Yoko Ono - 1973 - Feeling The Space

Yoko Ono / Plastic Ono Band

1973

Feeling The Space

01. Growing Pain 3:50
02. Yellow Girl (Stand By For Life) 3:13
03. Coffin Car 3:29
04. Woman Of Salem 3:09
05. Run, Run, Run 5:07
06. If Only 3:40
07. A Thousand Times Yes 3:00
08. Straight Talk 2:50
09. Angry Young Woman 3:51
10. She Hits Back 3:48
11. Women Power 4:50
12. Men, Men, Men 4:01

Bonus Tracks
13. I Learned To Stutter / Coffin Car 6:51
14. Mildred, Mildred 3:36

Yoko Ono: vocals, backing vocals, producer, writer, design
John O'Cean: guitar
David Spinozza: guitar
Sneaky Pete Kleinow: pedal steel guitar
Kenny Ascher: piano
Jeremy Steig: flute
Don Brooksharmonica
Michael Brecker: saxophone
David Friedman: vibraphone
Bob Babbitt: bass
Gordon Edwards: bass
Andrew Smith: drums
Jim Keltner: drums
Rick Marotta: drums
Arthur Jenkins: percussion

Finding herself increasingly romantically withdrawn from the all too close relationship she shared with John Lennon,it would seem to me that the pair were finding themselves still peripherally involved in the others life while on very different life paths. To hear Yoko tell it? Her musical/art career began to regain serious power during the mid 1970's,while John's lifelong emotional insecurities got the best of him during his self named "lost weekend". Yoko found herself as an empowered woman on a serious mission. And with access to an all star band of musicians such as David Spinozza and Michael Brecker? She was able to continue realizing her vision.

Songs such as the flute powered "Growing Pain", "Run Run Run" and "Angry Young Woman" are soulful, electric piano led ballads while "Yellow Girl (Stand By For Life)" and "Man Man Man" both have stomping, swinging cabaret jazzy blues rhythmic flavors about them.

"Coffin Car" has a grinding blues/rock vibe that is repeated on the cooler "She Hits Back" while "If Only" is a harmonica led country/blues type ballad. "A Thousand Times Yes" is a rhythmically clean jazz-funk number not too far from something the Crusaders might've done at this time while "Straight Talk" updates the rock 'n soul shuffle of "Instant Karma" from her viewpoint. "Woman Power" is a stomping, percussive funk rocker with a rapped vocal from Yoko.

"I Learn To Stutter" is a live spoken intro to a verision of "Coffin Car" where Yoko talks of how the press attack that accompanied her marriage to Lennon deeply effected her emotionally. "Mildred Mildred" is a swinging nightclub friendly piano ballad. Primarily this album finds Yoko having totally made up her mind about her thematic and musical direction for that time period. She positioned herself as a jazzy soul/funk oriented artist with a lot of blues and popular song structure. As for her take on femininity? She was now totally confident that people both in and out of her position had every articulation to allow their voices to make a difference. In a way? This is something of the graduation from the school of being Yoko Ono in a way. She was in a personal transition in an marriage on hiatus. Yet her art surely wasn't suffering for it. One of Yoko's most powerful and musically adept releases.