John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band

1970年，Paul McCartney宣布甲壳虫乐队解散。同年，John Lennon发行了第一张真正的个人专辑“John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band”。其中充满了列侬对少年、青年时承受的烦恼、困惑毫无掩饰的忏悔般表白。强烈的自我也好、无所谓的一起也好。与过去告别的列侬呈现给我们的，是完全不同，却依然精彩的音乐。 为逝去的母亲而做的“Mother”，反映了他幼年失去父母的心情。满是嘲讽的“Working Class Hero”： “'A working class hero is something to be, if you want to be a hero then just follow me”，充满了对蓝领民众生活的冷酷讽刺。还有启示录一样的“God”，列侬以这首歌公开与自己的过去和以往的信仰断绝关系，毫不留情的抨击和否认了包括上帝和自己曾属的披头士乐队在内的种种事物，他唱道，“上帝是一个我们藉以度量自身痛苦的概念"，并列出了一第条他不再相信的事物的名字（幻术，易经，圣经，意式纸牌，希特勒，耶稣，肯尼迪，披头士），最终以一句"我只相信我自己/大野（Yoko）和我自己/这就是现实……"结束。 这张专辑在滚石杂志选出的500张历代最强专辑中排名第22位。 The cliché about singer/songwriters is that they sing confessionals direct from their heart, but John Lennon exploded the myth behind that cliché, as well as many others, on his first official solo record, John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band. Inspired by his primal scream therapy with Dr. Arthur Janov, Lennon created a harrowing set of unflinchingly personal songs, laying out all of his fears and angers for everyone to hear. It was a revolutionary record -- never before had a record been so explicitly introspective, and very few records made absolutely no concession to the audience's expectations, daring the listeners to meet all the artist's demands. Which isn't to say that the record is unlistenable. Lennon's songs range from tough rock & rollers to piano-based ballads and spare folk songs, and his melodies remain strong and memorable, which actually intensifies the pain and rage of the songs. Not much about Plastic Ono Band is hidden. Lennon presents everything on the surface, and the song titles -- "Mother," "I Found Out," "Working Class Hero," "Isolation," "God," "My Mummy's Dead" -- illustrate what each song is about, and charts his loss of faith in his parents, country, friends, fans, and idols. It's an unflinching document of bare-bones despair and pain, but for all its nihilism, it is ultimately life-affirming; it is unique not only in Lennon's catalog, but in all of popular music. Few albums are ever as harrowing, difficult, and rewarding as John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band.