Editing John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band

{{Use British English|date=October 2012}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2021}}
{{Infobox album
| name       = John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band
| type       = studio
| artist     = [[John Lennon]]
| cover      = JLPOBCover.jpg
| alt        =
| released   = {{Start date|1970|12|11|df=yes}}
| recorded   = June 1970, 26 September&nbsp;– 23 October 1970
| venue      =
| studio     = [[Abbey Road Studios|EMI]], London
| genre      = {{flatlist|
*[[Rock music|Rock]]
*[[avant-pop]]<ref name="br">{{cite web|last1=Grimstad|first1=Paul|title=What Is Avant-Pop?|url=http://www.brooklynrail.org/2007/9/music/what-is-avant-pop|website=[[The Brooklyn Rail]]|access-date=1 October 2016|date=4 September 2007}}</ref>
}}
| length     = {{Duration|m=39|s=16}}
| label      = [[Apple Records|Apple]]
| producer   = 
*John Lennon
*[[Yoko Ono]]
*[[Phil Spector]]
| chronology = [[John Lennon]] 
| prev_title = [[Wedding Album]]
| prev_year  = 1969
| next_title = [[Imagine (John Lennon album)|Imagine]]
| next_year  = 1971
| misc       = {{Singles
 | name        = John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band
 | type        = studio
 | single1     = [[Mother (John Lennon song)|Mother]]
 | single1date = 28 December 1970
}}
}}
'''''John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band''''' is the debut solo studio album by English musician [[John Lennon]]. Backed by the [[Plastic Ono Band]] (consisting of Lennon on guitar, [[Ringo Starr]] on drums, and [[Klaus Voormann]] on bass), it was released by [[Apple Records]] on 11 December 1970 in tandem with the [[Yoko Ono/Plastic Ono Band|similarly titled album]] by his wife, [[Yoko Ono]]. At the time of its issue, ''John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band'' received mixed reviews overall, but later came to be widely regarded as Lennon's best solo album.{{sfn|Rodriguez|2010|p=150}}

Co-produced by Lennon, Ono and [[Phil Spector]], it followed Lennon's recording of three experimental releases with Ono and a live album from the 1969 version of the Plastic Ono Band. ''John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band'' contains a largely raw production sound with songs heavily influenced by Lennon's recent [[Primal therapy|primal therapy]]. Its lyrics reflect Lennon's personal issues and includes themes of child-parent abandonment and psychological suffering. The tracks were recorded in September and October 1970 at [[Abbey Road Studios]] in London, simultaneously with Ono's similarly titled solo album.

''John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band'' peaked at number eight on the [[UK Albums Chart]] and number six on the US [[Billboard 200|''Billboard'' 200]]. In 1987, ''Rolling Stone'' ranked it fourth in its list "The 100 Best Albums of the Last Twenty Years" and in 2012, ranked it number 23 in their list of the "[[Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time|500 Greatest Albums of All Time]]". It was voted number 244 in [[Colin Larkin (writer)|Colin Larkin]]'s ''[[All Time Top 1000 Albums]]'' (2000).<ref name="Larkin">{{cite book|title=[[All Time Top 1000 Albums]]|editor=Colin Larkin|editor-link=Colin Larkin (writer)|publisher=[[Virgin Books]]|date=2000|edition=3rd|isbn=0-7535-0493-6|page=111}}</ref> In 2000, the album was remixed with two bonus tracks, "[[Power to the People (song)|Power to the People]]" and "Do the Oz". The album's 2021 ''Ultimate Mixes'' reissue, in the eight-disc ''Ultimate Collection'' [[box set]], features 159 previously unreleased mixes, [[Demo (music)|demos]], [[outtake]]s, and isolated [[Multitrack recording|track elements]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|title=JOHN LENNON/PLASTIC ONO BAND - THE ULTIMATE COLLECTION. DELUXE BOX SET. → Preorder Now.|url=http://www.johnlennon.com/news/john-lennon-plastic-ono-band-the-ultimate-collection-deluxe-box-set-→-preorder-now/|access-date=31 March 2021|website=JOHN LENNON.|language=en-GB}}</ref>

==Background==
{{quote box|quote= The level of his pain was enormous&nbsp;... He was almost completely nonfunctional. He couldn't leave the house, he could hardly leave his room&nbsp;... This was someone the whole world adored, and it didn't change a thing. At the center of all that fame and wealth and adulation was just a lonely little kid.<ref name=Norman/>|source= – Arthur Janov, on Lennon's psychological state|width=25%|align=left|style=padding:8px;}}
Following the [[break-up of the Beatles]] in April 1970, [[John Lennon]] and his wife [[Yoko Ono]] undertook [[primal therapy]] with the guidance of [[Arthur Janov]] for four weeks at his London offices. The three then flew to Los Angeles to continue the therapy for four months.{{sfn|Badman|2001|pp=3, 7}} Janov's therapy technique emphasised emotionally reliving repressed childhood traumas rather than [[talking therapies|analytical discussion]].{{sfn|Schaffner|1978|p=143}}

Lennon and Ono stayed in a rented house in [[Bel Air, Los Angeles|Bel Air]], keeping a low profile and committing fully to Janov's course.{{sfn|Norman|2008|pp=647–48}} Lennon embraced the discipline as he had [[Transcendental Meditation]] in the late 1960s, and the act of engaging with past traumas became "too primal".{{sfn|Norman|2008|p=652}} Ono later commented that primal therapy helped curb his possessiveness towards her, as he recognised that his feelings of jealousy stemmed from events that took place long before they met.{{sfn|Norman|2008|p=652}}

With the experience he received from the therapy, Lennon was able to channel his emotions into an album's worth of self-revelatory material.{{sfn|Du Noyer|2010|p=20}} In July, he started to record demos of songs that would show up on ''John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band''. On 26 July, he taped numerous demos of "[[God (John Lennon song)|God]]", which includes the line "I don't believe in [[The Beatles|Beatles]]".{{sfn|Badman|2001|p=12}} "When a Boy Meets a Girl" was among the songs Lennon demoed at this time, but he did not record it for the album.{{sfn|Unterberger|2006|p=291}}

Lennon's therapy was never completed due to the expiry of his US visa.{{sfn|Du Noyer|2010|p=20}} Janov had intended that Lennon's treatment would require a minimum of a year, such was the severity of his trauma.{{sfn|Doggett|2011|p=143}} Janov expressed concern that the therapy had ended prematurely and that Lennon's rediscovered anger over his childhood remained unresolved.{{sfn|Norman|2008|pp=649, 652}}

