As Beatles fans, we had always been more "Paul" people than "John" people. Reason aside, it took us a lot longer to get into Lennon's solo catalog, despite its massive street cred. Case in point "Isolation". In fact, the track didn't even come to us from Lennon. We first heard the tune when we caught Spoon opening for Crooked Fingers at Boston's Middle East.
The cover was a simple one, and true to the original, with only a piano for accompaniment. Still, unfamiliar with Plastic Ono Band, we misplaced the track as maybe a cover of some soul artist, or 1960's one hit wonder. Possibly due to Phil Spector's production of the original, John Lennon's love of classic R&B, or both, the track is unquestionably classic in both style and form.
The truth, of course, was far more interesting: the track is a pillar in the awesome behemoth that is Plastic Ono Band, and clear proof that Lennon could not only deliver post-Beatles, but deliver in top form. Meanwhile, Spoon's cover simply cemented their position as arbiters of cool in the new millenium. Not exactly a surprise.
1 comments:
"Awesome Beheamoth" is Right On.
One reviewer at the time of that LP release said, "Lennon laid his balls on the track, and the train screached to a stop."
The LP is as sparse as it is powerful. A true Artisitic Statement from one of the Voices of My Generation.
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