Yoko Ono on The Beatles White Album

MOJO Magazine's October's edition is dedicated to The Beatles' White Album (which came out ironically the year I was born), one of my favorite musical compilations from my favorite rock band. They asked Yoko Ono to provide her comments about the album and I thought I would share.

THE BEATLES: THE WHITE ALBUM

MOJO Magazine, October 2008

"40 years on, The Beatles' White Album still holds aplethora of secrets and continues to defy definition. Yoko Ono, Donovan, Oasis and many more join MOJO for the first part of our gigantic, 30-page foray into John, Paul, George and Ringo's most intriguing record ever.

In this month's MOJO, Yoko Ono - Fluxus artist, film-maker, musician, peace activist and, of course, the wife of the late Beatle, John Lennon - writes exclusively about her memories and opinions and the "fiercely independent composers" behind the "grand hodge-podge" of jewels that was The Beatles' White Album."

THEY WERE LIKE FOUR ZEN MONKS, JUST DOING IT, TOGETHER!

by Yoko Ono

I thought The White Album was a very hip album. I'm not talking about the obvious: Revolution 9. For me to talk about that one is boring. I was impressed with the musicianship of John, Paul and George, each of them playing acoustic guitars like pro classical guitarists, on Julia, Blackbird and While My Guitar Gently Weeps. Those three songs are jewels. I didn't think Ringo was intimidated by them, either. Though he was quiet, you knew he was right there, not missing a beat. In fact, his beat was what made each song alive.

Through my life, I've met interesting, creative musicians; Henry Cowell, Edgar Varese, Stefan Wolpe, Karl Stockhausen, John Cage, La Monte Young, Toshi Ichiyanagi, Ornett Coleman. You want more names? But with The Beatles, it surprised me that there was a unity about them that I never saw in any other group of guys. In fact, you couldn't say they were a group of guys. Each guy was a fiercely independent composer - a fool on the hill of his own creation, so to speak. The Beatles were a group, physically and in spirit. They weren't back-slapping each other or anything. But you just knew that they were very close. In fact, they were like four Zen monks. Just doing it. Together.

I know that, initially, critics were not so kind to The White Album since it came just after Sgt. Pepper -the big bang. A lot of them made little niggling remarks that did not add up to anything. "Why a double?" was one. I totally agreed with Paul when he said that a double was fine. In fact, the fact that it was not a carefully edited single album was great. Not contrived. It was an album of strings of songs seemingly strung in that order for almost no reason. It was hodge-podge in a grand way, showing the state of mind that they were in then. I liked that.

I'm just telling you the general impression I had of The White Album. I don't feel like talking about what I experienced in observing the making of each song, or anyone song, as MOJO suggested that I do. But I will make one tiny point. Revolution "in" and "out" seemed to have been a big issue for the revolutionaries in those days. John was simply saying his spirit was "in" but his body was "out". A confession of a truly conceptual guy. His idea of revolution was without violence.

Like I said, I don't feel the need to spell out anecdotes about the making of the songs. I loved them all. And it was an immense privilege to have been there. When The White Album comes out again, I will buy a couple, keep one for myself, and send one to my musician son. He would probably say, "Mom, you don't think I know this one?" No, son. It's just a ritual. You might be surprised that you didn't know it. Put it on your stereo. It's quite an inspiring album. Listen to it again, a few times. Your dad would have liked it.

YOKO ONO

New York City

July 1, 2008