Approximately Infinite Universe | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | 8 January 1973 | |||
Recorded | Mid-October–late November 1972 | |||
Studio | The Record Plant and Butterfly, New York City | |||
Length | 87:17 | |||
Label | Apple | |||
Producer | John Lennon, Yoko Ono | |||
Yoko Ono chronology | ||||
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Singles from Approximately Infinite Universe | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [1] |
Pitchfork | 8.2/10 [2] |
Record Collector | [3] |
Rolling Stone | (not rated) [4] |
Approximately Infinite Universe is the third solo album by Yoko Ono, released in early 1973 on Apple Records. A double album, it represents a departure from the experimental avant garde rock of her first two albums towards a more conventional pop/rock sound, while also dabbling in feminist rock. It peaked at number 193 in the United States. The 1997 CD reissue on Rykodisc added two acoustic demos of songs from this era, [5] that were later released on 1981's Season of Glass . It was released again by Rykodisc in 2007. [6]
The album was recorded at The Record Plant in New York City, except for the basic tracks for "Catman" and "Winter Song", which were taped at Butterfly Studios. Ono produced the album with John Lennon, whose participation marked a rare music-related activity for him after the failure of the couple's politically themed 1972 double album Some Time in New York City . Lennon also sang the final verse of the song, "I Want My Love to Rest Tonight." As on the latter album, Ono used the New York band Elephant's Memory as her backing musicians. Mick Jagger dropped into the studio for some of the sessions. He recalled playing guitar very loudly with Lennon. Jagger also said that Ono "was really trying to sing properly. She's not screaming, she's really trying to sing." [7]
The inside gatefold sleeve contained Ono's essay "The Feminization of Society". An abridged version of this essay was previously published in The New York Times in February 1972. The full essay was published in Sundance Magazine in May 1972.
All songs written by Yoko Ono.
Side one
Side two
Side three
Side four
Tracks 1–22 per sides one to four of the original album, with the following bonus tracks on disc two:
Production credits
Chart (1973) | Peak position | Total weeks |
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U.S. Billboard 200 | 193 | 4 |
Country | Date | Format | Label | Catalog |
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United States | 8 January 1973 | 2xLP | Apple Records | SVBB 3399 |
2x8-Track | 8VV 3399 | |||
United Kingdom | 16 February 1973 | 2xLP | SAPDO 1001 [8] | |
Japan | 1973 | EAP-93087B | ||
France | 2C162-94221/2 [9] | |||
United States | 10 June 1997 [10] | 2xCD | Rykodisc | RCD 10417/18 |
United Kingdom | 22 June 1997 [11] | |||
Japan | 1997 | VACK-5373/4 | ||
24 January 2007 | Rykodisc, Apple Records | VACK-1310 [12] | ||
United States & Europe | 14 July 2017 | 2xLP | Secretly Canadian, Chimera Music | SC283/CHIM22 |
2xLP (White) | ||||
2xCD | ||||
Japan | 2 August 2017 | 2xCD | Sony Records International | SICX-86 [13] |
9 August 2017 | 2xLP (White) | SIJP-51 [14] |
The post-punk rock band Death of Samantha, founded in 1983, named themselves after the song of that name on this album. [15]
Imagine is the second solo studio album by English musician John Lennon, released on 9 September 1971 by Apple Records. Co-produced by Lennon, his wife Yoko Ono and Phil Spector, the album's elaborate sound contrasts the basic, small-group arrangements of his first album, John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band (1970). The opening title track is widely considered to be his signature song.
Wedding Album is the third and final in a succession of three experimental albums by John Lennon and Yoko Ono. It followed Unfinished Music No. 1: Two Virgins and Unfinished Music No. 2: Life with the Lions. In Britain, the album was released credited by "John and Yoko", without last names mentioned. In the United States, it was released credited by "John Ono Lennon & Yoko Ono Lennon."
Unfinished Music No. 2: Life with the Lions is the second of three experimental albums of avant-garde music by John Lennon and Yoko Ono, released in May 1969 on Zapple, a sub label of Apple. It was a successor to 1968's highly controversial Unfinished Music No. 1: Two Virgins, and was followed by the Wedding Album. The album peaked in the United States at number 174, 50 places lower than the previous album. The album, whose title is a play on words of the BBC Radio show Life with The Lyons, was recorded at Queen Charlotte's Hospital in London and live at Cambridge University, in November 1968 and March 1969, respectively. The Cambridge performance, to which Ono had been invited and to which she brought Lennon, was Lennon and Ono's second as a couple. A few of the album's tracks were previewed by the public, thanks to Aspen magazine. The album was remastered in 1997.
Elephant's Memory was an American rock band formed in New York City in the late 1960s, known primarily for backing John Lennon and Yoko Ono from late 1971 to 1973. For live performances with Lennon and Ono, the band was known as the Plastic Ono Elephant's Memory Band.
The Plastic Ono Band was a rock band formed by John Lennon and Yoko Ono in 1969 for their collaborative and solo projects based on their 1968 Fluxus conceptual art project of the same name.
