring band playing their greatest hits for 4 decades, despite releasing forgettable albums during that time. I don’t believe that would have been the Beatles fate though. I think that after surviving the insanity of the 60’s, and then having the time to grow as individuals in the 70’s without the pressure of being Beatles; this would have allowed the 4 of them to approach music like teenagers again. Given the experience they’d gained though, along with having accumulated enough wealth to not have to survive on sales of their new music; this would have allowed them to write a second chapter that rivaled their first. They wouldn’t have needed to follow trends and could have pulled whatever they may have liked from each one that passed if they fancied it, or nothing at all. For the second time, they’d have been able to do things unlike any other band in history. Maybe someday I’ll get a chance to visit the alternate reality where that happened.

[judithgoulding]

John's complex life though so incredibly sad played such a important role in his having a firm grasp on the human condition which in turn helped him create the most amazing and brilliant songs of all time.

[hw]

“God” is a MASTERPIECE. Perhaps the ultimate STATEMENT song of all time coming from John after leaving the Beatles... “I was the Walrus but now I’m John”

[adrianhough]

Love ‘Instant Karma’....look forward to watching your in-depth video on this song

[davidwise]

That is so depressing. I feel sorry for those who suffered terrible childhoods. I grew up poor for the first 10 years of my life, after my biological father abandoned the family, and I would say still that it was the happiest period for me (the '60s were way more fun than today). A lot of kids lose parents one way or other. You have to get on with it. John was becoming a better person toward the end, and I think that made all the difference.

[BecomeConsciousNow]

My favourite Beatle. I love John's solo music possibly even more than I love the Beatles. John's honesty and straight to the point lyrics are so refreshing and heart felt. He doesn't sugar coat anything and gives it to you straight, which is why I love and respect him so much. He had his flaws like we all do but his heart and genuine desire to make this world a better place was extremely admirable. He tried to use his fame to make the world a better place.

[stephenhanft]

While John, Paul, George, and Ringo were never as good apart as they were together as The Beatles, each of them did record excellent songs and albums as solo artists after they broke up. This episode on John Lennon is an example of that.

[thebouncinghearts]

'Isolation' would definitely make my desert island discs list.

[guillermo]

I would really like to see this entire set released on vinyl directly from the analog masters. Once you go digital you lose all the feeling, warmth, heart and soul that music from the 60' and 70's was all about.

[comedyriff]

I have immense respect for Lennon choosing art, meaningful lyrics, an important message over just creating commercially viable pop songs. I don´t think we´ve ever seen someone as raw, as honest in the entertainment industry. Lennon was truly an artistic and cultural genius.