The Lennon remaster thread turning into an opinions-on-Yoko thread inspired me to dig up this article I wrote for the Baltimore Gay Paper upon the re-release of her catalogue on Ryko. The asterisks are my "star ratings" of each of her CDs, although there are a couple newer ones missing: There are few well-known musicians that have been given as little benefit of the doubt as Yoko Ono. That is, people seem to have a strong opinion about her based on something other than her music. Her most rewarding work is, shall we say, difficult in the same way that Ornette Coleman's music demands a listener's commitment, and sometimes even concentration (gasp!) Coleman even collaborates with Ono on one track, and they play off each other with playful abandon and intensity. This is hardly the stuff of which hits are made, and record companies have a long history of giving Ono short shrift. There is a stark irony in that her first new release in ten years appeared a scant two weeks before the first of the trilogy of highly publicized Beatles Anthology albums. Capitol has long deleted her 1970s' albums and predictably dribbled out her recent stellar Rising and Rising Mixes CDs with very little promotion. Now, for the first time, Ono's back catalog is receiving the care it so richly deserves, thanks to Rykodisc. They have reissued all of her Capitol/Apple albums, both solo and in collaboration with John Lennon, and some of her post-Apple works. Unlike much of the material on Onobox, which was remixed from the multitrack session tapes with varying results, the new releases feature mostly original mixes. Original artwork is reproduced with each individually numbered CD, with bonus tracks featuring B-sides and previously unreleased material. The remastered CDs reportedly boast a fuller, warmer sound than their vinyl counterparts. However, I am unable to verify this since Ryko ran out of CDs and dubbed some hastily made cassettes, complete with handwritten paper J-cards. Let's hope the people who remaster and package these things are more prepared than their promotional staff. Here is a brief run down: Two Virgins 1968 * Squawks and squeals from John and Yoko's first night together. Two side-long recordings of them messing around in the studio. EMI refused to distribute this because of the nude cover, so they contracted it out to Bill Cosby's tiny Tetragrammaton label for pressing and distribution. Not very interesting listening. Next. Life with the Lions 1969 ** Things pick up a little here. John and Yoko freaking out live in concert, and some conceptual pieces: her unborn baby's heartbeat, a track of silence, a track of messing with the radio dial. Wedding Album 1969 ** More conceptual music: John and Yoko calling each other in every tone of voice imaginable, reading newspaper articles about themselves, talking to reporters, and ordering room service from their hotel room. Yoko Ono/Plastic Ono Band 1970 ***** Here is where the real story starts. An avant-garde punk masterpiece that is still ahead of its time 27 years later. All improvised live in the studio. All gloriously insane. Gut-wrenching, unapologetic, screaming, aggressive, evocative, terrifying, and exciting as hell. It also features John Lennon's best guitar playing. If your heart doesn't race while listening to this you need to adjust your pacemaker. Fly 1971 ***** Continues where the last one left off: basic tracks recorded live in the studio, mostly improvised, but incorporating overdubs, and attempts to create more varied textures. Another classic. Approximately Infinite Universe 1972 **** Chapter 2. Yoko relies more heavily on 3 minute songs rather than lengthy improvised pieces. Favorites include "I Felt Like Smashing my Face in a Clear Glass Window," and "What a Bastard the World Is," in which she screams at her lover "Are you listening, you jerk! You pig! You bastard! You scum of the earth!" She also has a knack for haunting ballads. Lots of feminist themes running through this, some more successful than others, but always fearless in her approach. This rocks. Feeling the Space 1973 *** Things get a little spotty from here on. This LP lacks both the ferocious intensity of her earlier work and the strong focus of Approximately Infinite Universe. There are a couple of great songs, "Woman Power" and "Coffin Car," but the rest of the LP is moderately pedestrian. A Story 1974 *** Unreleased until her boxed set. A good record, some of these tracks reappeared in a more fully realized form in her next LP. Season of Glass 1981 **** A powerful collection of songs in the wake of Lennon's murder. Features his blood spattered glasses on the cover, and some of her most inspired music. It's Alright 1982 ** Starpeace 1985 ** Occasional good tune buried on these. Not her best work. Mediocre songs, failed attempts at writing anthems, hired studio musicians sounding like hired studio musicians. Bleh. Thankfully she returned to form with 1995's Rising. In her earlier releases Ono utilizes a unique form of evocative, disorienting sound-making which she later abandons in favor of more traditional musical structures. Although she is an excellent lyricist and musician, her genius lies in her ability to combine musical and artistic forms into unique and often lengthy aural "pieces" (as opposed to "songs"). Ono's music has always been controversial because in her best work she redefines and dispenses with such musical frivolities as songs, lyrics, music, and singing. Rather than working within the limitations of a form, she redefines and works on its perimeters--close enough to feel familiar and outside of it enough to be disorienting. This is her unique and lasting contribution to music.
I can't agree with you at all. YOKO is not by any means talented unless you call turning John into a zombie. Sorry her art sucks! Her music sucks! I miss John's music which was a major part of my youth and still is. Why? Just don't get it. I guess I never will.
I don't think Yoko ever cared whether or not her music or art was accepted by the masses. She had enough eastern thought/philosophy to get herself beyond those concepts that anchor many of us down. She knew her voice was the most beautiful voice in the world. As Krishnamurti would probably say, "the voice is not the thing." It has nothing to do with the ability or inability to sing. It just is. I've never cared for her singing style either, but she as a person, or her relationship with John, never bothered me. As a teen in the 60s I saw the two of them as a cohesive force, bookends to each other's self. She might have inspired or at least been the catalyst behind some of Lennon's greatest works, or maybe not. Had he stayed with Cynthia there might not be a Revolution or Strawberry Fields. Imagine that!
