More rave reviews of Shitake Monkey and Yoko Ono
from The Daily Californian
There’s a point in Yoko Ono’s Yes, I’m a Witch—during DJ Spooky’s remix of “Rising”—when you’ll ask yourself, “Is she retching?” And the answer is, “probably.” Ono is known for her wide range of vocals, and this album shows off this spectrum. Case in point: Her vocal performance on the next track, “No One Can See Me Like You Do,” is a silky love song croon.
In fact, the album encourages us to focus on Ono’s voice. For this remix album, Ono handpicked a cadre of artists to redo any of her old songs. Many artists sampled only the singer’s vocals, as the backing music became their own creation. For some, this offered a chance to update the meaning of the songs, such as fem-rock Le Tigre’s version of “Sisters O Sisters” with feminist protest cries in the background.
But even without Ono’s vocals, these songs still bear the mark of the remixer. Take the Flaming Lips’ contribution, “Cambridge 1969/2007”: sparse vocals over a cover of the original melody with a thumping bassline and raucous guitar.
The album shines when Ono’s voice and the beats come together, like in Shitake Monkey’s rendition of “O’oh,” which back’s Ono’s cheery lyrics with slide guitar and a light rock beat.
Whether you tune into Ono or tune her out, Yes, I’m a Witch is driven by the high production values of some talented artists—in a sense, the beats stand on their own.
— —Daniel Karlin