Classic Albums: Plastic Ono Band

Plastic Ono Band is the seminal record from the deepest Beatle and this documentary covers lots of ground with candid interviews from Ringo, Klaus Vohrman, Yoko, and others. This was the record that left McCartney in the weeds as an artist for those that cared to listen. There is no "silly love songs" on this record. Still remarkable all these years later. Fantastic series when it picks the right record. This is one of them.

Without Yoko entering John's life this album would not have been made. Maybe the best recorded album ever. RAW! Three instruments and a load of emotions. This DVD isolates John's voice and guitar seperately. Ringo's drumming is his best and the song "God" is as fine a song as there is! Bassist Klaus Voorman adds some insite into John's life during that period.
If you don't own the CD then don't get this. You must experience the CD and this will be the topper.
Other classics are "Isolation" and the guitar parts and sounds are incredible. How it was recorded is informative and on this "Classic Album" they let the tape roll throughout most of the song. They just sit there and listen and appreciate. AWESOME!

This is a well organized documentary of one of the greatest albums ever made. Having Ringo Starr and Klaus Voorman included with recent recollations of this landmark John Lennon solo album are priceless. My only complaint is that it is not in 5.1 surround sound or at least I haven't found a way to play it in 5.1 sound.

The "Classic Albums" series slowed down for a few years but is gearing up again and this DVD is one of the newest releases. Like the others in the series it focuses on ONE landmark Lp and discusses each track in order. Usually the engineer who worked on the recording gets significant screen time. (The series emphasizes the importance of the albums Producer and Sound Engineers in making the album a "Classic").

This program is no different. The problem is that when the album was made in 1970, artists were not filming their every move in the studio and so there's not as much vintage footage of Lennon recording, as many fans would want. Much comes from promo videos.

This was John Lennon's "breakout" solo album after the Beatles split up and he had the change to explore the "hard rock" side of himself. And Yoko Ono is an integral part of the album as well, and a major influence on Lennon's music. There are a lot of new interviews with her as well as Ringo. We also hear from Dr. Arthur Janov, the therapist who developed "scream therapy".

The bonus interviews are - as mentioned by another reviewer - even more insightful than those included in the hour long documentary.

This DVD will appeal to true Lennon fans. McCartney music lovers will probably find it less interesting.

It's good to see the "Classic Albums" series continue. There are lots more albums which need these in-depth treatments.

Steve Ramm

"Anything Phonographic"

In watching this program I must say that the bonus material was what should have been the basis of the actual program itself, meaning that both engineers Phil McDonald and Richard Lush gave more insight into the making of this seminal album than that of the surviving performers. A lot of visuals were regurgitated from "Lennon Legend" using in fact most of the videos made for "Mother" and "Working Class Hero" and countless familiar clips used before (although they seemed restored for this presentation), that gave a sense of not exploring personal sentiments further once again proveing that the power of Lennon's voiceover drove this documentary. The moments that stood out for me was Phil McDonald playing back a alternative version of "God" that was slightly play faster and with a different vocal style truly what this program needed to unearth more of.

Still having the alternative version of "Instant Karma" from "Top Of The Pops" and the film segments from "Live In New York City" the One To One concert (pristine quality ones hopes the full concert will see the light of day soon!) is shall we say a redeeming factor that can be justidified in the purchase of this product.