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Welcome to Nothing is Real, a podcast about the Beatles. My name is Jason Carty.

My name is Stephen Corkcroft. We're live on tape

from Dublin and Belfast. If you were a Beatles fan at the end of 1970, there was four potential

solo albums that you could have gotten in your Christmas stocking that year, which might have somewhat

softened the blow of the group's demise announced earlier in 1970. As we talk today, it's 50 years since all

these albums came out and we're going to look at some of them across this season of Nothing

is Real. And today we're going to talk about John Lennon's plastic ono band, the first proper,

in inverted commas, album from John Lennon. Do you like Plastic Ono Band, Stephen?

I do like Plastic Ono Band.

I like it.

I don't love it.

I think that's maybe a, I know people regard this as one of the best solo albums.

I think it's a good album.

It's not an album that I really sit down and listen to all the way through.

I would cherry pick some songs from it, but it's not an easy listen. No, it's not an easy listen.

And I think the creators of it would kind of say as well, it's not an easy listen. But it's interesting that

even after 50 years, the, the, the unease that you can hear from the album is still palpable. And

that's a credit to its makers, really. I think, I think that's absolutely right. I mean, I think as a

sort of snapshot of where Lennon was at the time, where his head was at, man.

You know, I think it's a very powerful statement, but it's, I would query whether you

would listen to it for pleasure.

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