Tracks
Yoko Ono f/ Jason Pierce: "Walking On Thin Ice"
(2007)
By Conrad Amenta | 31 January 2008
Whether or not you find ridiculous the notion of Yoko Ono as anything other than a flashpoint for kitsch irreverence, there's no denying she's enjoyed a latter day revival as a figure with, at the very least, a well maintained and surprisingly deep cult status. To the obvious delight of her detractors and fans ironic (or even genuine), the less palatable characteristics of her music are often overblown. But with the release of the great Yes, I'm a Witch, suddenly the inherent musicality of her music is put to the test. Different musicians contemporize and reconstitute songs once dismissed as largely untenable for the sensitive ears of pop music's loyal regime; there are many moments ranging from decent to astounding, but at its core swells Jason Pierce's (of Spiritualized) epic visualization of the New Wave "Walking On Thin Ice."
Many of Yes, I'm a Witch's remixers, when given access to all of the elements necessary for remixing an Ono number, opted to use only her vocals and rewrite the song itself from the ground up; Pierce's plans for "Walking on Thin Ice" are the best illustration of why. On the original Ono's quavering voice is emaciated and exhausted in the spotlight of the song's rhythmic endurance: chunky piano chords strike in time to thick drums, both produced to what would become the mainstream eighties' oversaturated standard. Pierce's version, however, taps into the reservoir of damaged mourning that lies beneath Ono's voice, transforming the song from an anachronistic curiosity (though her most commercially successful single) into a fragile, elegantly produced prayer. When she begins to wail and cry three minutes in, it's no longer an eccentricity imposing itself on the pop sensibilities of the song's original co-writer, John Lennon. It's a personality uncovered and complemented perfectly with wintry delicacy.
Pierce's reading of Ono's vocals is nuanced and very impressive, but the music is so completely different in tone from what it once was that it sounds more like Ono guesting on a Spiritualized track than vice versa. That may or may not be what elevates this version of "Walking on Thin Ice" beyond the original's tiny subculture, but it's at least clear that these vocals have found a real home for the first time.
Many of Yes, I'm a Witch's remixers, when given access to all of the elements necessary for remixing an Ono number, opted to use only her vocals and rewrite the song itself from the ground up; Pierce's plans for "Walking on Thin Ice" are the best illustration of why. On the original Ono's quavering voice is emaciated and exhausted in the spotlight of the song's rhythmic endurance: chunky piano chords strike in time to thick drums, both produced to what would become the mainstream eighties' oversaturated standard. Pierce's version, however, taps into the reservoir of damaged mourning that lies beneath Ono's voice, transforming the song from an anachronistic curiosity (though her most commercially successful single) into a fragile, elegantly produced prayer. When she begins to wail and cry three minutes in, it's no longer an eccentricity imposing itself on the pop sensibilities of the song's original co-writer, John Lennon. It's a personality uncovered and complemented perfectly with wintry delicacy.
Pierce's reading of Ono's vocals is nuanced and very impressive, but the music is so completely different in tone from what it once was that it sounds more like Ono guesting on a Spiritualized track than vice versa. That may or may not be what elevates this version of "Walking on Thin Ice" beyond the original's tiny subculture, but it's at least clear that these vocals have found a real home for the first time.