Released 23/04/21
John Lennon’s classic debut solo album, featuring John Lennon, Ringo Starr, Klaus Voormann, Billy Preston & Phil Spector. Completely remixed from the original multitracks at Abbey Road Studios by triple GRAMMY Award winning engineer Paul Hicks, overseen by producer Yoko Ono Lennon.
2LP gatefold edition includes a second LP of outtakes.
All mastered at half-speed, pressed on 180gm vinyl, with a booklet and WAR IS OVER! poster.
Side A
Mother
Hold On
I Found Out
Working Class Hero
Isolation
Side B
Remember
Love
Well Well Well
Look At Me
God
My Mummy’s Dead
Plastic Ono Band was the debut solo album by John Lennon. Released on December 11th 1970, John and Yoko had started writing and demoing at Abbey Road (EMI Studios) in the summer, with recording sessions during September/October
After the break-up of The Beatles that year, John and Yoko embarked on a period of self-reflection and experimentation, with the results that the songs and sessions for Plastic Ono Band were heavily influenced by his immersion in Arthur Janov’s primal therapy. John was able to find emotional depth and honesty within himself that few artists had ever done before, with John saying to Rolling Stone “now I write all about me and that’s why I like it. It’s me.” . The result is perhaps the most honest and emotionally raw album that anyone has ever released, let alone someone who was one of the four most famous musicians on the planet. With a small core band comprised of just Ringo Starr on drums and old friend Klaus Voorman on bass, co-produced by Phil Spector, the album peaked at 8 in the UK charts and 6 in the USA. It has come to be regarded by many as John’s finest solo work and has continued to grow in stature and reverence and has often featured in various Best Of lists through the years since. Not only does this album feature some of John’s best-loved and most impactful songs – Mother, Working Class Hero, Isolation, God – but this new set also includes the singles Give Peace A Chance, Cold Turkey and the classic Instant Karma! (We All Shine On).
Released on the same day was Yoko Ono’s Plastic Ono Band album, the couple regarding the release as a pair of albums rather than two entirely separate projects, albeit of course it not achieving the same sort of coverage or chart success as John’s.
Coming as this does hot on the heels of last year’s much loved and well-reviewed “Gimme Some Truth” set and “Imagine” before that, the audio has been completely remixed from the original studio tapes as part of the ongoing John Lennon Ultimate Mix series. The aim for this mix process is to achieve three things: to remain faithful and respectful to the original recordings; to ensure that the sound is sonically clearer overall and to increase the clarity of John’s vocals. As Yoko says, “it’s about John” and this new mix shows that it is his voice that brings the biggest emotional impact of the album.
This multi-format release included a CD/BD Super Deluxe Box with 130 page book featuring many exclusive and new photos, track-by-track notes in the words of John and Yoko, lots of tape boxes and full breakdown and descriptions of the audio content. As well as the new Ultimate Mix, we have 5 further CD discs, each focusing on different and new aspects ,including: original outtakes, demos, Elements Mixes (focusing on individual aspects of the songs to reveal unheard elements), Evolution Mixes (the story of each song from demo to complete recording), Raw Mixes (unadorned studio takes that place you inside the room almost sitting alongside the band) and a further disc of studio Jams. There are two Blu-ray Audio discs that feature hi-res stereo (192/24) versions of all the above as well as surround mixes in 5.1 and Dolby Atmos. Further material only available on BD includes the Yoko Ono Band/Plastic Ono Band Live Sessions from the original recording sessions and featuring Ringo Starr and Klaus Voorman.