WARZONE

Album review

With Warzone, Yoko Ono revisits and reinvents thirteen iconic tracks from her long career. A selection that spans almost forty years, from 1970 to 2009, and opens on an apocalyptic theme. For John Lennon’s widow, today’s world is in chaos and its citizens evolve in a zone of perpetual war. Opening with harrowing croaks, a series of gunshots and other gruesome noises, Yoko sets the tone from the very first seconds. With her tremulous voice and her Japanese pronunciation, speech is the most central focus here. Yoko Ono wants to be heard, to send a message, and impact the minds of the masses with a critical and engaged album that doesn’t refrain from questioning presidents and wars. As well as being a rather intellectual work, Warzone also highlights the artist’s feminist side. A tiny, rather badass old lady who has a lot of things to say! Several artists have worked with her on this ambitious project: Marc Ribot, Kassa Overall, Nico Muhly, Caleb Burhans, Thomas Bartlett and many others. From Warzone to Hell In Paradise to Woman Power, Yoko Ono closes this cynical album on a nostalgic and toppling note with a cover of the legendary song Imagine, which she sang for the first time with John in 1971… © Anna Coluthe/Qobuz