Pitchfork

I keep hearing this piano ballad, originally found on Ono's 1995 album Rising, as a prayer for a better world in the vein of John Lennon's "Imagine". But unlike its more famous forbearer, there's actually some tremendously useful information here. Ono breaks it down and meditates on the feelings of a single person, then one-by-one ticks off unpleasant emotions-- anger, sorrow, greed, jealousy, fear-- and blesses them because they draw from energy that can be transformed into something positive. She's talking about transformation and redemption in a way that makes them seem like tangible things within anyone's grasp and not just a movie plot's bullshit.

Okay, I know, you need more than love, sure, and we can only expect so much from a pop song. But you've got to hear how this thing comes across with Chan Marshall playing piano and doing call-and-response with Ono's verses. It's so simple and honest and direct you have to think that maybe there's something here anyone can latch onto. The way Marshall sings it's like she's been through something heavy and tunes like this were there for her to lean on. She pays Ono back in spades, doing a masterful job rearranging the original verses for maximum impact.

The track comes from Yoko's forthcoming remix album Yes, I'm a Witch, which also features reworkings of other Ono tracks by The Flaming Lips, Antony, Spiritualized's Jason Pierce, and others.

Stream: > Yoko Ono and Cat Power: "Revelations" [Windows Media]
[from Yes, I'm a Witch; due 2/06/07 on Astralwerks] | [PRE-ORDER NOW]