Sgt. Pecker
“Unfinished Music No. 1: Two Virgins” John and Yoko Apple Records 1968
With all due respect, this is a true cultural touchstone. Imagine, 40 years ago, the leader of the most famous musical group in the world and one of the leading social, political and creative voices of his generation releasing an album with a cover of himself and his new girlfriend posing for a full-frontal nude . The Beatles had the freedom to do whatever they wanted and the whole world was watching. (This was just the second record released on their own Apple label after George Harrison’s solo Wonderwall soundtrack.) With this radical “artistic” statement, (looped bits and pieces of music and conversation recorded one night prior to John and Yoko “consummating” their relationship), the Beatles of old were clearly no more. Perhaps it took this kind of “up yours” statement to tear himself from the group and his public image and begin his journey as a solo artist. The response to it, and Yoko, from the press and the fans was vitriolic and unkind.
(131 votes, average: 2.98 out of 5)
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June 27th, 2011 at 8:56 pm
I bought this for a dollar at a RadioShack in 1972. It came with a brown paper cover, “holes” showing only the faces front and back. As I walked down the sidewalk of the strip mall with my new purchase, I removed it from the cover, the front facing away from me. A housewife was walking towards us carrying two bags of groceries and my roommate said the look on her face, her legs momentarily buckling, was well worth the price.
September 10th, 2011 at 8:51 pm
looks like John’s got a woody goin’ on
September 2nd, 2015 at 9:45 am
It may be awful but they didn’t crowbar anything onto a proper Beatle record after The White Album. Also, as-per George Harrison’s LP of Moog noise Electronic Music, there could be sampling value in the record nowadays.
Often going out of their way to play the media or court controversy, the O-Boogies did get the levels of attention they sought.