==Music and lyrics==
Lennon's experience in primal therapy strongly influenced both the lyrical content of the album, pushing him toward themes of child–parent relationships and psychological suffering,{{sfn|Du Noyer|2010|p=20}} and the simple yet intense style of the album's music.<ref name="kane">{{cite book |first=Larry |last=Kane |title=Lennon Revealed |year=2005 |page=[https://archive.org/details/lennonrevealed0000kane_p2o7/page/224 224] |publisher=Running Press |location=Philadelphia |isbn=0-7624-2364-1 |url=https://archive.org/details/lennonrevealed0000kane_p2o7/page/224 }}</ref> Throughout the album Lennon touches on many personal issues: his abandonment by his parents, in "Mother" (though he denied that that was what the song was about on a posthumously-released live album); the means by which young people are made into soldiers, in "Working Class Hero"; a reminder that, despite his rage and pain, Lennon still embraces "Love"; and "God", a renunciation of external saviours. In the piano-driven climax of "God", after listing a handful of things he does not believe in, including [[Jesus]], [[Hitler]], [[Gautama Buddha|Buddha]], [[Elvis]], "Zimmerman" ([[Bob Dylan]]) and Beatles, Lennon proclaims that he believes only in himself and Ono.<ref name="cadogan">{{cite book |first=Patrick |last=Cadogan |title=The Revolutionary Artist: John Lennon's Radical Years |year=2008 |page=131 |publisher=Lulu |location=Morrisville, North Carolina |isbn=978-1-4357-1863-0}}</ref>

"[[Look at Me (John Lennon song)|Look at Me]]" dates from the period of the [[The Beatles (album)|White Album]] (1968),{{sfn|Madinger|Easter|2000|p=39}} and is built on a fingerpicking guitar pattern very similar to the one Lennon used in "[[Dear Prudence]]", "[[Happiness Is a Warm Gun]]" and "[[Julia (The Beatles song)|Julia]]". [[Donovan]] claimed that he taught Lennon this technique while the two were in [[Rishikesh]] in 1968.<ref>Interview with Donovan (2004)</ref> "[[Remember (John Lennon song)|Remember]]" uses the same piano riff that Lennon played in the discarded coda to the Beatles' July 1969 recording of "[[Something (Beatles song)|Something]]".{{sfn|Unterberger|2006|p=269}}

"[[My Mummy's Dead]]", which closes ''Plastic Ono Band'', is partly set to the tune of the nursery rhyme "[[Three Blind Mice]]".{{sfn|Madinger|Easter|2000|p=35}} The recording used on the album was taken from Lennon's Los Angeles demos.{{sfn|Unterberger|2006|p=292}}

==Recording==
Having exhausted the extensions of their American visas, Lennon and Ono returned from the US on 15 September 1970.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Madinger |first1=Chip |last2=Raile |first2=Scott |title=Lennonology: Strange Days Indeed – A Scrapbook of Madness |year= 2015 |publisher= Chesterfield, MO: Open Your Books |page=210 |isbn= 978-1-63110-175-5}}</ref> Soon afterwards, Ono [[Miscarriage|miscarried]] at close to eight months pregnant, and Lennon's equilibrium was tested when his father, [[Alf Lennon]], resumed contact, having recently remarried and become a father again.{{sfn|Norman|2008|pp=652–53}} At Alf's request, they met up at [[Tittenhurst Park]] for Lennon's 30th birthday, but Lennon launched into a primal therapy-inspired tirade against him{{sfn|Norman|2008|p=653}} and, according to the account Alf left with his solicitor, threatened to kill him.{{sfn|Doggett|2011|p=145}}

Recording for the album took place at [[Abbey Road Studios]] in London, beginning on 26 September.{{sfn|Du Noyer|2010|p=21}} Lennon played guitar or piano on the songs, with bassist [[Klaus Voormann]] and drummer [[Ringo Starr]] as the other core musicians.{{sfn|Badman|2001|p=14}} The album title refers to the [[Plastic Ono Band]], the conceptual band Lennon and Ono formed in 1969 of various supporting musicians they would use on their various solo albums. Lennon asked [[Phil Spector]], who had produced Lennon's hit "[[Instant Karma!]]" earlier that year,{{sfn|Du Noyer|2010|p=21}} to co-produce the new album. Since they were unable to contact Spector before recording began, [[Allen Klein]], Lennon's manager, took out an advertisement in ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'' magazine that read: "Phil! John is ready this weekend."{{sfn|Doggett|2011|p=144}}

Spector and Apple artist [[Billy Preston]] each played piano on a track.<ref name=Norman>{{cite book |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=f5SiS3qlhDIC&q=John+Lennon/Plastic+Ono+Band+recording&pg=PT934 |title=John Lennon: The Life |first=Philip  |last= Norman |publisher=HarperCollins UK |year= 2009|access-date=2 December 2011 |isbn= 978-0-00-734408-6}}</ref> During the sessions, Lennon, Voormann and Starr jammed on a variety of songs in between recording the new tracks: "When a Boy Meets a Girl", "[[That's All Right|That's All Right Mama]]", "[[Glad All Over (Carl Perkins song)|Glad All Over]]", "[[Honey Don't]]", "[[Don't Be Cruel]]", "[[Hound Dog (song)|Hound Dog]]" and "[[Matchbox (song)|Matchbox]]".{{sfn|Badman|2001|p=14}} They also taped the basic track for Starr's "[[Early 1970]]" in which the drummer describes his relationship with each of his former bandmates;{{sfn|Doggett|2011|p=145}} in the verse dedicated to Lennon, Starr sings, "They screamed and they cried, now they're free".{{sfn|Spizer|2005|p=294}}

As longstanding friends of Lennon, Voormann and Starr were disturbed by his emotional behaviour in the studio.{{sfn|Doggett|2011|p=144}} In his 2004 book ''[[Postcards from the Boys]]'', Starr recalls that Lennon would burst out crying or start screaming midway through recording a track.{{sfn|Doggett|2011|pp=144, 363}} Voormann said that Lennon would change from being upbeat to highly emotional and would discuss his feelings with Ono as they listened to playbacks in the studio control room. In Voormann's view, the effects of Lennon's therapy were especially confronting to Starr, since "The old John was gone; it was a different John. It wasn't the one he was used to."{{sfn|Doggett|2011|p=144}}{{refn|group=nb|In a 2015 interview, however, Starr called ''John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band'' "one of the best experiences of being on a record I have ever had". He said that due to their closeness, he and Lennon "were psychic where the atmosphere was going to go".<ref>{{cite web|first=Luke|last=Morgan Britton|title=Ringo Starr says working with John Lennon on 'Plastic Ono Band' was 'best experience' of career|url=https://www.nme.com/news/music/ringo-starr-5-1213059|work=[[NME]]|date=29 May 2015|access-date=28 March 2021}}</ref>}}

