Approximately Infinite Universe

by Yoko Ono

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'Approximately Infinite Universe' on classic black double vinyl.

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1.	Yang Yang 03:50	buy track
2.	Death of Samantha 06:22	buy track
3.	I Want My Love to Rest Tonight 05:11	buy track
4.	What Did I Do! 04:12	buy track
5.	Have You Seen a Horizon Lately 01:56	buy track
6.	Approximately Infinite Universe 03:21	buy track
7.	Peter the Dealer 04:46	buy track
8.	Song for John 02:04	buy track
9.	Catman (The Rosies Are Coming) 05:34	buy track
10.	What a Bastard the World Is 04:35	buy track
11.	Waiting for the Sunrise 02:33	buy track
12.	I Felt Like Smashing My Face in a Clear Glass Window 04:09	buy track
13.	Winter Song 03:39	buy track
14.	Kite Song 03:17	buy track
15.	What a Mess 02:41	buy track
16.	Shiranakatta (I Didn’t Know) 03:11	buy track
17.	Air Talk 03:21	buy track
18.	I Have a Woman Inside My Soul 05:33	buy track
19.	Move On Fast 03:43	buy track
20.	Now or Never 04:59	buy track
21.	Is Winter Here to Stay? 04:22	buy track
22.	Looking Over From My Hotel Window 03:29	buy track
23.	Dogtown (Bonus Track) 02:52	buy track

about

There’s a fury at the core of Yoko Ono’s 1973 rock opus Approximately Infinite Universe that was not apparent on previously recorded efforts. Ono has always been a master of turning pain and sadness into art, but here, there’s a clenched-fist intensity that sets it apart in her deep, unparalleled catalogue. Ono is angry. She proved that one can carry a boundless love for humanity and still be furious — furious at male/female relationships, at war, at your partner. Meanwhile, on a sonic level, Ono ups the ante on the more centered rock-n-roll sounds she approached with 1971’s Fly. Backed by members of New York band Elephant's Memory, with limited guitar contributions from John Lennon (listed as "Joel Nohnn"), the album is also one of the most traditional-sounding rock chapters in Ono's sprawling catalogue. There are moments here that absolutely rival Jersey legends the E Street Band, though of course Ono’s vision leads her band down darker, more mystical paths than the E Street Band ever dared tread. Approximately Infinite Universe is an essential and progressive piece of Ono’s output, both in the advancements she made as a songwriter/conceptualist, and as a solidified statement of her staunch feminist role within the very male-dominated mainstream rock ghetto of the mid-1970's.

The two record set lays back considerably in density and sonic chaos. Elephant's Memory accommodate Ono's intimate, almost hushed vocals with tasteful bluesy, organ-laced grooves that put a focus on her delivery and heartfelt lyrics, almost in the same way the Velvet Underground's third album developed in the sonically-scorched path of White Light White Heat. "Death of Samantha" exudes a smoky lounge aura of self-confidence in this newfound musical environ, while simultaneously depicting an ongoing pain, no doubt reflecting on inner turmoil Ono was going through in her relationship with Lennon during the album's recording. But in pain, as always, comes Ono's strength, and the dichotomy of her own personal relationship vs. those between men and women of the world rings loud and clear through the subtleties in these grooves. Opener "Yang Yang" spits some pretty venomous words at Lennon while simultaneously offering solutions ("Come out and join us/Join the revolution"); The fired-up "What A Mess" is an unforgiving rant about inequality, money and power. Here, Ono stands up and makes Approximately her album in its truest sense. Its assertion is clear, and while her lyrical stance about dominating males messing up her/our world is aggressive, songs like "What A Bastard the World Is" and "I Want My Love To Rest Tonight" also go on to reflect wounded longing and need to be a part of her love's life, the latter's lyrics offering "Sisters don't blame your man too much/You know he's doing his best." She stands with conviction and strength.

Add this powerful feminist statement to the fact that the music business in 1973 was in its post-Woodstock explosion: A&R men, radio programmers, marketing execs, booking agents: men with a chokehold over the business, and Yoko's entry into it a complete question mark to them all. Ono absolutely intended to boggle the boys' club of the music industry. Fast forward to today, and Approximately Infinite Universe stands as a template for powerful female artists to follow in the years ahead.

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released July 14, 2017

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about

Yoko Ono New York, New York

Yoko Ono was born in Tokyo in 1933. Throughout her childhood, she and her family moved to New York City and back to Japan, eventually settling in Scarsdale, NY. She enrolled in Sarah Lawrence College in 1952, and during her time there cultivated her interest in the avant-garde, and ingrained herself with New York City artists, writers and experimentalists. Ono married John Lennon in 1969. ... more

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