Released on December 11, 1970, John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band was the first studio album by John Lennon, and it quickly acquired a reputation as a brutally honest record with a raw sound. The record has aged well, and a 50th anniversary super deluxe edition was well warranted. The remastered Plastic Ono Band includes six CDs and two Blu-ray discs with a total of 159 tracks, including hi-res 192/24 stereo remixes, 5.1 Dolby Digital surround remixes, and Dolby Atmos remixes. The tracks are also available on various other physical and digital formats.
The finished product is formidable: The “ultimate” stereo remixes were rebuilt from scratch from the original multi-track analog tape masters; the 5.1 remixes offer stunning detail; there also are numerous outtakes culled from a cache of 90 previously unreleased takes (including a stripped-down version of “God”); raw studio mixes sans tape delay, reverb, and other studio effects; evolution mixes that map the recording process; demos (including a solo-acoustic blues version of “Well Well Well”); and jams, some with Ono and Preston. The box also includes a 132-page hardback book with rare memorabilia.
The record marked a turning point for the ex-Beatle. “With the Plastic Ono Band albums,” Ono writes in the hardback book, “John and I liked the idea of this really raw, basic, truthful reality that we were going to be giving to the world.” In the process, Lennon exorcized the ghost of his Fab Four image. Of the three solo albums released in 1970 by former Beatles Lennon, Paul McCartney, and George Harrison, the Plastic Ono Band marked the most radical musical departure from The Beatles’ patented sound. Inspired by psychologist Arthur Janov’s radical primal-scream therapy and Ono’s shrill vocal wails, Lennon unleashed songs that percolated with inner turmoil and thorny social views. The album’s confessional opener, “Mother,” on which he emoted the pain of being abandoned by his parents, was heralded by a tolling funeral bell. He then proceeded to reject faith and celebrity (“God”), call out the illusory nature of fame (“Isolation”), wax tender (“Love,” “Hold On”), muse on his fragile nature (“Look at Me”), and deliver a blue-collar anthem that befit Woody Guthrie and dropped the f-bomb (“Working Class Hero”).
To bring the sessions to fruition, Lennon turned to familiar faces: drummers Ringo Starr and Alan White, bassist Klaus Voormann (a friend since The Beatles’ Hamburg days and the artist of the Revolver album cover), guitarists George Harrison and Eric Clapton, and keyboardist Billy Preston. But for the most part, the official release features the power trio of Lennon, Voorman, and Ringo. Ono co-produced the sessions; Phil Spector, who had recently orchestrated the Beatle’s swan song, Let It Be, and produced Harrison’s sprawling debut, All Things Must Pass, was brought in late in the process to co-produce. The result was pure Lennon, unfettered by rock convention and the burden of artistic compromise with which he struggled as a Beatle. Finally, Lennon was free to express unorthodox views, share gut-wrenching pain and, on such defiant songs as “I Found Out” and “Well Well Well,” pound out decidedly non-Beatle-esque tribal stomps.
During a recent online press conference and listening event devoted to the 50th anniversary edition, the producer, Sam Gannon, helped summarize the project. “John Lennon was a master at capturing lightning in a bottle,” he said. The new release, he added, “is a testament to the creative process, a legacy to John’s artistry.” Gannon had also worked closely with Yoko Ono and Grammy-winning engineer Paul Hicks on the 2018 reissue of Imagine and the Gimme Some Truth compilation.
At its best, a great box set devoted to a single album can be revelatory, offering insight and analysis—in that way, Plastic Ono Band: Super Deluxe Edition is revelatory, bringing the listener deep into the creative process behind this landmark album. For example, despite the hurt that surfaces on some of these songs, the sessions were blessed with spontaneous jams and a fair amount of levity.
Sonically, these remastered and remixed tracks bristle with energy that makes the original pale by comparison. Hicks has brought Lennon’s vocals front and center, adding new levels of detail and clarity, and injecting vibrancy that was missing from the original and subsequent remasters. The result is a nuanced sound that discloses what Gannon calls “the delicate touches on the album.” For audiophiles, that’s pure heaven
By Greg Cahill
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