According to music critic [[Richie Unterberger]], bootlegs from the sessions suggest that Lennon was far from the despondent artist reflected in the finished album.{{sfn|Unterberger|2006|pp=293, 294}} As the ensemble recorded "Remember" on 9 October, Lennon's 30th birthday,{{sfn|Hertsgaard|1996|pp=307–08}} [[George Harrison]] visited the studio and delivered a tape of "[[Apple Jam#"It's Johnny's Birthday"|It's Johnny's Birthday]]", after Ono had asked Lennon's friends for musical greetings to mark the occasion.{{sfn|Doggett|2011|pp=144–45}}{{refn|group=nb|Starr's gift was "Happy Birthday, John", a 79-second piece in the style of [[Chuck Berry]]'s "[[Johnny B. Goode]]".{{sfn|Unterberger|2006|p=294}} It included contributions from Preston, Voormann and [[Stephen Stills]].{{sfn|Madinger|Easter|2000|p=498}}}} The session tapes reveal Lennon and Starr's delight at Harrison's arrival.{{sfn|Hertsgaard|1996|p=308}} In author Robert Rodriguez's description, the meeting reflects the three former Beatles' closeness, at the expense of [[Paul McCartney]], as well as Lennon's playfulness while making ''Plastic Ono Band''.{{sfn|Rodriguez|2010|p=28}}

Lennon and Ono produced ''Plastic Ono Band'' largely on their own, as Spector was absent for much of the recording sessions. Spector [[Mixing (music production)|mixed]] the album for three days towards the end of October.{{sfn|Badman|2001|p=14}} All work on the record was completed by 27 October, when Lennon and Ono flew to New York to publicise primal therapy and collaborate on the experimental films ''[[Up Your Legs Forever]]'' and ''Fly''.{{sfn|Badman|2001|p=15}}

==Artwork==
Lennon's album cover is almost identical to [[Yoko Ono/Plastic Ono Band|Ono's companion piece]], the sole difference being that on Ono's cover, she is lying on Lennon's body.{{sfn|Spizer|2005|p=37}} The photo was taken at Lennon's Tittenhurst Park estate with a consumer-grade [[Instamatic]] camera by actor [[Daniel Richter (actor)|Dan Richter]], who also worked as an assistant for the Lennons at the time. The initial compact disc issue of the album listed the title and artist, while the 2000 remixed version restores the original artwork. In addition, the original LP had no track listing on the back cover, which instead showed a school photo of Lennon in his youth.{{sfn|Du Noyer|2010|p=21}}

The LP included a lyric sheet on one side of its inner sleeve. Despite [[Capitol Records]]' concerns over Lennon's profanities in "I Found Out" and "Working Class Hero", the lyrics appeared uncensored in the US album package.{{sfn|Spizer|2005|p=37}} In the UK, EMI ensured that each mention of "fucking" in "Working Class Hero" was [[Expurgation|bowdlerised]] through the use of asterisks.{{sfn|Norman|2008|p=656}}

==Release==
''John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band'' was released in both the UK and US on 11 December 1970,{{sfn|Womack|2014|pp=490–91}} the same day as Ono's [[Yoko Ono/Plastic Ono Band|matching album]].{{sfn|Badman|2001|p=17}} Lennon considered issuing "Love" as a single in the US but settled on "[[Mother (John Lennon song)|Mother]]".{{sfn|Norman|2008|pp=655–56}} The song was edited down to under four minutes through the removal of the opening funeral bells and an early fadeout.{{sfn|Spizer|2005|p=41}} Backed by Ono's track "Why", the single was released there on 28 December.{{sfn|Badman|2001|p=19}} In Japan, the album's title was {{Nihongo|''John no Tamashii''|ジョンの魂|}}, which translates as "John's Soul".{{citation needed|date=November 2020}} Several US radio stations banned "Working Class Hero" because of the song's use of the word "fucking".{{sfn|Womack|2014|p=492}}

{{quote box|quote= I think it's realistic and it's true to me that has been developing over the years from "In My Life", "I'm a Loser", "Help!", "Strawberry Fields". They're all personal records ... I didn't really enjoy writing third person songs ... But because of my hangups, and other things, I would only now and then specifically write about me. Now I wrote all about me and that's why I like it. It's me!{{sfn|Spizer|2005|p=37}}|source= – Lennon's view on ''Plastic Ono Band'', as offered to ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' in December 1970|width=25%|align=right|style=padding:8px;}}
Lennon viewed ''Plastic Ono Band'' as his best work up to that point.{{sfn|Spizer|2005|p=37}} He called it "Sgt. Lennon", referring to the Beatles' 1967 album ''[[Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band]]''.{{sfn|Schaffner|1978|p=144}} His promotion for the album included a lengthy interview with [[Jann Wenner]] of ''[[Rolling Stone]]'', recorded in New York on 8 December and published in two installments under the title ''[[Lennon Remembers]]''.{{sfn|Madinger|Easter|2000|p=43}} As with his new music, Lennon's comments reflected the effects of primal therapy.{{sfn|Norman|2008|p=656}}{{sfn|Doggett|2011|p=152}} He used the opportunity to discuss his troubled childhood, debunk the Beatles as a myth,{{sfn|Schaffner|1978|pp=143–44}} and denigrate his former bandmates' solo albums.{{sfn|Badman|2001|p=16}} He also dismissed the effectiveness of the 1960s cultural revolution as a "dream" and committed to political protest as his new artistic direction.{{sfn|Norman|2008|p=658}} Together with the sentiments of "God", the interview ended any hope of the Beatles reuniting and was followed soon after by McCartney filing suit in a London court to dissolve the group as a legal partnership.{{sfn|Rodriguez|2010|pp=4–5}}

The album and Lennon's political stance furthered his credibility among underground radicals,<ref>{{cite book|editor=Hunt, Chris|title=[[NME|NME Originals]]: Beatles – The Solo Years 1970–1980|year=2005|publisher=IPC Ignite!|location=London|page=14}}</ref> as the [[New Left]] welcomed his debunking of the Beatles' image.{{sfn|Frontani|2009|p=170}} Its commercial performance nevertheless paled beside Harrison's concurrently released ''[[All Things Must Pass]]'' and McCartney's [[McCartney (album)|self-titled solo album]], issued in April.{{sfn|Spizer|2005|p=34}} ''Plastic Ono Band'' peaked at number 8 in the UK and number 6 in the US, spending eighteen weeks in the top 100.<ref name="blaney56"/> In the Netherlands, it was number 1 for seven weeks.<ref name="nlchart">{{cite web|title=dutchcharts.nl John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band|url=http://dutchcharts.nl/showitem.asp?interpret=John+Lennon+%2F+Plastic+Ono+Band&titel=John+Lennon+%2F+Plastic+Ono+Band&cat=a|language=nl|publisher=dutchcharts.nl|access-date=12 September 2011}}</ref>

