10 Greatest Debut Albums Of The 1970s
2. Plastic Ono Band - John Lennon
By the time John Lennon had reached the end of the 60's, he had weathered the life of 5 different musicians in just a few years. Now separated from the Beatles, Lennon started to undergo primal therapy as a way to expel all of the pent-up aggression that he held in during his Fab years. Instead of indulging his grief in drug abuse, Lennon wrote songs that reflected his frail state of mind.
The result was Plastic Ono Band, which stands as one of the most authentic records ever to be released by a mainstream artist. The album hardly has any flashy elements, with most of it being dominated by just guitar, bass, drums, and piano. With nothing going on in the instruments, the focus shifts to Lennon's lyrics, which paint a portrait of a man trying to make sense of his life after the whirlwind of Beatlemania.
From the condemnation of authority on "Working Class Hero" to the subtle beauty of "Isolation," the album gave us a blunt reflection on both fame and our own questions about life. This may not have been the Lennon many people expected, but what we got is some of the most gentle beauty a Beatle has ever put out. The dream may have been over, but the reality was still pretty beautiful.