Sunday, October 9, 2016

John Lennon's 76 Birthday

Today would of been John Lennon's 76 birthday. To celebrate, I've decided to go back and listen to a few of his solo records. My first selection was 1974's Walls and Bridges. Now I must admit, this is not my favorite offering by Lennon. In fact, I've probably only listened to it a hand full of times.

However, it's a pretty interesting record. If you can get past the very mid-1970s sound, there's like a funky sax on every other song, you are in store for a very surprising and very good record, and is home to a few hidden gems such as: "Steel and Glass", "Whatever Gets You Through the Night". But the one song that particularly caught my ear is "Nobody Loves You (When You're Down and Out)". What a heartbreaking song!! I'm really surprised this song doesn't get more airplay, or isn't mentioned in the same breathe as songs like "Woman", "Well, Well, Well", or "Borrowed Time". You can check it out here. (For some reason, blogger won't let me embed two videos.)

The second Lennon record that I listened to is his debut 1970 release: John Lennon: Plastic Ono Band. To this day, this is the angriest record I have ever heard in my entire life. In my opinion, the only solo Beatles record that is better than this offering by Lennon is: "All Things Must Pass" by George Harrison. The perfect song that showcases the angry that Lennon was going through during this time period is his song "God". If you have never heard it, you must. It's unreal.


 

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