Lennon was especially aggrieved that his LP was overshadowed by the acclaim afforded ''All Things Must Pass''.{{sfn|Doggett|2011|p=148}}{{sfn|Norman|2008|p=657}} According to ABKCO executive Allan Steckler, neither Klein nor promotions man [[Peter Bennett (music promoter)|Pete Bennett]] knew how to go about marketing ''Plastic Ono Band'' in the US, where it received minimal AM airplay.{{sfn|Spizer|2005|p=34}} Starr attributed the muted public response to the album's paucity of "toe-tappers".{{sfn|Rodriguez|2010|p=5}}

==Contemporary critical reception==
Although ''John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band'' received some highly favourable reviews,{{sfn|Spizer|2005|p=34}} critical reception to the album was mixed overall.{{sfn|Frontani|2009|pp=169–70}} Andy Gray of the ''[[NME]]'' said it offered truths that would resonate with most listeners but that Lennon was governed by "a great big chip on his shoulder about class consciousness and the unfairness of the world". Gray also wrote: "I have rarely heard so much anguish and suffering put into a track as in the first song, 'Mother'."<ref>{{cite book|editor-last=Sutherland|editor-first=Steve|title=[[NME|NME Originals]]: Lennon|year=2003|publisher=IPC Ignite!|location=London|page=77}}</ref> ''[[The Guardian]]''{{'}}s [[Geoffrey Cannon]] wrote that Lennon had taken the self-centredness of ''McCartney'' to an obsessive level. He predicted that the songs would have limited interest but added: "Lennon's album makes a deep impression, if more on him than us. He screams and cries, desolation, bitterness, anguish. This is the album of a man of black bile. This is declamation, not music."<ref>{{cite news|first=Geoffrey|last=Cannon|title=Ringo Stars: Geoffrey Cannon on the Beatles' Solo Albums|newspaper=[[The Guardian]]|date=19 December 1970}} Available at [https://www.rocksbackpages.com/Library/Article/ringo-stars-geoffrey-cannon-on-the-beatles-solo-albums Rock's Backpages] (subscription required).</ref> Writing in ''[[The Times]]'', [[Richard Williams (journalist)|Richard Williams]] described ''Plastic Ono Band'' as "almost unbearably stark" and "not an album I can put on for pleasure".{{sfn|Frontani|2009|p=270}}{{refn|group=nb|''[[Melody Maker]]''{{'}}s Michael Watts wrote: "The album is not going to convert anyone who does not already like Lennon's musical approach. Melodically there is nothing earth-shattering but then, Lennon has never set out to become another [[Cole Porter]]."{{sfn|Badman|2001|p=17}}}}

Reviewing for ''[[Creem]]'', [[Dave Marsh]] found it "totally enthralling to see that Lennon has once again unified, to some degree, his life and his music into a truly whole statement". He deemed Lennon's perspective "elitist" and less adventurous than Ono's on her LP, but nevertheless likened the album to the highly political statements made by jazz artists such as [[Archie Shepp]], [[Charlie Parker]] and [[Charles Mingus]] in their music.<ref>{{cite magazine|first=Dave|last=Marsh|title=John Lennon: Plastic Ono Band (Apple)/ Yoko Ono: Plastic Ono Band (Apple)|magazine=[[Creem]]|date=March 1971}} Available at [https://www.rocksbackpages.com/Library/Article/john-lennon-iplastic-ono-band-iapple-yoko-ono-iplastic-ono-band-i-apple Rock's Backpages] (subscription required).</ref> Michael Ross, also of ''[[Creem]]'', wrote in the December 1970 issue "This record is John, the man, destroying the dream, the idol, the idols, revitalizing his dirt-poor emotions, feeling that in the midst of change, he is, love is."<ref>{{cite magazine|first=Michael|last=Ross|title=John Lennon & Yoko Ono - Plastic Ono Band|magazine=[[Creem]]|date=December 1970}} Available at [https://archive.creem.com/article/1970/12/01/records Creem Magazine] (subscription required).</ref> Don Heckman of ''[[The New York Times]]'' was unimpressed by ''Plastic Ono Band'', calling it a "group of empty selections"{{sfn|Frontani|2009|p=270}} that, like McCartney's album, showed its creator to be overly preoccupied with himself and weakened artistically as a solo performer.<ref>{{cite news|first=Don|last=Heckman|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1970/12/20/archives/pop-two-and-a-half-beatles-on-their-own.html|title=Pop: Two and a Half Beatles on Their Own|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=20 December 1970|page=104|access-date=3 November 2020}}</ref> ''Billboard''{{'}}s reviewer described the album as "Self determination music, intensely analytical of self with production values kept down to the minimum", and predicted it would remain the subject of analysis for years like ''Sgt. Pepper''.<ref>{{cite magazine|author=Billboard Review Panel|title=Album Reviews|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mSkEAAAAMBAJ&q=determination|magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]|date=19 December 1970|page=50|access-date=23 November 2020}}</ref>

John Gabree of ''[[High Fidelity (magazine)|High Fidelity]]'' deemed the LP "a tremendously exciting listening experience, perhaps the best any Beatle has ever offered". He praised the musicianship, sparse arrangements and Lennon's directness, and said that on the strength of ''Plastic Ono Band'' and Harrison's ''All Things Must Pass'', he was not bothered if the Beatles ever reunited as a band.<ref>{{cite magazine|first=John|last=Gabree|title=The Heaviest Beatles of Them All|magazine=[[High Fidelity (magazine)|High Fidelity]]|date=March 1971|pages=70–71}}</ref> [[Robert Christgau]] named ''John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band'' the best album of 1970 in his year-end list for ''[[The Village Voice]]'',<ref>{{cite news|last=Christgau|first=Robert|issue=11 March|year=1971|url=http://www.robertchristgau.com/xg/cg/cg16.php|title=Consumer Guide (16)|newspaper=[[The Village Voice]]|access-date=2 May 2015}}</ref> and in a decade-end list, he ranked it 21st best from the 1970s.<ref>{{cite news|last=Christgau|first=Robert|issue=17 December|year=1979|url=http://www.robertchristgau.com/xg/list/decade70.php|title=Decade Personal Best: '70s|newspaper=[[The Village Voice]]|access-date=2 May 2015}}</ref>