Onobox is a 1992 comprehensive 6-disc collection of Yoko Ono's work from 1968 to 1985. The discs are grouped by era and theme. Disc one centers around the albums Fly and Yoko Ono/Plastic Ono Band, while Disc two features nearly the entirety of Approximately Infinite Universe in a different running order and most of the tracks remixed exclusively for this boxed set. Disc three features the entire Feeling the Space project, which was originally conceived and recorded as a double album before being edited down, while disc six is the previously unreleased 1974 album A Story, which was later reissued separately with an expanded track listing, along with the rest of Ono's back catalogue.
Season of Glass is the fifth studio album by Yoko Ono, her first solo recording after the murder of her husband John Lennon. Season of Glass, released in 1981, reached number 49 on the US Billboard 200 albums chart, making it Ono's highest-charting solo album to date.
A Story is an album by Yoko Ono, recorded in 1974, during the "lost weekend" sessions in which John Lennon produced Walls and Bridges. It was unreleased until the 1992 box set Onobox, which featured material from A Story on disc six. It was only properly released as an individual album 23 years later in 1997, with the reissuing of Ono's back catalogue by Rykodisc. The reissue added three bonus tracks, including home demos and a live recording from the Starpeace tour.
Yoko Ono/Plastic Ono Band is the debut solo studio album by Japanese artist and musician Yoko Ono, released on Apple Records in December 1970 alongside her husband's album John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band. The album features Ono's vocal improvisations accompanied by the Plastic Ono Band, with the exception of "AOS", on which she is backed by the Ornette Coleman Quartet.
Fly is the second album by Yoko Ono, released in 1971. A double album, it was co-produced by Ono and John Lennon. It peaked at No. 199 on the US charts.
"What's the New Mary Jane" is a song written by John Lennon and performed by the English rock band the Beatles. It was recorded in 1968 during sessions for the double album The Beatles, but did not appear on that album.
"Open Your Box" is a The Plastic Ono Band song by Yoko Ono, released on 12 March 1971 as the B-side of John Lennon's single "Power to the People". Lennon played guitar and produced the song.
Feeling the Space is the fourth solo album by Yoko Ono, released in 1973. It was her last one to be released on Apple Records.
Starpeace is a 1985 concept album by Yoko Ono, designed to spread a message of peace around the world as an opposition to Ronald Reagan's "Star Wars" missile defense system. As with most Ono albums, it did not chart extensively but the single release of "Hell in Paradise" reached #16 on the US dance charts. The album was subtitled An Earth Play for Sun and Air in the booklet and on the disc.
Between My Head and the Sky is an album by Yoko Ono's band Plastic Ono Band released on Chimera Music in September 2009. It is her first studio album to be released as "Yoko Ono/Plastic Ono Band" since 1973's Feeling the Space. This Plastic Ono Band lineup featured Cornelius, Yuka Honda, and Ono's son Sean Lennon as band leader and producer.
"Death of Samantha" is a song written by Yoko Ono and first released on her 1973 album Approximately Infinite Universe. It was also released as a single, backed by "Yang Yang". It has also been covered by a number of artists, including Boy George, Hermine Demoriane and Porcupine Tree.
Take Me to the Land of Hell is the 2013 album by Yoko Ono's band Plastic Ono Band. It is her fifteenth solo album overall and Ono's third since reforming the Plastic Ono Band in 2009 with her son Sean Lennon. It features guests Yuka C Honda, Keigo "Cornelius" Oyamada, Hirotaka "Shimmy" Shimizu, Yuko Araki, Nels Cline, Tune-Yards, Questlove, Ad-Rock & Mike D, Michael Leonhart, Bill Dobrow, Jared Samuel, Shahzad Ismaily, Lenny Kravitz, Andrew Wyatt, Erik Friedlander, Lois Martin, Joyce Hammann, Thomas Bartlett, Douglas Wieselman, Julian Lage, Toyoaki Mishima, Toru Takayama, Christopher Sean Powell, Christopher Allen, Andre Kellman, Michael H. Brauer, Bob Ludwig, Kevin Harper, Mark Bengston, Geoff Thorpe and Greg Kadel.
Yes, I'm a Witch Too is a collaboration and remix LP from Yoko Ono. The street date is February 19, 2016 via Manimal Vinyl Records. The LP features remixes and collaborations from Death Cab for Cutie, Moby, Portugal. The Man, Sparks, Peter Bjorn and John, Miike Snow, Sean Lennon, Cibo Matto and others. It is a sequel to 2007's Yes, I'm a Witch.
Japanese multimedia artist, singer and songwriter Yoko Ono has released 14 studio albums, eight collaborative albums, and 40 singles as a lead artist. Married to English singer-songwriter and the Beatles member John Lennon until his murder in 1980, she has contributed several B-sides to his singles from late 1960s to the 1980s. Ono released her debut studio album Yoko Ono/Plastic Ono Band in December 1970, faring poorly in the United States. Similar moderate success was achieved with her follow-up records Fly (1971) and Approximately Infinite Universe (1973).