Neatly snipping the ‘Yoko’ off of her name and inviting today’s young whippersnappers to retool her ‘hits’ into something they can bug out to was a smart move. Sixten leading musical scenesters were given the freedom to work with any of Ono’s tracks (most going with the vocal lines) and the results are, as you’d expect, a varied listen.
The first half swings by in a dated electro blur, with only Peaches’ work on the smutty Kiss Kiss Kiss creating anything individual. By the time we get to The Apples In Stereo (Nobody Sees Me Like You Do) we’re into Beatles parodies territory. The Sleepy Jackson ape George Harrison (as usual) but, in this context, the amalgam seems startling. Jason Pierce resurrects the ghost of Tomorrow Never Knows on Walking On Thin Ice, and Cat Power haunts Revelations’ vocal with her voice and unmistakable piano.
The Flaming Lips sit top of the tree with Cambridge 1969/2007, a sprawling, imp-infested romp that’s far and away the most joyous thing here (save possibly The Polyphonic Spree’s You & I). Ono’s lyrical profundity and vocal oddness work in a beautiful trinity atop the thoroughly modern noise behind them. Maybe that’s what she was doing all along and, if it pricks up new ears, who can complain?