==Retrospective assessments and legacy==
{{Album ratings
| rev1      = [[AllMusic]]
| rev1Score = {{Rating|5|5}}<ref>{{AllMusic|class=album|id=r11529}}</ref>
| rev2 = ''[[Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies|Christgau's Record Guide]]''
| rev2Score = A<ref>{{cite book|last=Christgau|first=Robert|year=1981|title=Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies|publisher=Ticknor & Fields|isbn=0899190251|chapter-url=https://www.robertchristgau.com/get_album.php?id=1790|chapter=John Lennon: Plastic Ono Band|access-date=2 November 2018|via=robertchristgau.com|title-link=Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies}}</ref>
| rev3 = ''[[Creem Magazine]]''
| rev3Score = (positive)<ref>{{cite magazine|title=John Lennon & Yoko Ono - Plastic Ono Band ''John Lennon & Yoko Ono - Plastic Ono Band''|magazine=[[Creem]]|date=December 1970|page=40}}</ref>
| rev4 = ''[[Mojo (magazine)|Mojo]]''
| rev4Score = {{Rating|5|5}}<ref>{{cite news |first=Tom|last=Doyle|title=John Lennon ''Signature Box'' |work=[[Mojo (magazine)|Mojo]] |date=November 2010 |page=114}}</ref>
| rev5 = ''[[MusicHound|MusicHound Rock]]''
| rev5Score = 5/5<ref>Gary Graff & Daniel Durchholz (eds), ''MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide'', Visible Ink Press (Farmington Hills, MI, 1999; {{ISBN|1-57859-061-2}}), p. 667.</ref>
| rev6 = ''[[NME]]''
| rev6Score = 8/10<ref>{{cite magazine|title=John Lennon / Plastic Ono Band ''John Lennon / Plastic Ono Band''|magazine=[[NME]]|date=21 October 2000|page=43}}</ref>
|rev7 = ''[[Paste (magazine)|Paste]]''
|rev7score = {{Rating|5|5}}<ref>{{cite web|first=Mark |last=Kemp |url=http://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2007/10/john-lennon-reissues.html |title=John Lennon – Reissues |work=[[Paste (magazine)|Paste]] |date=23 October 2007 |access-date= 13 October 2014}}</ref>
| rev8 = ''[[Q (magazine)|Q]]''
| rev8Score = {{Rating|4|5}}<ref>{{cite magazine|title=John Lennon / Plastic Ono Band ''John Lennon / Plastic Ono Band''|magazine=[[Q (magazine)|Q]]|date=December 2000|pages=140–41}}</ref>
| rev9 = ''[[Rolling Stone]]''
| rev9Score = {{Rating|5|5}}<ref name="RS">{{cite magazine|last=Christgau|first=Robert|date=10 June 1999|url=http://www.robertchristgau.com/xg/cdrev/plastico-rs.php|title=John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band|magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]|page=126|access-date=2 May 2015|via=[[Robert Christgau|robertchristgau.com]]}}</ref>
| rev10 = ''[[The Rolling Stone Album Guide]]''
| rev10Score = {{Rating|5|5}}<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/artists/john-lennon/albumguide |title=John Lennon: Album Guide|magazine=[[Rolling Stone]] |access-date=16 August 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140209175016/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/artists/john-lennon/albumguide |archive-date=9 February 2014 }}</ref>
| rev11 = ''[[Uncut (magazine)|Uncut]]''
| rev11Score = {{Rating|5|5}}<ref name="Mulholland/Uncut">{{cite magazine|first=Garry|last=Mulholland|title=John Lennon – Remasters|magazine=[[Uncut (magazine)|Uncut]]|url=http://www.uncut.co.uk/john-lennon/john-lennon-remasters-review|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141111182226/http://www.uncut.co.uk/john-lennon/john-lennon-remasters-review|date=November 2010|archive-date=11 November 2014|access-date=11 November 2014|page=108}}</ref>
}}
''Plastic Ono Band'' is considered by some to be Lennon's best solo album{{sfn|Rodriguez|2010|p=150}} and is certainly one of his most influential works.{{sfn|Frontani|2009|pp=169–70}} The record became known as "the Primal Album".{{sfn|Norman|2008|p=656}} Janov incorporated it into his therapy course,{{sfn|Norman|2008|p=656}} although he rued that Lennon had cut off his therapy prematurely and that "We had opened him up, and we didn't have time to put him back together again."{{sfn|Doggett|2011|p=143}}{{sfn|Norman|2008|pp=648–49}}

Music critic [[Greil Marcus]] remarked, "John's singing in the last verse of 'God' may be the finest in all of rock."<ref name="blaney56">Blaney 2005, p. 56</ref> In a retrospective review for ''[[Rolling Stone]]'', Robert Christgau wrote that the album's lyrics are political, existential, and carefully thought out, while Spector's production is elegantly simple so that each instrument resonates. Christgau added: "Left out in the open, without protective harmonies or racket, Lennon's singing takes on an expressive specificity that anyone in search of the century's great vocal performances would be foolish to overlook."<ref name="RS"/> Garry Mulholland of ''[[Uncut (magazine)|Uncut]]'' describes it as a "masterpiece" that "remains the most profound and perfectly realised confessional album that rock'n'roll has produced".<ref name="Mulholland/Uncut" />

''[[Mojo (magazine)|Mojo]]'' critic [[John Harris (critic)|John Harris]] includes ''Plastic Ono Band'' among "the trilogy of truly essential post-Beatles solo albums", along with ''All Things Must Pass'' and [[Wings (band)|Wings]]' ''[[Band on the Run]]''.<ref>{{cite magazine|author=Harris, John|title=Beware of Darkness|magazine=[[Mojo (magazine)|Mojo]]|date=November 2011|page=82}}</ref> In 2008, it was the subject of a documentary film by Matthew Longfellow as part of [[Eagle Rock Entertainment|Eagle Rock]]'s ''[[Classic Albums]]'' series.{{sfn|Womack|2014|pp=491, 492}} Coinciding with the 50th anniversary of Lennon and Ono's twin 1970 albums, [[Thames & Hudson]] published the book ''John & Yoko/Plastic Ono Band'', which includes illustrations by Voormann.<ref name="Moran/SMH">{{cite web|first=Robert|last=Moran|title='The best of all albums I've ever heard': John and Yoko's Plastic Ono Band at 50|url=https://www.smh.com.au/culture/music/the-best-of-all-albums-i-ve-ever-heard-john-and-yoko-s-plastic-ono-band-at-50-20201030-p56a3q.html|newspaper=[[The Sydney Morning Herald]]|date=1 November 2020|access-date=28 March 2021}}</ref>{{refn|group=nb|In an interview to promote the book, Voormann described Lennon's ''Plastic Ono Band'' as "the best of all albums I've ever heard", citing its intimacy and lack of studio embellishments.<ref name="Moran/SMH" />}}

In 2000, ''[[Q (magazine)|Q]]'' placed ''John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band'' at number 62 in its list of the "100 Greatest British Albums Ever".<ref name="Q">{{cite web |url=http://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/qlists.html#100%20Greatest%20British%20Albums |archive-url=https://archive.today/20071126065024/http://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/qlists.html#100%20Greatest%20British%20Albums |url-status=usurped |archive-date=26 November 2007 |title=The 100 Greatest British Albums Ever |work=Q |date=June 2000 |access-date=23 August 2008}}</ref> In 1987, the album was ranked fourth on ''Rolling Stone''{{'}}s list of the 100 best albums of the period 1967–87,<ref name="RS1987">{{cite magazine |url=http://rateyourmusic.com/list/steinib/rolling_stone_s_best_albums_between_1967_1987__twentieth_anniversary_special_issue__aug__1987_/ |title=Rolling Stone's 100 Greatest Albums from the Last Twenty Years (1967–1987) |magazine=Rolling Stone |date=August 1987 |access-date=23 August 2008}}</ref> and in 2003, it was placed at number 22 in the magazine's list of the [[Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time|500 Greatest Albums of All Time]],<ref name="RS2003">{{cite magazine |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/5938174/the_rs_500_greatest_albums_of_all_time |title=The RS 500 Greatest Albums of All Time |magazine=Rolling Stone |date=18 November 2003 |access-date=23 August 2008 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090104131142/http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/5938174/the_rs_500_greatest_albums_of_all_time/ |archive-date=4 January 2009 |url-status=dead }}</ref> 23 in a 2012 revised list,{{sfn|Womack|2014|p=492}}<ref>{{cite magazine| url= https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/500-greatest-albums-of-all-time-156826/john-lennon-plastic-ono-band-169864/ |year= 2012| title=500 Greatest Albums of All Time Rolling Stone's definitive list of the 500 greatest albums of all time| magazine= [[Rolling Stone]]| access-date= 23 September 2019}}</ref> and 85 in a 2020 revised list.<ref>{{Cite magazine|date=2020-09-22|title=The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/best-albums-of-all-time-1062063/|access-date=2021-10-09|magazine=Rolling Stone|language=en-US}}</ref> In 2006, the album was placed by ''[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]]'' at number 60 of its Top 100 Albums of the 1970s.<ref name="Pitchfork">{{cite web|url= http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/feature/36725-top-100-albums-of-the-1970s |title=Top 100 Albums of the 1970s |website= Pitchfork |date=23 June 2004 |access-date=13 October 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080701134138/http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/feature/36725-top-100-albums-of-the-1970s |archive-date=1 July 2008 }}</ref> In 2006, the album was chosen by ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' as one of the 100 best albums of all time.<ref name="Time">{{cite magazine |first=Josh and Alan Light |last=Tyrangiel |url= http://www.time.com/time/2006/100albums/index.html |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20061201085911/http://www.time.com/time/2006/100albums/index.html |url-status= dead |archive-date= 1 December 2006 |title=The All-TIME 100 Albums |magazine=Time |date=13 November 2006 |access-date= 23 August 2008}}</ref>

==Subsequent releases==
After [[Death of John Lennon|Lennon's death]], EMI's [[Parlophone]] label reissued ''Plastic Ono Band'', along with seven other Lennon albums, as part of a box set,{{sfn|Badman|2001|p=285}} which was released in the UK on 15 June 1981.<ref name=Listen203>{{cite book|last=Blaney|first=John|title=John Lennon: Listen to This Book|year=2005|publisher=Paper Jukebox|location=[S.l.]|isbn=978-0-9544528-1-0|edition=illustrated|page=203}}</ref>{{refn|group=nb|UK EMI JLB8.<ref name=Listen203/>}} In 2000, Ono supervised a remixing of ''John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band'' for its remastered CD reissue, including two bonus tracks: Lennon's 1971 hit "Power to the People", and "Do the Oz", originally released as the B-side to [[Oz trial|"God Save Us"]] under the name Elastic Oz Band and later part of the 1998 box set ''[[John Lennon Anthology]]''.{{citation needed|date=September 2021}}

In 2003, Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab reissued the album in 24-karat Gold CD audio and 180-gram half-speed mastered GAIN 2 Ultra Analog in vinyl reissues. In 2010, a digital remaster of Lennon's entire discography was released, using original mixes and artwork.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Prince |first=Patrick |date=2010-06-29 |title=John Lennon solos albums remastered for 70th birthday |url=https://www.goldminemag.com/news/john-lennon-solos-albums-remastered-for-70th-birthday |access-date=2023-05-20 |website=Goldmine Magazine: Record Collector & Music Memorabilia |language=en}}</ref>

A 50th Anniversary reissue of the album was released on 23 April 2021,<ref>{{Cite web|title=JOHN LENNON/PLASTIC ONO BAND - THE ULTIMATE COLLECTION. DELUXE BOX SET. → Preorder Now.|url=http://www.johnlennon.com/news/john-lennon-plastic-ono-band-the-ultimate-collection-deluxe-box-set-→-preorder-now/|access-date=16 April 2021|website=JOHN LENNON.|language=en-GB}}</ref> under the title ''John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band: The Ultimate Collection''. The eight-disc box set spreads over six CDs and two [[Blu-ray]] HD discs, and features 159 new mixes, including previously unreleased demos, studio outtakes, and isolated track elements, along with [[5.1 surround sound|5.1 surround]] and [[Dolby Atmos]] mixes.<ref name=":0" />

==Track listing==
{{Track listing
|all_writing  = [[John Lennon]], except where noted
|headline     = Side one
|title1       = [[Mother (John Lennon song)|Mother]]
|length1      = 5:34
|title2       = [[Hold On (John Lennon song)|Hold On]]
|length2      = 1:52
|title3       = [[I Found Out]]
|length3      = 3:37
|title4       = [[Working Class Hero]]
|length4      = 3:48
|title5       = [[Isolation (John Lennon song)|Isolation]]
|length5      = 2:51
}}
{{Track listing
|headline     = Side two
|title6       = [[Remember (John Lennon song)|Remember]]
|length6      = 4:36
|title7       = [[Love (John Lennon song)|Love]]
|length7      = 3:21
|title8       = [[Well Well Well (John Lennon song)|Well Well Well]]
|length8      = 5:59
|title9       = [[Look at Me (John Lennon song)|Look at Me]]
|length9      = 2:53
|title10      = [[God (John Lennon song)|God]]
|length10     = 4:09
|title11      = [[My Mummy's Dead]]
|length11     = 0:49
|total_length = 39:16
}}
{{Track listing
|headline     = 2000 reissue bonus tracks
|title12      = [[Power to the People (song)|Power to the People]]
|length12     = 3:22
|title13      = Do the Oz
|writer13     =Lennon, [[Yoko Ono]]
|length13     = 3:07
|total_length = 44:45
}}
{{Track listing
|headline     = Bonus tracks on the 2021 Ultimate Mixes reissue
|title12      = [[Give Peace A Chance]]
|length12     = 4:55
|title13      = [[Cold Turkey]]
|length13     = 5:01
|title14      = [[Instant Karma!|Instant Karma! (We All Shine On)]]
|length14     = 3:18
|total_length = 52:30
}}

