John Lennon - Menlove Ave. (1985)

The time following John Lennon's untimely death in 1980 was hard on everyone that knew him and his music. But it came the hardest to his wife Yoko Ono. Since their relationship started in the late 1960's, they had been considered two peas in a pod, and they accompanied each other quite well, not only personally but musically as well. In the 1970's, Lennon and Ono released two albums together when Lennon was not busy with Beatle matters, Fly (1971) and Free the People (1973). Ideas for a third Plastic Ono Band album to be released in the late 1970s were floated around but never came to fruition. Time passed by following his death, and the public had seemed to calm down about Lennon's passing. Ono had waited until the time was right to release an out-takes compilation album that would be seen as the epilogue of John Lennon's musical journey. Ono sought famed Aerosmith and Cheap Trick producer Jack Douglas to help produce and compile the material into a suitable LP. The resulting album, Menlove Ave. (named after his childhood home) was released on January 28, 1985. Side A was comprised of unused songs he written for the Beatles' Look Back in Anger, and Side B was comprised of multiple songs he had recorded throughout the 70's including the one Top 5 hit from the album, Lennon's cover of "Stand by Me". Despite most of these songs being unused Beatles recordings, none of the other Beatles are on any of these tracks.

JOHN LENNON - MENLOVE AVE.

Released: 28 January 1985

Genre: Pop rock, blues rock, rock & roll, rockabilly

Producer: John Lennon, Yoko Ono, Jack Douglas

Side A

I'm Stepping Out

Cleanup Time

Nobody Told Me

I Don't Wanna Face It

Borrowed Time

Dear Yoko

Side B

John Sinclair

Tight A$

Scared

To Know Her Is to Love Her

Stand by Me

Ya Ya

Back cover

The Pussy Cats - That's the Way It Is! (1976)

David Bowie had left the Beatles so he could find himself and, hopefully, quit his crippling drug habit that had been a part of him for the best part of 3 years. But this all didn't happen immediately. He was quite lazy, and took up temporary residence in Los Angeles, alongside the other former Beatle John Lennon. Kicked from his own band, Lennon was also starting to recover from his own drug and alcohol problems, although he was quite lazy as well. In the middle of it all was Harry Nilsson, a close friend of both Lennon and Bowie, a chart-topper in his own right. He never had a crippling drug addiction and his heavy drinking had subsided due to a ruptured vocal cord in 1974. During these times, the three hanged out often, usually ending the night at one of their favorite bars or restaurants. One night, Nilsson mentioned that the three of them should record an album together, although it was not a serious offer. The next morning, Bowie called the other two saying he had booked studio time for them, and right then, recording sessions began for their first album together.

For three junkies plunking away on any instrument they could get their hands on, recording sessions went surprisingly smooth, with them finding each other's vibes pretty quickly. In stark contrast to Station to Station, both Lennon and Bowie's most recently released material, the album had a soft rock/reggae feel to it, no doubt due to them not caring enough to attempt anything musically new. The album included four covers, including "That Is All", an unused song written by George Harrison that was given to Nilsson to sing. The band and album names were the last things given to the record. They called themselves the Pussy Cats, named after Nilsson's 1974 album of the same name (which Lennon produced). The album's name, That's the Way It Is!, came from Walter Cronkite's famous catchphrase, with Cronkite being a familiar face to all three of them.

The album released on July 9, 1976 to generally positive reviews. Critics appreciated the laid-back sound, and they hoped for another record from the three. Unfortunately, it was not to be, and this would be the only Pussy Cats album.

Soon after the album's release, Lennon finally reunited with Yoko Ono. She announced her pregnancy two months later, and Lennon decided to take an indefinite hiatus from music to focus on his family.

This left David Bowie alone. He still wasn't ready to rejoin his old band, and LA was already starting to look old to him. He started to retreat back into his worst habits until one night, he got a call. It was from his old friend Iggy Pop, and he said he wanted Bowie to meet up with him and Brian Eno. He agreed. Bowie was going to Berlin.

THE PUSSY CATS - THAT'S THE WAY IT IS!

Released: 9 July 1976

Genre: Pop rock, funk rock, art rock, adult contemporary

Producer: John Lennon, David Bowie

Side A

I'm Only Dancing (Again!)

Going Down on Love

Moonshine Bandit

Do You Want to Dance

TVC One Five

Side B

So Long Ago

Sail Away

Stay

That Is All

Since My Baby Left Me

Track list sources:

Bowie's songs are from Station to Station, with the exception of "I'm Only Dancing (Again!)" from Who Can I Be Now (1974-1976). Lennon's songs are from Walls and Bridges, with the exception of "Do You Want to Dance" from Rock 'n' Roll and "Since My Baby Left Me" from Menlove Ave.. Nilsson's songs are from ...That's the Way It Is. "So Long Ago" is "#9 Dream" from Walls and Bridges.

