Customer Reviews

Plastic Ono Band

5 star:		(30)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(17)

 

 

Yoko Ono's "Plastic Ono Band" was released to coincide with her husband, John Lennon's, album of the same name. The cover art is almost identical (with a few subtle differences), and, believe it or not, so is the musical content.

The trick to listening to any Yoko album is not to approach it expecting pop music. Approach it with an open mind, open ears, and open heart. That said, certainly, John's "P.O.B." is much more accessible than Yoko's, but equally as harrowing. Both are powerful, direct, counterphobic assaults on pain and outrage. Key difference here: Yoko's "P.O.B." contains no actual words. She expresses herself here through wordless howls and largely improvised musical arrangements. Musically, she anticipates punk by almost five years (don't believe me? Check out "Why" and then try to argue your point with me!), and completely burns the barriers of what's allowed and what's not in music.

If you like the typical song structure (verse-chorus-verse-verse-chorus-break-middle-eight-chorus-out) and nothing else, "Yoko Ono/Plastic Ono Band" is not for you, stay far away from this album. But, if you're looking to give your eardrums a break from the formulaic schlock on the radio these days and listen to something truly innovative, get this one. Follow the booklet's advice: play it in the dark.

This music rocks! It doesn't sound Beatles at all - more like some odd combination of John Lennon's Plastic Ono sound and a noise band.

Listen to the opening track "Why", though...the bass and drums really lay down a groove, the guitar is dissonant, and Yoko's voice is crazy, agressive, and confident. It's like nothing else you'll hear, but it's all done so well. I think it's worth picking up.

November 9th 1966 was quite an auspicious day for John Lennon, and for the rest of the world in some small way, because when walked into London's Indica Gallery he met Yoko Ono. The lives of both were forever altered by the other, perhaps more so for Lennon as Yoko introduced him to the avant-garde art world from a perspective that was wholly new to him, and a world beyond Beatledom.

Four years later the albums John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band and Yoko Ono/Plastic Ono Band were simultaneously unleashed on Apple, the name of the label inspired by Yoko Ono, each featuring matching photos of John and Yoko under a tree on the front cover and a photograph of them as a child on the reverse. Both albums explore the themes of basics, innocence and childhood. On the John Lennon album, Yoko is credited with "wind".

John Lennon's first solo album after splitting from the Beatles obviously had an inbuilt importance, and probably outsold the Yoko Ono album many thousands of times over, but Yoko's was probably the more innovative and ahead of its time, and still sounds heady, fresh and exciting today.

The album starts with the sound of a tape machine being turned on and the sizzling rhythm section of Klaus Voormann and Ringo Starr begins, abetted by the sounds of John Lennon's screaming guitar in a style far more liberated than on any Beatle record. When Yoko comes in, screaming the title of the song, "Why" (the only discernable fragment of lyric on the whole album), we realize that Lennon's guitar has been cleverly mimicking and anticipating Yoko's vocal, which has an awesome ferocity and intensity, and in that moment she redefines the role of woman in music for generations to come. The following track, appropriately, is Why Not. Some of this intensity no doubt derives from the "primal therapy" of Arthur Janov that she and Lennon had undertaken prior to these sessions.

The Plastic Ono Band accompany Yoko throughout the album with a confidence and empathetic sure-footedness that carries the listener along with them, embellished only by some evocative sound effects. Ringo plays with a freedom and swing we had never heard from him before. The sessions, at Abbey Road in October 1970, must have been something to behold and one envies the four engineers who presided.

Two of the pieces, Why and Touch Me, may be familiar to some American record buyers as they were also apparently to be found on the B-sides of the Plastic Ono Band singles Mother and Power To The People.