==Personnel==
Track numbering refers to CD and digital releases of the album.
*[[John Lennon]] – vocals (all), acoustic guitar (4, 7, 9, 11), electric guitar (2, 3, 8), piano (1, 5, 6), organ (5), tack piano (10)<ref name=Norman/>
*[[Ringo Starr]] – drums (1–3, 5, 6, 8, 10)<ref name=Norman/>
*[[Klaus Voormann]] – bass guitar (1–3, 5, 6, 8, 10)<ref name=Norman/>
*[[Phil Spector]] – piano (7)<ref name=Norman/>
*[[Billy Preston]] – grand piano (10)<ref>Blaney 2005, p. 61</ref>
*[[Yoko Ono]] – "wind"
*[[Mal Evans]] – "tea and sympathy"{{sfn|Du Noyer|2010|p=18}}

==Charts==
{{col-begin}}
{{col-2}}

{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"
|+1970–1971 weekly chart performance
!Chart (1970–1971)
!Peak<br />position
|-
|align="left"|Australian [[Kent Music Report]]<ref name="auchart">{{Cite book|title=Australian Chart Book 1970–1992|last=Kent|first=David|author-link=David Kent (historian)|publisher=Australian Chart Book|location=St Ives, NSW|year=1993|isbn=0-646-11917-6|title-link=Kent Music Report}}</ref>
|3
|-
|align="left"|Canadian ''[[RPM (magazine)|RPM]]'' 100 Albums<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/028020-119.01-e.php?&file_num=nlc008388.3736&type=1&interval=20&PHPSESSID=c6btf3r8hs459qqt5ln3o3dcv5|title=Top Albums/CDs – Volume 14, No. 22, January 16, 1971|work=[[RPM (magazine)|RPM]]|access-date=30 September 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131224120746/http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/028020-119.01-e.php?&file_num=nlc008388.3736&type=1&interval=20&PHPSESSID=c6btf3r8hs459qqt5ln3o3dcv5|archive-date=24 December 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref>
|2
|-
|align="left"| Italian Albums (''[[Musica e dischi]]'')<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.musicaedischi.it/classifiche_archivio.php|title=Classifiche|work=[[Musica e dischi]]|language=it|access-date=January 23, 2024}} ''Select "Album" in the "Tipo" field, type "John Lennon" in the "Titolo" field and press "cerca".''</ref>
|8
|-
|align="left"|Japanese ''[[Oricon]]'' LPs<ref name="Jachart">{{cite web|url=http://www7a.biglobe.ne.jp/~yamag/album/al_beatles.html |title=a-ビートルズ – Yamachan Land (Archives of the Japanese record charts) – Albums Chart Daijiten – The Beatles |language=ja |date=30 December 2007 |access-date=14 September 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120214060626/http://www7a.biglobe.ne.jp/~yamag/album/al_beatles.html |archive-date=14 February 2012 }}</ref>
|5
|-
|align="left"|Netherlands [[MegaCharts|MegaChart]] Albums<ref name="nlchart" />
|1
|-
|align="left"|Norwegian [[VG-lista]] Albums<ref name="norchart">{{cite web|title=norwegiancharts.com – Norwegian harts portal|publisher=[[VG-lista]]|url=http://norwegiancharts.com/weekchart.asp?year=1971&date=197108&cat=a|access-date=17 September 2011}}NOTE: Reference mistakenly indicates "Some Time in New York City" was placed at number-four on the chart, but it was not recorded as of 1971</ref>
|4
|-
|align="left"|Swedish [[Sverigetopplistan|Kvällstoppen Chart]]<ref name="swechart">[http://www.hitsallertijden.nl/charts/swedish%20charts/SwedishCharts%200969-0872.pdf "Swedish Charts 1969–1972/Kvällstoppen – Listresultaten vecka för vecka" > Mars 1971 > 2 Mars] (in Swedish), hitsallertijden.nl (retrieved 13 February 2013). ''Note: [[Sverigetopplistan|Kvällstoppen]] combined sales for albums and singles in the one chart; ''John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band'' was the eighth placed album on 2 and 9 March 1971.''</ref>
|8
|-
|align="left"|[[UK Albums Chart]]<ref name="UKchart">{{cite web| url=https://www.officialcharts.com/search/albums/John%20Lennon%20And%20The%20Plastic%20Ono%20Band| title= The Official Charts Company – John Lennon And Plastic Ono Band|publisher=[[UK Albums Chart]]| access-date=3 October 2011}}</ref>
|8
|-
|align="left"|US [[Billboard 200|''Billboard'' Top LPs]]<ref name="USchart">{{cite magazine|title=John Lennon Chart History: Billboard 200|magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]|url=https://www.billboard.com/artist/john-lennon/chart-history/tlp/|access-date=1 May 2021}}</ref>
|6
|-
|align="left"|West German [[Media Control]] Albums Chart<ref name="dechart">{{cite web
| url = http://www.officialcharts.de/album.asp?artist=John+Lennon+%2F+Plastic+Ono+Band&title=John+Lennon+%2F+Plastic+Ono+Band&cat=a&country=de| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140719081817/http://www.officialcharts.de/album.asp?artist=John+Lennon+%2F+Plastic+Ono+Band&title=John+Lennon+%2F+Plastic+Ono+Band&cat=a&country=de| url-status = dead| archive-date = 19 July 2014| title = Album Search: John Lennon: John Lennon / Plastic Ono Band| language = de| publisher = Media Control| access-date =3 October 2011}}</ref>
|39
|}
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|+2021 weekly chart performance
! scope="col"| Chart (2021)
! scope="col"| Peak<br />position
|-
|align="left"|German Albums ([[GfK Entertainment charts|GfK]])<ref>{{cite web|title=John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band|url=https://www.offiziellecharts.de/album-details-22571|publisher=offiziellecharts.de|access-date=2 May 2021}}</ref>
|7
|-
|align="left"|Irish Albums ([[Irish Recorded Music Association|IRMA]])<ref>{{cite web|title=Irish Albums Chart: 30 April 2021|url=https://www.irma.ie/#chartTab2|publisher=Irish Recorded Music Association|access-date=2 May 2021}}</ref>
|59
|-
|align="left"|[[Scottish Singles and Albums Charts|Scottish Albums]] ([[Official Charts Company|OCC]])<ref>{{cite web|title=Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100: 30 April 2021 – 06 May 2021|url=https://www.officialcharts.com/charts/scottish-albums-chart/|publisher=Official Charts Company|access-date=2 May 2021}}</ref>
|2
|-
| scope="row"|Swedish Albums ([[Sverigetopplistan]])<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.sverigetopplistan.se/chart/54?dspy=2021&dspp=17|title=Veckolista Album, vecka 17|publisher=[[Sverigetopplistan]]|language=sv|access-date=29 April 2021}}</ref>
| 46
|}
{{col-2}}

