A story
A story | ||||
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Studio album by Yoko Ono | ||||
Publication |
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Label (s) | Rykodisc Records | |||
Format (s) |
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Title (number) |
CD: 14 |
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running time |
43 min 48s |
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occupation |
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Yoko Ono , David Spinozza |
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Studio (s) |
Record Plant-East , New York-USA |
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A Story was planned as Yoko Ono's fifth solo studio album release. At the same time, including the three avant-garde albums as well as Some Time in New York City with her husband John Lennon and the Plastic Ono Band's live album, it would have been Yoko Ono's tenth album. It was supposed to be released in 1974 but didn't appear until July 22, 1997.
History of origin
After finishing work on the previous album Feeling the Space , Yoko Ono and John Lennon separated. On September 18, 1973, John Lennon and his girlfriend May Pang left New York for Los Angeles . Yoko Ono appeared in November 1973 for three days at the "Bitter End Club" in New York City, followed by another appearance on December 25, 1973 with David Spinoza at the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine . In 1974 Yoko Ono decided to push her career further and undertook a tour in Japan from August 5th to 16th, 1974 under the band name Yoko Ono & The Plastic Ono Super Band .
During 1974 the album A Story was recorded with David Spinozza as an additional producer. During this time David Spinozza took over the role of John Lennon, partly musically and privately. The music on the album is even more pop-oriented than the previous album and has an overall commercial effect.
In the text accompanying the CD compilation Onobox , Yoko Ono mentions that A Story was almost finished in 1974, but she was not satisfied with the mix of the songs and after living with John Lennon again, Yoko Ono no longer needed the album to publish, as it reminded them of the separation, the so-called "Lost Weekend".
A Story was originally released in May 1992, partly remixed (+) , as part of the Onobox (CD 6). In the booklet accompanying the CD box, the album was listed in the following order of the songs:
- A story (+)
- Loneliness (+)
- Will you touch me
- Dogtown (+)
- It Happened (+)
- Tomorrow May Never Come
- Winter Friend (+)
- Heartburn Stew (+)
- Yes, I'm a Witch (+)
- O'Oh (+)
The CD still contains the song Yume O Moto as track 11 , which was released in Japan in 1974 as a single with the B-side It Happened . When it was released in 1997, the song O'Oh , which was recorded in 1973, was replaced by Hard Times Are Over and She Gets Down on Her Knees , and the CD has a different order of songs. The CD release was remastered by George Marino and Rob Stevens at Sterling Sound Studios .
Some of the songs were re-recorded for later albums:
- Hard Times Are Over for Double Fantasy (1980).
- It Happened was remixed in 1980 and released as the b-side of the single Walking on Thin Ice in 1981.
- Will You Touch Me , Dogtown and She Gets Down on Her Knees for Season of Glass (1981).
- Loneliness and Tomorrow May Never Come for It's Alright (I See Rainbows) (1982).
Japan tour 1974
Yoko Ono undertook a tour in Japan from August 5 to 16, 1974 under the band name Yoko Ono & The Plastic Ono Super Band . Contributing musicians were David Spinozza ( guitar ), Sneaky Pete Kleinow ( steel guitar ), Ken Ascher ( keyboard ), Michael Brecker ( saxophone ), Gordon Edwards ( bass ) and Jim Keltner ( drums ). The tour dates were as follows:
- August 5, 1974: Kaiseizan Stadium, Koryama
- August 6, 1974: Koseinenkin Hall, Osaka
- August 9, 1974: Nagoya City Hall, Nagoya
- August 11, 1974: Sun Plaza, Tokyo
- August 12, 1974: Kōsei Nenkin Kaikan, Tokyo
- August 16, 1974: Hiroshima Prefectural High School, Hiroshima
For further advertising support, a promotional album entitled Welcome: The Many Sides of Yoko Ono was released in Japan on December 1, 1973 with the following songs:
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Withdrawal from the music business
At the end of January / February 1975, John Lennon moved back together with Yoko Ono in the apartment in the Dakota Building . On October 9, 1975 - Lennon's 35th birthday - Ono and Lennon became the parents of their son, Sean Taro Ono Lennon .
On January 1, 1976, an interview by Yoko Ono and John Lennon with Elliot Mintz was recorded and aired on the radio from January 26 to February 1, 1976. The Lennons gave another interview on October 4, 1977 at the Okura Hotel in Tokyo, in which they stated that their current priorities are family life and the upbringing of their child and that they will therefore retire from the music business until their son Sean is five become. The next joint album by John Lennon and Yoko Ono was released under the title Double Fantasy in November 1980.
Cover
The cover design was done by Karla Merrifield. The cover photo is from Yoko Ono's personal collection.
Track list
All tracks on the album were composed by Yoko Ono.
- A story - 2:38
- Loneliness - 3:33
- Will You Touch Me - 2:39
- Dogtown - 3:32
- Tomorrow May Never Come - 2:52
- Yes, I'm a Witch - 3:11
- She Gets Down on Her Knees - 4:50
- It Happened - 3:52
- Winter Friend - 3:17
- Heartburn Stew - 2:09
- Hard Times Are Over - 4:37
- CD bonus tracks
- Anatano Te / Your Hands - 3:35 (Demo: Yoko Ono, piano and vocals)
- Extension 33 (demo) - 1:27 (demo: Yoko Ono, piano and vocals)
- Now or Never - 1:18 (A Cappella live recording in 1986 in Budapest)
Single releases
Yume O Moto
The single Yume O Moto / It Happened was released in Japan in 1974, probably in August . The single was not released in the US and UK.
Chart placements
The album, like the single, could not place in the official charts.
literature
- Keith Badman: The Beatles Diary Volume 2: After the Break-Up 1970-2001 , ISBN 0-7119-8307-0
- Katrin Berndt Yoko Ono - In Her Own Write. Your musical creation and the influence of John Lennon . Marburg 1999; ISBN 978-3-8288-8021-4