Customer Reviews
Far Too Hardcore For Me : "Open Your Box" only for Serious Club-Hoppers
However, this is not at all like that other album. Yoko Ono's 2007 released "Yes, I'm a Witch" is obviously a fantastic album, so I was equally pleased to host this on my Ipod. Even though I knew this was a club/dance oriented release (a genre I am not at all fond of - hate remixes of any sort), I wasn't prepared for how hardcore the whole thing sounded. Obviously there is a market for this, but this is by far the most hardcore dance record in Yoko Ono's catalog, and to me the weakest.
The problem with "Open Your Box" is that despite containing some really fine songs (in their original form, some of these were masterpieces of their day), the overlayering and synthetization of tracks become very generic once you cross Track 3. Perhaps Yoko is trying to show us how extreme makeovers can go two different ways? Maybe it's an expression of her own personal view of art. On "Yes I'm a Witch", her music was completely reworked by Indie Artists (Apples in Stereo, Antony and the Johnsons etc), and here it's the extreme opposite (the same tracks being redone by club specialists such as the Pet Shop Boys).
Do remember though, that I am not at all a fan of generic club/dance remixes, which is why I didn't really appreciate this. I think it relegated Yoko's voice and melody to the background, and some reworkings of songs are so markedly different from the original, and some of them do away with Ono's voice altogether! As an experimental record, maybe it was fun for Yoko to do something like this. As an album, it isn't very successful though - the only coherent element here through all the tracks is that thumping bassline. I would suggest listening to samples before buying. You should get "Yes Im a Witch" as a blind purchase though - that album is a mammoth masterpiece.
That said, I don't know of a single 75 year old woman in history who has a remix album to her name, whose production she herself oversaw. As a novelty piece, this is definitely interesting. .
Yoko, YOU are Awesome
This woman who is over 70 is just taking the world by the balls and creating some rockin' music. This CD is truly amazing. She has always been so far ahead of her time. But now it seems she has crossed over to the time where what she is doing is more contemporary and connected to the present. I'm not saying she isn't ahead of the curve anymore. I am saying WE are finally catching up with her. She is clearly the manifestation of every woman's and man's potential. She shows all of us that age is a concept that makes no sense. Age is obsolete because the world is spinning and we are able to transcend all such limiting definitions.
Yoko Ono Lennon is truly this and last century's greatest untapped resource. She has been a political activist, a heroine, a ground breaking artist since she first put her ideas in the public arena. In the face of mass ignorance, ridicule and judgement she has remained a bright light in the darkness of prejudice, racism and oppression for many decades. Finally we seem to have caught up with her wisdom and optimism.
John Lennon did not suffer fools. He was not a stupid or dumbstruck idiot. He saw Yoko. He loved Yoko. He knew what so many fools wanted to deny. This womon is a genius, rocker, poet, artist, spiritual loving being. She has shown us her vulnerability and her courage in the face of the kind of negativity that would defeat any other person. She is the beacon and the spirit we all wish we were and aspire to become.
Musically this album is hypnotic and full of emotion. Her collaborations with today's artists creates a place where we can come together and rock, dance, shake, gyrate, love, trust, play, enjoy and appreciate what makes us so very human.
Rock on Yoko. You have given us more than we can ever know. You are beyond description, beyond words. I for one welcome and love you for who you are. Your generosity and forgiveness of us for our judgement and prejudice is appreciated and recognized by at least some of us. U-Rock.
Perfect soundtrack to Summer 2007
The first CD Yes, I'm A Witch gathered a broad range of musical talents to reinterpret her songs creating an eclectic mix of tracks from Peaches electroclash take on Kiss Kiss Kiss to Antony Hegarty's dreamy Toy Boat to Hank Shocklee's short but sweet Witch Shocktronica Intro. Open Your Box is the second of two Yoko Ono remix CDs under the moniker of Ono. Most, but not all, of the remixes work pretty well (Cat Power and Porcupine Tree come to mind as the weaker tracks) with the dancier tracks being the standouts.
Open Your Box, released a few months after Witch, takes its cue from Witch's dancier tracks by being a disc full of non stop incredibly cool dance remixes from more high profile artists like Pet Shop Boys, Basement Jaxx, Felix da Housecat and Danny Tenaglia.
The sound samples will not give you an idea of what to expect because these are multi layered tracks that build up over the duration of the track. The music in and of itself is pretty much your garden variety Euro house that you would hear at your local gay bar but what transcends it is the juxtaposition of Ono's unique voice and vocal stylings over a pulsating pounding beat. Yes, Yoko is not the world's best singer but I enjoy the sincerity in her voice which makes it work really, really well. And her voice will surprise you. It's really not as bad as so many people make it out to be.
The opener, You're the One is one of the highlights for me and is lovely and heartfelt especially when Yoko's voice cracks as she sings "How do I teeellllll you? You're the one. "
Another highlight is Peter Rauhofer's Hell In Paradise remix. The start of my love affair with Yoko began with this song when I saw the video for it years ago in the early 80s. What makes this remix so wonderful is once Yoko's sings her vocals over a pulsating trance beat there's this added disco diva chorus that repeats the main chorus of the track. Hard to explain but it's exactly the kind of stuff you want to hear when you're all sweaty and half naked on the dance floor.
Give Me Something is yet another highlight. There's this break in the middle of the song and in a call and response style Yoko sings, "Give me something!" as a male vocal answers "Yoko wants!" It gets even better when Yoko's voice echoes, "Give me something . . . hard. . . hard. . . hard. . . cold. . . cold. . . cold. . . "
Possibly my favorite track of the entire disc is the Pet Shop Boy's Walking On Thin Ice remix. I am not a fan of PSB but they do wonders with this remix. I get goosebumpy and teary eyed when Yoko sings, "When our hearts return to ashes it will be just a stor-or-or-ory. " Even her primal scream yelping is pitch perfect with this remix.
The only track that doesn't work for me is DJ Dan's Give Peace A Chance remix. I don't think it's possible to turn that song into a dance track without it coming off cheesy.
Open Your Box is the perfect summer CD and was the perfect soundtrack for me and my buds during gay pride as well. Everyone I have played this for either loved it right from the start or reluctantly succumbed to it charms. I used to love Yoko Ono but now I totally worship her. Yoko, you need to get into the studio ASAP and record a disc full of original house music. It will work. I would definitely buy it.
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. You can see a complete list of all Yoko Ono discography, or go back to the Yoko Ono tabs
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