Plastic Ono Band

Today's Music That Jason Is Listening To is Plastic Ono Band, from John Lennon. Well, if you don't know who John Lennon is, I'm certainly not the person to tell you, so let's get right into the album.

There's no Yoko on this album, and unsurprisingly, it may be John's best solo work. This album has a number of songs that manage to be personal without being preachy, emotional without being whiny, political without polarizing. They're simply structured, but powerful. John gets a lot of range out of his voice, giving us the gentle "Mother" to open the album but going all the way to the absolute wail of "Do The Oz" to close. This is not an album full of radio-friendly singles, but more the kind of album meant to be listened to as a whole. The songs are great, though, to be sure. This is a genuine album, from a man full of talent and torment. If I had to pick a song to represent this album, I'd probably pick "Working Class Hero". There's plenty of piano, but it always accompanies John, who is the real star of the album. Other instruments appear, and there's even a choir on "Power to the People", but your opinion of John's voice will probably determine what you think of this album. But give it a shot.

John sings "don't believe in Beatles, just believe...in me." Well, John, I love a lot of the Beatles' music, but this album made me believe in you.

In other news:

My weekend was okay. Great at times but absolutely awful at others. Pictures forthcoming.