The Plastic Ono Band do not appear on one track, which is a rehearsal for an earlier free-jazz show at the Albert Hall on 29 February 1968. While the Beatles were recording Lady Madonna at Abbey Road, Yoko Ono had returned to London to perform her original composition at a concert with the innovator Ornette Coleman at his invitation, and on the piece AOS they are assisted by legendary bassist Charlie Haden, along with David Izenzon and Edward Blackwell. The piece demonstrates that Yoko was part of a tradition of experimental, revolutionary music before the Beatles explored any such ideas on the White Album. It was because of her return to London that she and John Lennon were able to renew their personal, musical and creative relationship, of which one of the first results was the White Album's Revolution Number Nine.

It is a landmark album.

The three bonus tracks on this overdue CD edition are disappointing. Only the unnecessary 44-second fragment "Something More Abstract" comes from the Plastic Ono Band sessions, whilst the previously unreleased 7:30 version of Open Your Box is a raw early version of the piece, probably recorded in September 1969, before its final tempo and structure had been established. The finished version that debuted on the Power To The People single in the UK, dates from 1971 (confusingly, the same recording was re-titled Hirake for the album Fly). The final improvisation, The South Wind, features John and Yoko at home in New York, which puts it in a different time-frame, and more properly belongs on an album like Life With The Lions. After 16 long, long minutes, we are grateful that a telephone call brings the piece to a conclusion. Far more welcome would have been the Plastic Ono Band B-sides Remember Love and Who Has Seen The Wind? which have yet to make a CD appearance

Like Ornette Coleman, John Coltrane's later work or Charles Gayle are labeled "free jazz," this album could be called "free rock." Yoko Ono's previous albums were just noodling with tapes and knobs with John Lennon (some of it excellent, like "Life with the Lions," some of it quite mundane, boring, and as many of her detractors would say, irritating). "Plastic Ono Band," while not as lyrically cathartic as her husbands counterpart, Ono's backup band here (John Lennon, Ringo Starr, Klaus Voorman) and her scream commit 110% to Janov's primal scream therapy. Highlights include "Why" (do you think Thurston Moore listened to this before he formed Sonic Youth?) and "Aos" with Ornette Coleman on trumpet. Warning, this album is not for everybody. For the tame, it might cause yr ears to bleed.

Most people will hate this album, after all it features yoko screetching and snorting and soaring over Lennon's hard line guitar and Ringo's solid drumming. mmmm

There are other explorations here with rhythm and voice. Most of the time Ono manages to sound like a synthesiser, and to stretch what people could do with their voices on rock records. Sure not all the album is great - the 16 minute bonus track south wind could have easily been left in her apartment where it was made, and AOS sounds like almost everyother peice of sixties avante guarde. But that still leaves you a lot of passionate noise and rythm.

Anyone who likes experimental rock should have this in their collection.

In 1969, a crowded Toronto auditorium full of rock & rollers attending a rock & roll revival (featuring some of the biggest names in rock history) patiently awaited the much-publicized debut of John Lennon's 'Plastic Ono Band'. When the band finally took the stage, they played a set of the usual rock & roll favorites to which the crowd responded well. Then John turned the mic over to his new partner, Yoko... Music as the world knew it would never be the same!!

For her first solo album, Yoko divided her set between her newly created primal rock jams taking up side one and her more freeform avant-garde featured on side two. There is no question that the world was not exactly ready for the type of music this revolutionary album offered, but it did not deserve the negative response it recieved. Looking back on it now, this album was probably one of the most groundbreaking of it's era. Here we have a woman, a japanese woman at that, not only leading a rock band rather than just merely singing with it, but also using her voice more like a musical instrument rather than simply singing. The intense energy of the album was something that had not been experienced by most people at that time. From the opening guitar screech of "Why" to the final end of "Paper Shoes" the album never loses it's cretive edge. The two most powerful tracks on the album are of course the full-tilt rocker "Why" and the bluesy "Why Not" which at nearly 10 minutes never allows the listener to get bored. "Greenfield Morning..." is an interesting piece even if only for it's abnormally long title. In recent years, the song recieved a 'hats off' from fellow japanese pop singers Shonen Knife. Their song "Cycling Is Fun" features the line 'I wanna go, I wanna go to Greenfield with a baby carriage...', the song itself has nothing to do with Yoko, but it was a cute salute to the woman who started the whole alternative rock scene.

