There is no question that the Beatles were the greatest rock band of all time, influencing just about everything that has happened in popular music from the sixties onwards. Four brilliant individuals, each bringing something different to the mix with the whole ending up being greater than the sum of its parts. The reasons for the breakup are still being debated by historians, but it’s clear that the lazy trope of Yoko being to blame are simply not true. Whatever the truth, Lennon was obviously deeply hurt by the experience (especially by Paul’s actions) and poured out his pain and grief into this album.
It starts with his feelings about his absent parents, then his anger about his experience of being bullied and dismissed by teachers at school and then his response to the stultifying British class system on Working Class Hero. At the time he was going through Primal Scream therapy which is exactly what it sounds like, with several tracks on this album featuring literal howls of pain.
The pivotal track is God, where he rejects absolutely everything and everyone around him, ending with the mic drop line “I don’t believe in Beatles” then pausing before concluding “I just believe in me … Yoko and me”.
Not an easy listen, and not on the same level as his work with the Beatles, but an important snapshot of his state of mind at the time. He clearly had many other issues to deal with over the subsequent years between this low point and his untimely death, but I like to think that he would have reconciled with Paul eventually given a chance, but I guess we’ll never know for sure.
https://album.link/gb/i/1440858209
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