Commentary: Yoko Ono/Plastic Ono Band (Apple Records, December 11, 1970)

Recorded during Lennon’s sessions for his John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band album, Yoko Ono/Plastic Ono Band consists of seven tracks, composed and sung by Ono, with backing by Lennon (guitar), Klaus Voorman (bass), and Ringo Starr (drums). Often mistakenly or perhaps purposefully derided as mere jamming in between takes for Lennon songs, each track in reality is a distinct entity, with a unique instrumental and vocal approach, within the context of the Voorman/Starr “backbeat” and Lennon’s avant-garde guitar. The 4/4 straight ahead rock’n roll of “Why” gives way to the bluesy “Why Not”, followed by the Side One closer, the reggae-based “Greenfield Morning I Pushed An Empty Baby Carriage All Over The City.”

Ono’s abstract, atonal vocalizing finds a more “traditional” (in the artistic context of the times) setting on “AOS, where she is backed by free jazz soprano sax virtuoso Ornette Coleman, bassist Charlie Haden, and drummer Ed Blackwell. Recorded live one and a half years before the rest of the album’s tracks, AOS is consistent with the sensibilities of free jazz, is proof of the considerable artistic credentials Yoko brought to the Lennon/Ono partnership.

“Touch Me”, released as the U.S. B-Side to Lennon’s “Power To The People” in February 1971, evokes the album’s opening track, while the album’s closer, “Paper Shoes” merges an opening sound collage with mesmerizing free form backing from Lennon, Starr, and Voorman.

While Two Virgins, Life With The Lions, and Wedding Album were largely conceptual in approach, eschewing traditional musical instrumentation and “song” construction, Yoko Ono/Plastic Ono Band attempts to combine traditional rock instrumentation with the duo’s previous conceptual approach, although it must be noted that YO/POB is credited to Ono as primary artist, and not to Lennon/Ono. This is significant, as throughout their work together, they were very purposeful in identifying their collaborative work. This is indeed Yoko’s first solo album, just as Lennon’s “Plastic Ono Band” was his.

Below are scans of the excellent 1997 Rykodisc CD reissue: