Zapple Records Releases: George Harrison - Electronic Sound (U.K. CD 1996)

Below are scans of the 1996 reissue of George Harrison's Electronic Sound, originally released on Zapple in 1969. This reissue was part of Phase Two of the 1990s Apple Records reissue series, but was not released in the United States. Digitally remastered by Ron Furmanek. 

The CD  booklet includes the following quote (not found on the original release), attributed to Harrison: "It could be called avant garde, but a more apt description would be (in the words of my old friend Alvin), Avant Garde clue!" No date or source for this quote is provided, and an Internet search found the only source to be this CD.

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:

Grapefruit Records?: Secretly Canadian Rewrites History With Yoko Ono Reissues

As a part of its Yoko Ono reissue project, Secretly Canadian Records has reissued John Lennon and Yoko Ono's Wedding Album, 50 years after its original release in 1969. Touted on their website as a "faithful recreation," the reissue includes the remastered (white) vinyl, as well as reproductions of all original inserts in a boxed set edition. 

While the reissuing of Ono's albums originally released between 1968 and 1985 (including three  with John Lennon) is a valuable contribution to the preservation of her artistic work,  Secretly Canadian has not quite lived up to its stated purpose, "to painstakingly recreate the original vinyl packaging" in the Lennon/Ono series. In fact, SC has replaced the original Apple Records label with a "grapefruit" label (see below). While some might see this as a minor point, the substitution is at best inconsistent with SC's avowed commitment to authenticity.

While not always the case (albums are commonly reissued on different labels, of course), in this instance it is impossible, and historically disingenuous, to attempt to separate the artist and record from the label, at least as far as Ono's Apple albums are concerned. Apple, at the time, carried with it an implied association with The Beatles. In Ono's case, her artistic association with and marriage to John Lennon elevated her professional profile and facilitated her access to worldwide distribution of her work on a major label. This is not to say that her work did not merit such attention and support. It did, and it is gratifying that she has subsequently received the credit she deserves. However, when a reissue aspires to be the "definitive edition" of a work, the altering of a fundamental part of the original album is a significant misstep.