Side two is equally as intense, but in a different sense. "AOS", the first track, is a freeform jam Yoko recorded with jazz artist Ornett Coleman and others. The other two feature the Plastic Ono Band again, but are not quite as rock oriented as side one. This style of music may be hard to take for people who aren't experienced in it, but it in no way makes it bad.

The cd features two bonus tracks: an early version of "Open Your Box" and a piece entitled "Something More Abstract". "Open Your Box" as it appears here seems a little more, well 'funky' for lack of a better term. It has sort of a James Brown groove to it. This is really no suprise when you think about it, Yoko was, after all, involved in the black civil rights movement of that era. Even her later recording "Catman" features guitar scratching which gives a nod to Isaac Hayes' mega hit "Theme From 'Shaft'". "Something More Abstract" is just what the title suggests.

In 1969, a crowded Toronto auditorium full of rock & rollers attending a rock & roll revival (featuring some of the biggest names in rock history) patiently awaited the much-publicized debut of John Lennon's 'Plastic Ono Band'. When the band finally took the stage, they played a set of the usual rock & roll favorites to which the crowd responded well. Then John turned the mic over to his new partner, Yoko... Music as the world knew it would never be the same!!

For her first solo album, Yoko divided her set between her newly created primal rock jams taking up side one and her more freeform avant-garde featured on side two. There is no question that the world was not exactly ready for the type of music this revolutionary album offered, but it did not deserve the negative response it recieved. Looking back on it now, this album was probably one of the most groundbreaking of it's era. Here we have a woman, a japanese woman at that, not only leading a rock band rather than just merely singing with it, but also using her voice more like a musical instrument rather than simply singing. The intense energy of the album was something that had not been experienced by most people at that time. From the opening guitar screech of "Why" to the final end of "Paper Shoes" the album never loses it's cretive edge. The two most powerful tracks on the album are of course the full-tilt rocker "Why" and the bluesy "Why Not" which at nearly 10 minutes never allows the listener to get bored. "Greenfield Morning..." is an interesting piece even if only for it's abnormally long title. In recent years, the song recieved a 'hats off' from fellow japanese pop singers Shonen Knife. Their song "Cycling Is Fun" features the line 'I wanna go, I wanna go to Greenfield with a baby carriage...', the song itself has nothing to do with Yoko, but it was a cute salute to the woman who started the whole alternative rock scene.

Side two is equally as intense, but in a different sense. AOS, the first track is a freeform jam Yoko recorded with jazz artist Ornett Coleman and others. The other two feature the Plastic Ono Band again, but not quite a rock oriented as side one. This may be hard to take for people who aren't experienced in this type of freeform music, but it in no way makes it bad.

The cd features two bonus tracks: an early version of "Open Your Box" and a piece entitled "Something More Abstract". "Open Your Box" as it appears here seems a little more, well 'funky' for lack of a better term. It has sort of a James Brown groove to it. This is really no suprise when you think about it, Yoko was after all involved in the black civil rights movement of that era. Even her later recording "Catman" the guitar scratching gives a nod to Isaac Hayes' "Theme From 'Shaft'". "Something More Abstract" is just what the title suggests.

