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Mon 15 December 2025 1:00, UK
Considering John Lennon practically invented the modern concept, along with his fellow Beatles, the fact he remarks his 1970 album Plastic Ono Band as “the best thing I’ve ever done” gives you some indication into how brilliant an album this might just be. He continued, “I think it’s realistic and it’s true to the me that has been developing over the years from my life.”
It wasn’t necessarily a sonic awakening that allowed Lennon to steer into realism. After all, he had just spent the previous five years being one of the most experimental musicians of all time and so his musical development wasn’t exactly jailed. But crucially for Lennon in 1970 this was an unfiltered opportunity for him to tell his story.
Right from the opening track ‘Mother’, you can hear that this is an outpouring of Lennon the human, not the artist. No longer bothered with esoterica and storytelling irreverance, this was about tapping into something only he could create within the confines of the studio and a solo project.
So it’s no wonder that he views it with such reverence. In fact, in our pursuit to understand the great man, the artist whose reality seems so far removed from ours and whose greatness is as mercurial as anybody who ever lived, maybe we should view it as the definitive Lennon record. The piece of work that allows us to know him better than any other.
In pursuit of that, where should we start? What five tracks from this 11-track masterpiece should we point our focus towards as we aim to dive headfirst into the world of Lennon? Well allow me to boldly take on that task, and provide you with them below.
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