Kevin Mathews: December, 2000

John Lennon Solo: an Artist in Decline?

There is no doubting the place that the late John Lennon has in the rock & pop music pantheon and most will agree that this is largely due to his work with the Beatles. But, the universal consensus tends to disappear when discussion centers on his solo material.

There are those who suggest that post-Beatles, Lennon was an artist in decline culminating in his nadir with Yoko Ono, his final album, Double Fantasy. These detractors would go on further to state that if not for his tragic death, Lennon's work as a solo artist would be dismissed outright as inferior. This is so especially when the music Lennon made as a solo artist was stark and minimalist rock compared to the rich, heavily textured psychedelic pop artifice he conjured with the Beatles. More so, when it was obvious that Lennon, more than any other ex-Beatle chose to return to his musical roots with folk, R&B and uncomplicated rock 'n' roll as his main modus operandi. Bringing this argument to its logical conclusion, Lennon should have continued to produce the psychedelic-flavoured complex orchestral songs (viz Strawberry Fields Forever, Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds, A Day in the Life & I am the Walrus) beyond 1967.

Which means that in the 70s, Lennon should have been doing what the Electric Light Orchestra was: after all, ELO was originally formed to reproduce Beatlesque psychedelia on stage, well, the Beatles certainly did not attempt to do so. I suppose he could have but he (and the rest of the Beatles) didn't want to. And if you analyze the pop scene post-67, you will realise that most of the big names were already abandoning psychedelia in favour of something earthier. I mean, look at what followed Sgt Pepper's, Magical Mystery Tour, and the songs specifically made for the film were pretty dire by previous standards (although ostensibly done in the same style as Sgt Pepper's).

As far as the Beatles were concerned, that form of music had run its course. Whilst they were in India, they were virtually chemical-free and the songs written during that time (which culminated in the White Album; possibly my fave Beatles album) reflect that. Elsewhere, Dylan (John Wesley Harding) & the Byrds (Sweetheart of the Rodeo) went country, Beach Boys (Wild Honey) did some R&B and The Band released their debut LP (Music From the Big Pink).

That said, how could one suggest that just because the music produced in the last years of the sixties were less psychedelic-flavoured, it was inferior? There was then a back to basics approach (the idea behind the Get Back sessions) as the Beatles felt that too much gimmickry had been employed and they had y'know "done that". Definitely, the Beatles were very much influenced by what Dylan & the Band had achieved in the much-bootlegged Basement Tapes sessions. Although, to be accurate, such impetus may have come mainly from Paul McCartney rather than Lennon.

When the Beatles split, Lennon (as evidenced by the interviews he gave at the time) was adamant about debunking the so-called Beatles myth, "Don't believe in Beatles" he sang in God and his music reflected this. Plastic Ono Band is one of the best albums of all time, and as an artistic expression of personal vision & visceral power, no individual Beatles album comes close. Form-wise it may pale, it was bare and minimalist but doesn't that fit the content perfectly?

The recent remastered reissues of Plastic Ono Band and Double Fantasy provide an excellent opportunity to study and evaluate these claims. The former may not gain much from any tinkering, not surprising, considering its deliberate austere production but it serves as a precursor to the punk era six to seven years later. As for the latter…having spent the last five years playing househusband, it should not shock anyone that Lennon wrote about domestic concerns. If the subject matter reflected the bliss and joy he was experiencing at the time (whatever later contradictory biographical accounts might say), then the listener can only share in and celebrate his good fortune. Songs like Woman, Watching the Wheels, Beautiful Boy & (Just Like) Starting Over stand up with Lennon's best work. Perhaps, this is indeed the best way to remember the man.

To judge Lennon's solo output purely against the style of music he created with the Beatles is to elevate form over substance. That principle is against every thing I hold dear about pop music and is certainly not a criterion by which to judge THE foremost rock legend of all time.

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Kevin Mathews: November, 2000