Isolation (John Lennon song)
"Isolation" | |
---|---|
Song by John Lennon | |
from the album John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band | |
Released | 1970 |
Recorded | 26 September – 9 October 1970 |
Studio | EMI, London |
Genre | Blues |
Length | 2:51 |
Label | Apple/EMI |
Songwriter(s) | John Lennon |
Producer(s) | John Lennon, Yoko Ono, Phil Spector |
John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band track listing | |
11 tracks
|
"Isolation" is a 1970 song appearing on John Lennon's first official solo album release, John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band. It ends side one of the album, and is the fifth track. In the Philippines, Apple Records released "Isolation" as the B-side to "Mother", the single off John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band, in contrast to most countries where the B-side was Yoko Ono's "Why". It was also released on an EP in Mexico along with "Mother", "Look at Me" and "My Mummy's Dead".
Lyrics and music
At the time, Lennon began to feel disillusioned with fame and where his life was heading, with the break-up of the Beatles, the attacks he and Yoko Ono were facing at the time, as well as acute insecurity and self-doubt brought on through his extensive drug use. "Isolation" reveals Lennon's feelings of vulnerability, despite his fame and fortune.[1][2] Beatles biographer John Blaney sees this as continuing the theme of the album, as Lennon strips away another layer of myth that hides the true reality.[2] Blaney sees this revelation as being particularly painful for Lennon, for whom belonging and acceptance was very important.[2]
The lyrics begin by stating that even though he and Ono seem to have everything, they are still as lonely and isolated as everyone else.[3] The second verse focuses on the couple's political activism, which many oppose generating even further isolation.[3] The third verse generalizes the situation further. Lennon acknowledges that the people who have caused his pain can't be blamed, since we are all part of the same irrational world, and thus we are all victims of the world's insanity.[2][3] This verse borrows from an older song, Barrett Strong's "Oh I Apologize", the B-side to his 1959 single "Money (That's What I Want)".[3] In "Oh I Apologize", Strong sang "I don't expect you to take me back/after I've caused you so much pain."[3] The third verse of "Isolation" begins "I don't expect you to understand/After you caused so much pain" before noting that the listener is not to blame.[3] The fourth and final verse puts people's fears of each other and even of the sun into the context of a universe in which the sun is permanent but our world may not be.[4]
Musicologist
Recording
Recorded at EMI Studios on 6 October 1970, Lennon double-tracked his vocals for the middle section, which were panned to each side in
Reception
Mellers regards Lennon's achievement in creating African-American-style blues as an Englishman as being equivalent to that of Bob Dylan's creating such blues songs as a white American.[4] Ben Urish and Ken Bielen describe "Isolation" as "direct and moving" and praise Lennon's vocal as being both "animated and nuanced."[3] Music journalist Paul Du Noyer does not rank "Isolation" among Lennon's best songs but feels that it "transcends the well-worn 'lonely at the top' trap" by generalizing the emotions to those that many people feel at times.[1]
Stereogum contributors Timothy and Elizabeth Bracy rated it as Lennon's 6th best solo song, saying that it seems "to wearily recognize absolute loneliness as an inevitable condition of the human experience" and features a "beautiful, ascending piano line reminiscent of nothing so much as Duke Ellington's breathtaking standard 'In a Sentimental Mood'."[5] Far Out critic Tim Coffman rated it as Lennon's 4th greatest deep cut, saying "Using a constantly shifting chord progression, Lennon takes us through the different thoughts that permeated his mind in the 1970s, being afraid of not ending up with anyone at the end of the day. While he eventually finds his bliss with Yoko, Lennon empathises with those who feel alone in the world, sounding world-weary as he delivers the main chorus line."[6]
References
- ^ ISBN 1560252103.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-906002-02-2.
- ^ ISBN 9780275991807.)
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link - ^ a b c d e f Mellers, Wilfrid (1973). Twilight of the Gods:The Music of the Beatles. Schirmer Books. pp. 162–163.
- ^ Bracy, Timothy; Bracy, Elizabethh (13 May 2014). "The 10 Best John Lennon Songs". Stereogum. Retrieved 2023-05-03.
- ^ Coffman, Tim (22 January 2024). "10 greatest John Lennon deep cuts". Far Out. Retrieved 2024-01-24.