Track #5: Isolation

Posted on September 22, 2014 by Manel Guerrero

One of my all-time favourite songs by John Lennon. This is a beautiful song who talks about feeling alone in this world, crowded and agressive to the people. Original was recorded again only by Lennon (piano and vocals), Starr (drums) and Voormann (bass), and it’s very remarkable the simple and direct instrumentation. I have changed a bit this, changing the piano song for a wurlitzer classic keyboard and added a simple guitar…John’s piano sound is unmatched!

We are now in the middle of the project, side one is finished and can’t wait to continue and record the next songs!

Hope you enjoy!

Este es uno de mis temas preferidos de John Lennon. Es una canción preciosa que habla del sentimiento de soledad que uno puede llegar a sentir en este mundo tan lleno de multitudes que a veces pueden ser tan agresivas con el individuo. Es una canción simple y directa, grabada únicamente con piano y voz (Lennon), batería (Starr) y bajo (Voormann). He cambiado algo el arreglo sustituyendo el piano por un teclado Wurlitzer y añadiendo una guitarra…el sonido de piano de John es inigualable!

Estamos a la mitad de proyecto, ya se ha completado la primera cara del disco y tengo muchas ganas de seguir con la segunda!

Espero que lo disfrutéis!

Track #3: I Found Out

Posted on January 24, 2014 by Manel Guerrero

I Found Out is one of the heaviest songs on the Plastic Ono Band. Acid both in the lyrics and the sound of the original track. John Lennon says “ah ok, ok, now I realize what’s happening, I ‘m not a kid”. Blaming the press, critics or crazy fans of The Beatles legacy. And all this speech over a raw and saturated instrumental base to levels that were only seen in the recording of “Revolution”, where the guitar plugged directly into the console channel saturated to the top almost makes burning the Abbey Road console!
For this recording I momentarily parked the idea of being only me who records all the instruments by my own and with my equipment and have recruited three incredible musicians to form a one-day-band and record I Found Out at Wicked Sound studios in Barcelona. Alongside Vicen Martinez (guitar), Kim Fanlo (bass) and Gabo (drums) have recorded this cover trying to get closer to the sound and spirit of the power trio formed by Lennon, Starr and Voormann. It has been an incredible experience for me and I can not help but be grateful for your support!
The video recording is created by Gerard Baró, who has managed to capture the atmosphere of the recording and, as always, bring his great talent to this project.

I Found Out es una de las canciones más duras del Plastic Ono Band. Tanto por lo ácido de la letra como por el sonido de la pista original. John Lennon nos explica “ah ok, ok, ya me doy cuenta de qué pasa, ya no soy un crío”. Cargando contra la prensa, la crítica o los fans locos herencia de The Beatles. Y todo este discurso sobre una base instrumental cruda y saturada a niveles que solo se habían visto en la grabación de “Revolution”, donde la guitarra conectada directamente al canal de la mesa de mezclas saturado a tope casi hace arder la mesa de mezclas de Abbey Road.
Para esta grabación he aparcado momentáneamente la idea de ser yo quien grabe todos los instrumentos solo con mis medios y he reclutado a tres músicos increibles para formar una banda por un día y grabar I Found Out en los estudios Wicked Sound de Barcelona. Junto a Vicen Martinez (guitarra), Kim Fanlo (bajo) y Gabo (drums) hemos grabado este cover intentando acercarnos al sonido y el espíritu del power trio formado por Lennon, Voormann y Starr. Ha sido una experiencia increible para mi y no puedo hacer otra cosa que agradecer su apoyo!
El video de la grabación es obra de Gerard Baró, que ha conseguido captar el ambiente de la grabación y, como siempre, aportar su gran talento a este proyecto.

Track #2: Hold On

Posted on November 14, 2013 by Manel Guerrero

This is a very emotional song. It reveals the fragility of each of us in adversity that hurt us every day. Lennon sings for him, for Yoko and for everyone. “You have to hold on, that’s all you can do.” A hard one but, basically, it gives us an optimistic message: we will win this fight.

Hold On is the second cover of this tribute: A short song with a very crude instrumentation and interpretation. I really enjoyed playing with the tremolo effect on the guitar throughout the track. This song proves me that sometimes the simplest is really the most complicated.

Hope you enjoy!

Esta es una canción muy emocional. Revela la fragilidad de cada uno de nosotros ante las adversidades que nos hieren cada día. Lennon canta para él, para Yoko y para todo el mundo. “Tienes que aguantar, es lo único que puedes hacer”. Parece una canción dura pero, en el fondo, nos da un mensaje optimista: vamos a ganar esta lucha.

Hold On es la segunda canción de este tributo: un tema corto y con una instrumentación e interpretación muy crudas. He disfrutado muchísimo jugando con el efecto de tremolo en la guitarra durante toda la pista. Esta canción me demuestra que a veces lo más sencillo es realmente lo más complicado.

Espero que la disfrutéis!

