It’s always been impossible to approach Yoko Ono’s music without a preconceived notion. No matter how untrue it is, the image of Ono as a Beatle-killing succubus is unavoidable – and her psychotic wailing on songs like “Kiss Kiss Kiss” has only contributed to the myth. Hopefully, the stunning new Ono remix record Yes, I Am A Witch will change a few people’s minds. Astralwerks Records has amassed a who’s who of avant pop and electronica artists and given them the chance to re-imagine their favorite Ono song. The results are unsurprisingly adventurous, and uncommonly beautiful.
Apples In Stereo gives a glorious pop treatment to “Nobody Sees Me Like You Do,” replete with strings, woodwinds and a chime-laden chorus. Cat Power lends her trademark intimacy to “Revelations,” cutting it down to Yoko’s vocal and some soft piano chords that wouldn’t sound out of place on a ‘70s Tom Waits album. “Everyman Everywoman” receives a Dick Dale-meets-Daft Punk treatment from Blow Up. The Flaming Lips take on the much-maligned Ono-Lennon collaboration “Cambridge 1969,” crafting a delightfully trippy instrumental from John’s mindless guitar noodling and Yoko’s pointless screaming.
But for all of the incredible production work on Yes, I Am A Witch (there are only a few duds in the bunch, one being Le Tigre’s uninspired “Sisters O Sisters”), the spotlight remains where it should – on Yoko Ono’s voice. So much has been made of her ear-splitting screams; one forgets that she can sing an enchanting ballad. “Revelations” is an appropriately titled example of this. Her refusal to ever sound “American” makes her voice so unique, her inflection so different from what we’re used to. And in this blatant display of ethnicity lies the real reason why she’s so hated. If Yoko Ono was a young white woman who sang like a young white woman, would people make fun of her? Would they accuse her of brainwashing John? Would they call her a witch?
Ono’s remixed retrospective isn’t as timeless and pristine as Love, George and Giles Martin’s Beatles mash-up disc. But unlike that experiment, Yes, I’m A Witch takes real chances. It’s a multi-colored, impassioned middle finger from one of pop culture’s most controversial figures. That alone is enough of a reason to press play.
Appeared in the March 1, 2007, issue of Artvoice.