{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"
|+1971 year-end chart performance
!Chart (1971)
!Position
|-
|align="left"|[[List of Top 25 albums for 1971 in Australia|Australian Albums]]<ref name="auchart" />
|22
|-
|align="left"|Netherlands MegaChart Albums<ref>{{cite web|url=http://dutchcharts.nl/jaaroverzichten.asp?year=1971&cat=a |title=Dutch charts jaaroverzichten 1971|format=ASP|language=nl|access-date=2 April 2014}}</ref>
|2
|-
|align="left"|US [[Billboard Year-End|''Billboard'' Year-End]]<ref name="USYearend71">{{Cite magazine|url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_SQ8EAAAAMBAJ|page=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_SQ8EAAAAMBAJ/page/n156 15]|quote=billboard 1971 84 plastic ono band.|title= 1971 Year-end Albums – The Billboard Pop Albums|access-date=3 October 2011|magazine=Billboard|date=25 December 1971}}</ref>
|84
|}
{{col-end}}

== Certifications ==
{{Certification Table Top|caption=Certifications for ''John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band''}}
{{Certification Table Entry|title=Plastic Ono Band|artist=John Lennon|type=album|relyear=2021|certyear=2021|region=United Kingdom|award=Silver|id=17755-282-2|note=2021 edition}}
{{Certification Table Entry|title=Plastic Ono Band|artist=John Lennon|type=album|relyear=1970|certyear=1971|region=United States|award=Gold}}
{{Certification Table Bottom|nosales=true|streaming=true}}

==Notes==
{{Reflist|30em|group=nb}}

==References==
'''Citations'''
{{Reflist}}

'''Sources'''
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite book|last=Badman|first=Keith|title=The Beatles Diary Volume 2: After the Break-Up 1970–2001|publisher=Omnibus Press|location=London|year=2001|isbn=978-0-7119-8307-6}}
* {{cite book|last=Doggett|first=Peter|author-link=Peter Doggett|title=You Never Give Me Your Money: The Beatles After the Breakup|publisher=It Books|location=New York, NY|year=2011|isbn=978-0-06-177418-8}}
* {{cite book|last=Du Noyer|first=Paul|author-link=Paul Du Noyer|title=John Lennon: The Stories Behind Every Song 1970–1980|year=2010|publisher=Carlton Books|location=London|isbn=978-1-84732-665-2}}
* {{cite book|last=Frontani|first=Michael|chapter=The Solo Years|editor-last=Womack|editor-first=Kenneth|year=2009|title=The Cambridge Companion to the Beatles|location=Cambridge, UK|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-68976-2}}
* {{cite book|last=Hertsgaard|first=Mark|author-link=Mark Hertsgaard|title=A Day in the Life: The Music and Artistry of the Beatles|publisher= Pan Books|location=London|year=1996|isbn=0-330-33891-9}}
* {{cite book|last1=Madinger|first1=Chip|last2=Easter|first2=Mark|title=Eight Arms to Hold You: The Solo Beatles Compendium|publisher=44.1 Productions|location=Chesterfield, MO|year=2000|isbn=0-615-11724-4}}
* {{cite book|last=Norman|first=Philip|author-link=Philip Norman (author)|title=John Lennon: The Life|year=2008|publisher=Ecco|location=New York, NY|isbn=978-0-06-075402-0|url=https://archive.org/details/johnlennonlife00norm}}
* {{cite book|last=Rodriguez|first=Robert|title=Fab Four FAQ 2.0: The Beatles' Solo Years, 1970–1980|publisher=Backbeat Books|location=Milwaukee, WI|year=2010|isbn=978-1-4165-9093-4|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/missodellmyhardd00odel}}
* {{cite book|last=Schaffner|first=Nicholas|author-link=Nicholas Schaffner|title=The Beatles Forever|publisher=McGraw-Hill|location=New York, NY|year=1978|isbn=0-07-055087-5|url=https://archive.org/details/beatlesforever00scha}}
* {{cite book|last=Spizer|first=Bruce|author-link=Bruce Spizer|title=The Beatles Solo on Apple Records|publisher=498 Productions|location=New Orleans, LA|year=2005|isbn=0-9662649-5-9}}
* {{cite book|first=Richie|last=Unterberger|author-link=Richie Unterberger|title=The Unreleased Beatles: Music & Film|publisher=Backbeat Books|location=San Francisco, CA|year=2006|isbn=978-0-87930-892-6}}
* {{cite book|last=Woffinden|first=Bob|author-link=Bob Woffinden|title=The Beatles Apart|publisher=Proteus|location=London|year=1981|isbn=0-906071-89-5}}
* {{cite book|last=Womack|first=Kenneth|author-link=Kenneth Womack|year=2014|title=The Beatles Encyclopedia: Everything Fab Four|publisher=ABC-CLIO|location=Santa Barbara, CA|isbn= 978-0-313-39171-2}}
{{refend}}

==External links==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20120407005437/http://www.radio3net.ro/dbartists/supersearch/UGxhc3RpYyBPbm8gQmFuZA==/Plastic%20Ono%20Band Album online] on [[Radio3Net]] a radio channel of [[Romanian Radio Broadcasting Company]]
*{{Discogs master|type=album|72864|name=John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band}}

{{John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band}}
{{John Lennon}}
{{Plastic Ono Band}}
{{Phil Spector}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:John Lennon Plastic Ono Band}}
[[Category:1970 debut albums]]
[[Category:Apple Records albums]]
[[Category:John Lennon albums]]
[[Category:Plastic Ono Band albums]]
[[Category:Albums produced by John Lennon]]
[[Category:Albums produced by Yoko Ono]]
[[Category:Albums produced by Phil Spector]]
[[Category:Avant-pop albums]]
[[Category:Works subject to expurgation]]