Fly

by Yoko Ono

Overview

By the time Fly emerged, the battle lines had long been drawn, and those who preferred to place Ono's domestic situation rather than her music in the foreground were never going to give it a fair shake. Very much their loss -- not only is it that rarest of all beasts, a '70s double album that rewards repeated listening, but Fly also shows the work of a creative artist working with a sympathetic set of backing players to create inspired, varied songs. At points, the appeal lies simply in Ono's implicit "to heck with you" approach to singing -- compositions like "Midsummer New York" are easygoing rock chug that won't surprise many, but it's her take on high-pitched soul and quivering delivery that transforms them into something else. The screwy blues yowl of "Don't Worry Kyoko" is something else again, suggesting something off Led Zeppelin III gone utterly berserk. Meanwhile, check the fragile, pretty acoustic guitar of "Mind Holes," her singing swooping in the background like a lost ghost, while the reflective "Mrs. Lennon," as wry but heartfelt a portrait of her position in the public eye as any, ended up being used by Alex Chilton for "Holocaust," which gives a good sense of the sad tug of the melody. Perhaps the best measure of Fly is how Ono ended up inventing Krautrock, or perhaps more seriously bringing the sense of motorik's pulse and slow-building tension to an English-language audience. There weren't many artists of her profile in America getting trancey, heavy-duty songs like "Mindtrain" and the murky ambient howls of "Airmale" out to an English-language audience. Such songs readily match the work of Can, another band with a Japanese vocalist taking things to a higher level. As for "Fly" itself, the mostly unaccompanied wails and trills from Ono will confirm stereotypes in many folks' minds, but it's a strange, often beautiful performance that follows its own logic. ~ Ned Raggett

Product Details

Release Date:	07/14/2017
Label:	SECRETLY CANADIAN
UPC:	0656605028217

Tracks

1. Midsummer New York
2. Mind Train
3. Mind Holes
4. Don't Worry Kyoko (Mummy's Only Looking for Her Hand in the Snow)
5. Mrs. Lennon
6. Hirake
7. Toilet Piece/Unknown
8. O'Wind (Body Is the Scar of Your Mind)
9. Airmale
10. Don't Count the Waves
11. You
12. Fly
13. Telephone Piece

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Yoko Ono   Primary Artist,Claves,Vocals,Voices
Plastic Ono Band   Primary Artist
Ringo Starr   Guest Artist,Drums
Eric Clapton   Guest Artist,Guitar
John Lennon   Guest Artist,Organ,Piano,Guitar (Acoustic),Guitar
Klaus Voormann   Guitar,Cymbals,Percussion,Bass,Bells
Jim Keltner   Drums,Tabla,Percussion
Bobby Keyes   Claves
Chris Osborne   Dobro

Technical Credits

Greg Calbi   Remastering
John Lennon   Instrumentation,Composer,Photography
Yoko Ono   Design,Drawing,Composer,Instrumentation
Ryan Smith   Remastering
Sean Lennon   Remastering,Reissue Executive Producer
Ben Swanson   Reissue Executive Producer
Iain Macmillan   Photography
David Newgarden   Reissue Executive Producer
Peter Fordham   Photography
Chris Swanson   Reissue Executive Producer
Kevin Duneman   Producer,Research
George Maciunas   Collage
Raeanne Rubenstein   Poster Design
Karla Merrifield   Producer,Research
Simon Hilton   Producer,Research
Daniel Murphy   Reissue Design,Reissue Art Director
Ed McEntee   Producer,Research
Julio Cann   Producer,Research
Darius Van Arman   Reissue Executive Producer
Sari Henry   Producer,Research