Review Summary: Why Not?
Yoko Ono. What to say about her? Easily the most controversial woman in essentially all of music, Mrs Lennon has one of the most notorious and vocal hatedoms In all of pop culture. Be it her ties to her husband John Lennon, her music or her overall attitude, people really really don’t like her. While I’m not here to talk about the hate she received and still does, it’s important to note her critical and cultural reception while talking about this album. Case in point, Yoko Ono/Plastic Ono Band was forgotten about upon its release, charting at a measly 182 on the Billboard Charts and received wide spread scorn from the music press (bar a few notable supporters). However, now the record is seen as one of the most influential releases in all of Avant-Garde music, inspiring numerous proto punk and feminist rock groups from L7 to even the Velvet Underground. But has Ono’s solo debut stood the test of time?
Yoko’s early releases with her husband John were something of a novelty upon release. The Unfinished Music series was notorious for several reasons, be it the fully frontal nude cover of Two Virgins and the 25 minute noise scape that adjourned side 1 of Life with The Lions, not even mentioning the soul crushing morbidity of the second side. The Wedding Album came in a box set with a reproduction of the two’s wedding certificate and various other odds and sods. With Plastic Ono Band, Yoko stripped away the novelty of those releases and kicks out the mother***ing jams harder than anyone else at the time. Plastic Ono Band is an absolute ride from start to finish. The opener ‘Why?’ Asks exactly that. A blaring noise rock freight train of screeching guitar riffs from John and primal thick drum beats from Ringo Starr. Yoko breaks in with her trademark screeching vocalisations for 5 minutes before the track shudders to a halt and falls apart. The 10 minute bluesy ‘Why Not?’ Acts as a Companion piece. More restrained and gentle but still heavy. Yoko’s vocals have gone from speaker destroying aggressive to light and childlike, almost emulating a baby’s cry as the backing track thumps along like a horse and cart. The haunting and uncomfortably morbid ‘Greenfield Morning I Pushed an Empty Baby Carriage All Over the City’ combines a (George Harrison!) sitar sample and funky drumming from Ringo to make one of the most bizarrely tonally contradicting songs of the 70s. ‘AOS’ is a free jazz piece featuring jazz god Ornette Coleman and his backing group which starts with a serious of orgasmic moans of Yoko which devolves into a fierce and violet middle section where all hell breaks lose and her vocalisations actually cause audible distortion. ‘Touch Me’ is another mind warping noise piece where it sounds like John is forcefully removing his guitar strings as Yoko loses her *** over the chaos. The grand finale ‘Paper Shoes’ is a musique concrete piece which uses heavy reverb effects and African style drumming to create a spiralling almost nightmarish sound before the track gradually fades into nothingness.
Plastic Ono Band is NOT for everyone. I myself had a tough time trying to enjoy the album at first but repeated listens offered more and more enjoyability. I risk sounding pretentious but like Trout Mask Replica by Captain Beefheart, it’s something you need to click with before you can fully enjoy it. It’s the kind of record you put on in a dark room and just thrash about and go nuts too. While many will continue to hate on Yoko, her work will continue to influence many. Give it a chance, open your mind and enjoy. Or as Yoko would say ‘Open Your Box’
Standout tracks:
Why?
Why Not?
Greenfield Morning I Pushed an Empty Baby Carriage All Over the City
AOL
Touch Me
Paper Shoes
