John Lennon Unfinished Music #1: Two Virgins CD

Subtitled UNFINISHED MUSIC NO. 1, this was the first of a series of recordings that were released near the beginning of John Lennon and Yoko Ono's relationship. Ono, a member of the Fluxus art movement, was a respected artist and had been producing pieces in non-traditional media (sound, video, conceptual) throughout the '60s--in fact she met Lennon when he came to one of her gallery exhibitions. With the Beatles in often-fractious circumstances at that time, Lennon poured his energies into collaborations with her.

The two long pieces which comprise the bulk of this CD were originally a side each of a vinyl record (the bonus track, a lovely song called "Remember Love," was the B-side to their "Give Peace a Chance" single). They're both sound collages which incorporate found sounds, bits of other recordings, some keyboards and other instruments, as well as Lennon and Ono variously talking and vocalizing. This was the public's first glimpse of Yoko's particular style of singing which included whoops, warbles, and shrieks. The verbal exchanges between the couple are often quite charming and amusing.

At the time of its release, this duo album by John Lennon and Yoko Ono gained its greatest notice for its cover, a photograph that depicted the two standing before the camera naked. The recording, too, can be described as naked, in that it contains no music that would interfere with one's ability to hear the normal sounds of life. The record is not unlike what you might get if you turned on a tape recorder for a random half-hour in your home -- snatches of inaudible conversation far away from the microphone, footsteps, wind, and so on. Conceptual "music" in the Cage-ian sense, yes, but not popular music of the kind with which John Lennon had been previously associated in any sense at all. [The 1997 CD reissue adds the bonus track of Yoko Ono's ballad "Remember Love," the B-side of Plastic Ono Band's "Give Peace a Chance."] ~ William Ruhlmann

Recorded at John Lennon's home studio in Weybridge, Surrey, England in May 1968. "Remember Love" recorded at Hotel La Reine, Montreal, Canada on June 1, 1969. Originally released in 1968 on Apple Records.

Personnel: John Lennon (vocals, guitar, acoustic guitar, keyboards); Yoko Ono (vocals, wind).

Recording information: Room 1742 Hotel La Reine, Elizabeth, Montreal, Canada (05/??/1968-06/01/1969); Weybridge, Surrey, England (05/??/1968-06/01/1969).

Photographer: John Lennon.

Personnel: John Lennon (vocals, various instruments); Yoko Ono (vocals, various instruments).

Reissue producers: Yoko Ono, Rob Stevens.

Spin (9/97, p.157) - "...A lovely collage of whistling, tinkling, speaking, piano, guitar, wailing, and whatsit, TWO VIRGINS sounds a bit like the wilder abstractions of Gong or Amon Duul I..."