I listened Plastic Ono Band in mid-2018 but never had the chance to listen to anything else from Lennon's solo career until late November 2020 when I decided to complete his discography. I recommend checking out Plastic Ono Band, Imagine, and Double Fantasy. You can also check out Walls and Bridges afterwards if you'd like because it's generally better reviewed by other people.
Plastic Ono Band (1970): A+
Imagine (1971): A
John Lennon and Yoko Ono: Some Time in New York City (1972): C
Mind Games (1973): C+
Walls and Bridges (1974): B-
Rock 'n' Roll (1975): C+
John Lennon and Yoko Ono: Double Fantasy (1980): B
John Lennon and Yoko Ono: Milk and Honey (1984): B
Imagine (1971):
It's funny that Lennon lays out his perfect world of "a brotherhood of man" on "Imagine" and later in the track list drops the incredibly scathing "How Do You Sleep?" about his old pal Paul--even more surprising is that George Harrison plays lead guitar. However, I suppose Lennon acknowledges and apologies for such contradictions on "Jealous Guy." I also suppose those contradictions bother no one, mostly because "How Do You Sleep?" is an exceptional piece of music. The rest of this album is equally exceptional and it's more diverse musically than his debut from the quiet title track, to the heavy "I Don't Wanna Be a Solider Mama," to the vulnerable "How?" and to the folk-rock classic "Oh Yoko!" I was a little worried Phil Spector's production would be over-powering like it was on parts of Let It Be--namely "The Long and Winding Road"--but his obvious contributions (the strings) are subtly done and restrained, which means they add a lot. Too bad George's guitar solo on "Gimme Some Truth" is also restrained because I wouldn't have minded if he played forever. A
John Lennon and Yoko Ono: Some Time in New York City (1972):
Despite its grade, this isn't all terrible--"John Sinclair," for instance, is probably the funniest songs in Lennon's solo catalog--and the album is usually too harshly criticized. The studio album is mostly fine and although I won't likely return to any of Yoko's studio tracks, they are quite listenable and have a lot of personality--"We're All Water" is hilarious and a pretty good lyric too. Another awful song, "Woman Is the N----- of the World," admittedly has one of the best instrumentals on the album but is obviously ruined. Yet, despite all of this, I probably would have given this album one grade higher if not for the live album that follows the studio. It's also not all terrible either--it's a decent introduction to Zappa for me--but I can only stand listening to mediocre experimental music for so long. C
Mind Games (1973):
This is a stranger product than Some Time in New York City. With Two Virgins, mediocre experimental music from Lennon became expected and with his work from the Beatles and his first two solo albums, excellent rock music became expected. The title track, which is pretty much as good as it gets, is too bland and lackluster to ever kick start the album and it's hard to say if "Tight A$" is even as good as his past humorous work. C+
Walls and Bridges (1974):
John was right to bet Elton John that "Whatever Get You Thru the Night" wasn't going to number one, but it's better and more spirited than anything on Mind Games. Although there are many improvements to be happy about, the songwriting and production suggests that he's still quite lost--too often strings are his solution to making a song arrangement more full. And the fact that the songs with strings are the best songs suggests that he no longer knows how to record without a crutch. B-
Rock 'n' Roll (1975):
"Be-Bop-A-Lula" and "Stand By Me" are the keepers and everything else is fine, although none of the songs are better than the originals or even other covers that I've heard. C+
John Lennon and Yoko Ono: Double Fantasy (1980):
Lennon is at the very top of his game for these songs because not a single one of his songs is even slightly mediocre. However, Ono is a different story. I actually liked some of Ono's tracks on Some Time in New York City because the absurdity of the songs was entertaining. Here, she usually takes herself too seriously for me to actively enjoy anything--especially "Kiss Kiss Kiss," in which she imitates an orgasm--except "I'm Moving On," which is only two minutes and twenty seconds. B
John Lennon and Yoko Ono: Milk and Honey (1984):
Of course, Lennon's songs are weaker than his songs on Double Fantasy, but they aren't a terrible step down and they're better than most of his songs on Mind Games and Walls and Bridges. However, what really makes this album is Yoko Ono, who delivers her best material yet--not very experimental anymore, she's comfortably moved into an interesting and engaging lane of pop. I still prefer Lennon's songs, but there's no longer a serious divide between quality. B