New video for Track #1 “Mother”, a John Lennon cover by Plastic Ono Man

Posted on October 21, 2013 by Manel Guerrero

It’s a great pleasure to show you the first video created for Plastic Ono Man! Hope you enjoy and thanks for watching!

Directed by Gerard Baró.

Aerial Photography by Dave Danvers.

Sweetness and simpathy by Dina.

Cover of song “Mother” is recorded and performed by Manel Guerrero.

I have to say THANK YOU to the nice job done by the first contributors of the project. It’s an incredible way to start!!

“YOU are the Plastic Ono Band!”

Posted on October 7, 2013 by Manel Guerrero

With these words John Lennon and Yoko Ono showed what was the concept for their new project: a supergroup open to anyone who collaborate in their performances , recordings and works .
Thus, the first of the apparitions of this new band was in 1969 , (before the breakup of The Beatles) for the Toronto Rock’nRoll Revival Festival . John & Yoko formed for the occasion a band comprised of Eric Clapton, Klaus Voorman and Alan White (future Yes drummer) , rehearsing for the concert some songs by The Beatles and rock’n’roll classics in the flight to Toronto.
The first studio work credited to the Plastic Ono Band was the famous single “Give Peace a Chance” , recorded in a hotel room in Montreal (Canada) and has the support of many friends and fans doing backing vocals and percussion. This song became an anthem for the anti – military movement in the 70’s . To this song followed the edition of the live album “Live Peace in Toronto” and the publication of two singles preceding the album to which I pay tribute In Plastic Ono Man project: “Instant Karma” and “Cold Turkey“.

Later on Plastic Ono Band became a secondary credit but since 2009, Yoko Ono and Sean Lennon have revisited it performing live in some concerts.

Con esta frase John Lennon y Yoko Ono mostraban cuál era el concepto para su nuevo proyecto: un supergrupo abierto a cualquiera que colaborara en sus actuaciones, grabaciones o obras.
Así, la primera de las apariciones de esta nueva banda se produjo en 1969, (antes de la ruptura de The Beatles) con motivo del festival Toronto Rock’nRoll Revival. John & Yoko formaron para la ocasión una banda compuesta por Eric Clapton, Klaus Voorman y Alan White (futuro batería de Yes), ensayando para el concierto algunos temas de The Beatles y clásicos del rock’n’roll en el mismo avion hacia Toronto.
El primer trabajo de estudio acreditado a la Plastic Ono Band fue el famosísimo single “Give Peace a Chance“, grabado en una habitacion de hotel de Montreal (Canadà) y que cuenta con la colaboración de muchos amigos y fans haciendo los coros y la percusión. Esta canción se convertiría en un himno anti-militar durante los 70. A esta canción les siguió la edición del directo en Toronto “Live Peace in Toronto” y la edición de 2 singles inmediatamente anteriores al album al cual rendimos tributo en Plastic Ono Man: “Instant Karma” y “Cold Turkey“.

Más adelante, Plastic Ono Band sería un crédito secundario en los trabajos de John & Yoko, pero desde 2009, ésta última junto a Sean Lennon, han recuperado el concepto ofreciendo algunos directos.

Track #1: Mother

Posted on October 1, 2013 by Manel Guerrero

The song that opens the album John Lennon / Plastic Ono Band. This is a masterpiece that Lennon wrote as a way to push away the ghosts of the past in reference to the early death of his mother and the non-relationship with his father.

I have not used the original instrumentation because I have based the cover on a bootleg recording which was actually a rehearsal for the final recording of the song. I am very proud of this recording as I only used two mics to record the whole instruments and vocals. You can visit the Covers page to download lyrics and see the credits.

Hope you enjoy!

La primera canción del álbum John Lennon / Plastic Ono Band. Se trata de una obra de arte que Lennon escribió a modo de espantar los fantasmas del pasado en referencia a la prematura muerte de su madre y la nula relación con su padre.

No he utilizado la instrumentación original del tema porque he basado el cover en una grabación no oficial que en realidad es un ensayo para la grabación final del disco. Estoy muy orgulloso de este cover ya que unicamente utilizé 2 micros para grabarlo todo. Podéis visitar la página Covers para bajar la letra y ver los créditos.

Disfrutad!

The day it all started

Posted on September 24, 2013 by Manel Guerrero

Luckily I keep a photo of the day that I made the first recording for this project!

That day I took a morning off and I dedicated it to record myself: I wanted to try some things and, in a rather improvised way, I decided to record all the tracks of the song “Mother”: drums, bass, guitars and vocals. That was a year and a half ago!
Although I loved the result, the recording remained in the drawer until I decided to launch this project.
In addition to editing, mixing, and mastering this song, I have spent the last few months to record demos of the covers of Plastic Ono Band and I already started to record the final tracks.
I could have tried to record the song again but in the case of “Mother”, I preferred to keep the spirit of that morning so that the tracks I recorded that day are the same as you can hear next October 2.

Stay tuned!