Lennon's Plastic Ono Band is simply one of the best albums I've heard - it's truly amazing. It was one of the first albums that made me realize that individual songs aren't everything, and that an album can really be holistic - the feel of the album is much more important that individual songs. Of course, having said that, some of the songs are really something else. Have you ever heard any song as powerful as Mother, really? The ending, where Lennon screams "Mama don't go/Daddy come home" again and again, till it seems he's going to burst his vocal cords or something is amazing; if I were in the mood I'm sure it would drive me to tears.

I find the album to be quite consistent, and it manages to keep the overall mood quite well. Sure, there is a bit of filler, and I wouldn't say it's a perfect album (then again, what is?), but as far as atmosphere goes, it really has to be up there among the cream of the crop. I can't really think of any other album that's so direct and confessional. For all his genius, not even the man (Dylan, of course!) made anything like this. Sure, Blood On The Tracks was confessional and beautiful, but not really as harrowing, as explicitly straightforward. Lennon really breaks down the barrier between himself and the listener - he's not dressing his emotion with poetry, he's just telling you, bluntly, what he feels. Of course, not that Dylan's style is inferior. The poetic approach he takes is beautiful too, just in a different way - Tangled Up Blue, anyone? It's silly to compare these two albums - one's not "better", they're just different. (Of course, Lennon made it clear that "I don't believe in Zimmerman"..!) Neil Young's Tonight's The Night, perhaps? I haven't heard it in a while, but I still think Lennon has it beat. Interestingly enough, all three albums I've mentioned here are concerned with an artist "bleeding on record" as it were, although in different ways.

I wonder what it must have been like being a Beatles fan and having to listen to stuff like

"I used to be the dreammaker
But now I'm reborn
I used to be the walrus
But now I'm John
And so dear friends,
You just have to carry on,
The dream is over" (from "God")

Imagine hearing your idol saying stuff like this! Lennon really didn't pull any punches, but simply told the fans what he felt, and left them to grapple with the situation. This album was, incidentally, one of the first examples I found of catharsis through art, where Lennon uses his scream therapy and brutal honesty to heal his wounds, thereby leaving the listeners with an unconventional listen. An interesting concept, to be sure.

It's unfortunate on the one hand that Lennon never really made anything as powerful after this, but on the other hand, I guess that gives this album a certain uniqueness that only adds to the appeal. Another unfortunate thing is that the bonus tracks are hopelessly out of place - they just don't fit in at all with the atmosphere of the album, and as such are just distracting. I'm tempted to say they're inferior tracks by themselves, but I can't tell whether that's just because I'm miffed that they included them on the album.

It's really hard to say anything about the album without rehashing the words "powerful", "honest", and "confessional", but there you go. I'm not too happy about making "Top X" lists (actually, I love thinking about "Top X" lists, but I feel like I've cheapened the albums afterwards), but this album certainly is something else, and would probably be in my top 5 in such a list. In other words, hear it now!