I Found Out

"I Found Out"
Song by John Lennon
from the album John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band
Released11 December 1970
Recorded27 September 1970
StudioEMI, London
GenreBlues rock
Length3:37
LabelApple/EMI
Songwriter(s)John Lennon
Producer(s)John Lennon, Yoko Ono, Phil Spector

"I Found Out" is a song by the English musician John Lennon from his 1970 album John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band.

Writing and recording

[edit]

The song expresses Lennon's disillusionment with a world dominated by what he saw as false religion and idols, and warns against being taken in by such beliefs.[1]

Recorded at EMI Studios on 27 September 1970,[2] the instrumentation, style, and production of the song are typical of Lennon's Plastic Ono Band era work. The song features a low, rumbling tremolo guitar, thumping drums, a rolling, minimal bass guitar line, and a scathing vocal delivery. The recording is bare-bones, in stark contrast to the heavy production of Lennon's later albums. It is influenced more heavily by blues music than other songs on Plastic Ono Band.

Reception

[edit]

In a review for Plastic Ono Band, website Classic Rock Review described "I Found Out" as a "dark but fine tune", describing the bass line as the track's highlight.[3] Ultimate Classic Rock critic Nick DeRiso called "I Found Out" the most underrated song on John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band.[4]

Stereogum contributors Timothy and Elizabeth Bracy rated it as Lennon's 8th best solo song, saying that "This is the artist at his funniest and most withering."[5]

Personnel

[edit]

The musicians who performed on the original recording were as follows:[6]

[edit]

The song was covered by the Red Hot Chili Peppers on Working Class Hero: A Tribute to John Lennon.[7]

The song has also been recorded by Nathaniel Mayer on I Just Want to Be Held (2004).[8]

The song was featured during the end credits of the sixth episode of season three of The Marvelous Mrs.Maisel.[9]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "John Lennon: I Found Out | The Beatles Bible". beatlesbible.com. 2 August 2010. Retrieved 3 February 2017.
  2. ^ Madinger, Chip; Raile, Scott (2015). Lennonology – Strange Days Indeed – A Scrapbook of Madness. Chesterfield, MO: Open Your Books, LLC. p. 210. ISBN 978-1-63110-175-5.
  3. ^ "Plastic Ono Band by John Lennon | Classic Rock Review". 21 May 2015. Retrieved 20 July 2017.
  4. ^ DeRiso, Nick (5 June 2021). "Underrated John Lennon: The Most Overlooked Song from Each LP". Ultimate Classic Rock. Retrieved 3 January 2023.
  5. ^ Bracy, Timothy; Bracy, Elizabeth (13 May 2014). "The 10 Best John Lennon Songs". Stereogum. Retrieved 3 May 2023.
  6. ^ Blaney, John (2005). John Lennon: Listen To This Book. Guildford, Great Britain: Biddles Ltd. p. 58. ISBN 0-9544528-1-X.
  7. ^ "Various - Working Class Hero - A Tribute To John Lennon". Discogs. 1995. Retrieved 20 July 2017.
  8. ^ I Just Want to Be Held - Nathaniel Mayer. Allmusic, retrieved 15 October 2020
  9. ^ Leeds, Sarene (7 December 2019). "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel Recap: Oh, Honey". Vulture. Retrieved 15 October 2020.