Yoko Ono - Season of Glass (16 tracks) +Album Reviews

This is how an artist deals with devastation

Donn Hart | Boston | 11/21/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Many have called her a conniving opportunist. Some call her a phony or a no-talent hack. But as Grace Slick once said, "We ain't missin' nothing witty from the critics/Who can't get up and do it/so they write about the ones who do anything!" Yoko Ono remains true to her own unique vision and artisic direction. True, her music is not for everyone, it's for people who get it.This was Yoko's way of dealing when John was murdered. Rather than writing a bunch of songs about "Oh my poor husband, I miss you so," she went straight for the heart. The cover shot depicts John's still-bloody glasses for God's sakes! That was a shocker. The songs themselves, like much of Yoko's work, are counterphobic attacks on sadness, anger, and isolation, rather than moody lyrics that dwell on the above emotions. "No No No" opens with gunshot sounds and closes with a keyboard part that sounds like a siren...presumably an ambulance siren? "She Gets Down on Her Knees" is probably the best song she's ever written and I love the way she words it: "She gets down on her knees to throw up life/'Cause that's the only way she has it good...she's a main-liner who never took the main line." "Toyboat" is breathtaking. I love "Goodbye Sadness," where her voice breaks with emotion at one point. Gives me chills, man. And the album closes with a prayer to the "Mother of the Universe." My favorite song wasn't even part of the original album release. It's the home demo version of "I Don't Know Why." It was recorded at home in the Dakota building on December 9, 1980, the day after John's death. It's so simple and so beautiful in it's own way. She expresses herself perfectly.Say what you want, but Yoko is an artist. This is how an artist deals. S/he purges themselves through their art. That's what Yoko did with "Season of Glass." And I'm happy she did."

An Enormously Moving Collection

Jamie Marks | Cary, NC | 08/28/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Recorded after the death of John Lennon, Yoko Ono's "Season Of Glass" is probably among the 10 best albums of all time. For an artist as unique and widely criticized as Ono, her music certainly does not reflect all the negative vibes she has received from the world. "Season" is a deeply personal, heartfelt album. In "Goodbye Sadness," Yoko says just that. ("Goodbye sadness/I don't need you anymore") It's a beautiful track. "Mindweaver" has a haunting opening with Yoko on the phone with a mysterious caller, and the track itself is amazing. "Even When You're Far Away," one of my personal favorites, and "Nobody Sees Me Like You Do" are gorgeous love songs. "No, No, No" is an exruciatingly desperate song featuring gunshots, and "She Gets Down On Her Knees" is superb. The quiet but luminous "Toyboat" brings tears to my eyes with every listen, Yoko's voice at her most beautiful and most peaceful. The brilliant "Walking On Thin Ice" is a bonus track, as is an a capella version of "I Don't Know Why." "Season Of Glass" is nothing short of a masterpiece. Ono is a talented woman who will go down in history as one of the most influential artists of our time."

Season of pain and grief

P. Ambrose | Brooklyn NY | 03/28/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I recall very clearly the day John was killed. I had been a Yoko fan from day one (a very rare being)- however besides the world's loss I also knew it was something horrific for her (I had also worked in the Dakota so it was a bit personal). When Yoko released "Walking On Thin Ice" and I read that they were mixing that the night of his murder I was chilled. That is a rock and roll masterpiece. The album, "Season Of Glass" was highly anticipated - the cover alone was almost a japanese haiku. The material within is still to this day remarkable for it's depth, power and relativity to not only the tragedy of John's murder but life itself. Yoko never sang as touchingly - granted - she usually shrieked. However here she is angry, hurt, pained, resigned and reflective. The power of "No, No, No,", the sorrow of "I Don't Know Why" and the utter beauty and thought behind "Goodbye Sadness" are outstanding. This is an overlooked masterpiece by an overlooked artist who happened to be married to one of the most famous and talented musician's in history. Linda McCartney? Rest in peace, but honey - she couldn't create music like this in a lifetime. Yoko's eulogy is apt for all."

VERY Underated.

I Wish It Was 1968 | Texas | 04/10/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Don't write this off as another one of "those" albums. This is a really great album. There is very minimal shrieking and the lyrics are very heartfelt. It's painful to listen to at times because Yoko conveys the universal emotions that everyone feels after a serious loss so well in all of her songs. Rather than trivializing John's death by screaming and shrieking about it (this is not Plastic Ono Band 2), she managed to pull herself together and make a really great record. Minus one star because her voice begins to grate after awhile and not all the songs are winners, but as a whole this is pretty damn good. And the cover photo is worth the price of the whole album by itself. Pretty powerful stuff."

Goodbye Sadness

yokoboy@hotmail.com | Northern California, USA | 02/17/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"On December 8 1980, the shot that was heard around the world was fired, taking the life of John Lennon. As the world mourned the loss of their 'working class hero', Yoko Ono did what most people in the same situation would do; she threw herself into her work. The result: Season of Glass, probably one of Yoko's most famous pieces. Although alot of the songs were written prior to this recording, the album as a whole was a mind-numbing depiction of the tragedy of that December night.For the most part, the album features Yoko at her most emotionally revealling. Songs dealing with the loss of her husband helped us to deal with our own loss. The opening track "Goodbye Sadness" (also the first single) starts us off into a reflective look at the life and the love of John & Yoko, soon we are to take a look at the world as Yoko now saw it ("Dogtown"). By the middle of the album (or side two if you have the original LP or cassette), Yoko takes a no-punches held, head-on attack on those who had wished ill thoughts on the couple ("I Don't Know Why"), even forcing the world to deal with her pain by depicting the gunshots which killed Lennon (the album's second single "No, No, No"). Then eventually returning to a more "at peace" closing prayer ("Mother of the Universe"). The emotional roller-coaster ride may have been more than most of us could have handled in our own lives.Emotion aside, some of Yoko's stronger work appears on this album. The Haunting "Even When You're Far Away", the eerie rocker "She Gets Down On Her Knees", the busy confusion of "No, No, No", the sentimental melancholy of "Nobody Sees Me Like You Do" (later to become a minor hit for country singer Roseanne Cash), and the optimistic "Goodbye Sadness" which would later be the Grand Finale of her musical 'New York Rock'.The cd re-release features Yoko's biggest hit to date, "Walking On Thin Ice", the song which was recorded the night of December 8, also included is a home demo of "I Don't Know Why"."

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