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[Andy Smith]

I think John should have come back with  a POB  sounding album in 1980 , i would have liked to have heard  " Father " and " Devil " it would have blown McCartney 11 out of the water ?

DaveRam

What would Devil be about?

[tkitna]

I think John should have come back with  a POB  sounding album in 1980 , i would have liked to have heard  " Father " and " Devil " it would have blown McCartney 11 out of the water ?

DaveRam

An album full of farting would have blown 'McCartney 2' out of the water.

[wingsman]

"Nutopian International Anthem"--it's a 5 second-long silence, written for the conceptual "country" that John & Yoko created in 1973. Only Lennon could get away with that

Well, if you listen closely the N.I.Anthem is not really completely silent, it sound more like a white sound right?

.  JLPOB is a gem of the highest degree with few equals among solo albums by any of the former Beatles.  Lennon's songs from Mother, Working Class Hero, Well Well Well & I Found Out would make Dylan blush as far as I'm concerned.  

it's a great album, but his Imagine Lp is equally as great.

a few other J.L albums I didn't critique in earlier posts :

"Live Peace In Toronto-'69"--excellent set (played it all the time back in the day). Eric Clapton shines on this disc. It shows how Lennon was chomping at the bit to get back to roots r&r. Excellent.

"Sometime in NYC"--always loved "Luck of the Irish" (lyrically speaking that is--Yoko sounds like a diseased yak on this track..even more so than usual. "Woman Is The N*gg*r of the World" is the obvious stand-out song of this set--very much in keeping w/ the insipient woman's Lib movement of the time.  "John Sinclair" wasn't exactly out of left field since drug-related "cause celeb" issues were very much in vogue in the early 70's, and John, the most au courant of the Fab, was eager to lament the plights of radicals such as Angela Davis and a host of others. Of all Lennon's solo works, STINYC, is by far his most stridently political. It wasn't his most successful album by any means, but it certainly has it's place as far as aural manifestos go.

"Mind Games" - more inward-looking again, waxes more philosophic here. Psychological self-examinations abound on this oddly eclectic collection--much like his first Lp JLPOB, only this time the theme is more universal. John finds himself a bit more conciliatory in the title track, as opposed to some of the more predatory songs on say "Imagine" (e.g., "Gimme Some Truth", "How Do You Sleep", "Crippled Inside")--not that M.G. doesn't have it's own uniquely sardonic moments ("Bring On The Lucie")where he proves he can still bring out the fangs. If you're looking for the one "sensitive"  track on the disc, look no further than "Aisumasen(I'm Sorry)", his loveletter/apology to Yoko (it's one of the most beautiful, yet overlooked songs John ever wrote). And..for those puzzled by "Nutopian International Anthem"--it's a 5 second-long silence (or some such inaudible nonsense, call it what you will) written for the conceptual "country" that John & Yoko created in 1973. Only Lennon could get away with something like that...and make it look earnest

[wingsman]

it's a great album, but his Imagine Lp is equally as great.

I agree. 'Imagine' is his most consistent album. The 10 songs are perfectly placed. When I listen to JLPOB I feel the songs are placed anywhere.

[Badfinger_Boogie]

Btw Ian, nip on over to the Song Survivor Game. (Link in my sig.) You only have a day left for Sgt. Pepper.

Oops, sorry. Looks like I missed Sgt. Pepper. :-/

But I'll participate in all the ones afterwards.

[wingsman]

Yesterday I bought JL/POB. This album is so so great. I've downloaded like a year ago (ilegally, sorry) but finally I bought a copie and the booklet is so good, the sound quality is outstanding and the songs amazing!
I don't know which is better, JL/POB or Imagine.  

[wingsman]

I don't know which is better, JL/POB or Imagine.  

Now I can say.
Yes, JL/POB is better. I can't stop listening to this album!! Masterpiece!! Even Well, Well, Well - that I used to hate - is really really good!

[Geoff]

Now I can say.
Yes, JL/POB is better. I can't stop listening to this album!! Masterpiece!! Even Well, Well, Well - that I used to hate - is really really good!

JL/POB is certainly the more vigorous of the two. I like this from "Well, Well, Well:"

I took my loved one to a big field
So we could watch the English sky
We both were nervous feeling guilty
And neither one of us knew just why

[duane v]

I personally dig the record....

If there is one thing that sticks out about John's approach to song writing, whether it was with the Beatles or his solo efforts. It was he wrote for himself, and not to please his fan base. John for the most part was a very genuine song writer, and let the chips fall where they may. Sure this doesn't go without saying that being an ex-Beatle does go a long way in having a rather large audience .... even with a sub-par effort, John Paul George and Ringo sure had plenty of ears to the speaker.

[Jane]

POB is great and living without parents is sad, what could be worse? So John`s childhood was rather poor. I think in this album he sincerely expressed his emotions.

[Joe]

POB made a huge impression on me as a teenager. That and Lou Reed's Berlin were my favourite albums for a time. I had a strange adolescence...

Reading this thread reminded me of this comment by Lennon:

'Imagine,' both the song itself and the album, is the same thing as 'Working Class Hero' and 'Mother' and 'God' on the first disc. But the first record was too real for people, so nobody bought it. It was banned on the radio. But the song 'Imagine,' which says, Imagine that there was no more religion, no more country, no more politics is virtually the communist manifesto, even though I am not particularly a communist and I do not belong to any movement. You see, 'Imagine' was exactly the same message, but sugar-coated. Now 'Imagine' is a big hit almost everywhere - anti-religious, anti-nationalistic, anti-conventional, anti-capitalistic song, but because it is sugar-coated it is accepted. Now I understand what you have to do.

I also agree with whoever said the Mona Lisa wouldn't be remarkable had it been painted today. Context is key when listening to POB, although I do agree that the songs stand up today. As a statement, however, it's still one of the boldest things a mainstream artist could possibly do. That Phil Spector was producing it is even more remarkable.

My CD copy doesn't have Power To The People or Do The Oz, thankfully. I feel sorry for people who hear it that way. However, that version of the album was remastered, and I'd be curious as to how it sounds.

[Andy Smith]

POB is great and living without parents is sad, what could be worse? So John`s childhood was rather poor. I think in this album he sincerely expressed his emotions.

I agree. i don't think anyone made anything like this before or an album like this before.
not even Dylan, that came later in albums like Blood on the Tracks and Desire.

[python]

i think POB is a very good album.Its second only to Imagine,in my book.