YOKO ONO / VARIOUS
Yes, I’m A Witch Too
Yoko Ono, the 82-year-old artist/ Lennon widow/self-proclaimed witch has once again opened up her collection of tunes to indie collaborations on Yes, I’m A Witch Too, the followup to 2007’s Yes, I’m A Witch. Collaborators include Death Cab for Cutie, tUnE-yArDs, Peter, Bjorn and John and Portugal. the Man, as well as glam rock mainstays Sparks and her son, Sean Ono Lennon, amongst a host of electronic producers. Each artist completely reinvents their respective tune, transforming and stripping it back so that the true strength of Ono’s songwriting is revealed. Gone are the shrieks, shrill vocals and moans that normally pepper an Ono tune; Yes, I’m A Witch, Too is a collection of decidedly more electronicheavy reinventions, which could help expose her to a more dance-savvy audience. Sparks’ take on “Give Me Something” replaces the curious descending guitar riff with a waltzy, skipping piano melody and beefs up the chorus with backing vocals, later weaving her original bird-like caws with a robotic sounding break and glissando on the piano. Penguin Prison’s version of “She Gets Down on Her Knees,” a standout track on the record, is driven by a real groover of a bass riff, fleshing out what was originally a thinner-sounding song and making it irresistibly danceable. Her son Sean reinvents “Dogtown,” adding intricate synth runs and guitar licks, while Jack Douglas stays true to the punk-like “Move on Fast” by amplifying the song’s killer riff. tUnE-yArDs flips “Warrior Woman” on its head, adding electronic drums, a gnarly bass run and frantic vocals, transforming the relatively soft tune into controlled chaos. There’s a catch-22 at play here, though: while Yes, I’m A Witch Too makes Ono’s work more accessible by sanding down experimental edges, it detracts from what makes Ono great. She’s a wild woman, unhinged, unafraid to be unapologetically herself, and this collection tones down those qualities. Those curious to know what the original songs sound like will either be in for a treat or can at least see the potential that each song possesses. Some things need to be eased into, and exposure to Ono through reworkings of her songs is better than no exposure at all. (Manimal Group, manimalvinyl.com) COSETTE SCHULZ