Yoko Ono - Approximately Infinite Universe 1973 2CD

Ono had some early avant-garde albums that led people to question her talent, but her 1973 album, Approximately Infinite Universe, is a comprehensive showcase of relentless funk, avant-garde feminist rock, and contemplative acoustic and piano ballads. If hardcore Beatles defenders could get past the Yoko Ono stigma, they would find that this album is one of the overlooked gems of the 1970s.

Ono is unquestionably the grandmother of the riot grrrl movement, and on this album, she doesnt take that role lightly. She serves as a co-producer (with her husband John Lennon) and handles all of the musical arrangements, which was something of a rarity for women, even in the super liberated ambiance of the -70s. While there are heartfelt, somber piano ballads, feminine in nature (Shiranakatta (I DidnΓΓé¼Γäót Know) or I Want My Love to Rest Tonight), she spends much of the album dabbling in jazz-fusion and funk, both of which were decidedly masculine genres in the -70s. For Ono to go barging in, stepping on mens toes to make it her own, probably ruffled a few feathers. Hey, somebody had to do it in order to advance womens place in artful rock music. Without Yoko Ono taking those first steps, would there have been a Patti Smith, a Kate Bush, or a Laurie Anderson?

The riot grrrl flavor shows up most prominently in tracks like Catman (The Rosies Are Coming) and What Did I Do, on which, at least vocally, she sounds like a more coquette version of Le Tigres Kathleen Hanna. Coincidentally, those tracks are both rocking, characteristically masculine in nature, likely adding to the riot grrrl factor. What Did I Do, absolutely brings the funk, and funk wasnt exactly a womans plaything. Lyrically, the songs address Onos peace-oriented concerns more than feminism, but the piano-and-guitar ballad What a Bastard the World Is, tackles her frustration with the male variety more directly.

Sure, this album shows Yoko Ono as something much stronger and more powerful than simply John LennonΓΓé¼Γäós wife or She-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named - she is a legitimate musical artist. At the same time, you see another side to Lennon as well - we see him as a much more adventurous, more multifaceted guitar player. His playing on Approximately Infinite Universe makes you wonder why he never took the Beatles in a similar direction. Onos work tends to be intellectually stimulating in a way that the Beatles work simply was not. All wife-oriented comments aside, this bold and musically brainy record shows why its no surprise that Lennon wanted to keep working with one of the most important avant-garde artists of all time. (365aay.com/y1d247)

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Yoko Ono - Approximately Infinite Universe 1973
(2CD Rykodisc 1997)

1. Yang Yang
2. Death Of Samantha
3. I Want My Love To Rest Tonight
4. What Did I Do
5. Have You Seen A Horizon Lately
6. Approximately Infinite Universe
7. Peter The Dealer
8. Song For John
9. Catman (The Rosies Are Coming)
10. What A Bastard The World Is
11. Waiting For Sunrise
12. I Felt Like Smashing My Face In A Clear Glass Window
13. Winter Song
14. Kite Song
15. What A Mess
16. Shiranakatta (I Didnt Know)
17. Air Talk
18. I Have A Woman Inside My Soul
19. Move On Fast
20. Now Or Never
21. Is Winter Here To Stay?
22. Looking Over From My Hotel Window
23. Dogtown (bonus)
24. She Gets Down On Her Knees (bonus)


Yoko Ono: vocals, piano (Looking Over From My Hotel Window)
Stan Bronstein: saxophone, flute, clarinet
Richard Frank Jr: drums, percussion
Daria Price: castanet.
Gary Van Scyoc: bass, trumpet
Adam Ippolito: piano, organ, harmonium, trumpet
Wayne Gabriel: guitar
Joel Nohnn (John Lennon): guitar and background vocals
Produced by Yoko Ono and John Lennon
Arrangement: Yoko Ono
String orchestration: Ron Frangipane