Back cover

Plastic Ono Band - Free the People (1973)

Following the massive successes of the Ziggy Stardust duology, the Beatles finally decided to give into demand and go on a world tour, their first since 1966. The tour went from July of 1973 to March of 1974, starting in Europe before going to North America, then Japan and then back to North America. They mostly played their hits from the 70's, although a select few 60's songs were added as the tour on to keep things interesting. As expected, every concert played was sold out, and the reception was incredibly positive. After all these years, John Lennon, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr were just as in sync as ever, and David Bowie's stage presence was almost trance-inducing.

During the tour's off-time, Lennon, McCartney and Bowie all took up solo projects to keep themselves busy. Fly had been a commercial failure, but Lennon didn't want to stop working with Yoko Ono. The two worked on a new, more commercial-friendly studio album along with the Plastic Ono Band. As with Fly, Starr appeared on a few tracks alongside close friend Harry Nilsson. The album, Free the People, was released on October 29, 1973, to much better reception from critics. However, the constant, dark political banter turned many people off from listening the entire way through, and some were confused how this could be the same Lennon as the jovial one they heard on Beatles records and on stage. In reality, Lennon's marriage and mental health was going down fast, something that would only get worse as the year went on.

The back cover, completely blank white, was done as a nod to Lennon and Ono's conceptual country, Nutopia. It was established as a satirical way to deal with Lennon's immigration problems. The country's anthem appears as the album's hidden track.

PLASTIC ONO BAND - FREE THE PEOPLE

Released: 29 October 1973

Genre: Pop rock, singer-songwriter, blues rock, soft rock

Producer: John Lennon, Yoko Ono

Side A

Yang Yang

Free the People

Sisters, O Sisters

Attica State

I Know

I'm Sorry

Side B

Approximately Infinite Universe

Intuition

Winter Song

Angela

Born in a Prison

You Are Here

Nutopian International Anthem [hidden track]

Track list sources:

All songs are sourced from Approximately Infinite Universe, Mind Games, and Some Time in New York City.

Back cover

Plastic Ono Band - Fly (1971)

Following the release of The Man Who Sold the World and George Harrison's departure, John Lennon decided to take some time off from recording to spend time with his wife, Yoko Ono. During this time, he would hone his primal therapy that he and Ono had learned through Arthur Janov's classes in Los Angeles for most of the previous year. They never finished their classes due to their expiring visas, but they were taught to scream their way to enlightenment and to release emotional pain from their respective childhoods. They had also visited New York City during this time, and they would move to the city in August. But, despite his time off, he knew he needed an outlet for the therapy he was going through. Feeling that his newest material was far too personal for use in the Beatles, Lennon and Ono decided to record an album with just them and the Plastic Ono Band, made up of Klaus Voormann, Alan White and Billy Preston. Beatle Ringo Starr and former Beatle George Harrison also made appearances during the recording.

The resulting album was Fly, credited solely to the Plastic Ono Band. The album was half rock, half experimental, and all extremely personal and sometimes uncomfortable. The album was built around Lennon's songs with Ono's experimental pieces being placed in between them. It was released on September 21, 1971 to generally positive reviews. Critics would say that Lennon's songs were some of his best ever, even with the Beatles. Ono's songs weren't as lucky, with critics mostly calling them "drab". She would get redemption retrospectively, with some even saying that her songs predated the creation of krautrock.

PLASTIC ONO BAND - FLY

Released: 21 September 1971

Genre: Singer-songwriter, avant-folk, piano rock, experimental, pop rock

Producer: John Lennon, Yoko Ono

Side A

Fly (Prologue)

Mother

Hold On

Mind Holes

Look at Me

Who Has Seen the Wind?

The Path

Side B

Don't Worry Kyoko

Do the Oz

Open Your Box

I Don't Want to Be a Soldier

Fly (Part 2)

Side C

Oh Yoko!
Isolation

Listen, the Snow Is Falling

How?

Mrs. Lennon

God

Side D

Fly

My Mummy's Dead [hidden track]

Track list sources:

Lennon's songs are sourced from John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band and Imagine, with "Do the Oz" taken from the Ultimate Collection and "How?" being Take 40. Yoko Ono's songs are from Fly, and "Who Has Seen the Wind?" and "Listen, the Snow Is Falling" are from the CD reissue of Wedding Album. "Fly (Prologue)" is "Head Play (Medley: You/Airmale/Fly)", and "Fly (Part 2)" is "You".