Yoko was the scapegoat, getting blame for the collapse of the Beatles. That is why this album was released to "almost universal disdain." Reissued, it is available for a whole new generation to hear. It is not nearly as bad as some of the less learned critics would lead you to believe. Even if you hate "Two Virgins" or "Life With the Lions", you can like this one. It's an avant garde album, to be sure, but it had the soul of a rock album. "Why" comes on with a strong, fast paced rock 'n roll sound, John & Ringo working their butts off on their respective guitars & drums, while Yoko takes on the role (as one of the newspaper clippings that come with the album suggests) of a lead guitar. "Why Not" is avant garde that reminds you of blues; a very long blues epic. "Why Not" is probably the strongest emotional experience of the album. The track that follows, "Greenfield Morning I Pushed an Empty Baby Carriage All Over the City" will be known more for it's title than anything else, but it is still very much listenable, and much more interesting than some work that hasn't been denounced as "crap" for over two decades. Next is "AOS," a major misstep and the reason this otherwise amazing album gets a 4. Although it eventually works its way into a "rockin'" jam, far too much time is spent in silence, or far too sparse instrumentation. It's not that bad, but it could have had more consitency. The last two cuts are very interesting jams, Yoko is still the guitar, many sound effects were overdubbed, you just have to hear it. Like all of the re-realeased Yoko albums, this one has bonus tracks following "Paper Shoes." "Open Your Box" goes right along with "Why", they are very similar in the beginning (with raging guitar effects and heavy Ringo drumming), "'Something More Abstract'" is a bit of chatter from Yoko with a wierd little song going along with it. The last track is another one of the John & Yoko songs recorded at home, with John on acoustic guitar and Yoko on vocal guitar, wonderful if a bit overlong at nearly 17 minutes. Whether or not Yoko truly launched punk rock, her own work is not to be ingnored. "Plastic Ono Band" is not her best effort, but her first great one. Buy this if you have John's, they certainly do go together. (It's like a dismembered double set.) If you're one of those Yoko bashers who never heard her, this is the one to start with.

Here's some great universal advice: if you don't like country music, don't buy a country music cd and review it as terrible.. of course you'll think it's terrible... if you don't like Britney Spears, don't buy a Britney Spears cd and review it as terrible. Same goes for Yoko... if your simplistic mind can't handle an avant-garde cd, don't buy an avant-garde cd and review it as terrible. And yes.. Yoko does scream over and over again in "Why?".. and has a very humorous laughing trip in "Why not?"... but uhmm.. has anyone ever tried to laugh high pitched for 9 minutes?? Has anyone ever tried such a high pitched scream? It's harder than you;d think... so don't say Yoko Has no talent.

I think it's telling that one of the one-star reviews referred to "bad poetry." There are hardly any lyrics in Yoko Ono/Plastic Ono Band, good or bad, which leads me to suspect that the critic has not actually listened to this album. YO/POB is one of the most astounding and groundbreaking albums I have ever heard; on some days, it's my favorite CD by anyone anywhere. Recorded in 1970, it sometimes sounds as if Diamanda Galas had fronted Can and Public Enemy's Bomb Squad, only noisier. Yes, Yoko is screaming her head off on every track, and her voice is a beautifully expressive instrument. Even the not-particularly-avant-garde London Times has recognized her performance here as equal to Miles Davis or Jimi Hendrix. What I find really astounding is how unique this album still sounds. Even though Yoko has frequently been copied by everyone from Sonic Youth to Laurie Anderson to Stereolab to Tori Amos, nobody really sounds like her. Yoko Ono/Plastic Ono Band is incredibly wild and jagged, more punk than any punk band, with John and Ringo abusing their instruments in ways you will not believe until you hear them. No musicians in 1970, much less ex-Beatles, were supposed to have gone this far. "AOS," which features Ornette Coleman and his band instead of the Plastic Ono Band, is actually the calmest track. The bonus tracks are also great; "Open Your Box" is deliciously lascivious, more funkadelic than even Funkadelic ever got. "Why" is justifiably the most notorious cut, a galloping post-punk/techno/avant-garde jam that may be the most intense moment that Yoko, John or Ringo ever achieved. They had obviously been influenced by The Velvet Underground (supposedly something that no "Give Peace a Chance" person would ever do), but "Why" goes even further than "Sister Ray."

Much of Yoko's subsequent work has been far more conventional. If you don't think you can take her nonstop shrieking, then introduce yourself to the most misunderstood artist of the past century with Season of Glass or Approximately Infinite Universe, both of which are as brilliant as Yoko Ono/Plastic Ono Band but much more pop-styled, often startlingly gentle and vulnerable. Rising, scandalously out-of-print, combines both approaches effortlessly. John worshipped Yoko and considered his guitar playing on her albums to be the highlight of his career. He should know.